Belgium

With less wave resources, Belgians didn’t hit the water until1983, when a well-travelled convert called Kobbe, returned from an eight-month trip to Morocco with a board. His forays into the North Sea swells didn’t go un-noticed and a crew of locals joined him on imported equipment. Surfer numbers have vastly increased since the mid ‘90s when the paltry figure of 500 was given for both the Netherlands and Belgium’s surf population. Now there are National Championships and sponsored riders like Jordy Defray are moving into mainstream competition. Industry shops and mags are often divided between board, wind and kite surfing in order to make ends meet. Localism is rarely an issue and aside from a bit of friction with the wind crew during strong winds, it is pretty mellow in the line-up. To be able to surf the best spots, Dutch and Belgian surfers had to organise legally registered clubs. The Holland Surfing Association (HSA) was formed in 1973 and the Belgian Surf Association (BSA) in the early ‘90s. Both clubs organise surf events and publish magazines.