If I had a dirham for every time I have heard that I would have retired rich and now be sipping Pina coladas, munching on delicious tropical fruit and lying in a hammock in Bali! Much to most people’s surprise, Dubai has a lot of surf to offer and the region is rich in waves, you just need to know when and where to go.
The surf in the Gulf is mainly wind driven which means that it’s produced by strong winds with the biggest waves being formed above Qatar and near Iraq. They are fuelled by fierce gales and built up in size as they travel down the length of the Gulf towards us. The surf generally averages around 1‐ 1.5metres but can peak well over 3m with some of the biggest waves on record nearing 5 metres! Dubai is especially well positioned as it is directly in the line of the swell and the NW winds generate the swells, so it has become the central point for surfing in the region. The waves can be onshore and messy for a day but then clean up overnight to produce some excellent waves that are warm, friendly and inviting to surfers of all levels. These waves are available for short periods of time at several locations like Sunset beach (the favourite), JBR, Mamzar, Sharjah and as far afield as RAK.
In summer the Khareef (Monson) drives big seas up the Oman coast and Kalba and Fujeirah produce some rideable, albeit hot weather waves. Oman itself has some excellent surf especially in summer and can offer up some cool weather and cracking point break waves which makes it a firm favourite area for summer surfaris. Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey also have some great waves and surfing communities are springing up in these areas as well. The surf season is mainly during the winter months from November to March, when low pressures dominate the upper Gulf and send surf coming down to us in Dubai and the UAE coastline. However, surf can found all year round, depending on the weather.
The best thing to do, in order to surf at the right time, is to get in touch with one of the many surf reports available via the local surf shops or surf schools and ask when surf will be available. As a general rule, the surf tends to be best in the morning as it is often clean and offshore, making the best rides. A lot of the local surfers dash in at sunrise for a morning session before rushing off to work and sneak out of work in the afternoon to catch some messy but rideable onshore afternoon action. Unfortunately, due to the coastline being mostly dominated by breakwaters, Abu Dhabi has at the present moment no known rideable surf spots. Rather, stand-up paddle-boarding has now become the dominant surf-style sport in that area. The waters of the Gulf are generally warm and the waves range from wedging, hollow shore-breaks at JBR and Mamzar, to peaks and very fun rides at Sunset Beach and Sharjah. This makes the Gulf an excellent area for beginners to learn to surf, and there are several surf schools operating in the UAE.
As there are frequent flat periods, stand-up paddle-boarding has become one of the biggest and fastest growing board sports in the Gulf. This ancient Hawaiian sport is done with a large flat board on which the surfer stands up, and is propelled with a paddle. The board can be used in the surf to ride waves or simply to be used for flat water paddling, as a platform for snorkelling, or for kids to frolic about on.
For those of you who are either new to the sport, rusty from lack of surfing, haven’t surfed for ages, or pleasantly surprised by the idea that you can surf here, get onto the local websites, speak to the local surf shops and get yourselves in to what is now becoming a great Middle East outdoor activity.