Lance's Left — [Photography]

Obviously, after finally getting a good night's sleep I was raring to get in the water.

We were in the boat at around five in the morning, and it was about a 45 minute boat ride to reach the break. There wasn't much swell in the water, and the tide was low, so the call was made to hit Lance's Left. Lance's was discovered by a a local boat captain, one of the pioneers of surfing in this region. I don't believe he has any relation to the guy who discovered the wave in the Mentawais. Legend has it he kept this wave secret for many years.

Lance's is a lefthand point break with a big cliff as a backdrop. One a good day the wave peels for up to 500 yards. Today though, it was relatively small. We pulled up just as the sun was peaking on the horizon. The light was beautiful, but unfortunately no waves were rolling in. After about 5 minutes though, a nice head high set rolled in and within seconds everyone was scrambling to untie their boards and get in the water.

The peak.

Contrary to popular belief, you CAN go right when it's small.

The wave has a nice ramp to it. The takeoff zone is a bit small, but on the good ones, the wall jacks up and you get a nice little race track. The key to surfing the wave is to know how to speed up and slow down.