G-LAND,  JAVA

Ok, so Indonesia already has a cracking stop on tour. But if Europe’s allowed to have two… well how many should Indo have? Five???

An extremely long, world-class, barrelling left-hand reef break located in a nature reserve on the south east of Java, G-Land featured on tour for three successive years in the mid-90s. Such was its success that the 1995 inaugural edition (won by Kelly who went on to claim his 3rd world title that year) is credited for spawning the concept that would later be dubbed the ‘Dream Tour’. However, the event then came to a sudden halt due to mounting political instability and civil unrest in the region.

In 2011, rumours emerged that Quiksilver was in negotiation with the ASP to return to G-Land to fill a 2-month mid-season break. In the end, nothing came of it. But were it to feature back on tour, G-Land would once again favour the world’s elite goofyfooters much in the same way Mundaka used to. But in contrast to Mundaka it’s a wave that’s extremely consistent in season due to its exposure to juice generated by lows off the Antarctic.

So what are G-Land’s chances of really finding itself back on tour? Well with there still being a one-month gap in world tour action in July, G-Land would fit in just sweet after Bali but challenging logistics, a continued threat of terrorism and a still very subdued surf industry will all need to be addressed.