Forty years ago, the stretch of beach between Hoi An and Danang was well-known among GIs. Out of these visits, a sub-culture of surfing arose that is again rising in popularity among expatriates and travellers looking to enjoy uncrowded waves, long stretches of sand and the company of friendly locals.
In the last four decades Vietnam has changed rapidly, but the waves have remained the same. Although they’re not known for size or consistency, the breaks north of Hoi An still provide the homesick surfer with some salt water therapy. At the weekend you can usually see the lone figure of an English-language teacher paddling for waves at Phatties break just off An Bang Beach, 3km from the town centre.
As with all surf spots, eventually local legends start coming to the fore. Hoi An-based Australian Dave Spencer (aka Big Wave Dave) consistently rides his 10-foot mal at An Bang when the swell gets big enough and the conditions glassy enough.
At this time of year, Spencer says he’s surfing wind swells generated by the Central Coast’s rainy season storms. “You just need that to relax a bit and settle down,” explains Spencer. “After that, you usually get a nice little wave, and it can hang around for two or three days afterwards.”
Ground swells, which result from distant sea storms and produce the kind of clean waves found in Hawaii, are rarer in Hoi An, but sometimes rear up around April or May, says Spencer, when disturbances around the Philippines push the swell across the sea to the Central Coast’s shores. After the spring, the waves flatten out for the summer.
This off-season, Spencer plans to purchase about a dozen surfboards to accommodate the growing interest in surfing among locals, expatriates and tourists alike. “I can see a burgeoning business,” he predicts. “People are screaming to rent boards or buy boards.”
However, promoting surfing at An Bang isn’t all business for Spencer. “It’s boring out there by myself!” he says, laughing.
Danang’s old and new guard
Just up the coast, there’s more grassroots momentum under way in Danang. A group of 10 expatriates has started the Danang Surf Club, which offers advice to visitors looking for a decent break.
“We got started out of the blue,” says member Adam Stevens of the club, which is currently comprised of a group of friends, many English teachers. “Were not very established right now … but we definitely have big aspirations.”
Like Spencer, the group is trying to source surfboards as a first step. “We’re hoping to do some community service,” says Stevens, “try to spread the idea of surfing into the local community. We’re going to look to do that by offering lessons.”
The Surf Club has also established links with the Vietnam Veterans Longboard Society (VVLS), a group that was formed following the release of Between The Lines, a documentary about the American War, the soldiers and surfing (www.betweenthelinesfilm.com).
Many members of VVLS remember peaceful days surfing breaks outside Hoi An, as well as the first surf competition in 1965 off Chu Lai. The VVLS Facebook page is littered with such memories scrawled on the wall by former soldiers, as well as vintage photographs.
Today, thanks to the efforts of Spencer and the Danang Surf Club, Vietnamese and foreigners might soon be sharing the same waves and forging a fraternity of surfers.
Catching a break
The wet season from October to November offers the best swell, and if you can time it right, a strong low pressure system or typhoon can get the wave height close to six feet, although some long-term expatriates have reported that the waves can get up to 13 feet in places between Hoi An and Danang. Vietnamese fishermen in their round coracles dont venture out at this time, so theres little competition for waves.
For those who are not travelling with their own kit, boards are available at Phatties beach bar at An Bang Beach or Hoa’s Place (215/14 Huyen Tran Cong Chua, Danang), where the owner, Hoa, has persuaded his guests to leave behind a stack of surfboards ranging in size from 10-foot mals to six-foot short boards.
These two establishments also offer boogie boards and windsurfers for the non-surfer, or there is the opportunity to just body surf when the waves start to close out.
For up-to-date surf reports and information, a Japanese national, Morita Kenichi, has set up a surf report website where he uploads daily photos of breaks north of Hoi An (www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~vietnam/china_09_10eng.htm).
Unless an artificial reef is constructed to take advantage of the bigger swell coming through, it is doubtful that Vietnam will ever pull surfers from places such as Bali or Sri Lanka.
But for those after a fun wave and some exercise, Hoi An offers up a good place to learn away from the crowds and an alternative to clothes shopping.