Portuguese Sessions

Author: Rory Jones

13th - 20th September 2008

It was early on a Saturday morning and I was cruising south, down the A1 Portagem (Toll Road) when I realised that something was terribly wrong! I was'nt just on the wrong side of the road but the wrong side of the car! Instinctively I reached for the handbrake but luckily came to my senses before I pulled it (not a good idea at 140 kph).
Its going to be a long drive to Ericeira I thought to myself as a little old lady tail-gated me for the umpteenth time. I soon discovered that this was how it was done in Portugal regardless of whether you were doing 80 or 180 kph.

Believe me when I say that it was well worth the motorway hassles. The Portuguese coast is known to pick up the most swell in Europe and I was soon to see why.
During the next week I worked my way up the coast sampling some of the most fun bodyboarding waves I have ever ridden. It is not difficult to see why bodyboarders outnumber surfers 5 to 1 at pretty much every spot when you look at the waves they have.

Getting it really good can be a challenge as each spot works off a specific tide and wind but with so many spot to choose from within a 20 min drive you are pretty much guarenteed a wave. Consisting mainly of high cliffs the coast between Porto and Lisbon conceals dozens of small bays generally with a left or right point and beachreak to soak up the pounding atlantic swells.

There are some world class waves around Ericeira which is considered to be the home of Portuguese surfing. With Reef, Pedra Branca, Crazy Lefts and Coxos among others to choose from the locals are spoilt for choice and they certainly dont mess around. The standard of riding is incredibly high so you will be pushing yourself to pick up your game.

Moving further up the coast you will find the home of Supertubos, the sleepy fishing village of Peniche. The European version of Zicatela I wasn't disapointed. A frame lefts and rights are the order of the day. After a few fun sessions the swell was dying so it was time to move on again.

The next stop was the more touristy town of Nazare. Having interrogated some of the locals I learnt that this area picks up more swell than anywhere else on the coast and they were right. Having paged through the local sponge mag called Vert I saw pics of the last contest held at Praia Norte where they scored 15ft plus perfection (check it out pics on sixty40 too).

This was the spot that the best waves of the trip were had. Whether 3-4 ft or 15-20 ft the place produces a wave like some mutated marriage between Plett's Wedge and Porto Escondido! Sets appear out of deep water and form perfect left and right peaks which bowl and spit onto dry sand.

Hotels are cheap out of season (16th of Sept onwards) and there are plenty of camping sites as well. Swell hits all year round with the best month being October.

If you need any gear or advice on local spots when in Ericeira you can check out Sete/Seven Board shop and speak to Flavio ([email protected]). He runs a core bodyboard only shop with heaps of nice boogie type things.

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