Right in the middle of the Mediterranean sits the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia, which hosts a surprising amount of both good quality and consistent waves breaking along its 2,000km of coastline.

The coast consists of long sand beaches and rocky headlands, whilst inland the landscape is lush and mountainous, with numerous archaic ruins littered across it making Sardinia a favourite with hikers and history buffs as well as beach lovers. Whilst on the map looks like it’s protected from any long range swell by that big land mass we call Western Europe, Sardinia is surprisingly consistent in the winter, where strong and regular winds from the NW whip up wind swell and that can produce waves as often as every other day.

The island boasts a wide array of set ups, including everything from long, mushy longboard waves to slabby barrels and because surfing only began here in 80s serious crowds are a rarity. The island also serves as a training ground for the Italian contingent of pros looking for waves with a bit more punch, and was regularly frequented by CT rookie Leo Fioravanti when he was grom.

Here are a selection of images featuring the island in all its finery, taken by a mixture of local and visiting photographers:

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Follow the photographers on Instagram: @brazzai, @filippomaffei, @snils, @nico_delux, @thewavehunter, @sandropisu, @e_madau, @guveia, @surf_culture, @joanneoshphoto

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