Bahamas Surfing

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Eleuthera is known for having some of the best surfing spots in the Bahamas. The impressive breaks, beach accessibility, surf shops, and year-round warm, clear water make it a popular destination for vacationing surfers. One of the best surfing areas is Surfer’s Beach, located 2 ½ miles south of Gregory Town, and is considered most widely known surf break in the Bahamas.  This break was discovered in the early 1950’s by a surfer named Dudley Whittman, the first surfer to explore the Bahama Islands in search of  big waves.

 Other great surfing breaks include Holiday Beach, located directly on the Atlantic side of Gregory Town, only a 20-minute walk over the hill. This break has a rugged, rocky shoreline with a small beach that can still hold a 20’ plus wave without closing out.

Hatchet Bay is located just south of Gregory Town, and is known to hold even the biggest Atlantic swell while offering both lefts and rights. Hatchet bay was once known as ‘Shark Pit’ due to the large schools of sharks that congregated there to feed on a nearby chicken processing plant’s spillover that was dumped into the ocean. Although once strictly off-limits for surfing, the plant has since closed down, leaving it the Island’s premier big wave break.

Hidden Beach, also known as Big Rock, is located approximately 15 miles south of Gregory Town in a settlement known as Rainbow Bay. This break is relatively close to shore as compared to Holiday Beach or Surfer’s Beach; also, the wave breaks over a shallow reef and at low tide, fin up paddle-ups are necessary.

James Point is located some 30 miles south of Gregory Town is probably considered the best surf break on the island. It was discovered in 1972 by a young surfer named Harry Wilson. While surfing at Surfer’s Beach, he noticed a finger of land sticking out to the south and mountainous swells could be seen even further off shore. Curious, he spoke to the natives and found out the peninsula in question was called James Point and was located behind the settlement of James Cistern near the capital city of Governor’s Harbor.

The next day he headed south in search of the waves he had seen breaking off the point. As he wound his way to the top of a sandy dune, he realized he had come upon what no other surfer had ever laid eyes on. With light offshore winds and peeling waves, the spot was also a picture-perfect tropical scene. To the inside of the point  rimmed with coconut palms and century plants was a tranquil half-moon cove with a brilliant white sand beach. The waves peeled from the point into the cove with a channel that seemed like you could paddle out without ever having a wave break over you. In short, a surfer’s tropical paradise had been discovered and is considered one of the prime Bahamas surfing destinations to this day.

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