Exploring the Maldives, cruising the pristine blue waters of the Indian Ocean aboard a charter with 6 fun people, catching epic waves and getting barreled... This was only a dream for all of my life!
Until I found out Line Up Explorers (
LUEX.com) on the web, in 2009.
I got in contact with them and I got an instant reply. We talked on the phone and I just felt like this was a very reliable company.
A week later my spot on a charter was booked - I was in for the surf trip of my life! 12 days in the Maldives south attols!
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The Kethi |
After the flights (Munich - Male via Dubai) I was met by a representant of the charter at the Male Airport. He took me to meet the other 6 people who were aboard a small boat, which took us to the real charter just 20 minutes away: The Kethi.
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Welcome drinks |
First spot check and... it was pumping! Left handers rolling down the reef! I don't even remember the name of this wave. All I know is that it was the only time we surfed with someone else. From here on it was all empty line ups, just for ourselves!
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First spot check |
The crew was really nice and the cook was excellent. Every day 3 meals, breakfast like a king, lunch and dinner. The guide also surfed with us and told us about the conditions of each spot.
We surfed every single day, 3 times a day. The waves gave us no rest. Come aboard eat some cookies, drink some tea or water and... go back out! Have lunch and... go back out! The dingy took us to where the waves broke so there was no need to paddle a lot.
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Morning ritual |
We scored really epic waves. The Maldives are accessible to most levels of surf but sometimes the level can rise a little bit more with low tides, causing waves to become more hollow but still fun!
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Getting barreled |
All I have to say is that I had the opportunity to improve my surf a lot, have fun with amazing people, from Australia and Germany, explore some islands... and feel like a surfer in the surf movies!
I really miss this feeling of freedom and stoke of being in the middle of nowhere with my thoughts and some good people, simply enjoying waves. See some more pictures below.
A big thanks to Tim, Line Up Explorers (
LUEX.com) team and the Kethi charter crew.