Surfing in Belize
Cully | June 2, 2010It is not widely known that a good surf location exists in Belize, and in fact if one inquires about a good surf break they will invariably get an answer that such a spot does not exist. However, this is not the case, for there is a prime surf break located at Long Caye out at Glover’s Reef.
The windward end of Long Caye is owned by Slickrock Adventures, and it is off this point of the island that a channel though the ring reef of the atoll sets up a nearly perfect surf break. Swells coming in from the Caribbean hit the point of this break in the reef, and roll on through another 200 yards of sloping shoal before dissipating. The shoal is composed of broken coral rubble, not live coral, which has been deposited in the lee of the reef. This forms a safe sea floor on which surfers can walk in the shallower zone, and falling off the break poses no danger in the deeper water since there are no sharp, protruding coral heads in the break zone.
The swells vary in size from an average of 3-4’ but often will break with a 6-8’ face when it has been windy. The NE Trade Winds blow fairly strong and are reliable, so there is almost always a break to surf. The wave begins in 8-10’ of water and rolls with a right shoulder break for several hundred yards on a good day. Surfers can thus enjoy a fairly long ride before the wave finally dissipates in the shallow water near the island.
Slickrock provides surf boards, surf kayaks, and stand-up boards as part of our surfing program, which has been enormously popular with our guests. See these links to our website for more information on the break and pictures of the action:
http://www.slickrock.com/paddleboarding.html
