Cloudbreak

Surf Guide

Sitting a mile south of Tavarua, the world-class left hander named Cloudbreak is actually the eastern edge of an expansive, shallow coral reef pass that receives the undiminished force of Southern Hemisphere swells. Surfers with little travel experience should note that outer-reef waves like Cloudbreak travel much faster than their continental-land-mass counterparts (California, East Coast, Europe, etc.), and if you don't concentrate on getting to your feet quickly, chances are that you will find yourself picking coral from your back before you can yell, "Got it!" Despite what you may have heard, Cloudbreak can be relatively sectiony, and the lineup involves a large playing field. The swell sweeping toward the reef generally focuses on one of three general areas: the Point (aka "the top" or "up top"), the Middle and the Inside (aka Shishkabobs). Because the introductory perspective to Cloudbreak is from a boat in the channel, guests often assume that the inside is the best and safest place to park oneself because of its proximity to deeper water. The truth is that although the inside section can offer some nice tubes and can be a faster escape route to the channel, it's actually the Point and the Middle that have the more forgiving, rippable waves. The inside section is known as Shishkabobs for a reason: a standard visitor's tax is paid in flesh to the sharp, skewer-like reef that lies just below the surface. Even for the experienced surfer, sizable Cloudbreak can represent a significantly intimidating experience. Thick, fast-moving lefts can hit different parts of the reef at a number of different angles, and it can often be a difficult task figuring out where to be to catch the best waves (Hawaiian regularfoots have likened the experience to riding Sunset Beach on their backhand). The best advice is for you to ask your boat driver where to sit on the bigger days because most of them have hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of experience riding Cloudbreak in a variety of conditions. Once you get it wired, a good session at Cloudbreak is nothing short of a complete barrel-fest. On fairly rare occasions, large, clean long-interval groundswells turn Cloudbreak into an astonishing one-section wave that breaks on a part of the reef known affectionately as the Ledge (actually the outside of the inside). If you're lucky enough to surf or simply watch this magnificent leviathan, you've witnessed one of the great hollow wonders of the natural world.