A long, underrated left off North Sipora that runs over 200 yards into the Curry Bowl, one of the central Mentawai's most consistent waves.
Scarecrows breaks off the northern end of Sipora, in the central Mentawai, a short boat run south of Telescopes. It is a left-hand reef, and for most of its surfing life it has sat in its famous neighbour's shadow. Telescopes gets the photographs and the boats. Scarecrows just keeps working. Ask anyone who has spent a season in this part of the chain and they will tell you the same thing: it is the wave they end up surfing most.
Its reputation is built on consistency rather than drama. Scarecrows picks up almost every bit of swell that reaches this stretch of reef, holds shape through a wide range of conditions, and gives up rides well past 200 yards when the lines are marching in. The end section, known as the Curry Bowl, is the part people remember: a proper inside barrel that spits you out into deep water. It is a public break and the charter fleet knows about it, but it rarely carries the numbers Telescopes does.
The wave
The wave starts wide and works its way along a reef that is more forgiving than most in this part of the chain, which is a large part of why it feels approachable. There is no single peak to fight over. Sets swing through several take-off spots along the ledge, so a lineup of ten or twelve surfers spreads out rather than stacking up. Depending on the set, the drop is either a deep, instant cover-up or a big wedging ramp that lets you get to your feet and set a line.
From there it is a long racing wall. The middle third is the carving section, an open face with enough push behind it to reward committed turns and enough length that most surfers run out of legs before the wave runs out of reef. Two hundred yards is normal here rather than a boast, and the paddle back is long enough that most people use the channel.
Then comes the Curry Bowl. The reef shallows up at the end of the ride and the wave bends into a tight, hollow finish before releasing into the channel. Size and tide change its character completely. Chest high on a full tide it is a cruisy, rippable left. Push it to four feet and over on a dropping high and the whole thing tightens, the sections join up and it becomes a serious wave. At low tide the Curry Bowl gets thin and unforgiving, which is when it pays best and hurts most.
Conditions at a glance
- Wave type: Left-hand reef break
- Best swell: South to south-west groundswell
- Best wind: Light east, anywhere from east-north-east through to south-east
- Best tide: Mid to high, many rate a dropping high tide best
- Best size: Chest high to double overhead, comes alive from around four feet
- Season: April to October, peak May to September
- Crowd: Quieter than Telescopes, and that is much of the appeal. Several take-off spots along the reef spread a lineup out, though charter boats do stop here and it can get busy on a good swell.
- Where: near Simakakang, Central Mentawai
Who it suits
Scarecrows is an intermediate-and-up wave, and on the right day it is one of the friendlier quality lefts in the central Mentawai. Chest to head high on a fuller tide, with several take-off options and reasonable water over the reef, a confident intermediate who can paddle into a solid wave and hold a rail will get long, satisfying rides here. It is a good place to build reef confidence without the punishment Telescopes hands out when it is on.
That changes as it gets bigger. Over head high the take-off steepens, the sections link up and the inside becomes genuinely hazardous, particularly on a draining tide when the Curry Bowl is running over shallow coral. Wear booties, know where the end of the ride is before you take off, and if this is your first Mentawai reef break, surf it small first. Goofy-footers get the forehand run, so regular-footers should be comfortable riding backhand in the tube.
How to surf Scarecrows with WaveBorn
Scarecrows sits in the home patch of Sunset Surf Villas. The villa is on Pulau Simakakang in the central Mentawai, sleeps up to six, and runs a dedicated private boat that reaches nine named breaks inside 15 to 25 minutes. That proximity is the point. You can look at Scarecrows at dawn, surf somewhere else while the tide fills, then come back in the afternoon when the wind swings. No committee, no waiting on a fleet.
Both charters reach it as well. Ombak Kabau takes up to ten guests for eleven nights and ten surf days, roaming the entire Mentawai chain in search of swell, so the central reefs come into play whenever the forecast points this way. Odyssey Mentawai, our 46ft catamaran, carries up to eight with a surf pro on board and works the Mentawai as well as the quieter Tello Islands. On either boat, a good Scarecrows day is an easy call to make.
Trips that reach it: Sunset Surf Villas , Ombak Kabau and Odyssey Mentawai .
Nearby breaks
Scarecrows sits within easy reach of Telescopes, Icelands, Ombak Tidur and Tikus , which is what makes this part of the archipelago so productive: if the wind or swell does not suit one reef, another is usually working a short ride away.
More breaks in Central Mentawai
- Lance's Right : A perfect, photogenic right-hand barrel and probably the most photographed wave in Indonesia.
- Lance's Left : A long, consistent left that wraps down the reef at Katiet in three sections, from a shallow barrel up top to rippable walls on the inside.
- Suicides : A fickle, fast barrelling left off north-west Sipora that stays empty because most crews take one look at it and keep going.
- Doughnuts : A fickle, expert-only left off North Sipora that barrels hard over shallow coral on the rare days it switches on.
- Bintangs : A short, dredging right across the channel from Lance's Left that turns on when the north wind ruins everything else in the bay.
Conditions here are a guide, not a guarantee. Our crew reads the swell, wind and tide each morning and puts you on the break that matches your surfing that day. See the full Mentawai surf spots guide or browse every break we surf.