Pam Burridge on her trip to Kandooma, the Maldives (Interview)

Pam Burridge is widely acknowledged as Australia’s first real full-time professional surfer girl. She busted down the door for future generations of female surfers to follow in her path.  She won the ASP World Title in 1990.

Pam was on the World Surfing Tour for nearly 20 years before moving from Sydney’s Northern Beaches to the South Coast of NSW where she now runs her very successful surf school.

In August 2016 Pam hosted her first Signature Series trip with The Perfect Wave at Kandooma Surf Resort, the Maldives. The concept coaching trip sold out in record time.

Pam and The Perfect Wave guests had such a great time Pam announced she will be back at Kandooma in August 2017. Get in early to avoid disappointment and read about the experience below.

The Perfect Wave’s marketing manager Ben Horvath caught up with Pam soon after she returned from her maiden trip to the Maldives.

Ben Horvath – Pam what was your impression of Kandooma?

Pam Burridge – Kandooma is such a beautiful island and the Maldivian people were really lovely too. The resort is luxurious and the waves were fantastic. I was loving the warm water and incredible blues of the sea and bold white of the sand.

BH – How were the waves?

PB – Kandooma Right is so convenient. It peels right along the reef at the front of the resort and has two distinct peaks that occasionally link up for an incredible ride. We had tons of swell when we were there so the Right was pumping for the whole trip. It’s good to have a choice though so if the Right is too quick or you want to do some turns, Riptides is super closeout ride away and is a really fun wave. It reminds me of Velzyland but that might be a trick of my memory there. There are a few lefts that are world class in the right swell too so I’m looking forward to catching them next trip. The sand bar was also a great back up for a cruisy surf  on longer boards or for the little kids. Something for everyone, which is nice.

BH – How was the food at Kandooma?

PB –  The food was amazing. So much to choose from and super fresh options. Dangerous to have so much delicious food but we worked hard in the waves everyday so burned through it in no time. They cook up fresh flatbreads to go with the variety of curries and spicy Maldivian options or you can go fresh seafood or roasts. Really too much to choose from. It was nearly the highlight for me. No cooking or shopping, just eating beautiful food! Perfect! 

BH – Is Kandooma kids-friendly? Did your family dig it?

PB –  Kandooma was full of families with younger kids (under 12 eat free?). My husband Mark, son Otis and stepson Mick came on this trip and had the best time. Mick and Otis surfed out front all day every day. Mick got a 10 second barrels on his 3rd wave at Kandooma Right so he was happy from the start.

BH – Did the guests enjoy?

PB –  Our group had a great time and made the most of every surf, laugh meal and good time on offer. I hope we helped all the girls improve their surfing and connect with themselves. I know they enjoyed the no shopping no cooking part too.

BH –  Any plans for anything different this year?

PB –  Next year’s trip is going to be a little smaller. We had 14 last trip so we will go with around 10 to make it easier to work with everyone. Better for the boat transfers and sharing time around. Other than that we will be crossing our fingers for a repeat of the swell for next year.

BH – What level of surfer best suits this trip?

PB –  The surfer who will get the most out of this trip is someone who is quite fit and can do 2-3 surfs a day. While experienced beginners can have a good time it’s better if you can take off at the peak on a green wave with some confidence. We had uncrowded surf so I did a lot of peak positioning and encouraging the girls to take waves from the correct take-off spot. Once on the green face, you can develop and feel the linking turns and flow to become an intermediate surfer or if already at that stage, improve your turns to become a more advanced surfer. If you want to go for the trip of a lifetime, get your girlfriends and get on this trip because it will fill up fast. It’s too much fun.