Trip of a Lifetime: Gulf Coast Surfers in the Mentawai Islands
Three of locals from Sarasota: Tom Goshorn, Taras Stelmashenko and Sam Cosentino plus a former local resident that now lives in Melbourne, Australia Eric Silcott just finished a boat trip in the Mentawai Islands and want to share some of our photos with you and our fellow Gulf Coast friends. Our boat was the King Millenium 1. It was a 65ft Indonesian built yacht that was very basic. We had 8 surfers on board plus our guide representing USA, Brazil, Spain, France, Australia and Japan. Together with our group of 7 Indonesian crew members, we had the trip of a lifetime! The waves were consistent and we ended up surfing approximately 12 different breaks during our two week journey. The Mentawai surf is powerful, humbling, and dangerous at times but we all made it out alive. There were a few broken boards along with some repairable dings and plenty of opportunities to use Betadine or opt for the local remedy consisting of an aggressive rub from a cut lime by our chef Edu. Now we have lots of memories to cherish here during our flat spells and an appetite to get back in the water wherever and whenever we can!
