Testimonials
Testimonials from our time running surf charters in Indonesia. Currently onboard with the team at Pelagic Surf Charters, thanks to everyone who joined us on a trip this year.
Steve Yamamoto - November 2024 (Pelagic Surf Charters)
Thanks, and yes we had a great trip! decent surf the whole time, and the fishing was off the charts. But most of all, we were all super-stoked with Luke and the crew. This was my 4th trip on the Pelagic and 2nd trip with Luke and as far as I can tell, he may be the best captain/surf guide in the Mentawais. He’s organized, safety-conscious and consistently got us to the spots that were the best fit for us given the conditions. For almost all of our sessions, we were the only boat there which was amazing and largely thanks to Luke’s reading of the situation.
Kevin Conlon - October 2024 (Pelagic Surf Charters)
Now its always great to have good waves which you can sometime be lucky and sometimes not but what a fantastic trip very lucky. Taking away the waves following feedback. Luke was fantastic, the right amount of interaction and excellent customer service. Most of us have businesses and would really like to acknowledge Luke. The fact that Luke is also a photographer was also a bonus as well. Just a great human being designed to do what he is doing, hold onto him. If he lived and worked in Australia I would poach him in a heartbeat and find any spot for him in my organistion.
Todd Alexis - March 2023 (Pelagic Surf Charters)
Some of us had the pleasure of having Luke as our Surf Captain back in 2019. He more than exceeded our known expectations this time around. You are very lucky to have Luke onboard. He is an outstanding surf captain who thinks clearly and listens well, with great communication skills and professionalism. He is obviously well liked amoung other surf captains and crews on other charters, from what I could see, he was always welcomed with open arms. He constantly delivered a memorable surfing experience for everyone. Luke also captured our daily activities on film exceptionally well, he spent hours in the water and put together a slideshow for us every evening. Some late afternoon footage from thunders needs to be seen to believed.
Tom Lucas - March 2023 (Sumatran Safaris)
Luke's deep understanding of surf breaks combined with his dedication and fitness enable him to sustain the most incredible positions when taking water shots. He knows the right spots to be at, at the right time and his infectious energy gets the grouped amped-up pre-surf while his calls and loud laughter keep the momentum going throughout the sessions.
Tyler Muir - June 2022 (Pelagic Surf Charters)
Just wanted to take a moment to say how incredible our trip on the Pelagic was (June 15-25th). A big part of that was our captain Luke Cromwell and our crew who truly went above and beyond. Luke read our group perfectly, dialed us into a mix of uncrowded waves (we scored virtually every day of the trip), and always had a plan but was flexible to change it if conditions changed. On top of that he put together amazing photos and videos of our sessions. He's also just an all around great person. Couldn't have been happier. The rest of the crew was fantastic as well (had no idea the food would be that good!
Adam Percia - July 2022 (Pelagic Surf Charters)
Just wanted to touch base and say thanks so much for
organizing the trip for us. That was my 6th time to ments and 4th on the
pelagic and my gosh I’ve never seen waves like that! We absolutely scored. So
stoked. The crew are absolute legends and were always going over and above to
make sure we were having a good time. Luke was a standout captain. Best I've
had yet. He made the perfect calls but was always happy to consider where the
boys wanted to score and shaped his calls around us. Really nice guy will stay
in touch with him for sure. Stab posted one of dads waves on their Instagram
today! Mental Greenbush. We’ve got plenty of photos and vids, I cant wait to
put a vid together. Will make sure to tag pelagic in all the posts.
Thanks again yeeeewwwwwww
Russell Delroy - July 2019 (Tengirri Surf Charters)
Just wanted to let you know I had the best, most professional trip I’ve ever had through Indonesia with Lukey and the crew! I couldn’t speak more highly of the way Luke skippers the boat – he’s incredibly professional, super enthusiastic and always attentive to getting the best service possible to the guests. His management of and work with the crew was outstanding and he looked after me so so well when the head injury was looking quite sketchy. A true professional and a top bloke!
Connor Bray - July 2019 (Tengirri Surf Charters)
Luke… Where to start with this guy… All of us could not be luckier than to have scored a captain/guide like Luke. He was so knowledgeable and put us in the barrel every single day. He knew what we could and couldn’t handle and would help push ourselves into better, deeper barrels. He was super professional, never missed a beat but was also super friendly and awesome to be around. He got us on the waves FIRST every single morning and would get us out of bed with a pump up song at 5 AM every day. We were constantly first in the water surfing uncrowded perfect waves. I could not believe how much time he spent in the water taking photos, it was hours and hours and he always had an edit of the best photos and videos ready for us at dinner. We for sure would not have gotten half the barrels and waves we got without Luke’s cool, confident encouragement to sit deeper and take proper set waves. I have never seen such a perfect mix of professionalism and fun. We all had 100% trust in Luke to put us on the right waves and to keep us safe during crossings and any maneuvering of the boat. You can really see his passion for the water and for getting his crew barreled off their heads while keeping them safe as his number 1 priority.
Todd Alexis - May 2018 (Tengirri Surf Charters)
A number of factors contributed to its success. Luke was simply an outstanding surf captain; one of the best we have ever had. Not only did he deliver good uncrowded waves consistently, but he did so with a level of strategic thinking, communication and professionalism that I have not had the pleasure of witnessing before. He listened and was well attuned to each of us. Together with Nick, we all felt that they did everything they possibly could with the prevailing conditions to ensure that everyone had a great day everyday both in and out of the water.
Nick Lawson October 2017 (Tengirri Surf Charters)
And then there's Luke. When you have a team of people working on something, good stuff really only all comes together because of where the leadership exists. Luke's awesome. It's not lost on me that our trip was (I think) the 18th of the season. That's a lot of time entertaining, organising, hosting, and considering everyone's needs, whether surfing or beers or food, for a lot of probably very different people, and he could have been forgiven for being tired or over it. Not Luke...Luke just bashed it out of the park. Always thinking of things, always asking whether we needed stuff, unfailingly encouraging whenever any of us may have felt we had an ordinary session, great in his seamanship and security around the boat without being a drag, indefatigable and artistic in his photography and videoing, and capable of being up for anything the guys wanted to do. Wanted us to get waves and went where the waves were going to be. Most hospitable host at sundowners. Just a great bloke to have running the show. He seemed to have an excellent touch with the crew and nothing was any trouble for him ever...even surfboard repairs. Say thanks to him for me...he made the trip...
Steve Byrnes July 2015 (Tengirri Surf Charters)
I just wanted to let you know the trip was amazing – My best
surf trip yet!
There were many things that helped make the trip so good but I think the
biggest one was Luke.
I come to the Mentawais cause every surfer has to. I didn’t expect to get many
waves and I expected it to be crowded.
It was quite the opposite. We seemed always one step ahead of the other boats
and had waves to ourselves a lot of the trip. It seemed like the other boats
were following us and always seemed to arrive after we had already had a good
session. Talking to other people in the water that wasn’t the case for them.
He was also great with explaining what was going on each day and in particular
for me giving me some advice on the different breaks. He went out of his way to
get everyone the waves they were chasing and was very professional. Something
that seems to be rare these days in the surf charter industry.
Also the time the guys put into taking photo’s and filming, in particular Luke with the editing. Many many hours every day. It really made the trip to have some pictures and video to look at each evening and especially something to take home.
Steve Byrnes, Gold Coast (Australia) April 2014.