About Mauritius Surf Travel
The Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius was known to Arab sailors by 1000 A.D., long before the arrival of the first Europeans. A Portuguese expedition landed on the island in 1510, recorded it as uninhabited, and sailed on for their colony at Goa on the west coast of India. The first attempt at a European settlement was by the Dutch, who had previously visited and named the island after Prince Maurits, when they landed on the east coast with a group of hard men and slaves taken from the island of Madagascar in 1638.
The colony was underfunded and largely ignored, and the Dutch finally abandoned Mauritius in 1710. Their legacies were the hunting to extinction of the large, slow, none-too-bright, and apparently tasty Dodo birds, and the introduction of sugar cane, imported from their colony of Java in the Dutch East Indies.
The French were the next to try, and they arrived at the empty island in 1715 with intent to settle, and with good backing from the French government. They were far more successful than the Dutch, renaming the island the Ile de France, clearing large areas of forest for sugar plantations, and importing slaves by the thousand from nearby Madagascar.
Besides plantation agriculture, the other economic activity that was extremely lucrative for the French was “freebooting”; or piracy, on passing ships traveling from Europe to Asia. British and Dutch ships were fair game, and the French pirates were successful enough to be a problem for the British. They launched a military campaign to take the island, succeeded in 1810, and incorporated the renamed Mauritius into the British Empire. Slavery – which had made plantation agriculture so profitable – was abolished.
Surf Crowds
Yes, in a word. With many local surfers, and a steady influx of travelers combined with a limited number of good spots, Mauritius can be crowded. The infamous “White Shorts” at Tamarin exercise a strict brand of localism, particularly on the weekends, and visitors are unlikely to catch many waves at the fabled left-hander on the few good days.
Surf Hazards
Mauritius is known for having good diving and prolific sea-life on the many coral reefs around the island, but shark sightings are rare. Shallow coral reefs are a feature of all surf spots in Mauritius, and at several spots, like Tamarin outer reef and the reef passes of the Le Morne area, if you fall in the wrong place, the reef is waiting. Booties and a wetsuit top are a good idea, as these spots are a long way from shore.
Best Surf Seasons in Mauritius
1) Summer
The northern hemisphere’s summer is the southern hemisphere’s winter, and the best season for good waves in Mauritius. Strong groundswell from the southern ocean is regular and reliable, although there are few swells in a season big enough and from the right direction to wrap into the bay at Tamarin.
2) Spring
Cyclone season is largely over by mid-March, and as the southeast trade winds return, blowing away the sticky humidity of the past few months. Anticipation starts for the first strong swells of the austral winter, which usually arrive by April.
3) Fall
Swell consistency drops off after mid-September, as do the constant southeast trade winds. A good time to try for a glassy morning at one of the south coast spots like Maconde or Souillac, as they pick up more swell than the sheltered breaks like Tamarin and Le Morne and are bumpy in a southeast wind.
4) Winter
The southern hemisphere summer, marked by sultry conditions of light local winds and high humidity. One of the factors that hampered European settlement in Mauritius were frequent cyclones, the southern hemisphere equivalent of hurricanes and typhoons, and summer is cyclone season. Local surfers have several secret spots that work on cyclone swells from the northeast, in the north of the island.
Directions to Mauritius
With the rise of the luxury tourism segment of the market, Mauritius is well served by international carriers. The airport at Plaisance on the east coast is a long way from anywhere surfable on the island.
The taxi drivers outside the airport lick their lips as a surfer approaches dragging a board bag, jet-lagged and currency-ignorant.