Madeira

Surprisingly, the surfing world was completely unaware of the waves in Madeira until the mid-1990s, when an article appeared in Surfer magazine depicting Evan Slater and Ross Williams surfing monster waves in Jardim do Mar. According to the villagers, the first person to surf Ponta Jardim was Gibus de Soultrait, who travelled alone from his home country of France on a whim in the late ‘70s. Gibus scored perfect surf but kept his discovery a secret for almost two decades, even though he never returned. The next surfers to arrive were Portuguese explorers João Valente and Zé Seabra in 1993, who also kept tight-lipped about Madeira’s gold. The article in Surfer appeared the following year, and despite the fact that the destination was not identified as Madeira, a small number of surfers began to trickle in over the ensuing years. By 2000 there was a loyal crew of surfers who were returning every year, still pledging to keep the place a secret. Some of the locals started to pick up the sport, a few surfers moved over from mainland Portugal, and a local scene began to take shape. These days there are perhaps 200 Madeiran surfers, although only a handful of them ride the really big stuff. Localism rears its ugly head from time to time, but good manners and a bit of patience should keep the vibes mellow. Madeiran surfers are generally very friendly to outsiders, and crowds are rarely a problem. The protests against the seawall constructions have helped polarise the local surfers and strengthened the sense of community. There are a few surfing clubs on the island, occasional competitions, one shaper and a single surf shop, which is located in Funchal. Bring extra equipment and leave it with the locals because things like leashes and wax are still hard to find.