Stormrider Guide to surfing Yemen

Yemen, INDIAN OCEAN

Shebas Wedge, Stuart Butler

Summary

+ Reliable monsoon swell	- War zone
+ Powerful, virgin beachbreaks	- Very unstable security
+ Very warm water	- Messy winds well surf
+ Unique desert environment	- Visas, permits and high costs

Yemen is a mountainous country, with rolling desert dunes, ancient caravan cities and a warm-hearted and friendly people for whom pride, hospitality and honour are the pillars of life. Several expeditions have ridden the waves breaking along Yemen’s long south-facing Indian Ocean coastline and the remote island of Socotra. However governments are currently advising against all travel to Yemen which finds itself caught in the grips of widespread civil war complicated by foreign coalition interventions.

When to Go

From June to August, it’s never flat in the Arabian Sea thanks to the SW monsoon, the world’s most consistent weather system. By the time swells hits the Yemeni beaches, wave face height averages about 4ft (1.2m), rising to double this on big days and falling to 2-3ft on rare calm days, but always fast moving and powerful. The wind out at sea largely dies away by the time the swells make landfall and thanks to high coastal mountains the local winds are often funnelled offshore - at least for the mornings. Tidal range is average reaching 6ft max. Check Aden tide tables.

Surf Spots

With the swells coming out of the SE and much of the Yemeni coast being blocked by Somalia the best bet for mainland surf will be east of Al Mukalla. This is not a trip to approach lightly. The desert provinces of Hadhramawt and Mahra are very remote areas and ample time, determination and money are required to explore this coast. Currently, the war makes travel to Yemen impossible as an independent surfer, so a recognised Yemeni tour agency will need to be appointed to provide all permits, drivers, 4WD jeeps, armed guards, tribal escorts and all day to day supplies such as food, water and camping equipment. None of this comes cheap and a two week trip here, (if/when the civil war ends) is going to cost plenty. Yemen is primarily beachbreaks with a couple of reefs and points. Wadi is the name given to a dry river bed and this one 20kms southwest of Mukalla leads to a bay with rights and lefts over volcanic rock. Mukalla has jetties with a small, polluted, right point breaking off one of them, but the old city has been surrounded by a wave-breaker since the late ‘80s, limiting the surf options. Check the rocky peninsula to the south of town. 15kms west of Ash Shihr, there is a village with huge circular oil storage tanks and three Jetties, which could provide sheltered surf when it’s stormy and big but is completely out of bounds. Sheba's Wedge can be found on the long expanse of exposed beach that parallels the coast road. About 20kms west of Al Qumrah, a mini headland offers some shape. Imaginatively called No Name the rights are generally hollower and faster than the fat mushy lefts on the other side of the point, which are exposed to more SW wind. Haswayn does not look like a great set-up but the waves break with angle really close to shore. In Al Ghaydah, check the village by the coast, there is a sloppy SE-facing beachbreak. All the accessible spots in between are just waiting for someone to discover and name them!

Statistics

dominant swell

NE -NE

NE -

NE -SW

NE -NE

swell size (ft)

4-5

5-6

1-2

consistency (%)

dominant wind

NE -E

E -SW

S -SW

NE -E

average force

F3-F4

consistency (%)

water temp (C)

wetsuit

boardshorts

Travel Information

Weather
Summer surf season temperatures can average around 45ºC with highs nearer to 50ºC (113-122ºF), but the monsoon winds have a moderating influence on the coastal areas and the temperature in Al-Mukalla hovers around 30ºC (86ºF). Humidity is completely overwhelming. Afternoon winds can get strong and are very hot. Rainfall is unlikely but the eastern mountains catch a little cloud and mist from the monsoon. The water is in the high 20s to low 30s (85ºF).

Lodging and Food
Mukalla was the place to find a hotel from 10-50/dbl/n but war means all bets are off. Exploring the coast means camping out on the beaches. Food is cheap, but in the desert areas consists of little but fish and rice.

Nature and Culture
If the political situation ever calms down then Yemen will quite rightly become one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Islamic world. Highlights are the old town of Sana’a, the hundreds of fortified mountain villages, the ruins of ancient Kingdoms lost deep in the desert, the centuries old mud brick skyscraper cities of the Hadhramawt and simply mingling with the Yemenis and absorbing the culture and lifestyle of the worlds last remaining traditional Islamic society.