larryfromberkley
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#1 Posted: 23/5/2008 - 19:12


I am planning our honeymoon to thailand right now and was wondering if there is anywhere to surf??? We are gonna be in the gulf area from the 24th of AUG to Sept 4th... Thinking Phangan, tao and Samui...

Thanks for you insight...
Larry

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 158

#2 Posted: 24/5/2008 - 15:23


Short answer is no. Sorry!

tezza
beach masseuse
Posts: 87

#3 Posted: 24/5/2008 - 16:42


Hi Larry.
As a surfer you probably know that the size of waves depends mainly on wind speed x wind duration x the fetch (distance over which wind blows).
The problem with the lower Gulf is the fetch - August sees prevailing winds from the west quadrant so you are talking about only 50-60km fetch from the mainland. So you don't get any decent sized swell.
You'd be better throwing yer board over the side of the Surathani-Phangan ferry and WAKE SURFING.

Over in the eastern Gulf on Big Ko Chang the fetch is several hundred km and you can get bigger surf in low season. A distressing number or travellers drown, which is one reason I wrote the DONT DROWN thread fer the HEALTH PAGE.
Because the wind is onshore, the surf tends to be messy slop, not worth carrying a board around.

Phuket and the Trang coast have a big fetch and can get surfable waves during and after windier periods in low season. But once again it is onshore and not quality.

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 158

#4 Posted: 24/5/2008 - 20:24


Re your plugging a link to your "Don't drown on your holidays" thing Tezza. A distressing number of Burmese have drowned because of cyclone Nargis too. On May 4th, when everyone already knew that at least 350 people had died you described it as a WIMP(your caps)on Thorntree. It didn't produce big enough waves in Phuket for decent surfing according to you. Have you no shame?

somtam2000
admin
mahout
Posts: 2675

Located in:
Indonesia

#5 Posted: 27/5/2008 - 17:01


Late opinion here:

Samui: forget it
Ko Pha Ngan: I've seen people surfing the north end of Haad Rin, it was ok, but certainly not worth lugging a board for.
Ko Tao: forget it

Agree with tezza re Phuket being mostly onshore and not quality, but beggars can't be choosers...

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 158

#6 Posted: 27/5/2008 - 19:07


The OP said he was only going to the Gulf area anyway. As I said, the short answer is no, sorry.

larryfromberkley
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#7 Posted: 27/5/2008 - 19:55


Thanks for the info guys... Im not mush of a surfer, but have spent a few weeks in Ubatuba Brazil and had a blast.... I wanted to get some rides in on our honeymoon, but guess I can leave the surfing for another trip... We had looked at Fiji, but we both decided Thailand was a better choice for us... We can always shoot down to costa rica for a long weekend as spirit air always has round trip flights for around 300 bucks...

tezza
beach masseuse
Posts: 87

#8 Posted: 30/5/2008 - 07:24


It’s good some of the above didn’t confuse you Larry. I’m still trying to work out how the sanctimonious personal attack in #4 did anything to add to your knowledge of surfing in Thailand.
And it seems you weren’t confused by there being NO LINK to the HOW NOT TO DROWN THREAD. The thread is on the TRAVEL HEALTH section of THIS FORUM. People can navigate there with two clicks.

SBE
tuk tuk driver
Posts: 158

#9 Posted: 30/5/2008 - 22:57


If you read the OP you will see that larryfromberkley specifically asked about the surfing in the Gulf islands. He did not ask about the surfing in Phuket, Big Ko Chang or the Trang area because he isn't going there.

Nor did he ask about how not to drown.

I thought your mentioning your piece about "how not to drown" (which also happens to be on your website) was breath-takingly hypocritical in view of your recent "light-hearted" remark on TT about cyclone Nargis.

FYI the Burmese wife of an English friend of mine was probably one of the 130,000+ people who died in those WIMP waves that you were complaining about being no good for surfers in Phuket. She was on a boat from Yangon to Thailand on the morning of May 3rd and he has had no news of her since.

Sorry if that's too sanctimonious for you.

tezza
beach masseuse
Posts: 87

#10 Posted: 31/5/2008 - 12:09


This thread will be opened by other travellers interested in surfing somewhere in Thailand.

Hundreds of surfers drown each year. Particularly inexperienced surfers who are the types likely to surf in Thailand. Inexperienced surfers are more likely to be separated from their boards in a wipe-out. Inexperienced surfers don’t know the impossibility of paddling or swimming against bad rip currents and side-drags. Most inexperienced surfers don’t know the proper procedures in such situations. I make no apology for my HOW NOT TO DROWN thread.

I refuse to be smeared for a comment made before I was aware of the huge tragedy of Nargis.
Many people dismissed the early figures coming from Burma as exaggerations by govt officials eager to get their corrupt mitts on aid funds. Hind-sight now shows how incorrect this was. It also shows there are plenty of sanctimonious grubs around ready to condemn people in hind-sight.

The tragedy has been enormous but even now no-one is sure of the correct extent. Too many people are giving misleading/unruthful statistics and stories to further their own dishonest and mendacious agendas.