Review

WL Rating

Surf trips are the stuff of romance. Once the surfing bug bites you, it only takes a video or a magazine article featuring empty, perfect, tropical barrels to further fuel the stoke and plant the seeds for exploration. All too often, however, surf trips fail to live up to our expectations, or least they don’t until years later when the memories soften and near-death experiences become humorous anecdotes. Dan Scheffler’s new book— Island Explorer: Surfing, Sailing & Exploring Beyond Sumatra & The Mentawai Islands — is an unvarnished look a the author’s multi-month surf excursion aboard the Island Explorer. Reading like a candid journal, Scheffler describes both the heaven and the hell one finds on tropical trips. Perfect waves he can’t quite surf with confidence, crystal clear water providing an unfiltered view of razor sharp coral, idyllic yet mosquito-infested jungles, and island hopping aboard a lurching vomit-inducing boat. It’s all a study in contrasts. Not surprisingly, Scheffler’s journey both fuels as well as tempers the stoke. What you do with it is up to you, but I’m feeling the need to travel. This is a good one to bring with you on a trip to Indo—after all, it seems like you’ll have plenty of down time to read. (February 2013)

Island Explorer - Dan Scheffler

Details

Category: Non-Fiction

Reading Style: Medium

Pages: 175

Pub Date: 2012

Tags: Surfing