Season-October through April.
Off Season-September and May but it can also produce good surf.
Month of July, August and September can be fun with usually really nice weather and winds.
Reefs-Palikir is the most user friendly reef on the island. Most other waves get shallower then Palikir. Just be careful with the extreme low tides.
Currents-Most waves do not have strong currents. Sometimes during tide changes or extreme tides there might be currents that will last for one hour and then calm down again.
Tides-The biggest tides in the year are around 5 ft. Most tides move around 3 ft.
On an average day Palikir can be surfed at any tide. No waiting like in Indonesia for the wind to kick in or for the tide to fill.
Surf Check-All waves in Pohnpei are located on the barrier reef. You will need a boat.
It is hard and far to check the surf from the main island of Pohnpei.
The only places where you can check Palikir is from the top of mountains and you will be around 5 miles away from the break. I did live on one of those hills looking right into the pass years ago. You could tell if there were waves but it is hard to tell if the surf is 1 to 3, 3 to 5 or 6 to 10 feet. A really nice place to check Palikir is from the top os Sohkes Ridge. One of the most beautiful views you can get in Pohnpei. From up there you can see all the north side, some of the east side and outer atolls of Ant and Pakin.
There are places past Palikir going west where you can check the surf from land, but with very little access if you are willing to take the long dirt road ride.
From the roads or coastline there is no easy place to check Palikir.
You can check the north reefs and the Middle Pass located between Main Pass and Light House from across the street from Cliff Rainbow, South Park or Ocean View Hotel. Most think they are looking at Main Pass but it is actually the Middle Pass.
From Misko Beach near the airport you can see the Middle Pass and Main Pass really well but from around a mile and a half away.
At Nahlap you can look at the wave just by walking around the island. From Nahlap you can also check if there is any white water on the reefs to the SE. Also from the Village you can check the first pass on the east side (NE side). From The Village you can also check the lefts at the Light House, Middle Pass and all the way to the Main Pass.
Again, when you are checking the surf from land in Pohnpei you will always be looking from one to five miles away, mostly trying to see if there is any white water on the reef.
At the Pohnpei Surf Club we know where to go at any given day so there is never a need to go up any mountain or take unnecessary boat ride to where there is no surf.
We do have spotters in different parts of the island and even on other island to compare surf reports, not to mention the Jet Ski.
One thing is for sure. When it is pumping, it is pumping and it’s wake up, breakfast and go.
Boat Rides-Easy! Timed and GPS boat trips to Palikir around 15 to 20 minutes depending on weather. Just the other day I timed our trip during a complete surf check from PSC to the Light House, then to the Middle Pass, then the Main Pass and to Palikir in 33 minutes and then back to where we started (should had stayed there to start with) in 50 minutes.
We are located on the middle of the north side. From where we leave dock we go by a few different waves everyday knowing the conditions of every pass before getting to P-Pass. Being in the middle of the north side makes it easy to access the east and south sides.
Boat Food-There is a good take out menu at PCR, plus breakfast and the usual Chocolate chip cookies, bananas, coconuts, water and what ever we put in the boat as snacks.
Swells-Micronesia gets lots of swells and this year I have surfed more new waves them all the other years I have spend here all together.
We do not get as much swell as Hawaii or Indo and a lot more then the Philippines.
I would say we get as much swell as Fiji or Tahiti.
Winds-For some reason people think Pohnpei is windy. We do get around 2 month a year of gusty trades. Last season we had winds on and off, more off I would say since March until today, September!
We get a lot less winds then Hawaii, Marshall Islands or Fiji.
Swells-Most swells that hit Pohnpei with 3 to 5 ft, I would say a dozen a season from 6+, and a few more on the 8 ft + range.
Six ft here means power.
Every pass in Pohnpei has it’s day. The question is knowing when to be there. We know.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Round one

Blake Wilson – Wins his first heat with a heat total 13.34

Round two

Blake Wilson – Wins his second heat with a heat total of 13.67 over current WQS # 6 Patrick Gudauskas and former WCT surfer Leonardo Neves!

Blake’s got a tuff heat in round three against Jihad Khodr (BRA), Travis Logie (ZAF) and Medi Veminardi (REU)

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Josh from Australia shared the line up at Nahlap with lots of future local rippers!

The Third Surf Day for Kids at Nahlap was a complete hit with the kids.
This is the third edition of this event and by far the biggest one thanks’ to everyone’s help.
John David from Nahlap provided free entrance fee to the island for all kids under 18 years of age.
The FSM National Olympic Committee paid for the water taxi to Nahlap for all kids under the age of 18 and cooked the biggest BBQ for the kids between surf sessions.
It was a wonderful weekend at Nahlap.
Me and friend/volunteers Jade and Ryan went down to Nahlap Saturday morning and spend the previous day getting ready, fishing and surfing the point at Nahlap.
That gave me a chance to study the reef and figure out were I would take the kids for a surf.
The 13 surfboards and 3 stand up paddle boards were not even close to enough to keep all the kids in the water at the same time. We had to have them start taking turns as around 50 kids showed up to give a try at the waves.
The Stand Up Paddle Boards provided by Robby Naish were an instant hit with the kids.
I will get some bigger pictures (and a better story) soon and up date this page.
We will probably have another surf day for kids at Palikir around December.
Again, thanks’ for all at Nahlap, FSMOC, FSM TELECOM, Steve Finnen, friends/volunteers/staff and the SDA surfer/teachers who showed up and really helped with the kids in the water.

Pictures by Allois, Paul Ruhl, Jim Tobim and the FSMNOC, Jeff Martin

On the way to Nahlap

Instant Talent on a SUP

Beru, always looking like a Hollywood star!

Beautiful Nahlap, Pohnpei. Not a bad place to be!

I dont know who this local ripper was but right away he cought a wave and rode it all the way across the reef. There’s talent in Pohnpei!

The most crowded day ever in Pohnpei

Surfer, parents and volunteers.

Nahlap lineup

Rico and Toshio

John, “The Man” at Nahlap on the first day he beat me in fishing (but using my lures).

Everyone adjusted really fast to the stand up paddle

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

The Pohnpei Surf Club has a nice quiver of surfboards for guests to use in case they break their favourite boards or are just flying by Pohnpei without any surfboards.
The board pictures here go from 6’2 to 7’2 for the light weight guys to the thicker and wider boards.

Our surfboard quiver changes from time to time as boards break in half and from us buying more boards from guests.

All these boards are almost new with no dings.

We also have another 20 boards with a little bit more use on them.
When we first started the camp we brought with us 200 bars of Quik Humps Sex Wax, probably the best wax for our kind of weather. We still have around 185 bars left, so if you don’t bring wax, no worries. We have plenty. Guests usually leave the ones they don’t use behind.
We also have lots of leashes in case you need an extra one.
We do have lots of FCS fins but if you use Speed Fins or Future bring an extra set just in case you break or loose a fin. We are running a little short on the Speed Fins and Futures.
Not pictured here are the Naish Stand Up Paddle Boards (9’6, 10;4, 10’6, 11;6).
Other equipment the Pohnpei Surf Club has for its guests are kites, kite boards, mask, fins, trolling gear, lures, the jet ski, the best fleet of boats and or pretty much anything you might need on your trip to Pohnpei..

No Boards, no problem!

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

7th August, 2009 : - World Surfaris have today announced they will sponsor local hot prospect Blake Wilson in his qualifying charge for the World Championship Tour (WCT) of Surfing.

The 21 year-old from Alexandra Headlands who has only been surfing since he was 13 has embraced the opportunity to represent World Surfaris on the international stage. “Its great! Such a good opportunity to work with such an awesome company, sending me to the best waves in the world. You can’t ask for much more than that,”| Blake said.

The competitions begin in just a few weeks when Blake takes off to Europe with World Surfaris stickers on his board for an 8 week grueling contest schedule that will take him to France, Spain and Portugal. He will then head to a cold-water event in Canada in October before finishing the year in Hawaii.

“It is super fun travelling all around to different parts of the globe competing and experiencing different cultures but the contest side of things can get pretty tough,” he said. World Surfaris will also fly Blake to the Maldives, thousands of tiny islands south of India, to compete in an extremely important and highly rated 6-star event.

“I love going there, it’s my favourite place on tour and without World Surfaris I probably wouldn’t make it as it’s also the most expensive,” Blake said.

Managing Director of World Surfaris, Shaun Levings said “Blake is an extremely talented surfer and certainly has the potential to reach the pinnacles of world surfing”.

“He’s also a great young bloke with his head screwed on the right way which makes him a great ambassador for World Surfaris and the Sunshine Coast in general.” New signage at World Surfaris, unveiled on Tuesday at their Mooloolaba Offices on Brisbane Road, will feature Blake in action as he becomes the new face of World Surfaris.

“We are stoked to have Blake as a World Surfaris team rider and look forward to being affiliated with him over the course of his pro surfing career, which is still in its infancy,” Shaun said.

The signage will be unveiled at the official sponsorship announcement at 10am on Tuesday 11 August at the World Surfaris offices .

“You can also keep track of Blake’s success on tour by checking out his blog from mid-August at http://www.worldsurfaris.com

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

I guess I missed it for the last 5 years. Not to much of a swell window. Kind of far to check. No one to go with. No where you can look and read the swell direction from land but it happens. I had checked it in the past with no good results. Last week a friend from a neighbor island e-mailed me saying they had a 4 to 5 ft swell for the last 4 days and that I should take a boat ride and check the south side.

The swell was 4 to 5, from the SE and hitting around 20 miles of coast line facing SE and S.
I found some really nice waves. Surfed two of them on beautiful locations, not to mention the GT action!
Heading back today.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Today it was one of those special days for a few lucky ones.
The winds have been dead or from the south east for around one week (straight off shore).
As the forecasted swell slowly build a mix of torrential rain, occasional sun, no winds to off shore winds and then back to no winds made conditions perfect for surfing at every pass or reef bend in Pohnpei and it’s outer atolls.
Wind exposed north reef passes and certain bends on the reef in Pohnpei and Atolls were all going off at the same time.
I don’t know if it is the world economic situation or if it was because Spring Break travellers filled most seats on every possible flight, but only a hand full of surfers made it down to Pohnpei.
Most sets went unridden at P-Pass, especially as the swell built. The Pohnpei Surf Club was the only boat out all day until late evening when some volunteer teachers showed up to share the line up.
On my way back from the pass with the ski I checked every bend and reef pass all the way to the Light House.
All lefts had straight off shore winds and were probably better them most waves around your neighbourhood.
The lefts at Palikir, Main Pass, the middle pass which we don’t even have a name for and even the left at the light house were really good, but when you have P-Pass with 5 guys out, who would leave to go anywhere?
For those with the desire to explore this was the day. Never before surfed reefs on the outer atolls were going off but there was no need to go that far. Just before dark as the sun finally came out behind the clouds I stoped at an absolutely perfect Main Pass as it peeled away without any takers.
Solid 6 foot + sets rolled in under oil glass conditions as the sun went down. Not even the usual shallow inside reef was a problem under such perfect conditions.
I was shooting with a little camera under rain so my pictures might not tell the complete story.
The world economic situation does not help me, but I will tell you there were some perfect unridden gems rolling in today without a single person looking at them.

Reported by Allois Malfitani from Phonpei Surf Club

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Swell Pattern has been small but consistent.
Last week we had around 4 days of overhead surf. This week, Monday and Tuesday (16 and 17 of March)we had two days of 6 ft barrels. The wind was a little side on but the wave still kept the shape and stand up barrels and power it was.
Storm pattern is still holding solid.
One day nothing, next day two lows to develop late this week and into next week. Surf could range from 3 to 5 or bigger.
Let’s keep our eyes open for this one.
In the mean time, the fish has been biting like never.

Pohnpei Surf Club team just won the March Pohnpei Fishing Club Tournament with a 158 lbs marlin, the 5th one hooked up on our boat in two weeks. Plus, there is lot’s of mahi’s, ono’s and tunas in the area.

BBC/DIscovery Channel co-production South Pacific to be released in London May/17/2009.

These are the same people that made that great show Planet Earth. The main difference, this one is all about the tropics on the Pacific Ocean. The opening sequence is of our return guest Dylan Longbottom inside the barrel at P-Pass shot by Bali Strickland with the BBC/Discovery Channel camera shooting 1000 frames per second. You will have to see the footage to understand what we are talking about. INCREDIBLE.

Off all the crew present on the day that footage was shot said it was one of the most amazing barrel shots they had ever seen, and when we are talking about the Dylan’s and Jamie’s you know it must be good.

The Pohnpei Surf Club also scored the Making Off the Pohnpei Section on the DVD called Diaries about how they got all the images after two trips to Pohnpei hosted by PSC.

The Diaries/Making Off the Pohnpei section of the DVD should be up on You Tube soon. We will let you know.
In the mean time, late season and uncrowded conditions….

Allois

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This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

For a few days we thought the surf was going to go calm after two month of almost non stop action.
During the last two weeks we had three swells from the north with 6ft, 8ft and 4ft since saturday all the way to wednesday next week when the next well is hitting.
A new series of low pressure systems coming of Japan is sending 3 back to back swells starting wednesday (local time) based on today’s storm forecast.
Yesterday the surf was a 3 to 4 sheet glass.
Trades came back today but the bite was on. Not only the surf has been good but it has also been the best mahi season ever.
From the camp to the pass we have been hooking around 5 to 8 fish. This morning after the surf a troll down the reef raised around 150lbs of mahi, wahoo and yellow fin tuna!
Over the last three season March and April have produced lots of epic days under clean conditions.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Report by Allois Malfitani Pohnpei Surf Club owner

The waves have been pumping almost non stop since December here at Pohnpei Surf Club !
There has been a break on the swells here and there and winds have been on the good side.
There has been a solid storm pattern in the western north pacific sometimes with 3 back to back 4 to 8 feet swells.
Even on the days when the wind was blowing a little bit stronger the angle was perfect and it did not affect the waves at all.
A few weeks ago Hippo, Dean Brady, Mike Parsons and Taylor Knox scored a perfect 8X8 swell at P-Pass.
Parsons was calling it the best surfing day of his life. A big call if you think how many different waves he has surfed from 2 to 80 feet in the last 30 years.
But it’s not all about the pros. Most visiting surfers are regular guys like you and me talking a break from summer (Australia) or winter (the north hemisphere).
If there is a positive side for the world economic crises it is the uncrowded conditions.
On the day these pictures were taken most waves went unridden.
Not only it has been pumping good surf 12 hours a day but the crew is surfed out leaving the line up completely empty at times!
Looks like a solid 6 to 8 swell is hitting on sunday and the storm pattern is still looking good for the following weeks.
Remember the Shane Dorian swell? That was March 5th and the biggest swell of last season hit on April 5th.
There is lot’s of time left to surf with us here at Pohnpei Surf Club this late season and hardly anyone around to share the sets with.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.