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“Komang, Why Do You Take Such Small Barrels?!” – Lakey Peak Showing its Teeth.

Komang was just coming out of an overhead barrel peeling onto the barely covered reef of Lakey Peak, when David (Indo Eye) screamed at him “Hey Komang! Why you take such small barrels?!”

Still dazed by the near-death wave Komang just went out of, he looked at David not knowing if he was serious or joking and after a few seconds laughed at him “Fuck off! Fuck off Bro!” while paddling back to the peak.

Wave Lakey Peak
Not the biggest of the day – but still.

Pushing Komang to his limits must have worked since he pulled into the biggest wave of the next set, stretching his arms to the sky while being fully covered into a double overhead perfect barrel. Meanwhile, Indo Eye went the nearest he could to the tube exit, dove under the wave at the last second and got the shot we were all waiting for. 

Komang Surf
Komang, Balinese grace taming the beast

Bringing the Medewi boy to Lakey Peak, Sumbawa 

Before this trip, Komang only had left Bali two times in his life – once to Lombok (Bali’s neighbouring island), another time to East Java – just a few hours drive from Medewi, where he is from. For this same reason, Komang was so stoked getting out of Bali, experiencing a new culture and scoring new waves. His excitement will surely be remembered by all the people we met in Lakey and will be missed in its line-up.

bima airport
Candid shot of Komang, on the way from Bima airport to Lakey Peak by Indo Eye

Komang is now 22 years-old, he surfed since he was a kid, learning how to on a piece of wood he collected from an old fishermen boat. In his young age, Komang and his friends managed to fix a snapped board they found on a beach, using a fisherman’s rope as a leash and sticking fins with resin. On a very special day, he got offered a board by a Californian tourist. This same board made him win his first surf contest “Medewi board-riders” back in 2008 – he earned a brand-new board but his dad didn’t want him to surf and sold both of his boards. Komang kept surfing fixed snapped board for most of his teenagers years and kept winning surf-contest while his dad kept selling his boards so he could afford the school.

His outgoing personality and passion for the ocean combined to a strict Balinese education made of Komang who is today. The most grateful human on earth, stoked for life, generous, humble and spreads his positive energy everywhere he goes while free-surfing. 

Drone Lakey Peak
Artsy drone shot by Indo Eye

Swell, cameras, Sponsor – everything was lined up for Komang’s dream to become true. 

Indo Eye and I were just coming back from Rote and craving for another surf-trip away from the crowded line-ups of Bali. We checked the swell forecasts. A 7 to 9-ft pulse @17-sec was making its way to Indo, this swell was supposed to last over 3-days, perfect!

Drone Lakey Peak
Morning drone ride by Indo Eye

What about Komang? We need to bring the local boy too. Luckily, hanging out at BGS Surf Shop helps to make good connections. In the same day, we gathered 2 sponsors (Ekumenik clothing & Sunova Surfboards) while a new surf-resort in Lakey Peak welcomed us for the trip. Two days later, we were sharing the line-up with Stephanie Gilmore and other hardcore surfers.

Surfing Lakey Peak with the Clone from Sunova Surfboards

Komang packed the right set of boards for Lakey – different sizes of the high-performance Clone model but the 5.8 is the one that performed best. Lakey Peak’s left hander offers a variety of surfing maneuvers from lip-smacking to radical turns in hollow sections to stand-up barrels when over 6-feet. We needed a board that would work well on that wave and won’t break when it gets heavy – Sunova boards, shaped by Bert Burger (shaper of the year in 2007 while at Firewire) are known for being amongst the most solid and it was proved during the trip.

Sunova Lakey
Komang carrying the clone 5.8 by Sunova

The Clone originated from one of Taj’s favorite surfboard. Bertt Burger & Sunova added into it a hint of modern technology, amongst them parabolic stringer and a vent to let pass the air avoiding high pressure on the board. Least but not last, the board can bend and gives a feeling of being projected on each turn. Read more about it on Sunova’s website, it is actually very interesting even if you are not a pro-surfer.

Sunova Surf
Komang riding the Clone by Sunova
Komang being projected on his turn – Photo by Indo Eye

Where to stay when in Lakey Peak? 

The vibe at Lakey Peak is known to be heavy, especially at the airport where porters won’t let you leave until you’ve paid them a tip, even though you never asked for a porter. Staying in a losmen by the beach is fine but if you want to avoid being hassled and have a comfy stay then Lakey Peak Haven is the place. 

Lakey Peak Haven
Bird-eye view of Lakey Peak Haven by Indo Eye

Welcoming cocktails, surf movies and kids playing in the common area already left behind us the weird feeling we encountered at the airport. Made and Michael, the owners of Lakey Peak Haven, arranged us a car that we rented for the whole trip – it is almost impossible doing that elsewhere and was a must for us to pack up all our gear! 

We stayed in a freshly built wooden style house “Surf Shacks” with epic view on the whole bay and surf-breaks. Check it out and ask for specials as they opened recently!

Where to surf around Lakey Peak?

Although The Peak is the most consistent break, it may seem too competitive and crowded to some. A five-minutes ride away lies the rippable left-hander of Nunggas peeling for over hundred meters and will satisfy your surf cravings while offering a more mellow approach. Ten minutes further north, after taking a bumpy road, you’ll find Periscopes – a world class right-hander that only breaks on high tide as long as there are no on-shore winds. High-performance riders might also opt for the back door left-handed barrel at Lakey Pipe, breaking on a gnarly reef. And still some secrets to be explored!

Lakey Peak A Frame
Morning Lights. A-Frame of Lakey Peak – barreling on each side. By Indo Eye

In the meantime, feel free to drop by BGS Surf Shop where Komang will be delighted to serve you the best coffee to be found in the Bukit and give you valuable surf tips for your travels in Indo.

Ekumenik Surf
Sumbawa Waves Search with Ekumenik. by Indo Eye

By Uriel @IndoSurfCrew

Indo Surf Crew

Indo Surf Crew was first born in the year 2018 as a surf photo & video content creative project while the first surf coaching trip organised by Uriel & Rodrigo happened in 2019 on an island off Sumatra. Since then, they have been running surf coaching retreats for all levels and mostly specialise in surf coaching for intermediate to advanced surfers. Surfing Consciously is our motto. To us it means, bringing awareness to our body, thoughts and interactions – in and out of the water. We take pride in working with eco surf resorts that are acting responsibly in preserving Indonesia’s nature, supporting and educating local communities. Indo Surf Crew was founded by Uriel Jean Armel, a French surfer and film-maker who has taken roots in Indonesia. You can read more about Uriel here, on an interview with Magicseaweed & here during an interview with the Surfing copywriter. As for Rodrigo, he was the first surf coach to join Uriel in his adventure and he’s the founder of the Power Surf techniques – a method that is now practiced internationally to train surf athletes from all over. Power Surf is a land based practice that combines ginastica natural, yoga, capoeira and martial arts, breaking town the fundamental surf techniques through a series of exercises. It also involves video analysis a skate practice for optimal result, which we do during our surf coaching trips.

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