A standout pulse of SSW swell lit up the South-facing reefs of Gaafu Dhaalu in the last days of March, just as forecast.
Even better, the swell train had a long tail, with notable pulses keeping surfers grinning as the weather remained fine and glassy conditions, or light offshores from the NW kept most breaks firing. Love Charms is one of our favourite lefts, and under a long period, SSW swell can turn on like a Maldivian version of some of Fiji’s famed open-water reefs.
Maldives or Fiji? Love Charms 2nd April 2023, Photo Liuttey
The fun continued into the second week of April, with a few epic sessions at Café Break. Check this dreamy clip:
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The fun continued the full length of the archipelago – the Kandooma surf guide team were enjoying uncrowded and glassy conditions at some of South Male Atolls best surfing fun factories.
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Season Outlook
April 2023 is showing that this year is likely to be very different to 2022. Last season, the Negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) became established. A lot like the Pacific Oceans La Nina, the IOD can have wide ranging effects – some good for surfers, some not so good. Last year enjoyed plenty of swell – especially out of the South East quadrant – however, persistent gusty winds out of the west to South West favoured some breaks like Kandooma, whereas many others were wind-affected, especially the Male Atolls lefts, and south- and west- facing breaks of the Central Atolls. The good news for 2023 is the IOD is now trending slightly positive, which should result in more fine weather, light and variable winds, and surfing options facing West, South as well as East.
Forecast: 15 – 22 April 2023
A broad trade-wind field is well-established south of the equator, with 20-25 knots pointing toward South and East facing reefs of the Maldives, pushing out a consistent Trade Swell wave train in the 9 – 11 second range. Being north of the equator and just above the doldrums, the Maldives will be enjoying light an variable winds with a hint of NW – i.e. glassy and fun almost everywhere. For swell, we can expect 3’ – 4’ of SE trade swell hanging in from 15th April, right up until the end of the month.
SW groundswells will provide a background of occasional sets to 2 foot at moments, but not much action really.
Forecast: 23 – 30 April 2023
The long-established ESE Trade swell continues to deliver in the 3’ plus range, while winds are expected to remain light and variable with some light WNW grooming the faces. From 23rd April, a mid-sized pulse of SSW groundswell around 16 seconds and 4 feet will likely provide some decent set waves at most breaks. The longer period swell can help these swells wrap more than expected, and so even East-facing breaks of Central and Male Atolls should see SE and SSW swell trains combine with some fun head-high+ sections, and double-ups across most breaks. Towards 29th April, we may see a strong pulse of SSW-S groundswell building in the 17-second range. A mid-latitude low is expected to intensify, as it pushes in to the Indian Ocean to the East of Madagascar. The northward progression of the low should help build swell consistency, and we are optimistic that this swell may exceed expectations.
South – SSW groundswells – yes please! Photo by Liuttey.
South East Trade Swells – yes we like those too! Photo: Jinu
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