Former WCT Pro, Momentum Gen Shredder and Big Wave Legend Shane Dorian talks Kandooma and Maldives Charters with Perfect Wave

Shane and son Jackson love the Maldives.

Interview by Ben Horvath. Photos and Videos by Andy Potts.

PW – How many trips have you made to the Maldives now with Perfect Wave Shane?
Shane Dorian – Four now altogether; Two boat trips and two land resort trips at Holiday Inn Resort, Kandooma.

Shane in full style mode, cutting back at Kandooma.

PW – This time you had only just recovered from a serious knee injury…. Tell us exactly what your injury was and how did you sustain it?
Shane Dorian – I was snowboarding and wrapped my leg around a tree. I completely tore my ACL and MCL ligaments in my knee and had to get surgery to repair them.

Who even does turns like this first surf back after a torn ACL? Shane Dorian does.

PW – Exactly when did you get back in the water… how many days into your Carpe Vita boat charter?
Shane Dorian – I think I started surfing around day 3-4 of the boat trip. I was waiting for small, glassy and organized conditions to minimize and risk of hurting my knee again. I started feeling more comfortable and was able to move to my short board from using a long board initially.

Shane and daughter cruising at Riptides.

PW – How many times all up have you been to the Maldives, including surf trips and contests, etc.?
Shane Dorian – I think I have been there 10 times now.

King of the groms Mr Dorian

PW – What attracts you to the region? What are your favourite aspects?
Shane Dorian – I really am drawn to the region, its so far away from where I am from. I love that its such an unusual location, in close proximity to Asia, the middle East and Eastern Europe. The culture, the people the food is super interesting to me. I also love the warm, clear water and perfect surf.

Fun in da sun.

PW – You had to cancel your annual boat charter and your Kandooma Resort trip last year due to Covid restrictions, how was the experience this year in terms of covid safety etc?
Shane Dorian – Yeah it wasn’t bad at all. Of course there are increased risks to traveling these days, but I felt like the risks were very low for my family and we took a lot of precautions on the boat and the land resort to make sure we did all we could.

Shane at Holiday Inn Resort, Kandooma.

PW – How were the crowds? Were the Maldives less crowded than usual due to Covid this trip?

Shane Dorian – No, surprisingly. A lot of popular surf destinations like Indo were closed so the Maldives had a lot of surfers. More than usual for sure. That being said we had plenty of waves to go around. It was a bit busy at Kandooma at times, but the boat trip was great, we surfed by ourselves more than half the time.

Central Atolls wave machine.

PW – How were the waves on the boat charter leg of your trip? Where did you score?
Shane Dorian – Yes we did. When we got on the boat the surf was really small and the weather wasn’t great the first day. Kinda funky wind and some rain. But from day 2 on we had beautiful weather and lucked out with 3 fun swells in 9 days.

PW – How was Kandooma this trip? Did you get some swell? How were the conditions and the crowds?
Shane Dorian – We got super lucky at Kandooma. Our dates lined up with an epic swell and we scored Kandooma right pretty much as good as it gets. I was insane to see multiple days of perfect overhead barrels. During the biggest days of the swell the crowd was pretty mellow and there were tons of waves. As the swell got small near the end of the trip it was a bit crowded for sure.

Kandooma inside bowl.

Jackson eyeing the inside bowl at Kandooma.

PW – How do the family enjoy Kandooma?
Shane Dorian – They absolutely love it there. It kinda ticks all the boxes. Whether you’re a hardcore surfer or don’t surf at all there is plenty to do. We did a couple of days of snorkeling, swimming with sharks, diving a shipwreck and parasailing. We also stayed part of our time in an overwater bungalow which was a lot of fun.

Diving with the harmless sharks is a blast.

Some of the best diving in the world, folks.

PW – Jackson looks like he is in grommet heaven in the Maldives… does he dig the whole deal?

Shane Dorian – He sure does. He loves to surf these days and there were other cool kids on the trip for him to hang out with and surf with. He was loving the big swell at Kandooma right as well. He is little so he and the other kids were getting stand up barrels which is a treat.

Jackson kegged on the inside at Kandooma.

PW – Who were the other groms on this trip?
Shane Dorian – We had a few kids from California, Joe Zucchero, Parker Murphy and Dash Pinegar. And a couple of kids from Hawaii, Ryder Prouty and Chase Burnes.

Dash coned at Kandooma.

Chase slotted.

PW – How would you describe the waves and the whole trip to the Maldives for a first timer or for a family?
Shane Dorian – The surf is awesome. I would say normally the surf is in the waist to head high range and usually fairly user friendly. When a good swell is happening, there are a lot of hollow waves as well, but typically clean and mechanical. The Maldives is a great family place because of the mix of perfect surf and great accommodation and service. Its a unique part of the world that not many get to visit and its a bucket-list trip for good reason.

Kandooma drone overview.

PW – Hey we are totally honoured to have yourself and family as guests annually now…. We going to do it all again in 2022?
Shane Dorian – Yes, indeed! Its a highlight of the year for us for sure! We love our annual Maldives trips with Perfect Wave.

The Dorians and their 2019 Kandooma crew.

Jackson locking in at O.T.W? No it’s the inside bowl at Kandooma on July 21.