Lance's Left.

About

Lance’s Left is a long left reef-point on the southern tip of Sipora, in the central Mentawai chain. Named after Australian explorer Lance Knight — the first surfer to ride both this wave and its right-hand neighbour around the corner — it’s among the most consistent breaks in the Mentawais. The wave starts on the outside reef and reels for a hundred metres or more along an underwater ledge into the channel.

Lance’s Left feeds on south-west swell — the same long-period pulses out of the Roaring 40s that fire the rest of the Mentawais. Twelve seconds and beyond is where the lines stretch full length. Trade winds from east are clean offshore. The wave is best on a rising mid tide, when the inside walls up rather than slabbing onto the reef. April through October is peak; the wet months still produce in lulls between fronts.

Intermediate to advanced. The reef is shallow coral and the inside section can ledge onto dry rock — falls go onto bottom that doesn’t forgive. Crowds thicken any day Hollow Trees is wind-affected, since the same boats that anchor at HTs paddle over. Watch the lineup before you slide in: the regulars who’ve been on the same charter for a fortnight have priority on every set.