I can’t say I’ve been missing the emotional roller coaster of waiting for waves in the Middle East, but I do get a little twinge of discomfort when I hear from the boys back in the Sand Box that the waves have been good. This shot is from my good buddy Rixta who did some scouting outside of the usual Dubai swell spots… somewhere in the UAE…
merry xmas
really going to miss the old-world feel of surfing in Oman
One thing about moving is you discover things you didn’t know you had. Just came across an SD card with some more photos from the Salalah trip.
the jetty at this spot helps keep a nice sand bank
Don’t touch the snails or shit in the water???
at a loss of words here. I can’t think of anything clever for this one other than “what the f%#ck is going on with this goat?”
"I’m telling you man, we should paddle out up there”
Sa-la-lah. Just rolls off the tongue. Located way down south on the Arabian Peninsula it’s in the Dhofar region of Oman and a grenade’s throw away from the Yemen border to the west. The country’s second largest city has got some east African flavor thanks to the centuries of trade with (and partial colonization of) the east coast of neighboring Dark Continent. 
It’s also hugely exposed to swell and the seasonal winds that send the monsoons to India. I’ve been meaning to get down there for a while but it’s a hell of a drive from Dubai (1,200 km). With my time in Arabia coming to a close, we decided to check it out last weekend despite less-than-ideal ocean conditions*
Reminded me a lot of Ocean Beach SF: if you can make it through the relentless inside, dodge rips and get in position, you could pick off a bomb
Rush hour traffic
mid morning wind getting on it but still fun
Had a pretty good look at the coastline to the east and west. Some set ups with potential
found a fun little reef outside of town
photos thanks to Sienna
The place is a geologist’s wet dream. There are amazing rock formations, huge valleys, mountains, natural springs and in the wet season, massive waterfalls
*no, we didnt drive it, we flew from muscat
In between the wind and sand last week, Neptune delivered some late season treats in the gulf…
Spring in Dubai: mild weather, sand storms and if you're lucky, some waves
this place usually has a bit more grunt to it when the tide drops
When I visited West Oz there were these old dudes who sharpened their fins in the Margret River car park. We thought it was really weird but maybe they had to deal with bullshit like a rope in the lineup?
just walk out of your 7 star hotel room, across the mega yacht dock and you've got a little peak...
low tide sand spitter
Been a lot of wind around here lately but unfortunately also tons of sand in the air. Some days it reminds me of a foggy morning back home (June gloom) until my eyes start stinging from being pelted by grains of sand in the air. Couple little waves last week (nothing special) and looks like more on the way before the spring heat really kicks in…
A “Shamal” is the result of strong northwest winds being funneled into the Gulf through the mountains of Turkey and high plains of Saudi. A strengthening high pressure over the Arabian peninsula coupled with a distinct cold front… or basically: the polar jet stream pushing in from Europe collides with the sub-tropical jet stream from the southern Arabian peninsula= dynamic weather system= lots of f#@#cking sand/ dust in the air. When you’re outside in these conditions you start to understand why the local dress evolved to what it is. 
It’s also worth mentioning that there is a subtle yet distinct difference between sand vs. dust storms. Sand storms basically happen when the wind is strong enough to lift and “bounce” particles along, which collide with others, lifting and bouncing them and so on. Sand storms reach heights of about 50 feet (see photo in the background of the title at the top) and last as long as the wind persists. Dust storms on the other hand are literally dust particles small enough to be blown into the air and carried aloft by wind currents. These storms can be much bigger and tend to last much longer as they don’t require the heavy winds to keep the sand “bouncing” along. So there’s your daily meteorological factoid.
Been a run of swell here in the gulf but storms have been pretty close making it nice and messy. Managed to squeeze in a session last week on the UAE east coast.
I’ve only seen swell on this side of the country a handful of times
Not the perfection you draw in the old middle school notebook but can’t complain too much with no one out… 
The sand bar in the cove had a fun little wedge
gives a little perspective of the size
random kook over the falls. palm in the background
Been slack in the posting lately for the first time since I started this thing. Lots happening but no excuses. Well, first swell of winter has hit the gulf so been trying to squeeze in as much water time as possible while maintaining my existence as a corpo desk jockey. Couple quick pics snapped this morning
another random enjoyin the start of winter
standard dubai moment. towel changing at my car at 6:30am and glance over to this. not the typical thing you find in your dawn patrol parking lot
another rare weather pattern. lets see what happens. water temp at 91.5 degrees right now...
You run across the sand when you see this- and not just cause its 100 degrees
I’ve managed to squeeze in two trips down south since the cyclone struck and have been quite impressed with the cleanup efforts. With pumps running 12 hours a day most of the flooding has been reduced to manageable lakes and the sand dunes and trees that littered the roads have been diligently ploughed. But there’re still reminders of the carnage around every turn- sheets of asphalt cast away like orange peels, skeletons of unfortunate 50-foot dhows beached inland and the bare bones of fishing shelters along the beaches.
these big wooden beasts are the traditional Arab “dhows” that have been running these waters for hundreds of years. This one wasn’t so lucky when Phet hit
It’s just been the usual monsoon wind-swell the past two weeks so it’s a little early to know if the sand deposits at the points have been wiped out but seems like the banks are starting to form and with a little searching have been able to log some much needed water time…
the trash in the foreground is another unfortunate result of the cyclone
my mccallum quad loving the points
Perfect camping weather this time of year. Woke up from the air mattress (tents are over-rated) and looked up at this
pretty sure sienna’s checking out this fun little left and not the dhows coming in
Arabian sunset (photo credit Sienna)
wind tends to die late in the afternoon
A local guy I was chatting to mentioned that in his grandfathers lifetime on the omani coast he had only witnessed two cyclones and they’d both been in the past 4 years. Anyone still doubting global warming?
Phet also left me very depressed as I was out of town — but the boys scored. Seek and you shall find…
PJ
