Surf's Up!

I’m so keen to surf in the Gambia. No one really does it though. Most Gambians can’t / don’t like to swim, and so the idea of wading out to sea for any kind of leisure is seen as rather strange / stupid. But there’s such great potential!

Two thirds of the population live in “Greater Banjul” / the Serekunda urban area (on the edge of which I live - star on the map) and down the “Coastal Belt”. All the way down the coast are beautiful sandy Atlantic beaches. A number of them I’ve been blessed to enjoy over the years, though never with a surfboard. Until now…

I’m so excited and eager to get surfing, but I need to hold myself back a bit. Here’s the sitch -

Location

The beach is a 25 minute walk from my house; I couldn’t really expect to be much closer. It’s lovely to be so near for a swim / drink at the beach bar, but even that distance is enough to make for a pretty hot and sweaty walk, just with a rucksack. I’m not super keen on lugging my board down and back (at least 30 mins to a surfable spot), especially as I can’t check conditions in advance.

Hopefully, by Christmas, I’ll have a vehicle that I can pop a board in. That will make things a lot easier, both for going for a surf here, or exploring beaches a bit further afield.

Knowledge

There’s not really any local knowledge about surfing here. There’s not even non-local knowledge about surfing here! Google shows up a few people who seem to have thought about it, but little more. One website simply says, “if you venture down the coast you might just stumble upon a whole line of great breaks”. Normally, one surfs in an area where people know about the waves, the tides, the currents, the underwater beds of the beaches, and how the weather (wind / temperature / season) affects all those things. Here, no one seems to have considered those things from a surfing point of view. At least, if they have, it’s not at all systematised or shared. So I’ve got my work cut out for me.

It’s quite an exciting project to have as a hobby here: mapping the surf potential of a new and promising area. It could easily be a full time job: ideally you’d want daily and careful observation of different spots in different conditions. There’s no way I can do that. I’ve got other things to be doing… But that doesn’t mean there’s no hope.

A nearby fishing beach

I could realistically pop down to the beach at least a couple of times a week. I’ve done so already. And (as I’ve done already) I’ll make notes about what I see of the surfing potential in different spots, jotting down a few details about the conditions and how it looked. Looking at the map and reading the Guide Book can tell you a few things too: noticing the slight points in the coastline (which will create interesting waves), being aware of where the busy working fishing beaches are (can avoid them for now), and so on. I’ve already begun planning potential day / weekend trips, where I could check out promising beaches a bit further down the coast.

Whilst people may not have been thinking “surfing”, there will be related local knowledge. Quite a few people spend a lot of time on the beach - either fishermen, or in the tourist industry, at beach bars / juice bars / hotels. They are more than willing to chat (try avoiding it!) and will surely have noticed at least what the sea tends to do at different times of year / when a storm kicks up / what the tide does to the beach / etc. The fishermen in their multicoloured dug-out canoes will have familiarity with the ocean in a more close-up way too. So I can begin mining info from these guys. Maybe some will even help me out by keeping more of an eye on things if I promise to buy juice / fish off them…

Dangers

A lovely looking wave that I found...

Another reason I’m not just diving in straight away is that whenever you’re thinking about water sports, especially in the ocean, there are dangers. Even more so when few, if any, people have tried to do what you’re doing before. Some promising looking beaches are rocky. There are rip tides around, though these can actually be useful for surfing (getting you out back to surf back in) if you know where they are and use them well. If you don’t, they can be at best frustrating and tiring, at worst lethal. Thankfully no one / no guide books mention sharks or crocodiles in the sea (the crocs here are all in the river, provided they don't get too lost…), though I’ve known a few people be stung by jellyfish. What can you do? Worth the risk.


So I’m biding my time at the moment, confident that with some observing and talking, the day will come before too long…

Potential

I’ve mentioned that there’s exciting potential. Here’s why I reckon so:

Bodyboarding down south here in 2005

• Many kilometres of easily accessible west-facing Atlantic coast, with no land between here and Central America = good waves. 
• Access to the same waves from storms in the North Atlantic which people enjoy very much in Morocco (booming surf industry), the Canary Islands (also a popular surf spot) and western Portugal (top place to surf in Europe, home to the biggest wave ever surfed [no thanks], and excellent conditions for beginners too, which I’ve enjoyed a few times.) 
• A surf camp has got going in Dakar, capital of neighbouring Senegal, in recent years, and Ghana, further round the coast. Positive signs. 
• Friendly locals will be happy to share what they know. 
• Did I mention the beautiful sandy palm-fringed beaches? 
• At this time of year you wouldn’t even need a wet suit. Nice. 

So - to be continued…!