The Search for Surf in the Adriatic

It must be breaking somewhere. That's what I always say when I watch a swell, whether it's a developing windswell or a full on groundswell. Here...it's always going to be a short period windswell. For all you non-surfers out there, that's not what you want. The long period groundswell is what we surfers really get excited about. But to get that you need a lot of wind blowing over a big, deep body of water over a very large area. The Adriatic Sea is too shallow (on relative terms compared to say the Atlantic Ocean), and there's not enough fetch (it's too narrow so the wind can't blow over a very large area unless it's coming from just the right direction). Fortunately, we have no shortage of strong wind here (see my old blog post about the Bora). So I watch the windswell waiting for ANY opportunity to surf. This week...I finally had my first opportunity to surf!

Before I tell you about the "epic" day of surf I had, here's a little description of what it's like to be a surfer living on the Adriatic. Like I said, it all starts with the wind. This time of year the Bora starts to blow. When I wake up to the sound of that howling wind out of the northeast I know it's time for a quick look at the sea from the Duino cliffs. A couple of days ago we had our first real Bora of the fall, so I ran up the road to find this beautiful scene. The wind was blowing about 30 knots from the east-northeast, a bit more east on it than a typical Bora, but still a good direction to send swell to a couple of potential surf spots I've been watching (more on these spots later). The gusts were super strong, another typical thing about Bora. This particular morning the gusts were blowing the tops off the waves sending mist up the cliffs.

Feeling that spray on my face standing some 50 meters above the sea I knew there just had to be waves breaking somewhere. So the next stop was a quick look at a viewpoint facing southwest, the direction the windswell was running, to see where those waves might be headed. What a sight looking out over the Adriatic this morning! Waves were running straight towards at least three surf spots on my radar! And they were bigger than I've ever seen in the Adriatic. OK, not big by "ocean" standards, but BIG for this small sea. So after shooting a few more pics I ran home to hit the road...my first time chasing waves since moving to Italy! I can't believe we've lived here for more than a year and THIS is the first time I'm chasing waves. In my late 40s and chasing waves still makes me excited like a kid every time!

Ahhhh...our crappy little Fiat Punto looks so nice with a board on the roof! That's one of our SUPs up on the roof. My shortboard is in the front seat. I've learned that it will probably be a rare session that I can actually surf on my shortboard here, so I have decided to always bring a bigger board just in case. Only thing left to decide is where to go? To be prepared this fall, Kristen and I have scoped out a bunch of potential surf spots the past few months...of course this was entirely Kristen's idea (haha). Here's a map of our area with those spots:

C - This is Duino, where we live. Not a surf spot. That is unless some giant swell manages to break in the harbor in Porto.

A - Grado. Probably the closest spot that will break with a strong Bora blowing. Two spots to surf here. The first is a nice looking stretch of beach breaks with several piers that should offer some protection from the wind.

The second is a left point break where the swell should wrap around a seawall that will provide very good wind protection...but it'll probably need a bigger swell to break. About a 30 minute drive from home.

B - Villaggio del Pescatore. Villaggio is 5 minutes from our house, but will likely not break too often. Good protection from the wind on a nice looking right point break, but it's location will keep most swells from breaking. I think it will only ever really be an SUP spot...but remember it's only 5 minutes from home! (Photos of this spot a bit later).

D - Isola (Slovenia). A very nice looking right point break that "should" pick up strong Bora swells with good protection from the wind. I think. Maybe. Hopefully. This photo was taken when there was only a moderate northeast wind blowing, nothing near Bora strength. Look at that little wave wrapping around the point over the gravel bottom. Really wets the appetite! Only a 30 minute drive and it's in Slovenia which would be very cool if I ever get to surf there.

E - Novigrad (Croatia). Another right point break, and several reef breaks. About an hour drive into Croatia. This spot will probably only break on south swells created by the Scirocco winds that come from the Sahara Desert and blow hard out of the southwest. These are actually more common than Bora winds, and are typically the prevailing winds in the Adriatic. So I really have my eyes on this spot! But not for this swell.

So where do you go on a swell like this? OK, let's assess the situation. It looks to be about a 3-4 foot short period windswell heading west-southwest. That means either Grado or Villaggio. Grado will definitely be bigger, but Villaggio is on the way there so it's worth a look. Besides, I kind of want to know if that spot will ever break and I think these are the conditions that should make it work. So Villaggio is the first stop. Very excited!

Here's what I found at the point in Villaggio. Not very big, as I expected, but it is breaking. So Villaggio, a spot 5 minutes from our house, just might be a surf spot after all! Like I thought, only really rideable on an SUP. Waves were peeling to the right off the point at about knee high. Ordinarily this would not seem too exciting, but remember...I have still never surfed in the Adriatic. For a moment I think about driving to Grado. But will it really be much bigger there? Will I be able to ride my shortboard or will I still ride the SUP? I decide to take what I'm offered in Villaggio and get wet now!

Getting my 11-foot SUP off the car in 30 knot wind with 50 knot gusts was quite the challenge. So was paddling out into that wind. A couple of times the gusts got up under the board as I tried to go over the waves and I was flung into the air with the board going over my head sending me under water. Funny...I thought it would be easy to surf knee high waves in the Adriatic. Not so much with gale force winds in your face as you stand on a boat of a board. But man was it worth it.

Here's proof that you can surf in the Adriatic!