Good (if temptingly punning) news from the BBC for surfers, from three South Africans who reckon the coast of West Africa offers really good waves. That's never been my impression – plenty of nasty rip-tides, yes; big rollers, no – but I'm no surfer, and Senegal certainly gets some waves. I'm not so sure about Ghana (some surf west of Dixcove, perhaps?), but the idea that Ghana's beaches have "particularly large numbers of African surfers" doesn't quite ring true. . .
On the other hand, I hope they do, it would be tremendous for the coastal regions to get a boost from this kind of tourism. Sierra Leone, which the boys missed out because the road network doesn't reallly hit the coast, might turn out to be excellent.
I'd like to hear more from anyone who can fill in details. Meanwhile, a bit more background about the BBC's James Copnall's interview at here, at AfricanSurfer.com with some nice footage of the Senegal Surf Champs competition near Dakar and a rocky-looking break in Côte d'Ivoire.
2 years ago
I was at a film festival a few months ago where one of the films shown was 'Sliding Liberia'. A few american guys went out to Liberia and taught a load of local kids how to surf. Amazing film, really well put together and hard hitting. Definitely get hold of it if you can.
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