Duppies

comment by Anonymous, 2008-05-08 04:40:56

You know that Duppy is a Bajan word for boggie man.

comment by Mark, 2007-01-26 19:18:25

Take Care
Surfed it several days on a winter trip. One session started out at a couple of feet overhead and glassy. Great waves. Then the size started going up and up. The wind picked up and went sideshore, it got a little messy. Everyone had gone in except me and one of my buds and we were looking for our last wave. We had moved further out as the size went up and then saw the mother of all waves way outside. Paddled for all we were worth but didn't make it over. Dove off our boards, lucky it was deep and it just kind of mushed over us, about 8 feet of white water on top of a big wall. If our leashes had broken, who knows where and if we could have made back in.Great wave, beautiful spot. We had hooked up with a couple of locals to clue us in. Make sure you are aware of the set up and are capable.

comment by Rick Novak., 2006-11-05 09:22:00

Chicken factory & sharks are for real. Doh!
There's been a lot of talk here about sharks at Duppies due to there being a chicken factory in the neighborhood. I had hoped this was just a false rumor spread by people trying to keep the crowds down at this great surf spot. Wrong! I just had a phone conversation this morning with my old landlady from 20 years ago there. We had been out of touch for decades, but I was thinking of spending a couple months there this winter, so I found her phone number and called. It was great talking to her, and I was all set to go, until I asked about the chicken factory. Sure enough, it's for real, right in Archer's Bay a half mile up-current from Duppies, and the factory owner dumps blood and guts and dead chickens in the ocean daily. There has been the predictable increase in shark problems, including an recent attack on a local guy whose leg was mangled while swimming right near shore. Luckily he survived. My landlady also said that people often see 4 to 5 foot sharks right near shore, sometimes chasing fish right up onto the beach. When I lived there in the 70's and 80's you never even HEARD of anyone seeing a shark. And bear in mind, this info comes from a good friend of mine who was looking forward to seeing me again. The situation reminds me of the stuff you hear about all the attacks in Recife, Brazil after they opened a meat packing plant up river. And I checked, Barbados also has bull sharks, which are the likely culprits. I'll surf areas with tiger sharks and whites, but bull sharks scare the crap out of me. So I think I'm going to pass on Barbados for the time being. I had been hoping to do a lot of solo dawn patrol sessions before the boys from Bathsheba, etc. showed up, but that's the most dangerous time of day. And the best waves. Damn! Well, for those more brave than me, watch your toes! You'll probably be fine, especially doing a few mid-day sessions. But being out there at dawn everyday for several months feels like pushing my luck to me. Oh well, back to Hawaii and tiger sharks! :>)Cheers, Rick Novak.