The MV Indies Trader is based on a 12 day/13 night schedule:
1. February 12 – February 25
2. February 26 – March 10
3. March 11 – March 24
4. March 25 – April 7
5. April 8 – April 21
6. April 22 – May 5
7. May 6 – May 19
8. May 20 – June 2
9. June 3 – June 16
10. June 17 – June 30
11. July 1 – July 14
12. July 15 – July 28
13. July 29 – August 11
14. August 12 – August 25
15. August 26 – September 8
16. September 9 – September 22
17. September 23 – October 6
18. October 7 – October 20
19. October 21 – November 3
20. November 4 – November 17
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2010 Booking Information:
For bookings made in 2009 a 25% deposit is required to secure the booking, bookings made in 2010
require a 50% deposit to secure the booking, with the balance payable 60 days before the charter start date. Bookings that have not had a deposit paid are considered open and may be taken by other groups, so we encourage you to pay a deposit to ensure your preferred dates are secure. PLEASE NOTE: There is a compulsory charge of $60 per person per trip on all boats for Medivac Insurance.
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2010 Pricing
Available upon request
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What is included?
This trip includes the following advantages:
What is not included? MV Indies Trader Slideshow To "Make a Reservation" or if you have an inquiry please fill out the following form and hit "Submit". How to Book
If you are interested in booking your next adventure on the MV Indies Trader all you need to do is follow the instructions below.
1. Make Contact: The first thing you need to do is contact us with your requested dates using the contact information at the bottom of this page. We are available 24 hours a day to handle your needs. In general we do not handle individual bookings – all of our vessels are available on a daily rate basis.
2. Confirm Dates and Make Deposit: Once we have confirmed your dates we require a 25% - 50% deposit to secure your booking. This deposit is preferably made by wire transfer to our account in Singapore or via check to our United States account.
3. Fill out our Event Invitation form: Now that your dates are set and your payment is in we need to get some basic information from all of the members in your group. This information will be used to secure the necessary permits to allow you to travel in the Mentawai Islands or in other areas we are traveling.
4. Book your airline tickets: Please Feel Free to contact us regarding the best way to get to Padang.
Main: +61 8 9286 1474
Mobile: +61 417 970 411
Indies Trader Marine Adventures Ltd.
indiestrader@indiestrader.com
martin@indiestrader.com
Skype: martindaly1
Contact: Martin & Lee Daly
5. Make final payment: Your final payment is due two months prior to your trip's departure. Once that's in along with the information from our event invitation form you're all set to go!
6. Show up: Rule #1 is to remember to not miss your flight.believe us, it can happen to anyone. Once you've made it on the right flight, endured a trip halfway across the world, and landed in Padang we will be there to pick you up and take you to your surf charter vessel.
7. Surf: Once you're on the boat everything is taken care of !
* Please Note: that cost of each trip is based on a flat rate per day, less passengers increases the cost per person proportionally.
In March of 1999 Quiksilver launched a refitted MV Indies Trader on a voyage of discovery. Her mission was fourfold:
What is the Quiksilver Crossing?
The Quiksilver Crossing is a voyage of surfing discovery on board the surf exploration vessel, the Indies Trader. The boat left from Cairns in Queensland, Australia in March 1999 and has journeyed east across the South Pacific, Indonesia and the Mentawais, across the Indian Ocean to the Maldives and South Africa, through the Mediterranean to Europe, then on to Brazil and up to Central America and the Caribbean. The Crossing has just recently completed a tour of the east coast of America, which included a trip to Canada via the Great Lakes before heading back down to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi river. Currently the Crossing is has finished and the boat is back doing surf charter work in the Mentawai Islands.
Why undertake this expedition?
By nature, surfers travel to explore and find new surfing areas. At Quiksilver we are passionate about surfing and we would like to see more areas around the world preserved primarily for surfing. Surfing can be a low-impact activity as opposed to other activities like extractive fishing, using dynamite and cyanide poisoning, which is short-term gain and obviously destructive, or overwhelming tourism which has little or no regard for the local people and environment.
With the Crossing we hope to contribute to environmentally friendly, and sustainable, practices in regards to surfing in locations which are basically pristine. To do this, we have to start with a baseline of knowledge. At Quiksilver we don't pretend to have all the answers but by making berths available on the Crossing for marine biologists, and other scientists, we are endeavouring to increase the knowledge of the intrinsic value of the various locations so they can be preserved for future generations.
Who is on the boat?
The full complement is 13 people. The crew consists of the captain and the cook and three Indonesian crew members. There are also eight berths in four cabins and the people usually change every two weeks. The usual makeup of a trip is four surfers, one marine biologist, a stills photographer and a cinematographer. Sometimes a writer is on board, or else another stills photographer or surfer.
What type of boat is the Indies Trader?
The Indies Trader is a 75-foot diving and survey vessel constructed of steel with an aluminum wheelhouse. It weighs 95 tonnes and has a cruising speed of eight knots. It was originally built in Brisbane, Australia, in 1972 and was rebuilt in Singapore in 1992. In 1999 it was specifically customized for the Crossing and has been painted with a Polynesian motif.
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Relevant links for the Crossing:
"The MV Indies Trader is the most capable, no bullshit, surf charter boat on the planet" exclaims Martin Daly "I'm excited to get it back to its original stomping grounds in Sumatra. As we have moved into the upper end of the surf charter market over the years I'm stoked to be able to give the regular bloke a chance to share our experience with an affordable surf trip on a boat that is a huge part of surfing history." Standard Trip (Mentawai Islands): The standard trip duration is 12 days / 13 nights, two days longer than most of our competitors. We stay out for these two extra days to ensure that our guests have the opportunity to surf at least one solid swell during their stay, but in all likelihood we usually encounter two, sometimes three significant swell events during our scheduled charter dates. If you're going to travel halfway across the world those two extra days are worth their weight in gold. 8 guests maximum.
Extended Trip (North Sumatra): The extended trip duration is 14 days / 15 nights and designed to take you way, way off the beaten track. North Sumatra consists of five distinct island groups: the Banyaks, Hinakos, Nias, Simuelue, and Telos. Whereas the waves in the Mentawai Islands are ideal for surfers looking for a quick, surgical strike in a short period of time - the waves in North Sumatra are more spread out and require a laid back attitude and temperance. In general. a good number of spots in North Sumatra are larger than the Mentawai's - the waves are slightly more fickle, but fortunately most spots remain virtually empty with the exception of Nias and its surrounding area.
Due to the sensitive nature of this area Indies Trader Marine Adventures will not be posting a huge amount of information, photos, or video about this area. We'd like to keep it as much of a "secret" as possible. It's up to you to decide if you're ready to embark on the ultimate surf charter trip - we're confident that a trip on the "MV Indies Trader " can make it happen.
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Technical Specifications
Vessel Type: Diving and Survey
Construction: Steel with aluminum wheelhouse
Length Overall: 75 feet (22.86m)
Year Built: 1972 KB Welding, Brisbane, to Commonwealth of Australia
Year Rebuilt: 1992 Pandan shipyard, Singapore,
Weight: 95 tons
Cruising Speed: 9 knots
Range: 5000 nautical miles
Auxiliary Boats: 17 foot Runabout with 60hp Outboard - 2x1200hp Yamaha Waverunners
Safety Certificates: Vessel holds Honduras Safety Certificate, International Loadlines Certificate, Ship Safety Radio Certificate, and is surveyed annually.
Safety Equipment: 2 x 10 man life rafts, 1 rescue boat, 18 life jackets, handflares, Parachute flares, Red Signal Smoke, dual frequency EPIRB distress beacon, 8 life rings with strobes
Accomodation: 4 x two berth air conditioned (total 8 passengers)
Crew: Captain, engineer plus four crew.
Entertainment: 30 inch flat screenTV, VHS, Laser Disk, DVD, Stereo, BOSE Sound System
Communication: Marine Radio (SSB Main/SSB Stab=ndby/VHF/4xhandheld), Inmarsat telephone and fax - Internet capable
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Indies Trader
Main: +61 8 9286 1474
Mobile: +61 417 970 411
Indies Trader Marine Adventures Ltd.
indiestrader@indiestrader.com
martin@indiestrader.com
Skype: martindaly1
Contact: Martin & Lee Daly
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Indies Trader boats the best alternative?
1. Our trips are 20% longer than the other boats.
2. We go further and travel more in search of the best, uncrowded waves. Everyone knows fuel is expensive now - the price doubled last year and this year it has doubled again. We make sure we have enough margin to concentrate on getting the best waves no matter how many miles we have to travel.
3. We have better food prepared by western chefs and all drinks are included. We feel that the last thing you need to do on a surf trip is worry about the small stuff so we decided to just throw everything in for one price. Check whether you’re going to end up with a large bar tab when comparing prices.
4. Reliability: We maintain a fully staffed office in Padang, our own workshop and warehouse, our own repair facility and wharf. We have ex-pat engineers and shipwrights. Our boats are better maintained and if something does go wrong we have someone that can fix it, have the spare parts on hand, and have the logistical ability to solve problems that would end your trip with other operators. We don’t cancel trips, we don’t leave people stranded, we always come through.
5. Safety: Our vessels are insured and surveyed. If you get hurt we will get you out of there and into professional care faster than anyone else. We provide Medivac insurance that works. We carry the most extensive first aid and medical kits.
6. Staff: Our qualified Captains, Chefs, Engineers, and Crew are the highest paid in the Industry. You get what you pay for! Many of our staff have been with us over 10 years some as long as 20.
Why does Indies Trader do longer trips than other boats? Our trips are 12 days to make sure you have great surf on your trip! It is a matter of odds! The swell cycle in the Indian Ocean is 3 to 4 on, 3 to 4 off, 3 to 4 on. We learnt this in the days before there was internet surf forecasting. What this means is that if you spend 10 days out there you can get skunked if you get a whole swell off cycle and a dropping and rising part of a new cycle. If you spend 12 days you are guaranteed at least one swell and generally get two on your trip. On a 10 day trip, worst case, you can arrive as the swell is peaking, then dropping for 3 days, then deal with a 4 day flat spell. Why risk flying to the other side of the world for a surf trip and not stack the odds of scoring in your favor?
Other companies claim they have faster boats. Isn’t faster better? Faster is sometimes better if you can afford it. The reality is with today’s fuel prices no one is cruising faster than 10 knots even if their boats are capable of going faster. There are a lot of exaggerated claims. For example on one of our competitor's website they claim a 2,000 mile range at 26 knots. Truth? The boat did 24 knots once when new and unloaded, it actually has a range of less than 500 nm. Spends most of the time doing 8 knots and can maintain a max speed of 14 knots loaded. You are better off with a bigger more comfortable boat that can do 10 knots all the time than a smaller lighter boat designed to plane that is only doing eight to ten knots. Remember the boat is essentially a floating hotel, the actual quality of accommodation and personal space onboard is more important than than saving half an hour getting between breaks.
Indies Trader Photo Galleries:
Indies Trader Contact Information: