carribean

[anorbury]

anyone surfed there?

will have 2 weeks with my girl in september so looking for an island that gets waves and has other non-surfing activities to keep her occupied.

thinking maybe barbados or puerto rico even though i think they are both pretty touristy and crowded breaks.

any suggestions appreciated

[rory]

I lived in Puerto Rico for 18 months. Terrific laid back vibe. Can get crowded by mostly during the holiday season. September is during the hurricane season so it lacks the consistency of Nov-Apr. Its either like summer or big like winter.

Here what I could expect for September.
Summer style: head high swell. Jobos near Isabela would probably have 150 meter long rights with a light cross shore. Very fun.

Winter style: North west swell swinging to the North east. Rincon to start with then moving to Wilderness near Ramey as the swell fades. Unlikely unless you get a low drop off the east coast of the states.

Hurricanes:
Storm to the North West: Gas Chambers, Wishing wells, Tres Palmas. Mad crazy waves. Seriously heavy.

Storm to the North East: Maxxed out north shore. rincon with the points firing.

Storm to the near west. watch out holiday is over. Chance are the wind will hit town. Get the f____k out of there.

Oh yeah, September is the quiet season. Cheap rates abound and as for crowds, you may have trouble finding people to surf with unless its really on.

Check out http://www.surfandboard.com for more info on Rincon (classic surfer town on the west coast). Garret there can fill you in on surf info on arrival (ie forecasts, recommendations) He's got the coast ther wired.

Never got the chance to surf Barbados. Much pricier and just as risky with the storms. Waves can get good.

As for airfares, I used to buy round the world airfares just because they worked out cheaper then regular ones. Maybe you could do both islands or alternatively hit the Dominican republic or Tortolla in the British Virgin Islands.

Hell if it was me, with just 14 days, I'd buy two round the world tickets with Oahu, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Portugal, South Africa. When it comes time to go I'd choose two spots where the waves were and be guarenteed to score.

Let me know how you go or if you want more info.

Rory

[cousteau]

Although I never surfed the carribean I lived there for six months and certainly partied my ass off.
The French West Indies were a lot of fun and quite lawless which added to its appeal.The French really know how to do their tropical colonies. It's a real yin and yang place.increadable beauty but a real dark side.

I stayed on St.Martin but St.Bart is the place.

[kneelo1]

I'll second Puerto Rico. SOme of the best surfing in my life, 3 seeks and the swell was always on. Worked from Wilderness on back to Rincon with a really special day at Wishing Well.

Avoid US holidays and get a car while there. Plenty of junk heaps around that circulate in the surfing community but you will need it to get the most out of the place.

[anorbury]

thanks guys - very informative rory - getting pysched already.

did you get over to barbados at all? i hear it lacks the consistency of puerto rico but is less hassled and better vibe in and out of the water.

[rory]

Never made it to Barbados. Soupbowls is reportedly classic although from what I hear its got a bit of a vibe. Its the Caribbean though so can't be to bad. Another plus for Barbados is that it is open to the central Atlantic hurricane swelss which are very common in September.

If you fly to Barbados via the states then you'll probably go via San Juan Puerto Rico. If thats the case then even a layover and car rental might get you a sample of PR.

The biggest issue at the time of year is the fickleness. Being reliant on storms, it could be mindblowingly good or horribly flat. Trade swell is a coming salvation though.

For September I really think that crowds won't be a problem anywhere in the Caribbean. The east coast surfers are usually content with the waves at home and holidays are over for most so you'll find everything very chilled.

Best of luck on you journey.
Rory

[Mattp]

I have been living in Jamaica for over two years. I just got back from a holiday in Panama (hot barrels) and met a guy from Puerto Rico, high speaks very highly of the surf there. Jamaica has waves but it is very inconsistent. No surf industyr exists there, and you usually surf alone, I had to fly to Barbados to buy a board. Soup Bowl is a great right hander. I would compare it to Caves at Cactus, if your from SA, Headlands Austy if your from NSW, express pt if your from Vic, Bluff if your Taswegian, Inside Burleigh if your a bender, or gas bay if your in the West. It really is a heavenly wave, plenty of raw power from the Atlantic, a great reef, tube sections etc. You can also surf around the S & SW side of the island on either side of the gap(St Lawrence) there are a couple of exceptional long lefts. Some good right hand points, and more protected. I have also surfed in the Dominican Republic at Encuentro, near Cabarete Nth coast. The DR is very cheap and a great place to hang, the waves are pretty good quality, but the crowds are around. I have also surfed the Colombian Carribean coast, near Cartagena, it's not bad but mostly beaches. I hear Guadeloupe has a great wave, La Moulle. Tobago in the SE is supposed have an all time right hand point too. I think PR has many many waves to choose from and two different facing coasts for the trades whatever they are at the time. Good luck and let us know how you go.

[reef]

Totally ignorant on the subject, but my girl's family originates from Trinidad and we've been thinking of checking it out...

Any hints or suggestions on waves, things to do or places to see?

[SP]

Try Margarita (Venezuela) - windsurfing and kite is also possible...check out www.surfreportvenezuela.com

[marcus]

reef- i havent been but ive been told about a really nice righthander off tobago near trinidad called pelicano point i think.
good waves and im not sure when my friend went there but it was off shore all season.

[tube5]

I spent a few months on Montserrat (pre volcanic erruption) ..excellent waves on the west coast at a rivermouth / reef setup during the northern winter. I couldn't guarantee that the break still exists as I've heard that there were massive ash & mud deposits in the area & the break may have silted up after the volcanic erruption a few years back. The reef (if thats what you can call it) was actually a triangular shaped bank made up of small riverstones/pebbels washed down from the mountains ...kinda like a permanent sandbank made from pebbles.
The break was called "belham valley rivermouth" & it's the only place I've ever surfed that was formed entirely of small pebbles like this????...anyone know of any surfspots similar???

[Natho]

I surfed Barbados when hurricane Katrina was moving towards USA. I got some of the best waves of my life. Both the East and West sides of the island were firing. Soup Bowls is a great wave on its day, however when its big it gets heavy (see Slater in Campaign 2 out at heavy Soup Bowls). Yes the locals get fairly fired up there, but like anywhere show them respect and they will respect you back. If you can surf fairly well they wont hassel you and will be stoked to watch you pull in. The trick is wait till they all go back in for their 10am joint under the Soup Bowls palm tree. When they paddle back out they are so stoned that you are suddenly their best friend.

[Lucky Al]

sorry can't say anything useful as know nothing, but very excited recently to read on transworld site about trip kelly slater did with a bunch of other great surfers to lesser antilles and can't keep from posting this amazing shot taken by dustin humphrey - maybe others might be able to say something about spot or area, but anyway isn't this beautiful!

[Natho]

Yeh Slater got some epic waves on that trip. I saw the pics in a USA surf mag. I know he surfed Soup Bowls in Barbados and rated it as one of the best surfs of his life.

There are some sick uncrowded waves off Guadalope (spelling ?) next to Barbados and my guess is that is where some of the pics were taken.

Gosh the Carribean has lots of waves. Dominican Republic, Cuba, Cozumel etc.

[chrisb]

Anyone who went to the recent surf movie festival might be able to help out on this, but the night i went TC intro'd some footage shot in -- I think -- Costa Rica and encouraged us all to get over to central America -- "they don't shoot at you anymore." He was filmed surfing there with an absolutely amazing local guy whose parents ran a restaurant on the beach. Reef break. Forget they guy's name, but he was a prodigy. So fluid gave me shivers.

Costa Rica of course features in the "Endless Summer 2". Classic righthanders. Take care in nightclubs remembering the murdered Aussie tourist.