Hi All,

Well it had to happen. On the 20th of October we received the last Swell Journal for 2011 from our awesome guides Rich and Amy Kotch at Hudhuranfushi Resort. The power team have moved on to the other side of the globe and they’ll stay in touch (trust us you’ll be getting some more stoke from the dynamo duo regularly).  So that just leaves this latest report. We’ll post a ‘year that was blog’ with a sweet album jam packed with juicy surf goodness soon.

In the meantime to help you get through your mid week enjoy the last Maldives swell report for 2011

Cheers WS

From the man himself  Richard Kotch

The last two weeks at Hudhuran Fushi were a good example of why traveling to world-class surf spots to coincide with the start or the end of the swell season can pay off big time – We have just enjoyed yet another run of really fun waves, but as it’s the “end of the season” there was hardly anyone in the water.  Lohi’s was often empty as set after set of perfect 3-4 ft lefts peeled down the reef! The swell was super consistent from the S-SE, the winds were light offshore to non existent and a crowd was five surfers in the water and a couple hanging out on the Lohis deck….good times for those who took the gamble! Note to the Torquay boys – you scored!!

It really was the perfect end to a perfect season, looking back through my thousands of photographs I am blown away by the consistency. Not a week went by without an epic session going down somewhere in the North Male region. Ask any World Surfaris guests who travelled with us this season and watch their eyes glaze over as they reminisce on the “best surf trip of my life”!!

Amy and I are now heading to Pohnpei Surf Club at P-Pass in Micronesia where we will be doing all we can to help our World Surfaris guests have a great trip, score the barrel of a lifetime…and get the shot to prove it actually happened!

See you soon,

Rich.

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

Hi All,

Our Wonderful surf guides Richard and Amy Kotch of Hudhuranfushi Resort Maldives have dropped us the latest from the sinking atolls.  As normal its full of surf goodness and a depressing amount of perfect bodies of moving water with smiling happy guests surfing amicably over pristine reef. Hudhu’s is definitely creeping up on the bucket list!!!!

Enjoy WS

What an entertaining three weeks of pro surfing! We might be miles from anywhere on a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean but in this Internet age it’s cool to be able to watch historic events unfold. Tahiti was epic, a contest that finally exceeded the hype by showcasing the worlds best surfers getting the worlds best barrels and a day of Tow Surfing that blew minds. From Tahiti it was straight to NYC and the contest that everyone seemed determined to hate. Early signs were not too promising, especially when the event site was smashed by an irate Irene. It was looking ominous for Quik, and the naysayers were having a field day. However it all came together for a most entertaining event that showed the versatility of the modern pro surfer and legit NYC waves.

OK, to the Maldives; Mid to the end of August was really good, we were blessed with clear skies , 3-5ft S-SE swells and winds from the W-NW. Crowds were light and all I remember hearing from our World Surfaris guests was “Best trip of my life….by far!) Then from the 29^th August to the 4^th September we had monsoonal squalls and small junky wind swells and crowds…But by the evening of the 4^th it had cleaned up and we had a good session up at Cokes. Since then it has been fun every day. Not big but really consistent and aside from the occasional lineup clearing squall, the winds have been light off-shores – meaning that all the waves in the North Male area have been good. I have had some guests who appeared to be quite traumatized from trying to decide where to surf – the stresses of island life at Hudhuran Fushi!

Today is the September11^th, it’s 2-3ft glass out the front, but there’s no one out. Quote for the week is “I’ve never surfed so much in my life!”

Kelly, Owen and the boys are off to Trestles next week and the show goes on!

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

Hi All,

Amy and Richard Kotch , our great surf guides at Hudhuranfushi Resort Maldives sent this through awhile back with all the fun in the office lately I let it slip – Sorry….. but better late than never! Here is the 6th installation of the Maldives Surf Report for 2011 – Looking at the pics it was worth the wait! Enjoy WS:)

PS- In the words of Amy Kotch herself  “I think this is the most consistent season we have had since Rich started working here! Seems like the waves never end and the weather has been epic too! Hardly any rain this year and heaps of glassy days!!!” If you want to squeeze into this season and be a part of this epic year there are a few last minute spaces up for grabs – Click here for  a list of availability and prices.

All photos by Richard Kotch

“After my claims of good waves for four weeks straight we made it to five before the 3^rd to the 5^th of august dished up crazy squalls and small junky swell.  Luckily this was mid-trip for many of our guests so they were glad to rest aching shoulders… anyway, there was talk of a swell, a big swell that might have matched Amy’s epic swell of July 2010. Legendary World Surfaris swell chaser, Scardy was semi interested, Lohis regular Nate Banks was frothing for a flight, and I was getting phone calls at all hours from guests seeking bigger boards…but alas, the stars didn’t quite align and the swell marched off to Indo. Apparently a couple mysto spots out West were firing, picking up the W/SW swell but unfortunately it pushed right past us here in the North Male atoll. We have had to make do with a 3-5ft S/SE pulse, light winds and blue sky. No complaints here – it’s business as usual as Lohis has been firing and the boats have been scoring! Good times.”

See you soon,

Rich.

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

Hi all,

The latest has once again come through from Richard and Amy our awesome surf guides at Hudhuranfushi Resort, Maldives.  This blog comes with a warning: “The viewing of this content will induce a strong desire, to pack up move to some far away, forgotten tropical archipelago teeming with marine life and surrounded by pumping surf in order to live out your days in complete Surfing Nirvana.”

You’ve been warned – Enjoy WS

Maldives Surf Report 5- 2011.

While the ASP struggled to run J Bay we have had decent waves, every day since my last report of good waves very day…. That makes it four weeks straight…. Good times!  We had a fun surf with the local boys on Saturday morning. Some Saturdays the local surfers from the Capital of the Maldives, Male, (pronounced Mall-ay) jump on a boat and come out to the surf breaks in North Male. Friday is their holy day and Saturday is a holiday – a good day for a surf! One of them mentioned how he was trying to get as much surf in as possible before the holy month, Ramadan starts for them on Monday the 1st of August.  Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and Muslims consider this whole month as a blessed month. During the entire month all Maldivians fast during the day and make special prayers at night. According to the tradition, people also give more charity and do extra righteous deeds. This is a special time for the people of the Maldives to practice discipline and self-control, as well as celebrate their dedication to their religion. During this time surfing is not such a priority, so it was great to see all the boys shredding at Sultans.  The last two weeks have been a blast, we’ve had great guests, consistent waves and beautiful weather. The swell stayed in the 3-4ft range  from the S/SE and winds have been light and variable so we have been mixing it up and surfing a lot of different waves. Today the swell is still hanging around but the wind has increased slightly so were off to Jails and Sultans for some long ripable rights!  I’d like to say thanks for the board to Matt at The Board Room in Miami….good bloke, great shop!!

See you soon,

Rich.

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

Hi all,

A little bit of love from the Maldives to speed up your Friday….. Enjoy the latest from Richard and Amy of Hudhuransfuhsi Resort Maldives……

Maldives Swell Journal no4. 2011

Report and Photographs by Richard Kotch Photography.

In this installment of the Maldives Swell Journal I had intended to expand on my usual “the waves have been pumping here at Hudhuran Fushi” and talk a little about this magical archipelago of about twelve hundred islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

However, the waves have been so good and I, along with all our World Surfaris guests, am so completely surfed out and sun burnt that I can hardly summons the energy to send even the most basic report!

It has been good. Very good. Epic. Very epic, un-crowded perfection. Two weeks is a long time when there are good waves every day and so many different sessions going down. We have had some days when the swell was straight out of the South, others when it was South/South East. Some days the wind was straight out of the West, while more recently it has been light North West. Everywhere has been firing. Firing. Absolutely going off. Personally I think Cokes has been the place to be. We have had sessions when we were the only surfers in the water and the waves were as good as (4-6ft) waves get. We have had afternoons surfing Cokes with only two guests and two other friends from Thulusdhoo (Cokes Island) in perfect barrels. Perfect, mesmerizing barrels. I feel a great deal of gratitude to the guests who kept going to Cokes, day after day – Patagonia Grant, you’re a legend!!

That’s it from me. It’s still good today and is showing a slight pulse for tomorrow.

See you soon.

Rich.

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

Hi All,

Richard and Amy our most esteemed and trusted surf guides at Hudhuranfushi Resort have sent through the latest from the Maldives. Not surprising its been cranking, again. I don’t know about you but I’m noticing a trend………

Enjoy WS

Hello Everyone,

Over the last two weeks we’ve seen a bit of everything out here in the Maldives. We’ve had long windy walls at Jails, small but ‘smackable’ Sultans, some barrels at Cokes, a regular evening  ‘shredfest’ at Lohi’s….and we even scored a session at Honkies  too!

The swell has been consistent, initially 2-3ft S/SE then veering S/SW and building to 4-5ft at Cokes. The wind was S/SW last week meaning that Jails and Sultans were the place to be. The cross-onshore creating nice little foamy lip ramps perfect for launching off. Even the old blokes were trying to mix it up – there were fins out all over the place!! This week the wind has been light and further from the W, backing NW most afternoons in time for our evening World Surfaris boat trips.

The guests here at Hudhuran fushi have been doing exactly what they came to do – surfing their brains out….but also having a relaxing holiday with their wives, girlfriends or mates. That really is the beauty of a surfing holiday here in the Maldives, you can make it exactly what you want – be it a tranquil romantic honeymoon or a trip with your mates the island is enjoyed by all.

See you soon,

Rich.

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

Hi All,

So Richard and Amy our live in guides at Hudhuranfushi Resort, Maldives, have sent us through the latest swell report with pics. Once again we are filled with a seething sense of jealously, warm water, clear skies, great surf and super comfortable accommodation – what’s not to be jealous off? And another thing! How can Rich be so tanned if all he ever does is hang out in the green room?

May Swell Report

The World Surfaris/Hudhuranfushi surf season has been up and running for over a month now. I had hoped to post our 1^st Coastal Watch report two weeks ago, however, due to circumstances out of our control – the tragic sudden death of our laptop and the loss of many photo’s, our first report was delayed. Had I written this a couple weeks ago I would have reported, and posted photo’s of day after day of fun sessions at all our local breaks.  Our World Surfaris guests have been really enjoying the early season here at Hudhuran Fushi. We have been blessed with swell after swell, beautiful clear skies, light winds and minimal crowds. While it’s not been big, it has been so perfect. Last week we had seven days of light/no winds and consistent 3-4 ft S/SE swell. There were waves everywhere, all the spots were breaking so crowds were non-existent and the water clarity was incredible, making for amazing snorkeling! This week we still have swell, in fact it’s slightly bigger, however the wind has increased. It’s strong out of the West with the occasional gust from the South /South-West, meaning that Lohi’s is cross shore and rather ugly…. but Jails and Sultans have been good fun…. I’m not going to say “it’s been pumping” because the wind has been a bit stronger than ideal, but there have been some epic waves for those who have been keen. This has been a week to have a World Surfaris Boat Pass, a week to just jump on the boat after breakfast, no matter how bad it looks out the front, and ‘go for a look’ We have been rewarded time and time again and more often than not, have surfed alone.

All of these photos are of the last 10 days or so.  See you soon,

Rich.

jpeg #1- Idyllic island Hudhuranfushi

jpeg #2- Mid afternoon Lohis

jpeg #3- Paul Hughes, “from where you’d rather be”

jpeg #4- Paul lining one up

jpeg #5- Chris bottom turning with style

jpeg #6- Rip Curl’s, Pete Schick perfect positioning at Sultans

jpeg #7- Peter’s lip glide at Sultans

jpeg #8- Steve pulls in at Lohis

jpeg #9- Amy ripping in the light, afternoon sea-breeze at Lohis

jpeg #10- Casey on a beauty at Lohis

jpeg #11- Sergio’s apre-barrel sign off

jpeg #12- Mysto-Matt enjoying another solo-session at Lohis

jpeg #13- Barry rocking it in the pocket!!!

jpeg #14- Paul, evening light and light offshore

jpeg #15- Amy wrapping it around the end section

jpeg #16- Jackson cracking it at Sultans

jpeg #17- “Occy” Doug at Cokes

jpeg #18- Cokes end section

jpeg #19- The one that got away at Cokes

jpeg #20- Andy Arnott, into the strong offshore at Lohis

jpeg #21- Tony Paris, flying the flag and winning the heat at Lohis

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

Hi All,

This has come in from our Surf Guide, Yusree from onboard the Handhu, some great waves and more coming. The Indian Ocean 2011 Season is here!!!!!

Get in on the action & Book Today!

Enjoy WS

Handhu -Male & Central atolls May 3 – 13

Day 1 we surfed at furana(full moon resort/n male) first. We had s/w winds which made it pretty good. and then decided to go to jails. It was pretty strong sw winds which made jails the best option. shoulder height in furana but about a foot over head in jails.

Day 2 surfed again at jails. Condition were great with a bit of crowd . The guests were happy staying in north male for sometime. They really enjoyed jails.  day 3 another day at jails. We had the option of going to muli with similar swell but would not have been as glassy with sw winds.  A guest got injured! (he had a deep cut from the board fin which  needed stitches. We took him to hmmafushi/jails  immediately). he had to stay away from surf for

Day3 SE swell was dropping and SW getting stronger.

Day4 Last day at jails. Though winds were strong , it was shifting a bit north sometimes so we decided to move to Muli in the morning. For the night, we came to Hulhu male.

Day 5 Left early around 3 in the morning. We were in Muli for a surf before lunch. Was very clean and around waist to shoulder height. They were a bit spoilt from the quality from jails but had some fun.

Day 6 After a morning cruise, we came to dhaalu at 11 am. Hadigilla wasn’t very good but surfable. Was sectioney. Didn’t join so wasn’t very good. Everyone was surfed out anyways so we went to an   island nearby to just relax, have some fun, snorkelling…   .Everyone was surfed out anyways, so we went to an island nearby to just relax, have some fun, snorkelling…

Day 7 Swell picked up as predicted from the forecast. And got pretty good. But the sw west wind made it a bit choppy. Later in the evening it became vey good. The sections joined an worked well with  the reforming inside section giving some powerful barrels. everyone n the water caught some barrels. I hit the reef pretty bad leaving my knees ankle and shins pretty swollen.  was frustrating  knowing that the swell picks up the most the following day

Day 8 Found out in the morning that the wind was south. So we left to kanimeedhoo. (jinni). it was good size. But even for this spot the wind was a bit too south. Was a bit choppy with super fun walls.  I got some good video footage.

Day 9 We stayed in kanimeedhoo again. The swell dropped a bit but the winds were sw which made it glassy.the guests were very happy surfing here.

Day 10 Surfed kanimeedhoo. But today was a bit too small and waves weren’t very frequent. But still had fun. The guys did some fishing and snorkelling too. We even had some locals coming from a nearby island.  nearby island.

Day 11 We surfed at kanimeedhu and left to the airport around noon. Still there were some nice waves coming to kanimeedhu. We had some n in the winds which made it a bit choppy later. We left to (No Suggestions) at noon.

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

Maldives 2010 What a Year! The sinking atoll delivered consistently throughout 2010 producing epic back to back swells to the delight of surf travellers. But enough talk……. have a flick through the images grab a ‘cuppa’ and 5 minutes to yourself and if you feel a searing regret that you missed out remember there’s always next year & now is the time to Get In Early!!!!

Big shout and huge thank you to Richard and Amy Kotch for being amazing guides, great photographers and letting us know what our World Surfaris guests at Hudhuranfushi get up to.

See y’all next year!

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

The last Hudhuranfushi Resort Swell Journal has hit my inbox…… Its quite saddening despite the relief that I will no longer have epic surf slammed brutally in my face whilst sitting at a desk. The sun set is setting on the 2010 Indian Ocean Season leaving a handful of great memories, some awesome pics and hell of  a lot of surf stoked customers grinning like loonies. World Surfaris are pumped to be a part of it and stoked to offer the oppurtunity for you to Get In Early and cash in on some savings for 2011 surf trips.  So read on flick through the pics and enjoy the last Maldives Swell Journal for 2010 …….

Last report from Hudhuran Fushi.

All photos courtesy of Richard and Amy Kotch

I’m writing this from Sagana at Cloud 9 in the Philippines. I’m looking out over a flat ocean that was by all accounts 4-5ft and perfect for three days just prior to our arrival.  Not to worry, the last two weeks of the World Surfaris season at Hudhuran Fushi left us feeling quite surfed out – it wasn’t big but the wind eventually dropped off, the skies cleared and the swell pulsed from the S/SE. Initially Jails and Sultans were the best options but for the final week with the light W/NW wind it was all about Lohi’s. There were only a handful of surfers on the island so most sessions had less than ten in the water resulting in a very relaxed atmosphere. It was a great way to end an epic season.

See you next season!

Rich

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