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Island Transport |
| In giving our guests the local Mentawai experience, at Pitstop Hill we have three new local style longboats. These boats are essentially huge dug-out canoes (our largest is nearly 30 feet long) that have been widened, strengthened and fitted with such necessary additions as surfboard racks, comfortable seating and a roof to shade us from the hot sun. These luxury canoes run with two 40hp Yamaha outboards which give us a cruising speed of around 20 knots and even the option of making the crossing back to mainland Sumatra in as little as four and a half hours (a bit longer in rough conditions) should the need arise. Our guests spend a lot of time in these boats, going surfing, fishing and sightseeing and we believe that they add a lot to the Mentawai experience, in comfort and style of course. Another positive aspect of this choice of boat is that they are made locally in Siberut, just to the north of Pitstop Hill. This not only means that their design has evolved especially to suit the conditions we operate in in the Mentawais, but also their acquisition puts funds directly into our local community. Our boat drivers are just as proficient steering these boats around our local islands, bays and reefs, as any of our guests are behind the wheel of their car back home, it’s impressive to watch. New for 2010 we also have a six metre western style dinghy with a 40hp Yamaha outboard for running in and out of the bay at Pitstop to pick up guests from the fast boat, or for when the swell gets a bit bigger and the longboats are too long to bring into the bay. Also sometimes used for trips to the closer to home breaks in the area...
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