surfing the andaman islands

dipen

I'm thinking of heading to the andamans to chill and surf. does anyone know what the waves are like. and also is the reef far out to sea? if so is it quite easy to get a local to ride out with you and wait?

ingeneral if i want to head around to a few spots around the island could i get a boat?

i heard the surf was meant to be ok.


dips

picklepak

I wish I knew the answer... please come back and tell us about it after you find out for yourself!

cheers

dipen

well the reason i ask is if you go to www.seal-asia.com/surfing it tells of uncharted spots on the island. i'm thinking what a gr8 way to see the islands. chilling and surfing. regardless of the surfing i want to see the island but if theres surf.....well that adds a new element!!

banglabound

Does anyone know if there is any surf anywhere on the subcontinent? I am wondering if I want to bring my Boogie board in one of my precious 2 boxes when I move.

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edwardseco

Andamans do have surfing and at least one surf shop rents board or did. Saw this on a recent Thorn Tree post..

natasha chanda acharya

Andamans is famous for scuba diving and snorkeling. Not so much for surfing. The three main islands in Andamans - North, South and Middle, are surrounded by clusters of small islands. So the waves near these beaches are mostly calm as they are not in the "open sea". I have seen people surfing in places like Chidiya tapu (Southern most tip of South Andamans) but that's mostly kid stuff with waves rarely ever more than 2-3 feet or so. There are cruise ships (nothing extravagant, just the basic tour liners) that operate from South Andamans to North Andamans. These are either day trips or overnight trips. Proably only once a week or so. Do not have definite info. These ships take the route outside of the smaller islands on the East side of Andamans. These trips are mainly for dophin spotting. But I don't know if you can jump off for a quick surf. You probably can. These are the areas where you would find decent surf. 5-6 feet or so. more if you are lucky. www.seal-asia.com also mentions the same area. The other option would be for you to hire a private boat for the day and venture out on your own. That way you can stop and stall where you want. Of course you have to bargain for decent rates but its probably the most feasible option.

Bryan

The best surf in South Asia is at the southern tip around Palolem and Varkala where threee oceans meet ...well two and a sea
this results in pretty good swell and during monsoon the swell is excellent

For the best surf in Asia head to Sumatra. Nias off the coast of Sumatra is excellent and has a reasonably sized surf community
Pulau Weh on the northern tip also has good surf if I remember right

India unfortunatly is blessed with many things but a good surf is not one of them
I would imagine the andamons would not be particularly good sue tot he reasons given above

bryan

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Graham

Hello all

Just to disagree with the last comment left by Bryan, India has got areas of good surf. Anyhow Bryan, get your facts straight, Palolem and Varkala are not on the southern tip of india, they are hundreds of miles apart. Palolem is in Goa, and in Kerala Kovalam has better surf than Varlaka.

The Italian mag Surfnews has recently done several articles on the surf of mainland india, mostly on the east coast (bay of bengal). You can view these online at www.surfnews.com. On my last trip to india Orrisa seemed to hold some promise. I was their during april/may an their was consistant 3-6 ft waves everyday. Though I didn't have my board I managed to do some surfing on a long wooden plank which I borrowed from some kids who were using it for the same purpose.

It is undoubtable from recent press coverage and their inclusion in the world stormrider guide that the Andamans have good surf. However, as with the original question. I would be very interested in finding out if you can do this cheaply without hiring a luxury yaught (which not only can I not afford but would not want to in a poor country like india). I suspect that you can, after all this is india- anything is possible with a little effort


Graham

Shiver me Timbers

I met some surfers in the Andaman's who told me that Little Andaman was the new hot spot in Asia for surfing.

They also told me not to tell anyone..........

Darmabum

. . . that there are waves in the Andamans, considering where they are and that there are numerous swells/storm systems to produce waves in that area. I just looked up a site - www/thaiwave.com. - said Surfer magazine has been there - in '98. As a surfer myself I think the potential there is great. Looking at a map it seems to me that the same storm systems that make Indo break would also work for the Andamans, especially along the SEastern coast.

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crvlvr

Graham, Welcome to IM.

I just wanted to point out that Bryan posted his message over 2 years ago and his last post on IM was over a year ago.