Occy’s Left: probably worth the price. Photo: Nihi Resort
It’s not every day the world of 1980s supermodels and surfing combine. Well, not if Kelly Slater isn’t involved. But recent photos taken by legendary surf photographer Jason Childs of Cindy Crawford vacaying in Indonesia did the rounds on the internet. Just past the dazzling white sands, a pack of wild horses, and the time-frozen face of Crawford, you could make out a wave, known as Occy’s Left or God’s Left.
Crawford was staying in Sumba, at the Nihi Resort, which I covered recently in our list of most expensive surf resorts. Apart from being incredibly, well, expensive, it is also known as the only Indonesian resort, and one of a few in the world, to have exclusive access to the wave. To surf Occy’s Left, you need to stay at the resort and cough up the $US500 a night fee, plus the 100 bucks a day if you want Jet Ski assistance. Only 12 surfers can stay at the resort, meaning crowds don’t exist. That’s why Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Heidi Klum, the Beckhams and Brody Jenner have all stayed here. They all are goofy-footers.
However, past the celeb status, it is the exclusive access to the wave that again poses more questions. The founder of Nihi, Claude Graves, had come across the wave in the late ’80s, having built one of the first Kuta Beach houses in the early 1970s. Sumba then was isolated, with poor transport links in an area of extreme poverty. Over 20 years he built up a luxury resort at the wave and exercised exclusive rights, sometimes heavy-handedly, since 1997. In 2010 he told the New York Times that due to raids by surfers keen on riding the wave, Indonesian soldiers had to be called in. In 2015 he was bought out by billionaire investor Chris Burch and global hotelier James McBride. They kept the exclusive wave practice in place.
I met Graves in 2007 at what was then known as the Nihiwatu Resort and he staunchly defended the private nature of the wave. He said it had allowed him to protect the fragile marine environment and provide secure employment for local villagers. Profits have been put back into The Sumba Foundation, which has provided humanitarian aid through village-based projects, established access to clean water, created educational programs, and lessened the effects of Malaria.
It’s also stopped the rampant, unchecked development that has occurred elsewhere in Indonesia, and Bali in particular. Graves also spent decades stopping blast fishing in the local waters, a practice which has destroyed 70 percent of Indonesia’s coral reefs.
It’s not a new argument. Dave Clark, the founder of Tavarua, said the same thing. Without regulation of surfer numbers, the fragile ecosystem of the environment and the lineup at Cloudbreak would not have been able to cope. The two local villages near the resort also received five percent of the resort gross income. The conflict though was immense. In a profile on Clark in Sports Illustrated back in 2005, it mentioned fights that broke out in the water and how village heavies from Nabila would come out in resort-owned boats to act as enforcers. The article called him one of the most admired – and reviled – figures in his sport’s history.
In 2010 a newly elected Fijian government legislated its “Surfing Decree” which allowed anyone to surf anywhere in Fiji waters. It’s been credited with promoting Fiji as a surf-tourism destination, but controversially removed the rights of traditional landowners over their coastlines and fishing grounds. Better for surfers and surf-led businesses on the mainland and nearby islands, but not so good for the local villagers who lost their revenue. A new government is now looking at changing the legislation.
You see, it’s complicated. The Maldives is probably the main source of private waves in the surfing world. You can’t visit without paying for accommodation in a resort or a boat, and it’s been baked into the system that many resorts have exclusive rights. Niyama Private Island (Vodi), Hudhuranfushi (Lohis), Cinnamon Dhonveli (Pasta Point), and Holiday Inn Kandooma (Kandooma Right ) are a few of the best waves open only to guests. Everyone that travels there knows the deal.
Yet the government tourism agenda in the Maldives has always been low density and high yield. The high environmental standards have kept the Maldives’ reputation as a pristine environment, protected from overdevelopment. It’s also been good for business. The Encyclopedia Britannica said that the Maldives’ economy has grown fast since the 1970s, with a GDP among the lowest in the world, and yet reached the level of upper-middle-income countries in the 2010s, all underpinned by tourism. With the coral of the Maldives being the seventh largest in the world and the fifth most diverse ecosystem of the world’s reef systems, private access might be a small price to pay.
Kelly Slater was conflicted about exclusivity back in 2016 when quoted in a print edition of Stab. “It’s fucking crowded everywhere. I’m not against ‘private’ breaks if they’re in a faraway land and difficult to access and some guy figured it out and set up a camp or boat, but when the floodgates are opened it’s over. I’m happy to pay extra for empty surf.”
The uncrowded points of Hollister Ranch. Photo: Hollisterranchlistings.com
Of course, when it comes to wave exclusivity, the holy grail, the big mama and the most embedded in surf culture is The Ranch in California. The 14,400 acres of coastal land on the Gaviota Coast was divided into 135, 100-acre parcels in 1972. Access to the myriad of waves on the coast has since been limited to those who either boat in or own a parcel of land there. Given that the state-of-nature preserve is just a two-hour drive north of the crowd-infested lineups at Malibu and Topanga, you can see the interest. Or, as surf historian Matt Warshaw put it in an essay on The Encyclopedia of Surfing in 2022, “Like a depleted gold mine that yields just enough treasure to keep prospectors hooked, the Ranch will always lure surfers.”
The authorities and the landowners have resisted that lure. The unique nature of that private setup means the dramatic bluffs, isolated beaches and terraced grasslands are within the last undeveloped stretch of the Southern California coastline. The Ranch’s cattle grazing ( as much as a million pounds of beef have been shipped from there in a good year) and luxury home development have had an impact, but nothing on the scale of other parts of Southern California (ever seen old pictures of Salt Creek in Dana Point?). The pristine tide pools and diverse marine life that inhabit the Hollister Ranch are almost untouched.
The private access has created a unique and protected environment and kept the surf breaks crowd free. Yet only a tiny, wealthy percentage of the population can enjoy the remarkable coast.
It’s just another example of how private waves are surfing’s Gordian Knot. Now, I’m not sure Cindy Crawford was debating Alexander the Great’s solution to a complex knot tied to an oxcart that if untied would see him destined to rule all of Asia, as she drove down the line at Occy’s Left. She may have known that Alexander famously didn’t fuck about, and dramatically cut through the intractable knot with his sword. Job done.
Brute force is not the answer now, however, and the small number of owners who control private waves are enforcing their rights effectively. However, as surfing numbers increase, you’d imagine the desire for private waves will only increase. Will surfers be willing to cede wave rights for the protection of the environment and local community? We might find out soon enough.
