Pedro Boonman has a sixth sense when it comes to all things barreling waves. Years ago, for example, a sushi home delivery service hired him for a commercial where he was featured eating said sushi inside a tube. Needless to say, a guy with that level of comfort inside the barrel spends a lot of time hopping flights to hunt them down. Earlier this year he took a last-minute flight from Portugal to Africa and bagged the wave of his life at Skeleton Bay.
Now he’s fresh off another swell-chasing trip. This time it was a run to the Mentawais where he, unfortunately, came home with parts of the reef that didn’t agree with him. Consider it dues paid for a guy who’s been going there for years in an effort to familiarize himself with one of the world’s most wave-rich escapes. Rested and feeling better from those infected cuts, we picked the Portuguese tube hound’s brain about his latest score in the Mentawais.
Last time I heard from you was after a spur-of-the-moment run to Namibia and you scored. Big time. It looks like you scored again. How are you feeling after this recent trip?
Yeah, the last time we were in touch was after Namibia and after that I was injured for three months. Going to the physio for a while and after that nightmare the doctor said, “Yes, you’re ready to surf.” So, I booked this flight to Indo and luckily I just arrived on time. I knew the season hasn’t been that good but at least I had a chance to catch the late season. And yeah, (the swell came) right on time.
You’ve spent a lot time with Alex (Ribas) at his resort there, so the Mentawais are obviously a special place for you. Do you feel like every time you go back you’re finding something new? Or are you going back and just getting more and more familiar with the place and getting better waves out of it as a result?
Indonesia, for me, it’s super special. It’s like my second home. Every year I try to go there to score perfect waves with the perfect swells. That place is like a playground and it’s super familiar to me because Alex is a legend there. So for me, when I go there I’m trying to improve my skills on those kinds of waves. Of course my goal is to be out there surfing the heaviest waves, like Kandui and Rifles when there is a good swell.
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Yeah, Alex seems to know the area inside and out. You must soak up a lot of local knowledge on the boat with him every morning…
He knows everything there and this season was not that good. I was in touch with Alex and he knew that I was injured for about three months so I just asked him, “What do you think is going on late season?” and he told me, “Brother, maybe the best swell of the season. If you are available to come, feel free, this is your home. Let’s score again.”
For example, this trip we went there but the tide was super low and it was so shallow – we went there about two times. The first time we were watching the waves and it was super sketchy, super shallow, and not the best direction. After that it was better but at the same time was still really shallow again but we gave it a try. I got one wave and went straight to the reef. Then we went back, and it was finally perfect. Of course, the wave is easier than Kandui but at the same time there were just really good conditions out there and it wasn’t very crowded. It’s a great place and I have a lot of good memories there.
He mentioned the conditions were still pretty fickle though and you really had to be on it to get Hideaways as good as you did those couple of days. Can you paint a picture of just how heavy that wave is when it’s on like that?
Yeah, I knew that during this trip the tides were super tricky because there was almost no difference between the low tide and the high tide. It was that tight. The place was firing during this trip. Last year I surfed it a lot of times when it was big and this time was similar, like, it was perfect.
If I paint a picture of that wave it’s like, man, if you want to score a perfect wave you have to drop in behind the peak. You have to make that first section and then you have that second section — it’s so shallow. I remember my best wave from this swell, I was so deep and I can see the reef. And I’m saying to myself, “Come on, come on, I need to make it because if I don’t I will die for sure. Or I’m going directly to the hospital.”
You guys can actually see on this clip, I remember we just got home (after a session) and sat down to check the drone footage. Man, those rocks…it was super dry.
So, are you back in Portugal now or off to another location? What’s on deck for Pedro going into this fall/winter season?
Yeah, I’m back in Portugal. I don’t know if I’m going somewhere (next) or not. Maybe if there’s something here, like a huge swell in Europe, maybe I will run after that swell in Ireland or France. I don’t know yet. But I can tell you this year was amazing for me. I just arrived back home and I am a bit tired so it’s time to rest. It’s the start of the winter here in Portugal and it’s going to be good so I’m just prepping for my winter here in Europe and preparing for any new projects in 2024.
