Words by Brian James
Photos by Nathu
Courtesy of The Perfect Wave

What a season it was in the Maldives.

I think it was the best year for surf in the 16 years I have been working in the Maldives.

I arrived in the Maldives in February to prepare our boats and Cokes surf camp for the 2016 season. We were treated to beautiful sunny days and the light winds that February delivers. The best part though was that February and March delivered small but perfect waves and there were only a handful of surfers in the country. Needless to say February and March is a good time for beginner and intermediate surfers to visit. The low numbers continued through April and May with the swell building to serious, performance surfing levels.

In the Southern Atolls the safari fleet kicked off in March and with only a few boats working the area, they were able to enjoy the rewards of this remote area. The experience is quite different in the south, it feels like an escape from the real world: there's an abundance of sea life, long cloudless days, light winds, and perfect waves. The Southern Atolls often exceeds the expectations of first timers to the area.

In June, July, August, and September this year I surfed some of the best waves I can remember. What made it exceptional this year was the consistency, we had back-to-back-to-back swells with relatively good weather which was unusual as these months are traditionally stormy. During this middel period of the year there is always swell in the Maldives, what determines how good it gets is the weather. In the prime swell months of 2016 we had very few days where wind and weather conditions were not conducive for good surf.

Cokes and Chickens, the popular go to surf points in North Male, turned on some amazing days, as did Jails and Sultans, albeit usually slightly smaller. On the bigger days the crowd was non existent with the safari fleet heading to more manageable locations. A few locals joined the small crew of expat surfers to enjoy these special bigger days.

The season normally winds down in October. The crowds certainly did, but someone forgot to tell Huey. The waves kept coming, October and much of November the crew remaining in the Maldives had it to themselves. There were plenty of respectable head high waves with light or no winds to enhance the joy.

2016 saw a good spread of Maldives safari boats in different areas of the country, some staying permanently in the Central and Southern Atolls and some flirting with new Northern Atoll areas. This dispersed the numbers at all locations to a comfortable level. Of course some days were busy in the North Male Atoll breaks, however if you timed your surf there were always opportunities to get the good in peace.

Roll on 2017, looking forward to doing it all again in this remarkable corner of the surfing world. Enquire here if you would like to join us.