One of Sumatra's longest lefts: a 200 metre reef point at Tanjung Setia that barrels at the top, walls down the line and rarely goes flat.
Also known as Karang Nyimbor.
Ujung Bocur, known locally as Karang Nyimbor, is the wave that put the Krui coast on the map. It is a long left that wraps around a coral reef at Tanjung Setia, a fishing village a short run south of Krui town in Pesisir Barat, Lampung, on the south-west coast of Sumatra. The reef sits wide open to the Indian Ocean and picks up almost anything moving, which is why it has a reputation as the most consistent wave on this coast.
Most surfers who have been there will tell you it is Sumatra's longest and best left, and on the right swell that is hard to argue with. It barrels and grinds along roughly 200 metres of reef, and on the days everything lines up the rides keep going past that. The catch is that it is reached by road rather than by boat, so it is no secret and it is rarely empty.
The wave
The take-off sits on the outside corner at the top of the reef, and that is the heaviest part of the wave. On a solid swell it stands up and dredges over the shallowest coral on the point, and a good one throws a proper barrel before spitting you onto the wall. Get the timing wrong and you are the one getting thrown, so watch a few sets from the beach before committing to that peak.
From there it is speed and sections. The next hundred metres is feathering lips and open face, the kind of wall built for top turns and long carving cutbacks, before it tightens up and races for the channel. Paddling out, you either go around through the channel at the end of the reef or walk over the reef top and time your entry between sets. Find the channel before you go, because at low tide it is the only sensible way back in.
Tide and swell angle change it completely. Low tide draws the water off the reef and turns it into a fast, hollow racetrack with little margin, while a mid tide on the push fills it out into something far more forgiving. A south-west swell lines the reef up best, roughly 205 to 210 degrees. More west puts extra barrel into the top section, while a straight south swell arrives wide and disjointed and often misses the outside corner. It works from waist high and holds well overhead, getting more serious the bigger it gets.
Conditions at a glance
- Wave type: Left-hand reef point break
- Best swell: South-west is the magic angle, roughly 205 to 210 degrees. More west in the swell puts extra barrel into the top section. A straight south swell arrives wide and disjointed.
- Best wind: South-east through east. The dry season trades blow offshore here most mornings.
- Best tide: All tides work. Mid tide on the push is the sweet spot. Low tide is shallower, hollower and far less forgiving.
- Best size: Rideable from waist high, best from head high to a couple of feet overhead, and it holds well beyond that.
- Season: April to October, the dry season, when Indian Ocean swell is most consistent and the trades sit offshore.
- Crowd: This is the best known wave on the coast and it is reached by road rather than by boat, so it is rarely empty. Peak season can put 40 to 80 surfers on a 200 metre wave, and etiquette gets thin when it is that busy, so dawn starts and smaller days are worth the early alarm.
- Where: Krui coast, Krui, South Sumatra
Who it suits
This is an intermediate to advanced wave, and how hard it is depends almost entirely on the day you pick. On a mid tide at head high, with the wall running rather than dredging, a confident intermediate who can surf a reef and hold a rail will get long, rewarding waves here. You need to be comfortable taking off under a lip, riding a long wave without falling on the shallow parts, and getting yourself back out. Plenty of guides rate the spot advanced, and on the bigger days and the lower tides that is the honest call.
Below that, be honest and pick your moment. At low tide, or once it pushes past a couple of feet overhead, this is not a wave for less experienced surfers. The reef is live coral, shallow at the top and along the inside, with sea urchins, stonefish and fire coral, and proper medical help is a long drive away. The bigger risk is often the crowd: in peak season the lineup can hold 40 to 80 surfers on a 200 metre wave, and drop-ins and loose boards do more damage than the reef. If you cannot hold your position in a busy lineup, surf it at dawn or on a smaller day.
How to surf Ujung Bocur with WaveBorn
We reach Ujung Bocur from Jenny's Bamboo Surfcamp, our bamboo camp with private suites on the Krui coast. Four waves break out the front of the camp and around a dozen named breaks sit within scooter range along this stretch of coast, and Ujung Bocur is one of the runs down the coast road. Boards on the side of the bike, a short trip, and you are looking at the point before most people have finished breakfast.
The way we surf it is simple: go early. Dawn patrol before the vans arrive from the other camps, then come back on the pushing tide when the crowd has thinned and the wall has filled in. If it is a circus, there are other breaks within the same scooter range that are not, and the family know which of them is working. Bring booties for the low tide sessions, and ask us about the entry before you paddle out, because the way in and out has changed over the years.
Trips that reach it: Jenny's Bamboo Surfcamp .
Nearby breaks
Ujung Bocur sits within easy reach of Way Jambu, Volcanoes, Mandiri Beach and Krui Left , 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 Krui, South Sumatra
- Jenny's Right : A quiet right-hand reef break north of Krui that comes alive on wet season north-westerlies, when the rest of this coast has gone onshore.
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.