Mathew McConaughey Surfs Apple Bay
Surfing is the BVI’s hidden secret. Famous for it gorgeous beaches and incomparable sailing waters, it is less well-known as a surfing center. The big surfing news recently was that the actor Mathew McConaughey was sighted in March surfing at Apple Bay, one of the BVI’s premier surfing beaches. A friend of mine, who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, also spotted him having brunch with his family at Tramonte, a north shore restaurant with a front seat view of Apple Bay’s waves.
McConaughey is known for his roles in Time to Kill, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Dallas Buyers Club, which garnered him an Oscar for Best Actor. But it was in the 2008 movie, Surfing Dude where he honed his surfing skills. Since then, he has been seen catching wave action in places like Malibu off the California coast, and now it seems, on Tortola.
Other notable surfers that have reportedly ridden the BVI’s waves are Cold Play band member, Chris Martin, and Jimmy Buffet, who has had a connection with the BVI since he kept his sail boat in Cane Garden Bay in the 1970s. His mega yacht is often seen cruising BVI waters and in 2009 he thrilled patrons of the Anegada Beach Bar with an impromptu concert.
But it’s not just celebrities catching the waves in the BVI. Each winter surfers from around the Virgin Islands, Caribbean and US monitor surfing websites to see when the BVI’s swells are running, and which beach has the best breaks. With its easy access and consistent waves, Apple Bay on Tortola’s northwestern shore is one of the British Virgin Islands most popular surfing spots.
When the waves are breaking dozens of surfers bob up and down on the swells waiting for the perfect wave. It can take a lot of patience. I am not a surfer, but have spent many an hour watching them glide in with acrobatic grace and ease. It’s fun to watch, and it becomes a guessing game to figure out which surfer is going to get up first and ride a wave ashore without wiping out.
A wave that I think would be perfect, is uniformly rejected, and then, as if a secret signal is passed between the surfers, they paddle forward, stand on their boards and ride in with an ease that belies the skill that is required.
Josiah’s Bay is another popular surfing spot on Tortola. This north shore beach on the island’s eastern end is a favorite with locals and visitors year-round, but in the winter when the swells roll in so do the surfers. The waves can get large and with tricky currents, surfers have to keep vigilant. Josiah’s is where you can find a surfing school for the area’s youth and first-time surfers. Local surf competitions are held here from time to time. A beach bar at the entrance to the beach gives surfers a cool and shady place for a beer and a burger.
Cane Garden Bay is the spot for surfing aficionados. The break occurs off Cannon Point on this popular beach’s western end. It doesn’t occur often, but when it does surfers are thrilled to paddle out, and ride what some consider the perfect BVI wave.
Read about making custom surf boards in the British Virgin Islands:
