The Solomon Islands are only hours away from our east coast. Here, Longbreak fi nds a chain of islands under developed as a tourist destination and uncharted as a centre of surf.
LB

Longbreak wandered in amazement through the idyllic waterways of this sometimes troubled and turbulent nation of islands; the natural splendour sweeping away any thoughts of political and social turbulence. Since our visit, natural forces have swept through We trust that the people will find the strength to rebuild, to enjoy in peace the splendour that is theirs.

a nation of islands a notion of paradise

The reef pass is the perfect set-up for a long peeling left-hander, and like modern day pirates we weigh anchor and leap over the side with our longboards to plunder the liquid treasure.

Hours later, listening to the subdued stories of a local islander as rain drums on her thatch roof, we learn that 200 years earlier the very same pass in the reef was used by raiders of a different kind. They came in the dawn, headhunters who navigated the fringing coral reef in their canoes. They landed on remote, mist-cloaked Tetepare Island, one of 992 islands in the Solomon Islands chain, 2000 km northeast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean. And they slaughtered the inhabitants, taking their skulls.

“We found bones, many bones, but the skulls were all gone,” says Mary Bea, a local islander and conservationist who has returned to once-deserted Tetepare to fight a logging company and set up a primitive eco lodge. To gaze across azure waters to the postcard perfection of coral cays draped in palm trees and share in the brilliant betel nut-stained smiles of the locals, it is difficult to imagine this blood soaked past.

Yet, despite its idyllic, dreamlike nature, the country seems to magnetise conflict as much as it does the southerly swells that spin, bowl and barrel along its virgin reefs. It was only seventy years ago that the Solomon Islands were considered home to one of the most violent societies on earth, and the traditions of headhunting and skull worship were commonplace. War parties raided neighbouring islands and the inhabitants of some were wiped out.

Missionaries brought Christianity in place of sorcery and soon the island chain was in the grip of a new conflict as World War II swept the Pacific from 1942. The Japanese and Allies waged a bloody campaign for control of the strategic Solomons. The Allies eventually gained the upper hand, after 7000 US and 30000 Japanese casualties. So many battleships and transports went down on one waterway it is now called Ironbottom Sound.

And there’s more.

As recently as 1999, the country was again plunged into conflict, as ethnic tensions flared between the indigenous peoples of Guadalcanal, the island home to the port capital Honiara, and the neighbouring island Malaita. Hundreds died in riots and the government was overthrown. Eight years later, authorities have brokered peace and all seems well. As a tourism push gathers momentum, the Solomon Islands is now better known for its crystalline waters and palm trees waving in a lazy breeze, than for blood letting and military coups.

In any case, thoughts of safety barely enter the equation if you’re chasing waves in the Solomons aboard the considerable luxury of the Indies Trader IV, with veteran skipper Martin Daly at the helm. Here, the only safety issues are whether your sunscreen is still keeping the tropical sun at bay after a five-hour surf - or how many margaritas you can mix and still make it down to your cabin after a day of riding waves in bathtub warm water and perfect solitude.

Longbreak stepped off Australia’s northern tip to board the Indies Trader IV and spent a week cruising through Papua New Guinea (see Issue 8). After a sleepless night pounding through open ocean swells, we arrived in the Solomons for the second part of the journey through some of the Pacific’s most remote islands.

Of course waves are at the top of the list of priorities. Daly times his Solomons charters for September and October, the most consistent time of year for surf. This is the time of the changing of the seasons, before the monsoon rains come, so winds are light and the weather fair with regular southerly swells pushing up from the southern reaches of the Pacific Ocean. But like all surf trips, Mother Nature has to come to the party.

For three days, Daly scours the coral atolls around mountainous islands that plunge into the water along the western end of the Solomons archipelago, spread over a staggering 1.3 million square kilometres of ocean. At first we find reef passes that look like magic set-ups for long, peeling left and right-handers, wrapping into protected lagoons. There are islands - some uninhabited and some home to islanders who shout greetings from the beach - with fringing reefs that have great surf potential in the right conditions.

But the swell that looked so promising on our presumptuous swell charts fails to materialise. The Trader’s twin turbo diesels rise in pitch and the boat moves east. Soon the swell picks up as an unseasonably low-pressure system moves towards the Solomons from the east, but the surf is rough and ugly with strong onshore winds and squalls of rain.

The boat crashes through the large swells, sending tomes tumbling from the lounge room bookshelf and forcing us to retreat below decks to curl up in our cabins with a novel or a well-thumbed surf magazine to ride out the plunging rolling and rocking. It’s times like these that the considerable opulence and comfort of the Indies Trader IV comes to the fore.

It’s a solid 34 metres so there are no worries about riding out rough seas. The main deck has a spacious lounge room with leather couches, plush carpet and a huge flat screen TV and DVD player with just about every movie ever released on the Bali black market. Past the large kitchen and walk-in pantry are four very comfortable double-berth staterooms each with queen-sized bed, ensuite, writing desk, personal TV and DVD player, plus a satellite phone and email-linked laptop to keep in touch with the family. The staterooms are as good as it gets. Each has large viewing windows from the main rooms and ensuite, so you can take a shower and watch your mates catching waves outside. Downstairs there are another four staterooms; just as opulent but lacking the views. There is also a handful of cabins with bunk beds, boosting the Trader’s passenger capacity to twenty-two, although Daly usually takes a maximum of twelve surfers. The back deck is where the big boys toys live; two jet skis, three runabouts, dive tanks and compressors, tow-in boards and game fishing rods. Upstairs, there is a large sundeck in front of the wheelhouse that is good for spotting waves coming up on port or starboard. Behind the wheelhouse is a large observation deck and open bar that is always stocked with cold beers and plenty of spirits if you’re in the mood for a cocktail to salute the sunset.

The Trader also has a third level, perfect for jumps and back flips into the water. Believe it or not, this top level is actually a helipad, used by Quiksilver and other surf companies when they charter the boat and load it full of pro surfers for film shoots.

When the weather is rough and you’re cooped up on a boat, thoughts naturally turn to food. Like the rest of the experience aboard the Indies Trader, the food was first class, bringing with it the risk of coming home a couple of kilos heavier. Lee, the recently recruited Asian-Australian chef, has a passion for cuisine and keeping guests well fed. Breakfast was a healthy smorgasbord of fruit, yoghurt, cereal and toast, or a full cooked breakfast for those needing something heartier. The breakfast bar also has an espresso machine and the cheeky Indonesian deckhand, Retnor, was always ready to brew up a short black or a flat white. Lunch was usually a two-course sit-down meal in the dining room, different every day and always original, whether fettuccine marinara, grilled Spanish mackerel fish burgers or a tasty chicken curry. Platters of cheese, olives, oysters and smoked salmon took the edge off our hunger during late afternoon happy hour.Then it was time for dinner - a full service three course affair, washed down with choice wines and homemade desserts.

It’s not just the fact that the Indies Trader IV is a floating palace that helps keep your sanity intact when there are no waves. It’s also the comforting knowledge that skipper Martin Daly is at the helm. He’s arguably the world’s leading authority when it comes to hunting down quality empty waves, often in places where less tenacious and experienced explorers insist there are none to be found.

Daly was the man behind the legendary Quiksilver Crossing, circumnavigating the globe and discovering and surfing dozens of waves in his now-iconic vessel, the vividly blue and orange painted Indies Trader I. That was seven years ago and since then Daly has built up his fleet to four boats, all plying the surf rich Mentawai Islands in Indonesia. But the former salvage diver turned surf charter pioneer wanted to be back out where the wild things are.

“I got bored,” he says. “The Mentawais are so crowded now and I wanted a new challenge. “I wanted to be back in a really pristine place, one where you can still catch plenty of fish, dive on pristine reefs and find surf breaks with no one else around for miles.” This Solomons trip is part of the bigger picture for Daly. He takes the Indies Trader IV on an annual journey from Indonesia’s Sumatran islands to Irian Jaya, where he charters the boat to art collectors in the surfing low season.

Then when the Pacific Ocean swells start to fire, he continues east through Papua New Guinea, the Solomons, Marshall Islands and beyond. Each trip is broken down into a separate one or two-week charter, although groups can book the whole boat and custom design a trip. Glance into the wheelhouse and you’ll probably see Daly with his binoculars pressed to his face. A deep frown of concentration gives the big, burly seadog a formidable countenance as he scours the coastline ahead for any hint of a wave.

Daly is always stoked when he’s at the helm searching for waves, even if rain is falling and the winds are onshore. We find a few reefs that aren’t epic but still look rideable in the onshore winds. The skipper jumps in the tin boat for a closer inspection but is back within minutes. “Nope,” he says. “Don’t worry boys, we’ll find better.” The view through the salt-encrusted dining room windows reveals another mist-cloaked island in the distance, another smear of foam that heralds a breaking wave.

The buzz of exploration is almost tangible. Could this be the prize of our quest? Sure enough, just when some of the less hardy souls on board are starting to doubt him, Daly’s tenacity pays dividends. We turn the corner around another tiny island wreathed in palm trees and dead ahead is a lovely left-hander running down the reef, on just the right angle to offer protection from the persistent winds. It isn’t perfect but nobody gives a damn. It’s just great to be surfi ng in our private slice of the Pacifi c. It’s not under the blue skies we’d been expecting, but the emerald green water, heavy brooding clouds and fat rain drops peppering the glassy wave faces has a magic all of its own.

An afternoon surf followed by a morning session the next day and then the anchor rattles up and the boat moves on. Slowly the trip draws to a close but luckily the Solomons saved the best for last. Th e sun comes out, the wind drops, the swell sticks around at the head-high mark and Daly anchors up in a natural amphitheatre between three islands.

A left peels down one island, a right breaks across the bay and another right breaks off the back of the island. The diving is sublime, the fi shing good and the beaches home to just a handful of friendly islanders. We call it ‘Th e Funpark’, and there are good times to be had by the bucketload. From dawn to dusk, the runabout ferries surfers to one of the three waves, a relay from the right-hander to the left and back to the boat for food, water and sunscreen.

The right off the back of the island is a big, shifty peak that runs down the reef. It has great potential but is a little wind exposed. Th e left on the inside of the island is a gem of a wave. It comes out of deep water and ledges up quick for a take-off over shallow coral heads. It’s followed by a speed run down the reef and, towards the end section, the wave backs off into a fun, carvable shoulder and then peters out in deep water.

But the right across the bay is the jewel in The Funpark crown. It starts at the top of the reef as a fast, mechanically peeling shoulder-high wave. After about 50 metres, the wave bends around a dogleg in the reef and turns back in towards the island. Th e unusual bottom contours mean the sets virtually double in size as the energy is compressed in the bend in the reef. It makes for great, hot dogging rides.

Daly is surprisingly nimble in the water and he leads the way with late drops in the jacking section, racing the wave through to a fast, dredging end section. It’s a fun wave but booties are a wise move as several surfers, including Mickey the ship’s engineer are dragged across the reef. Th ere is time for one last sunset surf in Th e Funpark, then all too soon we’re off , with an overnight journey to reach Honiara and then a plane bound for home.

The history of the Solomon Islands might be steeped in battle and soaked in blood, but when it comes to visiting the archipelago these days, the pace of life is relaxed and the dreamy perfection of the place so enticing, you probably won’t want to leave.