Firewire dealer in Taiwan with demo models

[Slowman]

I'm putting this up for a couple of reasons; one to help a friend and two, because there is no information on the dealers page (yet!). I was looking to get a Hellfire in Taiwan to save the hassle of taking one over it turned out by fortunate coincidence a friend is a dealer.

My friend, Turtle, owns a surf shop called the Surfer Inn ( see http://www.surferinn.com.tw/ ) and he has demo boards available too. It's on the NE coast of Taiwan in Toucheng (about 40-50 minutes drive from Taipei). Go to his website for contact details (his Chinese name is Lee, Yo-Lin but Turtle is easy to remember). There is even a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E8%A1%9D%E6%B5%AA%E5%AE%A2%E6%A3%A7-Surfer-Inn/120953131315887) with a few pictures of the demo models. He speaks English too in case you were wondering.

Here's a picture so you know what you are looking for:
838
It's tricky to locate here's a map link (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=surfer+inn+toucheng&fb=1&hq=surfer+inn&hnear=0x3467f634b665ffff:0x4fc406d3d0227bdf,Touche ng,+Yilan+County,+Taiwan&cid=0,0,3404399679545444458&ei=YHD9T7PxGIyHmQXF072xBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CH4Q_BIwAw&oi=local_group) It's just off highway #2.

I have seen another surf shop on highway #2 with the Firewire logo on a sign outside so I'm guessing they are also a dealer. May as well add if you know of any.

[prjwebb]

How's the surf in Taiwan Slowman? And what time of year is the best season? Never really looked into it before.

[Slowman]

Ha ha PRJ, July is about the worst month! Unless there is a typhoon the waves are typically small summer dribble in the 1-3' range. It's been 1' all this week. Winter is usually good but there are no typhoons but usually plenty of swell anyway varying from 2' to 10'. I've had good waves quite a few times around November/December but a lot of the time my visits are based on other timing factors and yet most times I come here I score something good. Different parts of the island have different optimum times but nowhere is more than 5 hours away, so it is possible to chase waves if you have the time.

Surfing here in the last 5 years has seen an explosion like Japan did back in the 80s and 90s. Plenty of Japanese surfers have been coming here (some even settled) to visit to escape their own crowds. There are a few good quality spots but more akin to a Trestles type wave though there some barreling waves too. The thing is, there is still the potential to locate new spots. The crowds stick to the popular spots. It's a bit of crazy place...I surfed this morning just out the front at Toucheng with at least a 100 guys in the water at 6am. Yet 5 minutes up the road, same quality and it was deserted, so I had a surf there afterwards too.

[prjwebb]

Sounds pretty interesting... Get some photos if you can!

[Slowman]

Pictures? Why of course! Summer silly season is in full swing here, 6PM and the party is still going...
839840
hopefully I catch a decent swell in the next 10 days and have some photos of real waves

[prjwebb]

Haha party time indeed!

[Slowman]

Here's what it can get like...
861862863864

[Chris]

favorite wave, bottom left.

[prjwebb]

The 'Ours' of Taiwan.

[tallkook]

Cheers Slowman, thanks for the info mate. Taiwan is definitely on my radar.

[Slowman]

No worries TK!

Yesterday we had a pulse of swell got to shoulder height and head high on the bigger sets, some fun waves about, surfed 3 times...

877879
876878

[alltrue]

Hey Slowman, I'm heading to Taiwan for the last two weeks of November. I plan on staying in the SE part Taitung. Hoping to find some nice lefts. Any advise on where I should go, as well im having a hard time figuring out how to get around with my surfboard down there. I only want to bring one board with me, you think a dominator is a good choice?

[Slowman]

Hey Slowman, I'm heading to Taiwan for the last two weeks of November. I plan on staying in the SE part Taitung. Hoping to find some nice lefts. Any advise on where I should go, as well im having a hard time figuring out how to get around with my surfboard down there. I only want to bring one board with me, you think a dominator is a good choice?
Sorry Alltrue, didn't see this until now. Yep Taitung is the place to be.

I can recommend 2 places to stay...
1. Jun's place,

he's a Japanese surfer guy married to a local Ibu (she is an aborigine of Taiwan, Taiwan is a complex culture made up of Aborigines [been there forever], Hakka [1000 years from China], Hokkien [600 years from Fujian - Taiwanese dialect is from here, my wife is Hokkien], Han [60 years, Chinese mainlanders that came across with Chang Kai Shek when the counter revolution against the communists failed]), . His place is a surf shop with accommodation and transport chucked in (like most of the surf shops they double as hostels/hotels/tour operators). If you want clean accommodation with basic good food this is the place. Let me emphasise CLEAN. When it comes to clean the Japanese are fastidious. It will cost more but I think it will be worth it. This is where I would stay with my family. Here is their website http://www.easttaiwan-surf.com/en/about.html

2. Baybay's
She's a local through and through and the Island's female long boarding champ and Roxy Pro poster girl. Her place offers accommodation and some transport to the various spots working for the day as well as having a restaurant in which I have eaten. The food is good but I do recall seeing a rat running out of the kitchen! I'd probably still stay there but not with family. That's probably a stunning statement to make but I've seen them running around Aus restaurants too, so it is not as bad as it sounds. Once you get out of Taipei things look a bit grubbier but it isn't any worse than Indo...I'd say better.
Here's her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/baybay.niu?fref=ts send her a message

Tell either of them I sent you and they'll probably give you a blank stare, tell them Craig Vernon sent you and the blank stare probably won't change much! Tell them I'm a friend of Randy's and they'll probably pretend to at least remember. This is one of the best areas for surf in Taiwan...if you can catch Chenggong (Palm Point) at 6'+ you'll be in for a treat. It is a lefthand point that is a fast but makeable wave. Not always that hollow but a usually a good steep wall at least and goes for more than a 100m when working properly. It gets a bit shallow towards the end.

[Slowman]

You really need a car if you want to be free to explore by yourself, and it can be worth it to escape the crowds, as the popular spots tend to get crowded but there can still be other spots just a couple of points away that are deserted. To hire a car in TW you need an international drivers permit (see NRMA for one) but I doubt you can hire one in Donghe, which is where these places are, it is an outlying coastal town that is part of the Taitung County...to get to Taitung City it is probably a 30m drive. Although with some decent swell the crowds thin rapidly.

[alltrue]

I was looking at renting a car, seems pricey though, seems to be around $80 per day.

[Slowman]

That sounds about right. Taiwan is not a cheap place, the cost of living is roughly the same as Sydney/San Francisco/NYC in my experience.

We managed to hire a Nissan Livina for around AU$50/day for 3 weeks through this site http://www.iws.com.tw/ however that was at a 45% discount. There is an English translation available (see top left corner) but the problem is that the specials only seem to appear in the Mandarin version. It might pay to ring and ask if there are any specials - no harm in trying. The longer you hire it for there may be some room to negotiate too. If you know a local that's possibly the best way to get a cheaper price, if they are willing to negotiate for you. The other drawback with this mob is that there is no airport pickup and dropoff, you have to get to their offices which means a taxi ride from the airport ~1000NT (or bus into Taipei at around 220NT and then taxi).

[Slowman]

Chenggong yesterday
1187

[Chris]

wow!! looks like new england!!

[alltrue]

are scooters a good option? I've seen a few videos with people riding them with the board racks like in bali.

[Slowman]

Hmmm, I wouldn't, but that's just me. They are all right around town and or riding around locally but they are prohibited on expressways as they are too slow which means taking the long way round most of the time. From Taipei to Toucheng takes 40mins by expressway and before it was completed it used to be 2 hours by train and about the same by car. That said though I met a couple of Canadian surfers over there, one had a motorbike with racks up the side and the other had a longboard mounted on a dolly that he was towing behind his scooter - it looked bloody funny, especially with the WWII style helmet.

Anyway, I wouldn't use a scooter as a means of transport to cover longer distances. I'd try to get to the place you will stay at using normal transport and then when there pick up a scooter (and racks maybe) so you can check the beaches and surf spots. I have no idea where but my wife tells me you can hire a scooter...getting surfboard racks might be the problem. If you decide to stay at either of the places I gave you I'm sure they can give you better advice on what options are available. I know Jun transports his guests to the spots but you more less have to surf where he wants. Still probably makes it easy as he has all the local knowledge.

[rppj]

1292
ANother pic of Chenggong from weekend of the 13th October. I was lucky enough to have 4 days there and had a few days that were amazing. Last day myself and a friend surfing this place with not another person out. Good times and an amazing place. Highly recommend it. 5'10" sweet potato was a lot of fun.

[iggy]

1292
ANother pic of Chenggong from weekend of the 13th October. I was lucky enough to have 4 days there and had a few days that were amazing. Last day myself and a friend surfing this place with not another person out. Good times and an amazing place. Highly recommend it. 5'10" sweet potato was a lot of fun.

Wow I could use some of that

[Goodfish]

Hey Slowman, are you interested in selling any of your Firewires? Surfer Inn is all out of the models I want, and it seems that it would take 3 months to get a new order in...

[pmorgan]

Chenggong yesterday
1187

That look well cool. It reminds me of Murkle point at home. Only the water is not freezing there.

[Slowman]

Hey Slowman, are you interested in selling any of your Firewires? Surfer Inn is all out of the models I want, and it seems that it would take 3 months to get a new order in...
Sorry Goodfish, no not after I waited so long to get mine! I only have a hellfire in Taiwan and it's only been surfed once...the plan is to spend a couple of years living in TW but that is not for another year at least...at that time I'll be bring a couple over.


That look well cool. It reminds me of Murkle point at home. Only the water is not freezing there. Even in winter it is still very warm, it's only the trade winds that can be a bit cool and require something like a long sleeved spring suit.