Surfing in Mauritius

The most easily accessible surf spots are found mainly along the south west coast where surfing conditions are best during the months of May to October.

Surfing spots
The legendary and most accessible surfing spots of Mauritius are the Tamarin bay and Le Morne point; both along the South-West coast and to a lesser extent the Rivičre des Galets in the South. Of course, there are several other places where waves are occasionally adequate. Balaclava and Pointe-aux-Piments (on the North-West coast,) are OK, mainly in the summer months, when depressions bring in swells from the South-West. Other spots are difficult to reach without a boat.

Tamarin Bay
This is a legendary surfing spot but not a myth. Tamarin bay was well known in the late 60's among the hippy surfers, namely Australians for its ideal wave. At that time, it was such a great spot that the surfers tried not to advertise it and keep it for themselves and gave it the name code of "Santosha".

Since then with the natural movement of sandbanks Tamarin is no longer an all year round spot but remains the favourite spot for the Mauritian surfers as when conditions are right, Tamarin bay offers the most clean right foots and left foots (Cap Dal and Blackstone) with possibilities of pipeline riding. Even beginners can have a treat surfing the shore breaks of the bay. Surfing at Cap Dal occurs along the reefs, which are rather close to the shore (150 meters.) Only experienced surfers should venture on this spot during low tides.

This place is magic, if not mystic, especially on "Big Days" when the whole village is on a buzz, when all have one thing in mind: surfing. On those days, Tamarin is like back to the "Flower Power" times that left several prints in Tamarin.

Le Morne
Le Morne also offers lefts and rights as One Eye and La Prairie spots are on each side of a pass. Le Morne spots may not often offer the ideal waves like in Tamarin but has the great advantage of being moderate to big almost all year round; at least during 2 to 3 hours of the day.

Conditions at Le Morne are often extreme as there is always a strong draught and strong sea current dragging out of the lagoon. Both spots are along coral reefs that are over 500 meters away from the shore. We would recommend occasional surfers not to venture alone and not to surf away from others, as it is merely impossible for someone to watch a particular surfer from the beach.

The white-short question
Rumour mills carry-on about that question to the point that we were doubtful about what to write as we received several comments from local surfers. Being Mauritians, we believe we are in the right place to tell the plain truth.

By definition the white shorts are locals and to the question asked whether there are any in Mauritius, the answer is Yes! There is a handful of them in their late forties. They most often surf on one-eye Le Morne and at Tamarin Bay. A few of them are kitesurfers as well but they are not the only hostile kitesurfers in Le Morne.

To our point of view, the real white shorts are not the only ones creating troubles. Although we sometimes disappointingly experienced occasions where good friends do not respect the priorities once the foam is up their nose, such attitudes are not comparable with those of the white shorts.

Funny enough, in Le Morne, most hostilities are created either by expats or just tourists coming regularly and because they are in groups, can afford to set the rules. There are sometimes cases where the locals are the victims; this can partly explain the generally unfriendly atmosphere and the "show-off" attitudes around Le Morne beach and wave spots.

Conclusions to this sad chapter.

Visitors should keep in mind that the white shorts and other idiots do not receive the support of the hundreds of Mauritians.

The atmosphere is far more friendly in other regions of Mauritius, enjoyed mainly by Mauritians and expats who just enjoy the sport and the company of peers. Kitesurfers can enjoy huge lagoons on their own every day of the week and even on weekends. For surfers it is not as easy as spots are not very regular and often not easily accessible.

The shark question
That question is exactly the same as for white shorts. Yes there are sharks in Mauritius like everywhere else; and No, they are not an issue.

The varieties of sharks we have in Mauritius are not the killer types. Near the coast there are the grey reef sharks and the ones we call "sand sharks". They can reach approx 2 m long if looked for but most of them measure around 1,50 m. Further out there are the hammer-heads, Makos and very rarely a white tip.

The regions of Tamarin and Le Morne contain a bit more sharks than elsewhere, especially outside the passes and channels but funny enough, the very few reported incidents (say 3 in the past decade) did not all occur in these places and to our knowledge no one lost an arm or leg and no deadly attacks have ever occurred.

Have a nice ride!

Tweet

Follow

Update January 2013