Now's the time for tropical paradise
Oh where to go, where to go? Where in the world would have warm blue water, the sun shining, be relatively uncrowded, and most of all, have perfect waves? Yeah sure, hot chicks on the beach handing out free beer and helicopters raining down 100-dollar bills would be nice too, but let's try to be at least semi-real.
I mean, there could be quite a few places out there that could offer such ideal conditions, but what about a certainty for the month of May? A paradise location during this month you can bet your bottom dollar that it will produce the waves you read about, see pictures of, dream about, and probably lust for. Where is this place? Look no further than the thousands of islands through the South Pacific.
Which island, you may ask? Pick any one that you can access. You won't have to worry about losing your money on that bet, because you will score great surf, but the trip expenses may still siphon that money from your piggy bank - this is one of the most expensive zones in the world for surf travelers, mainly 'cause wave access is almost all by boat. (And boats, as we know, stand for "Bring Another Thousand.") Why May? Well, there is many reasons to dip South during this month other than the WCT event at Teahupoo in Tahiti, but the major reason would be the vigorous storm activity that takes place in the Southern Hemisphere during this time. The underworld comes alive with storms from the South Indian Ocean all the way to South America that sling out solid swell for these desolate pieces of land that scatter about in the Pacific. This is due to the fall season of the South Hemi and strong wave producing lows associated with the frontal systems that are gearing up for a soon to come winter season. Furthermore, late season storms of the North Hemi are still very much a possibility to send down some North Pacific juice. May is also in the middle of the dry season. So you may need to load up on the sunscreen as you spend countless hours surfing perfect waves under sunny skies and light offshore winds.Overall, you may be broke when you get back (financially or bones), but you will have a memory that will last forever and a smile that will hold up for at least awhile. --Jonathan Warren
APRIL 2007 BEST BET RECAP: CENTRAL AMERICA
It was an excellent month of surf in Central America, our Best Bet for April 2007. Let's re-examine the pointers we gave at the beginning of the month: A series of storms have been plowing across the South Pacific lately, with more on tap for the next few days. Overhead to well overhead surf will result in much of Central America and Mainland Mexico through the first third of the month. Check. The beginning of the month basically went off with overhead surf for most breaks along with clean conditions and a handful of double overhead days at standout spots. That was thanks to a long run of cyclonic activity just east of New Zealand. Furthermore, because the deep Southern Ocean area is still warm, relatively speaking, the ice of Antarctica is at its smallest total area of the year. Less ice equals more Open Ocean, which equals more fetch area for would be swells. As a result, Central America will frequently see some of its largest Southern Hemi swells of the year in April or May. Big time check. A textbook example of a smaller ice sheet leading to increased fetch and resulting swell took place when a large low developed in the deep Southern Ocean around the beginning of the month. If the storm had taken place in September, when the ice sheet is at or near its largest surface area, the fetch for Central America would have been significantly decreased resulting in a much smaller swell. As it was, the ice sheet was at a minimum in early April allowing for an especially large fetch and the biggest south swell of the season from April 8th-10th. This swell was primarily focused in the western end of South America (El Salvador and Nicaragua) with double to triple overhead+ surf there, while Costa Rica and Panama were a bit smaller. Smaller surf will likely take over through mid month, with a good chance of another solid run of swell late April through early May. And finally, check. Much smaller surf prevailed through Central America during the middle part of the month as high pressure briefly became the dominant feature in the South Pacific. It didn't last for long however, as a couple of solid SW to S swells picked back up over the last few days of the month with well overhead surf at top breaks and we've got another solid run of SW swell heading into the first weekend of May. Overall, a darn fine month to be in the region. --Kevin Wallis
Oh where to go, where to go? Where in the world would have warm blue water, the sun shining, be relatively uncrowded, and most of all, have perfect waves? Yeah sure, hot chicks on the beach handing out free beer and helicopters raining down 100-dollar bills would be nice too, but let's try to be at least semi-real.
I mean, there could be quite a few places out there that could offer such ideal conditions, but what about a certainty for the month of May? A paradise location during this month you can bet your bottom dollar that it will produce the waves you read about, see pictures of, dream about, and probably lust for. Where is this place? Look no further than the thousands of islands through the South Pacific.
Which island, you may ask? Pick any one that you can access. You won't have to worry about losing your money on that bet, because you will score great surf, but the trip expenses may still siphon that money from your piggy bank - this is one of the most expensive zones in the world for surf travelers, mainly 'cause wave access is almost all by boat. (And boats, as we know, stand for "Bring Another Thousand.") Why May? Well, there is many reasons to dip South during this month other than the WCT event at Teahupoo in Tahiti, but the major reason would be the vigorous storm activity that takes place in the Southern Hemisphere during this time. The underworld comes alive with storms from the South Indian Ocean all the way to South America that sling out solid swell for these desolate pieces of land that scatter about in the Pacific. This is due to the fall season of the South Hemi and strong wave producing lows associated with the frontal systems that are gearing up for a soon to come winter season. Furthermore, late season storms of the North Hemi are still very much a possibility to send down some North Pacific juice. May is also in the middle of the dry season. So you may need to load up on the sunscreen as you spend countless hours surfing perfect waves under sunny skies and light offshore winds.Overall, you may be broke when you get back (financially or bones), but you will have a memory that will last forever and a smile that will hold up for at least awhile. --Jonathan Warren
APRIL 2007 BEST BET RECAP: CENTRAL AMERICA
It was an excellent month of surf in Central America, our Best Bet for April 2007. Let's re-examine the pointers we gave at the beginning of the month: A series of storms have been plowing across the South Pacific lately, with more on tap for the next few days. Overhead to well overhead surf will result in much of Central America and Mainland Mexico through the first third of the month. Check. The beginning of the month basically went off with overhead surf for most breaks along with clean conditions and a handful of double overhead days at standout spots. That was thanks to a long run of cyclonic activity just east of New Zealand. Furthermore, because the deep Southern Ocean area is still warm, relatively speaking, the ice of Antarctica is at its smallest total area of the year. Less ice equals more Open Ocean, which equals more fetch area for would be swells. As a result, Central America will frequently see some of its largest Southern Hemi swells of the year in April or May. Big time check. A textbook example of a smaller ice sheet leading to increased fetch and resulting swell took place when a large low developed in the deep Southern Ocean around the beginning of the month. If the storm had taken place in September, when the ice sheet is at or near its largest surface area, the fetch for Central America would have been significantly decreased resulting in a much smaller swell. As it was, the ice sheet was at a minimum in early April allowing for an especially large fetch and the biggest south swell of the season from April 8th-10th. This swell was primarily focused in the western end of South America (El Salvador and Nicaragua) with double to triple overhead+ surf there, while Costa Rica and Panama were a bit smaller. Smaller surf will likely take over through mid month, with a good chance of another solid run of swell late April through early May. And finally, check. Much smaller surf prevailed through Central America during the middle part of the month as high pressure briefly became the dominant feature in the South Pacific. It didn't last for long however, as a couple of solid SW to S swells picked back up over the last few days of the month with well overhead surf at top breaks and we've got another solid run of SW swell heading into the first weekend of May. Overall, a darn fine month to be in the region. --Kevin Wallis
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