We hit the Maldives for this year’s Surfing Life Board Bible, a nation of islands in the Indian Ocean that would feature in most surfers’ top ten. The equator-hugging archipelago is home to about five per cent of the Earth’s reefs, making the ideal backdrop to test our six shortboards. This “ultimate surf ” destination offers a variety of rippable reef breaks and reliable swell through the middle of the year when Australian waters can be unreliable. With baked-in bathymetry of hundreds of reef passes, we could take advantage of swell and wind directions, ensuring every day is a winner.
We jumped onboard the Maavahi Charters, owned and operated by local Maldivian surfer Mickey Nattz. Mickey is the best host in the Maldives for surfing, and his 85-foot-long traditional Maldivian cruiser is the perfect vessel to call “home” for any surf trip, let alone our yearly Board Bible. If you’re heading to this 1192-island country that stretches over 871 kilometres, let Mickey and the knowledgeable surf crew of the Maavahi host you in the Maldives. The triple-decked Maavahi mainly operates out of the Southern Atolls, which in our experience, is the best place—fewer crowds and more exposure to the Southern swells—in these warm vodka-clear waters.
On this trip, we are fortunate enough to join the crew as they steam from the Malé Atolls to the Southern Atolls to start this year’s season, after crucial maintenance needed by every charter boat that spends 100 per cent of its time on the ocean. The journey is 300 nautical miles south
