Seriously, it’s been some of the best few weeks of surf in the Maldives that anyone can remember.
All-time sessions have been going down, with non-stop South East swell reinforced by pulses of South groundswell. Light westerly winds, plenty of sunshine and gin-clear water, conditions are best described as good to epic!
We will let some of the photos of recent days do all the talking:
Kandooma Right, photo by Perfect Wave guest P Cutting
Tucky Joes, photo by surf guide Minhaal
Perfect Wave CEO Jamie Gray is a veteran Maldives surfer and his call was that the 4th week of July is always the best swell of the season at Kandooma.
Our forecast last month said the same thing. What does that look like? Perfect Wave guides Jinu and @Minherl just posted some images:
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Season Outlook
Following the epic July 2023, early August is perhaps a little subdued, however, the ocean factors driving the swell remain in place and we expect to see a return to pulsing pumping conditions through mid to late August. The 2023 season has been a standout from the consistent moderate westerly winds grooming all the breaks to perfection. In 2023, the neutral to positive IOD means stable weather and setting up what may be an excellent season in the Maldives.
A strong high pressure anomaly in the East of the Indian Ocean is pushing up against lower pressure in the Central Indian Ocean, creating an embedded trade wind field of ESE winds pushing swell back towards the Maldives.
The good news for 2023 is the more consistent Westerly winds in Maldives favour breaks facing South around to East.
When strong trade winds south of the equator deliver dominant SE trade swells combine with wintery lows pushing up SW groundswells, there is plenty of scope that conditions will trend from good to epic at the premium east and SE facing breaks.
Forecast 5 – 12 August 2023
Solid SE trade swell continues and builds on 5 August in the 6 – 7 foot @12 seconds range (152 degrees) peaking on the 6th Aug and combining with 3 – 4 foot of SSW groundswell at 18 seconds plus. Winds will remain light W-WNW and the combinations of swells and winds could mean one of the biggest and best days of the 2023 season in the Male and Central Atolls. From 8th Aug, the SE trade swells will throttle back to the 4 – 5 foot range with around 3 foot of SW groundswells. From 8th to 12th August, expect the SE swells to ease back again, down to 3 foot and 9 seconds. This will mean fun-sized waves, but lacking the punch and consistency of late July / early August. Winds are expected to be moderate westerly which should be good at the east facing breaks of South Male Atoll, expect to score head high plus at spots like Riptides and Quarters.
UPDATE: This swell overdelivered – see a recap on this swell event here
13 – 20 August
Swell size and consistency should remain subdued in the 3 foot range SE @ 9 seconds, with a boost in energy at South-exposed breaks with a mix of South and SW swells adding to the mix. Thankfully, forecast winds across Male and Central Atolls are expected to remain light to moderate westerly, with a bit of NW in there, which means SE facing lefts like Chickens, Lohis, Tucky Joes could be super fun and the best options in the smaller to mid sized conditions.
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21 – 31 August
The mid sized SE swell continues in the 4′ – 5′ range from 20th through to 24th August. Expect the east facing breaks like Machines, F1’s and Kandooma Right to be firing. SW groundswells in the 2′ – 3′ range will put a bit of extra push in to the sets at the South exposed breaks like Cokes
From 25th August through to 28th August the SE trade swell will throttle back to the 3 ‘- 4′ range @ 10 seconds but trend slightly more east to 130 degrees. This direction will keep the fun happening in the head high range at the east facing breaks.
Expect a solid new pulse to push in late on the 29th August. This is being driven by a cut-off low pushing to Western Australia and squeezing against a strong high pressure system in the Central Indian Ocean. The resulting fetch of 30 – 40 + knot SE winds will be near stationary for around 4 days, driving a powerful swell directly to wards the Maldives. This swell should peak around 30 August in the 6′ – 8’ range @ 12 seconds+. At this size it is likely to exceed the swell of 6th August – so expect double overhead plus at most breaks of the Male Atolls. It could be even bigger at some spots so come prepared with a step up board. Of course when swells reach this level, there is also a number of little known reefs that start breaking in more modest sizes – so there will be waves for most levels of surfers.
When you see this weather map before you head to the Maldives you need to pack your step-up! WAM charts from Swellnet
MALDIVES SURF TRAVEL SPECIALS
Azure skies, golden sands, and sparkling turquoise waters make Kandooma Maldives the perfect spot for couples, honeymooners and families
Azure skies, golden sands, and sparkling turquoise waters make Kandooma Maldives perfect