B A B E S I N T O Y L A N DT H E G R E AT B A L I G R E E N S C H O O L/R I P C U R L/S U R F T I M E

G - L A N D E X P E R I M E N TPhotographed by Tommy Schultz

Not your average field trip. This year’s venue for the Bali Green School Grajagan project, the view from Joyo’s G-land Surf Camp never disappoints. For more visit www.G-Land.com or Gland_explorer@yahoo.com

Finn Shonfelder, 9yrs. Surfer. Student. Writer. Dreamer.

B A B E S I N T O Y L A N D

On November 20, 2014, the Bali Green School, Rip Curl and Surftime Magazine launched a very ambitious High school Field trip. The students,

ages 9 to 17, gathered at Dawn on Kuta Beach to hop in the jet boat to Joyo’s G-Land surf Camp for a four day Jungle surf trip in world class waves. The students would be participating in Surftime’s SERF Academy creative writing class and, compliments of Rip Curl’s Pete Matthews, they would also be building their own surfboard from scratch and surfing it. The unforgettable experience instilled a respect for writing, Ocean awareness and a far better understanding of the toil and craftsmanship that goes into the boards we ride. The following are excerpts from five of the student’s final writing projects.

Writing on WaterBy Elle O’Brien, 16yrs

“Impressions come to me like a song. The flames crackle blue as bright lights streak across the sky. The Milky Way displayed like a giant billboard in the sky above. Gangly kids with tousled hair and sun kissed noses sit around the fire. The sweet taste of salt and ash and smoke on their tongues. Drums, guitars, grownups and their beer. The gush of the tide and its crashing waves a continuous soundtrack. My scratching pencil, like charcoal melting onto the page, dripping like blood. My big toe scraped along the coral like a blade on a man’s whiskery chin. And I can remember the exact glint of the sun, the reflection on the water. The sun as big as three moons”.

Killer WhaleBy Jivana Sweeney, 16yrs

“I am gliding through the water breathing in the sea life, exploring different places. Though something is feeling very painful and uncomfortable. It’s that damn hook in my tail, put in by those humans. I quite like the humans. I don’t wish to cause them any harm but they do not seem to think the same for me. I like to watch the humans dangling their feet off their surfboards as I swim and sway through the ocean. I like to hear their feet swishing about embracing the water as I do. I love to see their elegant strokes pushing against the water. The surfers too, are lovers of the ocean. It is my home. That is why I don’t understand why they wish to hurt me. The water is fresh and clean today, I can’t

With a blank and materials being provided by Rip Curl, the idea was to have the students build a surfboard on site. From Scratch. And then surf it. Guided by master Australian board builder Glen McNeil, here Elle O’Brien and Lily Tehan put final shaping touches on the Bali Green School Magic G-land Board. In the end, it ripped.

Jivana Sweeney, 16yrs, writer, Surfer, Student JJ Fijal and Miro Nutzi taking shape.

get enough of the taste. Someday’s it is not so clean. Rather very polluted which again is done by the humans. I wonder if any of these surfers paddling above would help to get this silly hook out of me. But I remember, they’re probably frightened of me. I hope one day they will respect me as I respect them. Their name for me is all wrong”

HurtBy Finn Schonfelder, 9yrs

“I walked up to my friends. When I arrived my friend greeted me by saying “go away, nobody likes you”. The first emotion that hit me was anger. But then sadness hit my heart. It was a sort of pain that just kept going and it hurt really bad. When I tried to stand up for myself all the guys called me names. Now it was me against five. So I went to my cabin, alone, still having that terrible feeling. Then I started to write about it. It made me feel alot better. I was very thankful to the Surftime teacher for giving me this life skill”.

G-land, Great land By Wilfred Stewart, 14yrs

As I arrived at G-Land, I heard crashing waves. Cheers went up as we approached these giants. I felt my toe stub on the staircase as I ran into the bungalow to get ready. Blood dripped. I smelt the off-shore sea breeze bouncing off Poseidon’s face. I tasted nerves boiling up inside of me when I entered the water.

The Trip That Makes Us Who We AreBy Miro Nutzi, 16yrs

I heard a stillness in the Jungle. Not a word. Dreaming about how you take off and just look up at that long, elegant face. I jump out of the bus and get my board off the roof. I walk down the path through a small part of a big rain forest, my right hand stretched out to touch the massive trees. I get to the beach and stand there, feeling it. I run in to the water. I start paddling. I feel every stroke. A wave comes. I turn. I paddle. It’s mine. I jump to my feet and feel what other people can only dream about. I concentrate. I get low on the face and I get higher again. I taste the salty air on my tongue. Then I fall, flying into the water. I stay there for a while. Feeling it again. That feeling. And the only thing I think about is how alive I am. So happy to be the person I am.

The Joyo’s G-Land Camp schoolroom. The only distraction was the sound of perfect surf on the outer reefs. The Rip Curl test boards included this Alan Byrne super blade. Like kids in a candy store, the students had access to them all. JJ Fijal feels the magic.

Finn O’Shea, 15, won the honor of riding the student made board for the first time.

Finn, Paddling out with that magic feeling of being on a board you help build yourself.

Finn’s first drop on the magic board. Maybe dreams really are windows into another universe.

A dream come true. Miro Nutzi and Elle O’Brien select their Rip Curl Test boards for the day.

Young Brazilian Master Petta. The bravest, strongest surfer of the bunch.

Not your normal classroom.

Always first in, Finn Schonfelder awaits his destiny aboard the Tiger Tracks express.

It was all smiles for Wilfred Stewart. The students decided this was the stringer message for the Bali Green School Magic board.

Rip Curl’s Pete Matthews, far right, sharing his experiences with the Teachers and students. Left to right: Eduardo Petta, Colin Kuit, Steve McDonald, Jade McGraw, Finn Schonfelder and Baxter O’Shea. No other classroom in the world even comes close.