Sri Lanka plays host to its first surfing championship at Arugam Bay
Sri Lanka played host to its first surfing championship at Arugam Bay, just over a year after the end of the long war against the LTTE.
As dawn breaks over Arugam Bay, a fisherman casts his net into the lagoon near the long, low bridge that links the remote village to the rest of the country. By 07.00 a.m. Arugam’s other main industry is storming into life at the Southern end of the beach. Contestants in the Sri Lankan Airlines “Pro Surf 2010 “started surfing on the massive waves that were breaking in a blue-green sea. They rode the waves skillfully, astonishingly staying upright – mostly, disappearing into a wave that looked 20 feet tall. As BBC reported, both surfers and local residents hope it will not be the last.