Wet season surfing

Wet season Bali is a treasure trove of right hander delights tucked away in lesser visited beaches lining the east coast of the island. You can forget the west coast in the deepest and darkest months of the Bali surfing calendar: the water is a mess, the winds onshore and the beaches strewn with all manner of flotsam and jetsam. One multinational has taken up the challenge of keeping the west coast sands groomed for the start of the next dry season whilst the rest of the surfing community collectively turns its attention to the eastern shores. Welcome to wet season waveriding in Bali

Perhaps you’ve noticed as you stroll along the beach or down one of the many small roads that wind and twist around the towns of Kuta, Sanur, and Jimbaran, the prevalence of the ubiquitous red and white Coca-Cola logo on everything from umbrellas to coolers to… even surfboards? Yes it‘s true, Coca-Cola is into surfing! With a history of supporting surfing in Australia, it’s a natural fit for Bali and provides a perfect solution for the answer to the question "how can we make, and then keep, Bali and its beaches clean and beautiful?" Using the sport of surfing as an entry point provides an exciting and healthy way to send the message that Coca-Cola cares about the community and the country that they are selling their products to.

Having clean water and rubbish free beaches, together with the already awesome waves that consistently bless Bali’s shoreline, creates an insurance policy for sustainable economic conditions, which in turn benefits the local community, the nation, and the millions of tourists and surfers who enjoy coming to Bali each year. The reality is that the condition of the beaches of Bali must meet the expectations set by the tourism advertising and promotional sector, or soon the word will spread and the arrival numbers will be on the decrease. Nowadays, large multinational corporations should have at least some level of support for their local community, and thankfully Coca-Cola is no exception. Here in Indonesia, specifically with Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia (CCBI), this takes the form of what CCBI calls their ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ strategy.

Simply put, CCBI looks around to find worthy programs that need support and partner with their work to achieve their goals. In the words of CCBI’s Bruce Waterfield, "there are areas where CCBI has lots of experience, such as creating a fun atmosphere and being innovative with products and product promotions.

But there are other activities in the community that need support from commercial businesses like ours in order to enable them to be successful, activities that improve the quality of life for the community and provide a healthy and safe environment. CCBI are not the experts in delivering these services so we partner with the people who are, such as GUS, Reef Check, ROLE, CARE, and the East Bali Poverty Project. With financial and infrastructure support, these groups are then able to realize their plans for the good of all".

Another example is of course the Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour (ISC), where the support of the CCBI allows the ISC to develop the sport of professional surfing in Indonesia, providing both the surfers and the surf industry with greater opportunities. CCBI is also partnering with the surf brand Quiksilver to provide beach cleaning machinery that will keep the beaches of Bali rubbish free, starting with Kuta Beach early next year, in addition to supporting Bali’s Lifeguard Association to make sure that both the locals and tourists are safe when in the water and on the beach. They also have an educational program where a truck goes around to schools taking national/local sports figures such as ISC CEO Tipi Jabrik to deliver health and environmental messages to the kids.

So what is Coke for Bali? In a nutshell, it is a partnership program between Coca-Cola and a variety of non-profit and for profit organisations that share the same goals: to preserve and to protect Bali, its people and its guests, so all can enjoy this unique and special island paradise. Good things take time and whilst it’s a step in the right direction for Coca Cola to be spearheading the drive to clean the beaches of Bali, in the short term what can we do in the wet season to avoid the rubbish - strewn onshore mess that is the west coast? The best tactic is to head east, over to Nusa Dua and up to Keramas on the northeast and pretty much any break in between where the winds are offshore and the crowds are minimal in comparison to peak season Uluwatu and the west coast lefts.

After the pleasantly cool evenings and howling offshore tradewinds of the dry season have faded into the overpoweringly humid and oftimes smelly onshore winds of the rainy season on the western side of Bali, some find it difficult to summon the motivation to get out and search for waves, the memories of those long sunny sessions on the Bukit still warm in their memories. However for others - the dark clouds, thunder, and the sound of the big raindrops coming down is their green light, their signal that it‘s time to go get some of those green and sometimes chocolate coloured rainy season waves.

The Bali locals, long-term residents, and the frequent visiting surfers of the island know that in between these rainy periods, which never last very long anyways, there are waves-a-plenty on both sides of the island, with just a fraction of the crowds that pack the popular spots in busy tourist season.

Well-known spots like Canggu, Balian, and Medewi on the West Coast are still good bets in the early hours and even in the late afternoons. Just drive up along the road past Tabanan and keep your eye peeled for an empty wave peeling off the reef or sand bar. You never know what’ll pop up. On the East Coast the mighty waves of Nusa Dua will challenge all but the die hard veterans on its big days, while Serangan (Turtle Island) is host to the most, being easily accessible and surf able on most tides and conditions. Wander up through Sanur to check out the many reef points that can give up some epic waves on their day, with only a local or two out to hoot you into a memorable barrel or cheer your big aerial punt.

And of course there is Keramas, the now world famous black sand beach and lava bottomed right hander that virtually every top pro surfer in the world has been photographed at during the last few years. The big difference in the wet season will be the fact that you can hang out there all day and get more than just a morning session in, courtesy of the winds coming down from the northwest. So if you’re not afraid of getting a little wet on your way to jumping into the water, you’ll have a blast tapping i