Huge Surf Tests Fiji Decree
The first XXL swell since the Fijian Government passed a law allowing access to all surfing spots is due early next week.
The swell is currently being formed by a series of fronts near the Antarctic iceshelf and, in the coming days, it will move south-west up the Tasman Sea and reach Fiji late Sunday, peaking early Monday. Model predictions have the swell hitting at 5 metres at 16 seconds. What that translates to on the open ocean reefs of the Mamanucas is anyones guess, but the smart money starts at 15 feet.
In July of this year the Fijian Government passed new laws that liberalised all of Fiji's reefs. For the surfing community it meant that Cloudbreak and Restaurants - both of which enjoyed Tavarua Island exclusivity for twenty years - were now open to everyone.
There was much rejoicing from travelling surfers as they could now stay at cheaper surrounding hotels and resorts and not pay the US$200 per night asked of Tavarua guests. Fijian officials stated that the new decree would attract an extra 20 000 surfers to Fiji per year. It seemed a generous number indeed.
That number seems even more fanciful in light of the current swell.
All of the wave models have been registering the genesis and development of this swell for a week, and confidence has been high since last Friday that Fiji would be hit by a swell of consequence. Furthermore, the local winds predictions are for light offshore trades.
Therefore, with a guarantee of sky-high Cloudbreak and grinding Restaurants, one could assume an increase in bookings at the surrounding hotels. Yet it doesn't appear to be the case.
Aside from Namotu Island, none of the places I contacted reported any increase in bookings. Scott from Namotu had been fielding enquiries from surfers on Maui and is also expecting Mark Visser and a few other professional surfers to fly in. As yet, he had received no enquiries from the general public.
So, despite the surfing community roundly supporting the new laws, very few appear willing to take full advantage of them. The symbolism of free surfing in Fiji seems to be of more importance than getting over there and experiencing it.
Return flights to Fiji are approximately $500 on Jetstar.
Comments
I'm not sure that this is a real test for the decree. How many people who are more than willing to tackle 15 foot waves also have the dispossable income and time to just jet off around the world chasing waves? I wouldn't think too many. Pros yes, punters no.
The test of the decree is coming in other ways and will take time. At the moment it consists of people who would otherwise be coming to Fiji making the effort to get to Cloudbreak. Not necessarily new tourists but those already here making the journey. Wait a year. For people like me who can only head off once a year choosing Fiji over Indo is more the reality and I would expect that for most people. That's the real test.
I land in Nadi at Monday lunchtime, just when the leading edge of the swell is peaking.
It will be a very interesting week on Coral Coast, with a SSW swell train in express mode. Not sure if i want to tackle Cloudbreak beyond 8'-10' but i will try and test the acceptance of the new decree at Tavarua and see if I can get Restaruants. This swell might be a bit like the Globe contest a few years ago when Cloudbreak went XXL and Kelly et. al. scored all time barrels out the front.
The big unanswered question is boat transfers from mainland. Will let you know how I go
totally agree with Wolf, i've found that in places like indo when it gets bigger the crowds dramatically thin out (obviously this doesn't apply to Hawaii). One opinion may be that more breaks are firing in the area so people don't have to travel to the popular swell magnets for the bigger waves but this further points to the fact that the average surf traveler isn't after heaving 8-10 to even 15ft waves but more wants to surf perfect shaped super fun 2-5ft waves.
Would appreciate the report Barstardos...and good luck!
Adam: 15 feet on the open reefs is, what, 6-8 feet at Restaurants? With a weeks notice and an almost rock solid guarantee of freight-train pits I would've thought that there would be some interest beyond the pros. I know a few punters that have travelled further for less, myself included.
6-8ft Restaurants in 2-3ft of water?
Think Jono got it right Stu.
Not too many chasing that.
Maybe half that size.
Keen to hear your experiences Bastardos.
Are you staying close to the Mamanucas and chasing it or is surfing an afterthought on a family trip?
yeah stunet I'm with you, if the wife was not enjoying a trip to bali at the moment I would be on board. as you can appreciate after our p-pass trip, any sure fire thing of 6ft pits would have you frothing at the bit.
Boycott Jetstar....they are $HiT
If you want to get to your destination...with your boards...DO NOT
I REPEAT!! DO NOT FLY JETSTAR...
Dont say you werent told.
Late mail from Brad at Funky Fish Resort Malolo Island: "We have had some bookings from Hawaiian surfers, looking at taking advantage of this expected huge swell"
your kidding aren't you Freeride? You seen the 40+ surfers at Speedies any time it's got some size? Or the 80+ white fellas that appear at Padang once the first set breaks off the boil? And lets not mention DP. Might only be a small percentage of the overall surfing population but between Aust, NZ, Hawaii and California there are a lot of crew 'chasing that'. Just because your not part of it doesnt mean it doesnt exist. I just reckon Fiji isnt on the fly in-fly-out radar yet.
Hey Box, last time I was at Speedies when it was 8-10ft there was 40 guys out but only half a dozen taking waves.
Same at Gnaraloo.
Big diff between floating in the line-up and taking the set waves.
Sure there's a hard-core crew out there but most rec surfers wouldn't want a bar of either 15-20ft Cloudbreak or 6-8ft Restos.
I've got Fiji well and truly on my FIFO radar.
i was in fiji shortly after the decree. It was amazing to be out at cloudbreak. The fijians I spoke said tourism was up(one quoted a 20% increase). As for 15ft cloudbreak, no thanks. The biggest day I was out at cloudbreak it was 4-6+ft and when the sets came the boys were scratching for the shoulder every time. So I image 15ft doesn't have too much appeal for the average surfer.
I seemed to have lucked in to this swell. A family holiday paid for by the in-laws and booked months ago. Best thing is not only do the inlaws pay for trip, but they look after kids while I go surfing! I am staying in one of the major resorts on the coral coast but I should have the freedom to stretch out and get mamanucas or mainland reefs. This is the sort of swell where rare but interesting waves could appear all over the place.
I told a mate over a week ago to head there for this swell. At that stage it wasn't looking anywhere near as big as this, more just a chance to get waves instead of getting nothing.
Now he's gonna see one of the biggest swells of the year. Keep an eye out for him Bastardos, his names Paul and he's a Kiwi. Good luck!
I was lucky enough to be over there when it all changed over, and scored some nice waves in the 6-8 feet range, with some bigger days that were a little windy. From my experience, most of the guys staying at Tavarua are rich gumbies who either are just very average surfers, or balding mal riders who are trying to relive the youth they never enjoyed. It cost me F$100 for transport out there for the day, and it was well worth not giving those greedy seppo wankers my hard earned cabbage.
What a great victory for surfers, and surfing in general, that the ludicrous monopoly has finally been stopped.
"LIFE"
so you're still paying around $50 AUD to go surf for the day?
wow it's like going skiing
I think Steve and Adam are on the money. The 'general public' don't want anything to do with a swell like this.
Big swells = reduced numbers in the lineup not an increase. Cloudbreak might have a couple of locals and pros out there towing but who the hell else is going to be out there at 15ft+? Restaurants at 6-8ft is a meat grinder and will sort out the men from the boys too. Sure there will be a few willing to jump on a plane and get out there but how many will put trips off for a week to dodge the maxed out conditions?
Got this email from Tavi a few days ago:
"The swell of the year is forecasted for Sunday and well into next week! We still have bures available! Don't take our word for it, check Surfline and call +679 670 6513 or email [email protected] for reservations!"
I wonder what Tavarua's attitude is going to be regarding medical treatment for the people who come off second best out there? Will they let them access the surgery on the island or tell them to get stuffed?
Be interested to hear from Scotty how Swimming Pools is though. It will be off its tits and a much more manageable option for almost all involved. That's where the crowd will be.
It's not as if people aren't taking advantage of the new decree like you seem to suggest. Cloudbreak and Restaurants are packed now every decent swell event and that's really before enough time has passed for people to make plans to get there. Unless you have the luxury of jetting off for a surf trip whenever you feel like it, you need to book trips many months in advance. Next year there may be a big jump as people who booked for indo/maldives etc this year have another option for their annual surf trip. At the moment though its just the people like Bastardos that luck into it.
Does anyone know if Tavarua have dropped prices or if this is likely?
Does anyone know if Tavarua have dropped prices or if this is likely?
stunet
if swellnet would pay, id be on em in a heartbeat.
have to settle for 6ft island instead.
how are we looking for s island for this weekend?
heard one guy say 10ft another random dude said 60ft to my wife,lol
stunet
if swellnet would pay, id be on em in a heartbeat.
have to settle for 6ft island instead.
how are we looking for s island for this weekend?
heard one guy say 10ft another random dude said 60ft to my wife,lol
I was working at the hospital in Suva a few weeks after things changed. I have a few comments for you to have a think about. I was fortunate to work with a local chief (ratu) who is a personal friend of the ratu of tavarua. The major reports included the lack of medical assistance provided to 'visitors' by touring boats, and an increase in pressure therefore placed on the Tavaruans to provide it. If you surf the place, please consider donating medical provisions to the crew at Tavarua or Namotu. There were loads of reports of major head injuries and near drownings, only being saved due to the timely help from Tavarua. It is a very long way for medical aid in Fiji with the closest hospitals being Lautoka and then Suva - if you decide to 'drop-in' for a wave in that area of the coastline, please consider donating so that the locals can assist in basic first aid for others when needed.
Surfdoc, What sort of medical provisions would be best to donate?
Basic stuff; dressings, betadine, dressing packs, plastic gloves, antibiotics (more difficult to get in through customs though!) burns creams, etc. The main issue (from Tavarua ratu) is that there has been a massive increase in calls for help from crew being smashed up on the reef but without their own support teams (i even heard of a boat from the mainland dropping a beginner on the reef only to come back and pick him up 6 hours later.
How to get out to reefs economically.
I too was very fortunate to be in Fiji about 2 weeks after the law change. Found Ian Miller, also known by native name Kinni, at Fiji Surf. I was staying at Denaru at Raddisson. For about $100 fj or $60au, Ian will come to hotel and pick you up in van, drive you 20 min down coast to Sonaisali, and take you by boat to outer reefs for 4 or so hours of surfing. Usually left about 7 and back 2 or 3. Sometimes only 2 of us, sometimes 5 or 6. Surfed Cloudys, Restaraunts, Namotu lefts, Swimming pools. Ian has only surf shop in Nadi and has a face book site also. I challenge anyone to find a cheaper way to go surfing in Fiji while staying 5 star. Thanks Ian, your doing a great job.
i have just come back from fiji and we stayed at plantation island with family and friends. i went with 2 other experienced surfers and we scored cloudbreak 4 times with size ranging from 3 feet to a large 8-10 feet it was the biggest and most perfect surf i have ever been out in. the crowds were great everyone was friendly and having a ball and when it starts to get over 6 feet there are plenty of waves to go around. i saw alot of waves that were going through perfect and unridden it was the most amazing surfing experiance of my life and i would recomend it to any experienced surfer.
Caution..
i have been surfing for about 17 years and trained every day for 3 months before going to fiji and i still felt that i needed alot more training and big wave experiance for Cloudbreak. i would not tackle it over 10 feet unless you had some serious training and fitness backround.
it is the most beautiful wave i have ever surfed and also the meanest
GOOD LUCK.
Restaraunts was six foot plus on monday morning and dredging on the dropping tide. Only two blokes out of about twelve in the water were taking on the sets.
I just returned from a trip to Fiji and caught the last few days of the big swell.
What I noticed was that there were a few extra people in the line-ups ( mostly Cloudy) but I think the governments estimates of an extra 20,000 surfers a year is way out of wack. I think if you take the loss of revenue from the what Tavi and Namotu brought in and add the budget surfers that now are coming to surf, they will come out way in the negative.
This is a real bummer for the locals who depended heavily on these revenues
Now what was really concerning was this latest decree also allows anyone to fish the formally protected reefs. At low tide, I personally saw dozens of local fijians walking all over the reefs with nets and sticks to catch fish and pick up anything else they could. Then there is the fishing fleets from other countries who can come in a scavage the reef systems as well. This is the bigger issue here.