Shaper · Ericeira
Semente Surfboards
Portugal's most established performance surfboard label, shaping in Ericeira since the 1980s. Founded by American shaper Nick Uricchio in the town at the centre of what is now the World Surfing Reserve.
Semente was started in Ericeira in the 1980s by Nick Uricchio, an American shaper who settled on this stretch of coast, and it has been the reference point for Portuguese-made performance boards ever since. The workshop is in the town at the centre of the Ericeira World Surfing Reserve, minutes from the reefs the boards are built for.
What they make
High-performance shortboards are the core, ridden and tested over the years by a roster of Portuguese competitive surfers, alongside step-ups, grovellers and models for everyday conditions. Boards are sold custom and off the rack.
Where
Ericeira. See the website for the workshop and the current range.
Spots nearby
Cave
A short, violent right-hand barrel over a shallow rock shelf near Ribeira d'Ilhas. All the intensity of a slab in a small package. Experts only, and only at the right tide.
Experts onlyOctober to March
Coxos
The best wave in the Ericeira reserve and one of the finest right-hand points in Europe: long, thick, fast walls that barrel on the take-off and race down the reef. Advanced surfers only.
Advanced surfersOctober to April
Foz do Lizandro
The beach break at the mouth of the Lizandro river, just south of Ericeira. A wide, forgiving sandy beach that is the town's main learner wave and home to most of its surf schools.
BeginnersYear-round; summer is smallest and best for learning