The Dream Island Setup

Located just under 1000 kilometers from the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro and 700 kilometers from sprawling Sau Paulo sits the famous island of Santa Catarina (Florianópolis or Floripa as the locals commonly call it), the crown jewel of Brazilian surf locations. Sitting 500 meters off the mainland (but connected by bridge) Floripa oh so proudly boasts some of the best waves in all of Brazil. The island measures 54 kilometers from the North to the South and 18 kilometers at it's widest point. This stunning island is in fact home to over 40 different surf beaches with notable names being the likes of Praia Mole, Campeche, Joaquina, Matadeiro and Mocambique not to mention a small number of slightly underground spots.

This vast assortment of beach breaks here all work in different swell sizes and swell/wind directions meaning if there is any swell running on the Brazilian South Atlantic coastline you are almost guaranteed a decent wave somewhere on Floripa. From the unforgiving sand dredging barrels of Mocambique, to the reeling left hand point of Joaquina, to the fun wedgey peaks of Matadeiro and everything else in between there is definitely a wave to suit everyone's tastes in Floripa.

Personally I found Mocambique and Matadeiro to offer up the best quality waves in regards to wave power and hollowness. I would liken Mocambique to sand thumping Stradwick island in Queensland, Australia and Matadeiro to Mystics wedge on the South coast of NSW. While Joaquina on its day can dish up some quality left handers on the pointbreak at the Northern end of the beach. The only thing that this wave diverse island seems to lack is a consistent reef break but hey you can head to Rio for that. [Continued below]