The vibrant Puerto Rico Surfing Federation (PRSF) is presided over by a non-surfer, Guy Ashton, a 52-year-old university lecturer and former national lawn tennis champion.

Today, there are over 15,000 surfers in Puerto Rico, backed by a surf-information network which provides daily reports on conditions around the coast. That contest showed how far surfing in Puerto Rico had come since the day back in the late 1950's when islanders were fascinated to see a couple of young American businessmen doff their suits, pick up their boards, and take to the water to ride the waves. Two breaks were used, Wilderness and the aptly named Surfer’s Beach at the end of the two-week event, the Australians were crowned world champions in the team category and a Brazilian named Fabio Govia took the individual title. There were 26 countries involved in that World Championship at Aguadilla on Puerto Rico’s north-western tip. And competitors were pulling off truly breathtaking stunts on their sleek, colorful, lightweight boards.

They understood the excitement and danger, the oneness with nature, which good surfing demands. The first was in 1968, when Caribbean surfing was still in its formative stages and the professionals and amateurs from 15 participating countries used heavy and cumbersome “long boards” at Rincón, where the waves can be really huge.īut by 1988, surfing was riding a crest of popularity, and a whole new generation of wave junkies had been spawned. The waters of the island’s Atlantic coast, with some of the deepest ocean in the world not far offshore, have been the arena for two World Championships in the last 20 years. Some of the region’s biggest waves can be found at places like Tres Palmas, Table Rock and Gas Chambers. The east coast towns of Aguadilla and Rincon are the most popular destinations for surfers - Rincon has some of the biggest and best waves in the Caribbean, and is home to the acclaimed Rincon Surf School. Puerto Rico has hundreds of reefs, points, and beaches for surfing, making it a great place for family travel, especially because it is a densely populated tourist area. territory and no passport is required for visitors. citizens, Puerto Rico is the most easily accessible surfer's island, since it is a U.S. That is usually when the visitors come calling.īut locals are also on the lookout during the hurricane season from June to November, when an errant tropical depression can also whip up the water and some places are blessed with good waves year-round, like Barbados’s Tropicana or the Bathsheba “Soup Bowl”.įor U.S.

The prime time for surfing in the Caribbean is from November to April, when cold-weather fronts moving along the eastern seaboard of the United States produce ocean swells which spread over a thousand miles almost every island in the Caribbean feels the resulting waves. What makes the Caribbean a world-class surfing destination in its own right is the huge range of conditions you can find along its 2,000-mile chain of islands.Įvery island has its own “breaks” or surf spots-from sandy beaches to coral reefs, point breaks and rock bottoms, and many of the most exciting spots are still barely explored. It’s not that the Caribbean is just like Hawaii, though if you’re looking for really big waves you don’t have to look further than Puerto Rico‘s north coast when there’s a good swell.

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