By Richard Kotch / World Surfaris

OK, so the first week of May was as bad as it gets out here in the Maldives. We endured south winds and tiny swell, the only highlight being the massive squalls that would come through and rock the island providing a bit of an adrenalin rush for our frustrated guests. Come nightfall there were some serious partying going on and the all inclusive bars took a hammering. "This has been the best surf trip of my life", one particularly raucous Aussie laughed, "and I've not even unpacked my boards yet."

On the 7th the wind dropped and the swell filled in but by then every surfer in the Maldives seemed to be in the area and aside from Lohis - the line-ups were hectic. A great many of the guys in the water were virtual beginners so it got chaotic. I should take this opportunity to point out that while the waves here in the North Male region are known for being very user-friendly they are still breaking onto reef. That fact alone should deter complete novices from booking a surfing holiday out here, especially when you consider that the water must be shared and that inexperience is, without doubt, going to pose a serious threat to the safety of others.

Before I get slammed by the 'fair go brigade,' let me ask if you'd go and hack your way around St Andrews Golf Course after a year of playing your local public links? Of course you wouldn't! All surfers need to learn - and at a very early stage - to assess the conditions and decide if it's suitable for their ability. If you're unsure, a good starting point is to ask yourself if you can duck-dive or roll your board under a wave if you get caught inside. 

After three or four days of crowd dodging and riding longboards at Ninjas, the swell picked up and the crowds vanished overnight. I mean totally vanished! The long rights at Jails were handling the slightly mixed up SE swell better than Cokes or Sultans and we arrived just in time to see a familiar looking, but hard to place, natural footer pull in to a long barrel and weave through multiple sections before getting clipped on the inside. It was Andy Schwartz, the world's hardest frothing surf guide from the charter boat Handufali, riding switchfoot through a virtually empty lineup.

Our guests didn't hang about to watch his next wave and a bit of a frenzy ensued! The swell was still a bit raw and mixed up. It felt as if it needed more of a slab to focus it onto one place. Jails is such a long flat reef with a very gentle gradient that some sets were breaking much further out than others which made it very hard to shoot from the water and equally hard to surf. The secret was to commit to one section of the reef, find your markers and wait patiently for a wave to hit it just right. 

After a couple of hours a massive squall ended the session but by then we were all pretty much done so it was back to the buffet to refuel. Over the next few days the swell straightened up and Jails had some very memorable moments and our guests surfed themselves to exhaustion. The crowds stayed light and the wind, though strong, stayed out of the west meaning that the rights were offshore all day. Most sessions it was just us and the guests from the Handufali in the water so everyone could really get their wave count up and start to feel confident in the water.

Over the next ten days there were waves of some sort every day, nothing epic but fun, mid-sized, just-another-day-in-the-Maldives, waves and the crowds stayed fairly light. Unfortunately it didn't last, May has ended as it began with strong winds, smaller swell and some very committed partying on the island. I guess if you must get skunked on a surf trip you may as well be on an island that has all-inclusive bars!

Stop Press: How the worm turns! The first week of June has been absolutely going off, 4-5 foot and barreling, and theres no one around! Swell of the season so far!