G-LAND ... New Moon hiding in the sky tonight and that means 2 things....big tides and Gandrung party in the darkness of the hiding moon. Swell still coming in and the same story being told from the past 2 days. Super strong offshores already blowing beautifully from dawn. You know those mornings when you're sitting watching waiting for the normal o'clock winds to kick in...it's not a long wait since 10 or so is still pretty early...but when it's happening that early at dawn, the feeling is just different. The high is already happening inside of you when you first make it out front. Not even a set needs to come through in sight to just feel great about the coming day.
10 foot faces and everything had a chance to break today. Since i'm still outta the water...I WATCH A LOT...and the one thing no one seemed to really pick up on was that Inside Launching Pad was spinning off some really fun looking tubes. Ultra clean and peeling nicely. Money Trees going strong too. The Ledge...Fan Palms...Kongs...like i already wrote "everything had a chance to break" since the tidal range went from a 2.5 high to a low of 0.2 meter.
So a little about the Gandrung is in order. Great fun as usual!!! The few guests that are out here seemed to get right into it, a handful of them polishing up their style by giving it a go many times. Some of these guys were getting up there 5 or 6 times....that's rare!!! Most of the time, people are running with their tails tucked up tight. But not tonight and i love seeing them get into the spirit of it. But there's a downside to the story...new rules out here and that means the staff are not getting into the mix of it. What's a Gandrung party without Blacky and Froddo leading the pack. Wiji getting loose and crooning into the mic. Axl Reno takes over and the croon turns into a roar. Bekan going solo on the floor and putting sore cheeks into all of us from his freakish Jaranan dance. Well none of that is happening. More rules = less of something else. I want YOU to file a formal complaint if you're out here during a Gandrung Party and you're missing this critical element in the fun of it all!!!
--MICHAEL
