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.

No pros in the Maldives in 2010

The ASP have announced the cancellation of a few events for 2010 including the Maldives Pro in early June 2010.

More info can be found at http://www.aspworldtour.com/2009/pdf/aspschedule2010.pdf

This is a prime time for great waves and the event has always been blessed with great conditions.  World Surfaris usually have a bunch of pro surfers onboard our boats over this period and with the cancellation of the event we have now opened them up for sale.  World Surfaris sponsored surf Blake Wilson is disapointed that the event has been cancelled as this event offerred quality high performance waves.  World Surfaris instead will fly Blake to The Maldives to warm up, prior to the 5 star Sri Lankan Airlines pro in Sri Lanka in Mid June that replaces the Maldives event. 

See details on our Maldives range at http://www.worldsurfaris.com/surf-travel/surf-trips/Maldives/ 

Maldives Pro 2010 cancelled

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

Here’s a couple shots from the last swell. It peaked on Tuesday (pretty much as we jumped off the Dhoni at Sultans!!) but is still good now. That Sultans session was a memorable one – big drops on small boards!! (needed Stumpys 7′0). We dodged big clean up sets looking for the perfect peaks but it wasn’t easy. It really was a day for a bigger board but everyone got a couple bombs. The swell was kinda raw and unpredictable - a nice looking peak would mutate into a beast through the inside “make or break section” I lucked into one wave that threw out so far and so wide as it hit the inside that it wasn’t like being in a barrel, there was just so much space in there….anyway, just when I was claim pondering it smashed me so hard and for so long, that when I eventually surfaced, way down the reef, I was seeing stars. Somehow the faithful 6′3 Dahlberg survived and I very slowly paddled back out. Then, from the safety of the channel, I watched helplessly as the biggest set of the day detonated about a meter in front of the guests who had been scrambling for the horizon! Everyone was washed all the way in so we called the Dhoni for a time out while a board was retrieved from the treeline!

We had stayed away from Jails as we could see many boats in the channel, but with broken egos and aching bodies we decided that Sultans had won the exchange and we’d go and watch. It was smaller and more friendly than Sultans, but not perfect lined up Jails. However, there were some really good waves and only a handful of guys out, all of whom were sitting wide. Our recent flogging was forgotten and we couldn’t get off the boat fast enough. It’s funny, I often find that a flogging can be a good thing! – even though Jails still had some big sets that would clean us up, after Sultans it seemed kinda tame and playful and the guys, full of confidence were all over it! As I said, it wasn’t perfect. It was breaking wide and not feeling the reef like usual, but as we had the line up to ourselves we could be selective and just go the good ones. It turned into an epic session! I’d already warned the Dhoni Captain that we might need to stay later than usual, he just smiled and said “it’s Ramadan” so he was in no hurry to get back for lunch! (he’s in line for a good tip so everyone’s happy)

We surfed until hunger and a squall sent us back to the Hudhuranfushi Resort for a quick lunch (sorry Capi!) and a rest before heading back for the arvo session. – We arrived to glassy perfection and three guys out. I had a new guest on his first surf excursion, he said “that session made all the travelling worth while” and that his “first wave was the best wave of his life”! So stoked… We surfed for another hour and a half before the current got the better of us, but everyone was pretty much surfed out by then anyway, so it was back for a beer, a good meal and bed!

The next day was much smaller and rather crowded. All the guys who hadn’t surfed the day before were suddenly frothing all over it. But the waves were so perfect it was worth the wait for a good one. It brought to mind the first time I ever went to Nias – I arrived to find glassy 3-4ft perfection and a fairly mellow crowd. I was in heaven! I surfed all day every day just catching anything that moved, quite sure that I was ripping and that all the “mellow” older guys didn’t mind or notice that I was catching lots of waves! …I was blissfully un-aware, just blinded by the perfection!!… Anyway, eventually the swell arrived, the “real” swell. The guys who’d been cruising on the small days suddenly had a different look about them, a fiery desire… almost a madness in their eyes as they scratched into the thickest, meanest slabs of liquid death I’d ever seen. Guys I’d only seen in hammocks, guys that I’d not even seen surf, were up pre-dawn, stretching and psyching, then putting in six hour sessions…The swell lasted three days, for the first two I hid in my room feigning sickness, on the third day I paddled out and sat so far out on the shoulder I was in more danger of being run over by a fishing boat than by a wave! As the swell dropped I edged closer to the pack, still in awe, still terrified and still quite certain that I didn’t want a wave. It was half the size of the big days and guys were starting to loose interest, but a set would still send me scurrying way out onto the shoulder….finally the “death sets” stopped coming and I found myself considering taking a wave, an older guy paddled passed and simply said “you don’t seem to want so many waves now!” I hung my head in shame. I realised I had surfed with him on the small days, I cringed as I remembered calling him off 2ft waves that I’d paddled inside him to catch. He told me pretty straight that I’d been a kook, and that everyone had been getting the shits with me.  The last thing anyone wants to do when it’s small is argue about waves that aren’t really worth arguing over, yet that’s what seems to happen. Out here in the Maldives, cokes aside, there are few “locals” in the line up. Even at Cokes the boys are super friendly and hardly the “enforcer” type. Unlike Indo, there’s not the core group of travellers who stay for entire seasons at their favourite wave, guys who know  the locals and the reef intimately and who have “paid their dues” investing years of their lives in one wave until they’re as close to “local” as a traveller ever could be….. As a travelling surfer I despise “localism” – it is ugly, moronic and in a tribe of travellers, total hypocrisy….but at times a respected, authoritative local is help full. Without a “local” presence pulling people into line some spots can become chaotic and totally dysfunctional …especially when it’s small and inconsistent. I was thinking about this as guys who sat on their boat all the previous day hassled each other deeper and deeper up the reef… I’m sure there’s a moral here somewhere?

In the end we moved back over to Sultans, where even though it was kinda shifty we managed to find some great waves…and it was another late lunch!  During lunch a big storm arrived and most guys hit the bar or had a siesta, but just on time the clouds passed and the wind backed off ( it had been howling offshore). The now ruler edge lines were looking inviting at Lohis but we opted for a quick look up at Cokes. We arrived to just a handfull of guys out, who were again sitting way off the peak. We gorged ourselves on barrels ….take off…pull in..etc etc!!! Before the current sent us packing just before sunset.

The next day was very windy but Sultans was lining up and offering some good insiders, though it was hard work…

Friday and Saturday were flawless. Lohis was pretty much as good as it gets and Chickens was better!! The sun came out, the light NW wind caressed a beautiful 4-5ft SSE swell…crowds were mellow and stoked on life, and everyone scored.

It’s now Tuesday again! The above sentence should read Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday were flawless!!. It’s all a blur, though I just about remember yesterday! The early was looking good, though the wind wasn’t quite right for Lohis. We went back down to Sultans where we shared 3-5ft perfect peaks with Stumpy and five guys from his boat. It was everything the Maldives represents – sheet glass to light offshore, a cloudless sky, big enough waves to be exciting, but not too threatening, breaking in crystal clear water with brightly coloured fish darting in and out of the reef…epic session.  Arriving back at Lohis we were greeted by an eight wave set breaking perfectly down the reef. The wind had backed off and there were only four guys out. Now I hardly ever surf at lunchtime, but we all had a quick pasta salad, some fruit, and a couple coffee’s and surfed for another hour until the wind swung back side-shore. It was epic Lohis – 4-6ft and barrelling.

Lots of water, some trail mix and another coffee later, we’re back on the boat heading up to cokes where it was like the Lohis session but going right! There had been about ten guys out when we arrived but after half an hour it was just us and the Manta’s! Everone getting barrelled…what can I say? A very good day!! The sunset was beautiful too… It was one of those days thats hard to come down from and the bar was buzzing. The guys who’d stayed at Lohis said that the evening session had mirrored ours at cokes – just glassy, perfect barrels. So many epic waves were re-lived as the beers went down like water!

After a run of days like that everyone needs a rest! Today Lohis is empty but still OK, though the winds better for Sultans. Markys down there with a couple new arrivals who are already sick of hearing that “they shoulda been here yesterday”!

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.

Yes, this incredible run of waves continues and I need a thesaurus to vary my reports!!  Can I just say that it’s pumping, has been pumping and the swell is forecast to build into next week so it should be pumping!?

On the subject of performance, I can’t stress how important the right Wax is!!. I know many people don’t need to read this but a surprising number of guests turn up here with the wrong Wax!! Come on, it’s the tropics!! the wax you use back home is probably too soft for the idyllically warm water of the Maldives. Blue, extra hard Zogs is by far the best. Strip off all that soft slimy wax you use back home, clean your boards and give them a new, perfect, warm water  wax job to start your trip. It will make a difference!!

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

As I’m often asked about suitable boards for the waves here in the North Male region of the Maldives I thought I’d write a quick, general answer for guests who might be on their first trip and who are unsure about the most important part of their luggage. Though I do think that Board choice is a very personal issue and the range of Boards so varied that it’s quite a difficult topic to address!. I’ve also covered a couple other points that may or may not be of interest to Surfers visiting the Maldives.

The waves here in the Maldives are all about fun. It’s one of the most consistently “surfable” areas I’ve ever lived in. “Lohis” had rideable waves pretty much every day last season and now, nearly four months into this season, it’s a similar picture.

Of course there are degrees of “rideable” – I started surfing on the English Channel,(where knee high onshore slop would get us excited!!)before moving to Angourie on the far North Coast of NSW where the variety, consistency and quality of waves is just incredible.

I’ve never returned to the English Channel, though I’ve never forgotten it! Those early days instilled in me a philosophy that dictates my life today, and is obvious whenever a guest asks me “is it worth Surfing today?” My reply, 95% of the time, is that “it’s always worth going for a Surf!!”  I’ve found that nearly everywhere in the World, the Waves are better once you’re out there and also, that you feel physically and mentally refreshed after being out in the Ocean.

However, It’s not a case of me pushing guests to surf every hour that God sends!  a common complaint here is “burn out” – new arrivals will often get up for the early at “Lohi’s”, then have breakfast before coming  on a three hour boat trip to the waves nearby. After lunch they Surf “Lohis” again before the afternoon boat trip – on which we Surf until sunset….after a couple days of this even Laird would need a rest so “listen to your body”  – there’s a fine line between pushing yourself to get out there and pushing yourself to exhaustion. This is when using the Internet swell forecast sites is wise, – if you’re getting tired or pressured to spend time with your partner(??) check the forecast – if it looks good for a few days before a period of less swell or unfavourable winds the smart move would be to push yourself to surf as much as you can while its good, but at the same time promising your body/wife/girlfriend a day or two of not surfing so much - to coincide with the forecasted drop in swell/on shores, but do you trust the forecast?

Anyway back to boards!

Abilities range widely. If you’re very much a beginner you have to ask yourself if you really want to be surfing over reef, even if it’s the most forgiving reef !! At the same time if your favourite waves are big Chopes, Pipe or Mav’s you may find the waves here too mellow. However the beauty of surfing the Maldives is that there’s usually something for everyone, which in turn means a variety of board’s can be ridden. On the “typical” Maldivian day (3-4ft “not too heavy not too light” with light winds or glassy conditions) whatever you ride at home is going to go just fine for you out here. On this “typical” day, if based at Lohis with a “Boat Pass”, you can choose to surf a wave that best suits your ability, expectations, and surfboard. If you want to surf a right you have Jails, Sultans or Cokes to choose from….on this “typical” day Jails might be smaller, just waist to shoulder high  with a bigger set every twenty mins.. but it’s peeling perfectly down the reef and so much fun on your Fish/Quad or twinnie…or Mal. While on the subject of longboards out here, let me just stress how easy it is, on a day like the one I’m describing, to have the “best surf of your life” on your longboard – The waves are so glassy and you find yourself in the perfect position time and time again! Its breaking perfectly down the reef, you make all your waves and never even have to duck dive, you’re back out the back in no time and theres another perfect wave coming your way…..how could you not go it?!!  You know what I’m getting at here!! If you’re out on your Longboard really try to be the Surfer setting a good example and don’t be greedy: don’t take a wave every set, or even every other… be extra aware of the other guys in the water and you will make many friends!?!….If there’s three or four guys out the back on Longboards, and they’re getting most of the good sets you can be sure that resentment is building in the pack….take time out, sit wide, look around and really notice where you are…as Surfers we can become so “Wave Blinkered” – I’ve had guys miss huge Manta Rays glide beneath them, or pods of acrobatic Dolphins not fifty meters away! I’ve seen guys not noticing amazing “light show” sunsets and even say they “didn’t hear” the haunting intonating of the Mullah calling the local faithful to prayer….stop, breath, take it all in…what we’re doing is so much more than just the moment we’re actually riding a wave…

anyway…on this “typical” day in these small, fun, perfect waves at Jails, whatever you’re riding is going to be so much fun….

Meanwhile, on this same day, if you chose to go up to Cokes you might find some heavier  head high waves barrelling over shallow reef. Cokes is a wave that really suits a standard short board, the take off is faster, especially at low tide, and it really is a case of take off and set up the barrel. Most longboarders struggle to fit their board into these fast breaking waves, sometimes with a couple 4′6 ’s  as a reminder that perhaps they’d have been better off at Sultans or Jails!! Though funnily enough I recently warned a guest who wanted to surf Cokes on his longboard, He patiently listened as I told him how it’s “not the best longboard wave’ and gently tried to persuade him elsewhere, before telling me he’d give it a try anyway… straight off the boat he swung late under the lip of a double over head wave, made the critical drop look easy, then proceded to carve five or six huge turns right past me!!! turned out he was Australian U18 National Longboard champ! So there are exceptions to the rule! Also, generally, fishes and other wide tailed craft don’t do so well on the sucky take offs at Cokes but I’ll talk more about that later.

The third Right that I mentioned is Sultans. This wave suits pretty much everyone!. Its great fun on a Mal, Fish, Quad, Twinnie, Shortboard you name it!  There are so many different take off areas the crowd can spread out. Again, on our “typical” day, the sets might be head high or a bit bigger but hitting in two or three different areas of reef. –  The end section is the hollowest, often throwing out some good barrels and is the favourite haunt of guys on short boards. Where as the furthest peak out is usually the mellower takeoff and the domain of guys on longer boards. Between the two areas is a “fun park” of peaks, ramps and walls where anything goes!.

There is actually a forth Right – just across the channel from Lohis is Ninja’s – an occasionally very fun, but usually very weak, mushy right that is rarely crowded. If it’s small and clean, Ninja’s can be a lot of fun. We have had some arvo sessions out there with just a handful of guests wishing to surf alone. Just recently we loaded the Dhoni with a Stand Up Paddle Board, two longboards, two fishes and a single fin and some swim fins and everyone took turns riding different craft and going five up on a wave!!

Ninja’s is the best option if you’re not super confident but be aware that it’s still reef and the channel can have strong currents…

Going back to our “Typical” day. Now you want to go left and again you have three options: Straight out the front – the wave we check every day, possibly the most consistent wave in the Maldives…Lohis its head high and breaking quickly down the reef. the bigger sets are overhead and breaking wide down at “Bobbys” while the smaller ones hit deeper up the reef. It’s powerful and quite “sucky” even when only head high and the “goofys” are getting good little tubes…Not the best wave for Mal’s unless it’s small, when it becomes great fun.

Lohi’s deck is a perfect filming platform and a really nice place to hang out… It’s also a great place to try a couple different boards – leave one in the racks while surfing another, then come in and switch…you never know you may be able to persuade someone to film you – by far the best way to learn about your surfing!

Across the channel from Cokes is Chickens – a long long left.  If the winds still good it’s an easy take off before peeling down the point getting faster and faster. A truly World Class wave on its day, though far more fickle than Lohi’s.   Like Sultans, the peak further out is the mellower take off on a longer board. The inside is more sucky and often a good barrel. Ideally you make it all the way through, laying down some big turns “out the back”, before getting barrelled through the inside! Chickens is not a good place to get caught inside especially if you’re riding a long board that’s hard to duck dive - the end section seems to break further and further down the reef….It will let you out eventually, just keep on paddling! A great wave for pretty much any board, though wide tails on the super sucky insiders can be an interesting combo!

The third and least consistent left we surf is Honkys, situated just one hundred meters across the reef from Sultans. A classic wave that sometimes “bends” around the island getting more and more intense.. Again the outside is the easier take off. Boards aside it’s a wave that if it’s “on” just get out there whatever you’re riding!

So, back to packing! 

If you ride a standard short board bring it, plus a back up of similar or the same dimensions – you might be thinking “I hardly ever snap boards” but I think that it’s a shame to come all this way without a back up just in case you snap your favorite board… It’s also a very good idea to bring a step up board. By this I don’t mean a gun, rather a board just slightly longer and perhaps more drawn in than you’re every day board. For EG, most days here I ride a 6′0 x 2 1/4 x 18 1/2 rounded square tail. (I’m 5′8 and 71kgs) this board is fast and responsive and is my board of choice for most days out here. However, when it’s pumping and “Cokes” is barrelling or “Jails” is “freight training” I’ll step up to a 6′1 or 6′2 of pretty much the same dimensions, maybe 2 5/16  but  a round pin – I find at Cokes, where ideally you take off behind the peak and “back door” the barrel sections, having a pin tail gives so much more confidence. “Cokes” can really “draw” off the reef and a board with a slightly narrower tail holds in so much better than a typical squash. If it’s a big thick swell with some chunky “double ups” I ride a 6′3 x2 5/16 x 18 1/2.  Guys sometimes turn up with 7′+ guns because they’ve heard about big barrels at Cokes but the reality is that they’re better off on a shorter board that fits into the curve of the wave face. I think that good positioning and paddling power are far more beneficial than extra inches in sucky waves – often I see guys on longer boards paddling for a wave just a bit too far out on the shoulder, which ironically is where they feel safer, however they don’t find themselves in the sweet spot and end up getting into the wave so late or in that dodgy situation where you’ve not caught the wave but you’re going too fast to pull back and you end up sucked over in the lip!!

However at “Jails” and “Sultans” on big days a slightly longer board can feel so good. Sultans especially, is a big peak that can rear up out of the deep channel. I’ve seen “Stumpy” – the guide from the “World Surfaris” charter boat “Handu fahli”, paddle into some beautiful peaks at “Sultans” on his longer board, with plenty of foam under his chest. The bigger board with a greater planing surface enables him to build up his paddling speed and get into the waves with a minimum effort.

Also at Jails, to make the wave, it’s sometimes essential to “take the high line” ie, the wave is breaking quite fast, so rather than dropping down and doing a bottom turn, you need to get into it early and angle your take off and do a “mid face pump” to race the section. Once you’re flying “down the line” you can start to link your turns together. A bigger board can help you get into the wave early, and allow you to set up your first turns with out getting “caught behind” the section.

The other time I sometimes ride a bigger board is if the waves are good but the current strong. The currents can be an issue here, though they rarely last more than a couple hours and can in fact work in your favour. If it’s crowded I actually quite like to surf when the current is running as it spreads everyone out. If you’ve put your time in and have good paddling arms the current is your friend!! If you have a bigger, longer board, you’ll find it really helps while paddling back out – put your head down and focus on your breathing and you’ll be back “out the back” before you know it!

Back to “degrees of rideable”!  So far every day this season it has been possible to ride a wave, either at Lohis or down at Sultans. Most days your standard board is going to be just fine. But like anywhere, the Maldives can have periods of small, weak waves. These are the days when you’ll be so pleased you packed that board that goes good in junk!! I remember a week last season when the waves were really quite bad, but luckily I had two guests who had seen the poor forecast before they left Australia and packed a couple 5′4 Fish’s (one shaped by by Skip Frye and another by Rich Pavel), a 7′0 Mini Mal and their normal short boards. It was one of the most fun weeks I’ve ever had here! – everyone sharing boards and having so much fun in the small waves. (and the swell picked up, un-forecasted for the last two days of their trip!!) It is so clear the extent to which your attitude really dictates your overall experience – if you see small waves or a bad forecast for your holiday it’s so important to try to stay positive. If you’re travelling with your Wife of Girl friend don’t let the small waves spoil your time together (it’s no ones fault!) – in fact she might be so grateful and happy to be able to spend more time with you that she wants to do more “Surfing Holidays” …. Anyway, if you have one, and the space in your Board bag, pack a board that will go good in case it’s small.

So, to summarise: 

Your everyday board is going to be fine. If you can, pack for the possibility of both bigger and smaller days. Also consider what you’ll ride if you break or damage your favourite everyday board.

Booties…most guys don’t wear them. If you’re surfing from the boat you jump off “out the back” and get picked up after your last wave in the channel. (Boat anchors in the channel so feel free to bring a second board/water/camera etc) Ideally you don’t spend any time on the reef!! The only place some guests do like to wear Boots is Lohi’s, as you do get in and out over the reef but it’s very much a personal choice and most people wear them only once.

Also bring a Mask and Snorkel – this really is some of the nicest water in the World!

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

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

What can i say!!? the last couple weeks have been nothing short of epic. Again, as so often seems to be the case after a good run of waves its all a bit of a blur! one thing that’s for sure though, is that I’ve never been anywhere in the world and had so many different people tell me that they’ve just had the session of their lives!. The other line has been ” I had absolutely no idea  the Maldives could get this good and this big!!” Admittedly we were long over due a good swell as the weeks prior had been very poor but then God made it up to us big time with the swell of the season!. The World Surfaris  guests scored. We surfed Jails as good as it gets – perfect swell direction, light winds and perfect tides all combining to produce picture perfect conditions! - waves so flawless it was quite breathtaking … a typical ride would start way out on the corner of the closeout section where you could, if it was a double up, pull straight in to a beautiful almond shaped barrel, the swell was so perfect that you could then chose to either drag your arm and get deeper or duck out under the lip then fade, snap set up, drag arm stall and get slotted through the throwing second section … five second barrels were common !! then the inside was going square – big totally make-able perfect barrels ..Jails, on its day has to be one of the best multiple barrel section waves in the world! …(and I feel Imust add that even when its not perfect its one of the most fun rippable waves in the world!!)

I’ve not even mentioned the Lohis sessions!!  -  Bobby (Peter Mills) was pretty much running the show. To the delight of the crowds of onlookers the crazy Irish Australian would paddle out (or get the boys to drop him off by jet ski) and take off on anything!! I mean anything. He had some epic waves and some entertaining wipe-outs.. It was big and heavy with some huge barrels to be had…The Antonies – Tim, Mike and Tom also had a solid dig at it  between Jails “barrel binging” sessions..!!

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

We have just enjoyed a great run of waves! The last week has been pumping – everyday has been in the 3-5ft range with winds favoring the rights, esp. Jails and Sultans. Had some memorable sessions one in particular at jails stands out as the barrels were so perfect, a squall had just blown through and cleared the line up so we had it to ourselves, the wind was light and from the West, and the tide was a couple hours up from low. Everyone was getting long deep barrels! – even guys who had never had a barrel before were getting them! Such a good session!

Sultans has also had some incredible days with big A frame peaks out the back and super hollow inside.

… The wind has been kinda cross shore at Lohi’s but the key to a good session has been waiting for the rain and the glass off that always seems to follow! Surfer numbers on island are way down – right now only fifteen surfers on island so when Lohi’s turns on guys have been scoring!

Boat charter numbers are also down, at present probably half the number we were dealing with last year!

so crowds are much thinner at all breaks.

Gotta run for the arvo boat

Rich.

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

Written by Richard Kotch the World Surfaris Hudhuranfushi Resort expert surf guide.

May: Was OK, had some good days with light crowds though many days were kinda marginal; had there been more guests or more demanding guests it would have been tricky. Winds were ever changing but generally it was fun conditions most days..

June: First week was not great surf-wise. unfortunately, that was when the ASL crew was there and they got a little skunked (though they did show how much fun even little onshore waves could be). Then the ‘QS started and the swell kicked in just in time – 4-6ft and perfect for 10 days.We scored. The pro’s were cool to surf with and most of them stayed at the comp site or just surfed Sultans. The wind was perfect for the rights – we surfed epic Cokes day after day by ourselves or just one other boat and everyone was kinda relieved when the swell dropped for a day or two and gave us a brief respite before another week of perfection. 

July/August: Consistently bigger and thicker,the swells had more power though crowds were kinda heavy, however swells were so consistent …So many good days it’s a blur; guys were getting the waves of their lives. The bigger, better swells were always the least crowded…. some epic days at Lohi’s … Jails like warm water J Bay and big barrels up at Cokes…

So many Manta rays in the line up and the ever present Dolphins…

September/October: Magic – light or no wind; super consistent and towards the end,very light crowds. Dreamlike sessions with super cool guests. Light winds and S/SE swell enabling us to surf all the spots… Some amazing sessions at Chickens with just one other boat… my favorite months to be in the Maldives for sure…

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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.