KM D'Bora - Mentawai

The D'Bora is an 80-foot timber vessel running affordable quality surf charters in the Mentawai Islands. Her owners, Charlie Josal, Tom Plummer and Joey Melroy have teamed to create this unique vessel with all the modern amenities, but a decidedly local Indonesian architecture and flair. With many years combined experience in the Mentawais, they've pooled the best possible crew with Joey acting as onboard manager and surf guide traversing the length and breadth of the Mentawai Islands to get you your fill of waves, and then some.

KM D’Bora runs 12-night charters unless otherwise stated. The vessel will depart with a minimum of 6 guests.

Captain & Crew :

With over 25 years combined experience in the Mentawai, they’ve pooled the best possible crew with onboard Western surf guide and will traverse the length and breadth of the Mentawai Islands to get you your fill of waves, and then some.

Captain Ali. Has worked in the surf charter industry for more than 10 years. He joined D'Bora in 2007 and is the man who will be driving through the night or up before dawn to make sure you are on the spot for a full day of waves.

Amae - Guest Service. Amae has been with D'Bora from Day 1 and is the kid with the sweet smile who's always hand to assist with any request his guests might have.

Eka - Dinghy driver and 1st Mate. Eka has been going to sea since he was 13. Besides running you out to the lineup and promptly picking you up when your session is over, Eka also has an eye for precision when it’s time to take photos of you & your crew. However his specialty is catching fish and there is no better pre-dinner snack than a plate of fresh tuna sashimi.

Joey - Photographer. San Diego born surfguide, photographer and partner in D'Bora signed on in 2008. "The best waves with the fewest people" is his motto. Whether it be surfing the more isolated corners of the islands or hitting a swell head on at the more popular breaks, he is adept at finding every guest what they are looking for in a Mentawai boat trip. He also has an American Red Cross certification for first aid. Joey keeps this vessel running at a very high standard.

Ferry - Cook. He joins the team following a close call with the 2010 tsunami where his previous boat Midas was washed onto the beach before burning to cinders in Macaronis bay. Ferry has extensive Mentawai resort and charter boat experience and wasn't planning to jump straight back on the scene but he helped out with D'Bora's first early season 2011 charter and liked the vibe onboard so much that he asked if we they would have him on permanently. Of course, they said yes.

Nanang - Engineer. The quiet achiever onboard D'Bora who spends a good portion of the charter working away in the bowels of the boat, Nanang is Javanese and joined D'Bora in 2010. He has previously worked on cargo boats traversing the length and breadth of Indo.

• Return airport transfers.
• Air-conditioned accommodation in either private cabin or dorm.
• 3 hearty meals per day and snacks in between.
• 3 beers per day.
• Juice, drinking water, soft-drinks and hot drinks.
• Use of snorkelling and fishing equipment.
• Zone permits and local donations.
• Mentawai Tax.
  

Departure Date	Return Date	Duration	Spots	Price	Notes	Availability
21 Jan 2012	02 Feb 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Early Season Discount
04 Feb 2012	16 Feb 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Early Season Discount
18 Feb 2012	01 Mar 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Early Season Discount
03 Mar 2012	15 Mar 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Early Season Discount
17 Mar 2012	29 Mar 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Surf Divas - all girls charter!
31 Mar 2012	12 Apr 2012	12 Nights	10	$2400
14 Apr 2012	26 Apr 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
28 Apr 2012	10 May 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
12 May 2012	24 May 2012	12 Nights	3	$2600
26 May 2012	07 Jun 2012	12 Nights	2	$2600
09 Jun 2012	21 Jun 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
23 Jun 2012	05 Jul 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
06 Jul 2012	20 Jul 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
21 Jul 2012	02 Aug 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
04 Aug 2012	16 Aug 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
25 Aug 2012	06 Sep 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
08 Sep 2012	20 Sep 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
22 Sep 2012	04 Oct 2012	12 Nights	2	$2600
06 Oct 2012	18 Oct 2012	12 Nights	0	$0
21 Oct 2012	02 Nov 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Surf Divas - all girls charter!
03 Nov 2012	15 Nov 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Late Season Discount
17 Nov 2012	29 Nov 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Late Season Discount
01 Dec 2012	13 Dec 2012	12 Nights	10	$2200	Late Season Discount

Schedule last updated: 24 January 2012

Disclaimer - This surf trip is an independent surf operator and is not part of or in partnership with The Perfect Wave Travel Co. The Perfect Wave acts as an agent only. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport, accommodation and other service providers, such as airlines, land based accommodation and boat charter operators. The Perfect Waves' obligation is to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and travel service providers. The Perfect Wave has no responsibility for these services nor do we make or give any warranty of representation regarding their standards. All bookings are made subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these service providers.

We’d love to hear your feedback! Please to enter your testimonial of your holiday and your experience with The Perfect Wave.

Tom

The cook on board was a bloody legend! To cook that well in a space that small for ten hungry blokes is no mean feat, he deserves an medal! Joey, our guide made the trip helping us score perfect waves and with few people on them. The addition of Joel (saltmotion) was awesome, with the trip over I now have the photos of myself in the some of the best waves I have ever had. I would recommend a surf trip with Joel again and would in fact look to book onto any trip he is on, or any other surf photographer as a good as him? He put the photos first and his own surfing second - which I was impressed with. Awesome boat, top class food with the freshest best sushi/sashimi (20 mins ocean to plate) - courtesy of the rods out the back! Topped off with world class surf photography for the photo album by Saltmotion, it doesn't get much better!

Experience Begun: September 2011

Created on: Tuesday 08 November 2011

Mitch

Let me just start by saying we had an amazing trip, a few freindships were forged for life. Many laughs were had. Our trip was an interesting one because the crew onboard differed considerably in skill level. This made it interesting for our surf guide Joey, he had to cater to guys who wanted the biggest barrels of the day and also guys who wanted to surf more mellow waves; and he pulled it off perfectly. The days of the biggest swells we were at the gnarlier waves getting barreled off our head in perfect glass conditions-and NO OTHER BOATS to be seen! On the smaller days we attacked the more mellow spots and the whole crew got to tear apart the waves. Even with the consistent southerly weather Joey had us on the best spots for each day with the least crowds. The crew were amazing and always there to help out. Even though Im non-famous, I felt a little bit famous for 2 weeks.

Experience Begun: September 2011

Created on: Friday 21 October 2011

Woody

What a great trip! We lucked in and had a well balanced group of personalities- and we got three separate swells. It was an awesome time. Big thanks to Joel (saltmotion.com) for his hard work, and also to the D'Bora crew!

Experience Begun: September 2011

Created on: Wednesday 12 October 2011

Brando

This Indo trip is one that I will never forget! It was complete with everything I could have asked for. Constant entertainment, comedy, the fish were biting, and most of all we scored epic waves!! What a great crew and experience! Special thanks to Joel (saltmotion photography) for capturing all of the moments on film, it was the icing on the cake. Mad skills mate! Lets coordinate another one for the record books next year?? Cheers,

Experience Begun: September 2011

Created on: Wednesday 12 October 2011

Karl

Hi Josh, D'Bora was awesome, I’ve been on 4 other boats before and nothing comes close to how good D'Bora is. D'Bora has so much room, comfy seats, lots of shad. Boards are away and not under people feet. The crew and food were amazing and everything was smooth transferring through Pedang.

Experience Begun: June 2011

Created on: Tuesday 05 July 2011

Rick

It was all good and we are planning next years trip already after only being back for five days... both last years and this years trip on the D'Bora were perfect and the waves outstanding! There may be other good vessels and resorts out there but we were lucky to strike the D'Bora first up. Legend boat, crew and shore staff! The fact that there are added benifets on this vessel by meeting and helping the local Mentawai people setting up fresh water filtration units only adds to the experience of surfing the best waves in the world. One very stoked fella as I know the rest of the team are!! The Perfect Wave have been great as well! Totally professional and friendly service! We will be booking for next year real soon!

Experience Begun: May 2011

Created on: Friday 10 June 2011

Rick

Dear Rhonda, Finally recovering from the surf trip of a lifetime. I really don’t know where to start! We had pumping waves for the whole ten days including HT’s the best Joey had seen it in his time in the Mentawais Islands. Two to four surfs a day for ten days in world class waves....wow! I don’t know when it is really going to sink in! I would recommend the D’Bora team to any person or group wanting to surf the Mentawais. In my eyes they are the best!! Some of us were expecting to probably lose a bit of weight on the trip but there was no possible way about that getting restaurant quality meals made for us from the chef (Seeka) every day! Three cooked meals a day and really healthy meals at that! At first we all felt that we had to chip in and help with things around the boat like washing dishes and that sort of thing however everything was done for us including making the beds and folding up clothing around the beds in the dorm. • Captain Ali is a great captain and we all absolutely loved his dry sense of humour. • Eka provided great local knowledge (including fishing) and his experience on the tender and around the Islands picking us up from the breaks was bloody fantastic. • Amae took over fixing some dings in my board and did a terrific job and was handy with the tender’s and also had a great sense of humour. • Herman is a great engineer! I don’t know how old he is but his engineering skills at what I believe is a very young age is a credit to him. Being a skipper and engineer in a past life I was totally amazed when they allowed me to have a look in the engine room. Really clean and well organised. • Seeka is the newest crew member on the boat and should be cooking at the Hilton or something. Hardly left the galley all day and provided the best healthiest meals ever. • And finally Joey.....he is absolutely on the money when it comes to finding the waves. We basically told him to take us where the waves are and he did that (exceeded expectations). Joeys passion for the local people shines through and I felt very privileged that he asked us if we wanted to assist him setting up a water filtration system at a health clinic at a village just around the corner from Lances Left on our last day. Vinnie and myself took up the offer and these memories will stay with me forever. Joey and Tom are absolute legends for what they are doing to help the local people of the Mentawais! Meeting other people in the network of friends and associates of the D’Bora the trip on this boat is something really special. I thank you so much for placing our group on this boat after the trouble the other boat had. It sounds as though we may have had a nightmare trip on that one! On a bit of a down note, I would not recommend anyone fly Air Asia. The way they cancelled the flight on us out of Padang on the way home was absolute bullshit. I am sure that these things do happen from time to time but after being totally burnt out after ten days of surfing and having the best trip ever it was a very long day of travelling. Speaking for myself, and I am sure the other feel the same way, I am very grateful of all your assistance in making our trip truly the best holiday I have ever had. I personally hope to get back on the D’Bora within the next two years and will definitely go through the Perfect Wave Travel Co. I will be telling anyone interested in a surf trip that the Mentawais Islands is the place to go and that the Perfect Wave and the D’Bora is the only way to go! Kindest Regards, Rick

Experience Begun: April 2010

Created on: Thursday 19 August 2010

Ollie

Hi Rhonda, Just got back on Saturday from the Mentawai's trip. We had a fantastic time and scored some awesome waves. The D'Bora is amazing - huge, clean and very spacious with heaps of outdoor deck space and much of it being shaded which is ideal. The crew were especially good and apart from the classic waves, they absolutely made the trip! The cook (Yani) fed us very well with her delicious meals, captain Ali always had us motoring smoothly, and the rest of the guys (Amae, Herman, Jensen, & Eka) were fantastic also. Time after time going out of their way to run us out to the breaks, and kept everything very tidy and constantly smiling. Joey, our surf guide was brilliant. He always had us on the spot, and took some awesome shots of us out in the water (see attachments). He's very friendly and always up for rounds of cards and beers in the arvos and after dinner. Each night he opened the discussion about the possible options for our next day of surfing, depending on tomorrows forecast winds, swell, and crowds, etc. He could've easily not have done so, kept quiet and taken us to whatever spot he choose and was easiest for him on the schedule but he didn't. Even still, he probably would've been right anyway because he is extremely knowledgeable about the Mentawai's, but it was good to know our options. An awesome guy, and we all plan to keep in touch with him in future. All in all, it was a fantastic trip Rhonda. I'll let the photos speak for themselves about the waves we got. Thanks heaps for sorting everything out for us, it was an absolute breeze getting there and back with all the info and bookings you made for us. The only thing we might do different next time is dodge the budget Air Asia trips to/and from KL. It was under our instruction to go the dirt cheap option, so not your fault at all. But yeh, maybe next time we might fork out a bit more for the easier transfers. Thanks again Rhonda. We'll be back to book with you again for sure, and no doubt it'll be on the mighty D'Bora. I'm already day dreaming about the trip during my first lecture's back at uni, haha.. Cheers, Ollie – Beauty Point, NSW July09

Experience Begun: July 2009

Created on: Friday 12 February 2010