A Sunset Session at Lacerations With Two Groms

Some sessions you remember for the waves. This one we will remember for the light. On a still evening in early July, with the trade winds finally backed off and the channel gone glassy, we paddled out at Lacerations with two of our favourite young surfers — a nine-year-old and an eleven-year-old — and stayed out until the sun dropped behind Bali.

Here is a little of what it looked like from above.

Two groms who have earned it

Neither of these two started here. They came up the way most kids do with us — soft boards and gentle whitewater on our kids lessons at Playgrounds, one instructor in the water for every two children, catching straight-handers on their bellies before they ever thought about standing. A season or two later, they can read a wave, take off on the shoulder and hold a line, which is exactly what you need before a reef wave like Lacerations is on the cards.

That progression matters, because Lacerations is not a beginner wave. It is a punchy right-hander that breaks over reef, and we only take confident surfers out there — at the right tide, with a coach in the water beside them and booties on their feet. On this evening the tide was high, so there was plenty of water over the reef and room to make mistakes, which is what turns it from an intimidating wave into a genuinely fun one for a capable kid.

Why sunset is worth staying out for

Most of our lessons run in the morning, when the dry-season trades blow offshore and the waves are at their cleanest — you can read more about that in our guide to the best time to surf Nusa Lembongan. But there is a second window a lot of visitors miss. Late in the afternoon the wind often eases right off, the crowd thins as people head in for dinner, and the whole channel glasses over as the sun gets low.

The light does the rest. That warm, side-on glow you can see in the clip turns an ordinary wave into something the kids will talk about for weeks. There is a stillness to a sunset session — fewer surfers, softer wind, the island going quiet behind you — that is hard to beat, and it is often when the youngest surfers have their best waves of the day, relaxed and out of the midday heat.

Want an evening session?

We run private and family sessions timed around the tide and the light, whether that is a first-timer on the whitewater at Playgrounds or a confident young surfer ready for a proper reef wave. If your kids surf and you would like a golden-hour session — or a photo and a bit of drone footage to take home — message us on WhatsApp and we will find you the right evening and the right wave.

Bring the whole family. Some of them can watch from the beach with a cold drink while the rest of us go and chase the last of the light.