In a country that’s composed of about 1192 sandy coral islands, there’s bound to be hundreds of surfing points that people simply haven’t happened across! Here a look at some of the well known surf points that have entertained many a surfer throughout the years.
While people like to think that the sport evolved gently, surfing made a dramatic entrance in the 1970s when two Australian men, Antony Hinde and Mark Scanlon were shipwrecked in the Maldivian Islands, and discovered the wealth of untapped surfing points scattered all over the archipelago.
In the Maldives, most of the well-known surf points are on the eastern edge of the archipelago, where the vast Indian Ocean stretches all the way across to the Indonesian islands. The Easterly winds whip up waves that break on the breakwaters of these islands, which are usually available for visits in the normal itineraries of nearly every liveaboard cruiser that tours the country.
Surfing Conditions during the Year
The air and water temperatures in the equatorial region is quite different elsewhere in the world, but in the Maldives, owing to the fact that this is an archipelago of islands seldom larger than 1 square mile in size, the conditions are not only bearable, but actually quite pleasant.
While different people prefer different conditions, the largest swells can be seen from July to December, peaking around September and October. During the other times, there is no rain, but also, more consistent breakers that are quite suitable for beginners.
Of course there’s the ever present problem of lining up for waves, but that can be virtually eliminated if you’re going to travel around on a safari boat, as you can catch the earliest waves if you’re anchored near the exits of the Atolls, as some of the biggest breakers can be seen in the channels that separate atolls. Click here for more about pro surfing in the Maldives.
