• RipCurl The Search – The Seven Ghosts

    On March 20, 2011 Rip Curl’s Oney Anwar and original Searcher Tom Curren followed the latest Tip 2 Tip odyssey deep into the heart of Indonesia to be part of a groundbreaking mission to the freshly discovered, flawless waves of a remote river known by the nearby village as the Seven Ghosts…Crocs, swamped skis, lost zodiacs and overhead barrels where just some of the highlights of what Curren described as the most amazing Search trip in 20 years. You just start to mindsurf these waves when you see them,says veteran photographer Ted Grambeau of the mesmerising Seven Ghosts tidal bore, deep in the heart of the Indonesian jungle.

    Oney has seen more than a few perfect lineups over his career, but this one was different. They flew 17 kilometers point-to-point in the chopper but they were surfing the winding course of the river. Blue and salty has been traded for brown and brackish. No one really knows what they signed up for. Tidal bores are waist-high novelties, hardly worth trekking up a wild equatorial river for. But fuelled by the biggest moon in 20 years, this Bono promises to be different. Oney wakes up in the tiny river town to wailing from the minarets and cacophony of sparrows, whose nest the local farm for soup. The river mist hangs thick, eerie. think the locals were very superstitious about the wave, states Ted Grambeau. “I heard one guy explain the story of the seven ghost. I assumed the seven ghost refer to people who have been taken by the wave.” Oney took a full quiver of Bombay Blues and Silent savage models to surf the wave and regards it as one of the most special trips ever.