Maldives Surfing

Central atolls : no other regular surf boat charters around, yet !

Based on an exploration trip for Oxbow in June 2004, a vast potential for surfing have been discovered. No other boat is cruising there apart from occasionnal boat charters en route between Malé and Gaafu Dhaalu (Southern Atoll). Boats staggering around Laamu are rare (Blue Lagoon). I've been there 8 times, i.e 100 days out at sea and only had to share waves with another boat at Meemu atoll (out of our zone) and YinYang (Blue Lagoon).

Maldives surfing : typically medium sized clean rights

In the central atolls of the Maldives islands, standard waves are long clean rights with size varying between 3 and 6ft (face). During austral winter (April-October), it's never flat. We discovered 15 potential spots (4 lefts-R, 2 peaks-P, 9 rights-R), 5 of them are majors.

Spots names : Yin Yang (R), Mada's (L), Mushroom rock (R), Tsumami rights (R), Tsumami lefts (L), Bedhuge (R), Langon Bank (R); Shirukandu (L); Mikado (R), Finnimas (L), Footaru (P), Hirifaru (P), Bowling Alley (L); Biddies (R), Bibeacons (R).

Shallow conditions on tubular sections but pretty even and soft coral reef. You can expect a few 6-10ft swells during monsoon time.

Weather (during Maldive Surf trips) is characterised by a WSW monsoon (apart from April). Heart of monsoon is in June and July. It is common to get 1 rainy day with moderate winds every 2 or 3 days. A lot of overcast conditions but enough sun to burn your skin !

Statistics of surfing in the Maldives

Average swell (in ft)		Water temperature (C°)

Statistics for our surftrips: after 33 trips, we can estimate we had 90% of decent ridable days, among them 40% of classic days...

Group name	Dates	Duration	Ridable days	Conditions
Oxbow	June 01-14	14 days	12	6 classic days
Rico	May 25 - June 06	13 days	11	4 classic days
Arthur	Aug. 22 - Sept 06	15 days	13	6 classic days
Mada	Nov 07-17	11 days	10	3 classic days
Jean-Luc	April10-22	13 days	11	4 classic days
Pierre-Bernard	April 23 - May 07	15 days	15	5 classic days
Callahan	May 08-18	11 days	7	4 classic days
Eddy	June 18-28	11 days	10	5 classic days
Arnaud	July 15-22	8 days	8	4 classic days

Getting to Laamu Atoll and back to Malé

You're most likely to land in Malé (MLE) int'l airport in the early morning. A 45 minutes Domestic Flight will be arranged to leave as soon as possible for Kadhdhoo (KDO). No Boardbag tax (please inform us if your bring a longboard). The group will be picked up by the dhoni.

On the way back, group will leave in the late afternoon from Laamu airport and fly back to Malé. Before late evening flight, some time can be spent in Malé City for souvenirs, dinner, massage...

Flight KDO / MLE : 190 euros r/t (to be paid 45 days before departure).