Report courtesy The Perfect Wave
Words by Captain Andrew Rigby aboard the PNG Explorer
This season PNG Explorer racked up many miles around the outer remote islands from her home port in Kavieng.
Just like at your local, the more time you spend watching the waves the more tuned in you get with where and when to surf. After five seasons in this part of the world we’re getting it dialed. The chef onboard this season, my little sister Christie Rigby, dazzled our taste buds with mouth-watering cuisine utilising the abundant organic local produce. The Explorer's galley was working in overdrive - mud crabs, yellow fin sashimi, pickled fish, baked fish, local garden salads and amazing pastries. Explorer has a stock of local trade goods onboard like rice, flour, sugar, medical supplies, soap etc. and swap for fresh produce wherever we go. This helps the remote communities with hard-to-get items and keeps our fridge filled with a constant flow of fresh fruits and vegetables, muddies and lobster.
New Year’s Eve rocked out Islands-style again this year. The locals lit up the beaches for miles with palm leaf torches all in line. No fire works needed and a grand display of sing sings leading up to the gong kept everyone entertained. The locals here have a classic sense of humour and a quirky way of presenting it.
The fishing was off the hook thsi year. We lucked into a stationary yellow fin tuna school that blew us away with double hookups almost every pass. The lure of choice for the season was the Halco 190DD red and white used to troll through the bait balls the tuna feed on.
All in all, Northern PNG lit up like she does every year providing more barrels and walls than you can dream up all in tropical 30 degree water. We scored the two new magical lefts in all their glory and the slab was always doing its thing.
Next Season we’ve got a few exploratory missions on the cards to an area 200 miles away. We visited this place three years ago and didn't even put a dent in it, there is just so many empty passes and points left to scope for new set ups. We will be throwing the ropes off again in October.
Thanks to all the guests who booked with us this season. See you next year.
Cheers from your Captain Andrew Rigby
If you want to experience this awesome trip, contact The Perfect Wave
Wind, tides, UV ratings, air temps and outlook provided by
