The break
One long right at the door, and four more within forty minutes of it.
Why the bay works.
A headland sticks out into the North Atlantic. Swell arriving from the north west hits it, refracts, and wraps into the horseshoe behind it, losing height and gaining length the whole way round. By the time it reaches the sand covered point it is a fraction of its open ocean size and several times its open ocean duration.
The bottom is sand over rock, which is the part that matters when you fall. The wave stands up gradually rather than jacking, which is the part that matters when you are learning to read it.
Five spots
Spots we take people to
The Bay
At the door
Beginner to advanced
The long right. Three takeoff zones, mellow shoulder, sand bottom. Works on almost any north west swell with light east wind. Gets crowded and stays friendly.
Cathedral
Five minutes north
Intermediate
The outside section of the same headland, picking up more swell and breaking harder. Only worth paddling out when the bay is overhead.
Boilers
Forty minutes south
Advanced
A powerful right over reef, named for the rusted ship's boiler sitting on it. Fast, hollow, unforgiving of a late takeoff. We take experienced surfers, not students.
Tamri
Thirty minutes south
Intermediate to advanced
An exposed beach break at a river mouth that holds swell when everywhere else is flat. Strong currents. Good on a small day, serious on a big one.
Imourane
Fifty minutes south
Beginner to intermediate
A soft right point over boulders with a long, forgiving shoulder. Our usual answer when the bay is too small and Boilers is too much.
What the bay wants
Swell
- Direction
- North west, 290 to 320 degrees
- Size
- Three to eight feet at the buoy
- Period
- Twelve seconds and up
Wind
- Best
- East and north east, offshore
- Tolerable
- Light north
- Ruined by
- Afternoon north west sea breeze
Tide
- Point
- Mid to high, pushing
- Inside
- Any, best at mid
- Avoid
- Dead low on a small swell
How not to be the problem in the lineup.
The bay is a point break, which means priority runs from the person deepest on the peak outward, and there is no ambiguity about it. It is also a village where people have surfed since long before any of us arrived.
- 01One wave, one rider. On a wave this long, dropping in costs someone thirty seconds, not three.
- 02Paddle out around the shoulder, not through the takeoff zone. It is a longer paddle and it is the correct one.
- 03Local surfers and the kids from the village have priority. This is not a rule we enforce, it is a courtesy you extend.
- 04If you are learning, stay on the inside until a coach says otherwise. The outside peak is not the place to work it out.
