A Brief History

The Sri Noa Noa has a unique place in Indonesia’s maritime tourism history with a provenance that reads like a modern day adventure classic, the main character being their creator, ex French Olympic and Americas Cup sailor, Philippe Petiniaud.  Here’s a brief timeline of events:

1977 – Sri Noa Noa launched in Benoa Harbour, Bali.  Philippe sailed (no engine at that time) and explored the Eastern Indonesian archipelago going as far north and Singapore and as far south as Queensland, Australia.

1985 – Sri Noa Noa was fitted with engine, cabins upgraded and rigging changed to accommodate his wife in comfort.

1991 – Sri Noa Noa takes its first paying guests – 2 surfers wanting to go to Grajagan, East Java, who saw the boat moored in Benoa and made an offer too good to refuse.  She has been taking charters ever since.

1998 – Philippe sells Sri Noa Noa to Mark Taplin from South Australia and moves to north Queensland to work on the land.  Mark approaches Freeline Indonesian Surf Adventures to market surf trips on Sri Noa Noa.

2002 – Mark Taplin sells Sri Noa Noa to Stuart Horstman of Freeline Indonesian Surf Adventures. Sri Noa Noa continues plying the waters of the eastern Indonesian archipelago, providing ‘tips of a lifetime’ to small groups of friends and families.

2017 – As Stuart focusses now on his surf camp, Phil & Claudie - two friends and business partners with a decade of experience in the surf travel industry - take over to continue the legacy of Sri Noa Noa with new energy and drive. They kept what was already good and improved what has become necessary over the years.

Our Professional Crew

Captain – Heri

Heri has been the Captain of Sri Noa Noa since 1995.  Originally from Flores, he is fully qualified, fluent in English and has an outstanding knowledge of the people, waters, waves and weather conditions in the areas that Sri Noa Noa operates, from Bali to West Timor. Heri is also an accomplished photographer and shoots every trip.  He makes sure our guests get to where they want to go and have a unique experience along the way.

Chef – Wayan

Wayan hails from Bali and has been around East Indonesia for almost two decades now, quite a few of them on Sri Noa Noa. He is the reason you might actually gain weight depsite all the surfing as he makes a mean Nasi Goreng and Beef Rendang when he's not catching fish by hand-line at night.

Mechanic – Hengky

Hengky joined Sri Noa Noa in 2016 as a fully qualified mechanic and has since broadened his skill set.  Hengky speaks reasonable English (he actually loves to practice further) and ensures you don’t need to lift a finger while on board (unless of course you’re pouncing on the fishing rod after a strike).