Santa Catalina, Veraguas, Panama
No other right hand wave in Central America gets as big, as often or is as flawless as Santa Catalina. The Point at Santa Catalina breaks just off a small protruding headland over rocks. It has an easy take-off leading into a powerful bowling section that will cover up lucky surfers with a mighty barrel and sling them down the line to a slightly smaller, but all powerful, long carvable wall. Many a travelling surfer has paddled in from Santa Catalina exhausted and proclaiming they just surfed the best right hander in the American Tropics.
The reef acts as a swell magnet, funnelling in and magnifying all available south swell the Pacific Ocean can muster. It is not uncommon for Catalina to go weeks at a time with solid overhead surf. It starts breaking at 4ft and will hold swell as big as it gets. The bigger the swell, the more powerful the wave and the further out it breaks, but with the same perfect shape.
Santa Catalina is a year round wave, in December to March the swell is generally smaller but the weather is warm, sunny and the wind offshore. April to November is the wet season which brings bigger swells, regular rain showers and more variable winds.
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