surfing

Around 5.5 million years ago, the modern day continents of Europe and Asia (then Laurasia) finally joined with part of the Gondwana supercontinent. For millions of years, the body of water that lie between them was known as the Tethys Ocean. As this gap closed, the Ocean became the Tethys Sea and finally whay was once an ocean was lifted to form the mightly Himalayas. The residual water from this great Ocean forms the modern day Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Aral seas. Whilst the Mediterrnanean maintains a tenuous direct passage to the open ocean via the Strait of Gibraltar, the other seas are now totally cut off; ancient reminders of a long forgotten Ocean, we are left to merely speculate on what surfing that Ocean 250 million years ago would have been like.

Surfing the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan is like stepping back in time. with a total surface area of 371,000 square kilometres there is ample space for significant wind swell to develop. These events are uncommon but have been significant enough to sink shipping even in recent times. What you are looking for is a stray sirocco storm system to go spinning out of control across the Med and skip across Turkey to the Caspian. The window for this event is small with Nov-Dec your best bet. Can you honestly think of a more unique surfing experience than spending a northern hemisphere winter hunkered down in a bar in the Turkmenistan town of Krasnovodsk waiting for the mother of all storms to turn the Caspian into a swell generating machine. When it happens, hire a Lada and hit the sandy points and bars of the coast just out of town - a unique experience that few of us will ever experience.

what to pack

The weather is warm here so don't forget to bring sunscreen, sunglasses and water bottles to fill up!

A backpack for your beach gear is important so don't forget your towels, swim wear, loose clothing, hats and cameras. You might take alot of photos here, so if you are using a digital camera, bring alot of memory, and if you are using an older camera, bring FILM!

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