RIDERS ON THE STORM
**Surfing has become Phuket’s hottest activity and latest tourist attraction **
Writer: By Yanapon Musiket
Published: 26/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Strong winds and waves during the monsoon season in Phuket may turn away many visitors hoping to have a sunny, breezy holiday. It is worse for local business owners, as stormy June is the so-called low season.
HANG 10: Preecha Trirat, winner in the longboard division, in action.
But for Chanin Aiyarak, it is the happiest time of the year. And this year, he said, has been the best ever.
Last month, as the rain began to fall in Phuket, the inaugural Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series became the country’s first international surfing championship.
Standing with a big smile in his surfer outfit was Mr Chanin, president of Phuket Boardriders Club, welcoming guests as well as the local and international media that attended this promising new event.
“We want to put Phuket on the map,” said Mr Chanin, speaking both as a local surfer and as the director of the project.
“Our aim is not only to attract surfers from all over the world to visit our city; we also hope to keep the Phuket surfing scene up to international standards and, at the same time, promote this activity as a new tourist attraction.”
Named the Monsoon Riders, more than 100 surfers, comprising local competitors and international participants from 12 countries gathered together on Kalim Beach for the first stage of the three-round series.
ON DECK: Men’s Open champion Ekkarat Sriden.
The second event, the King of the Jungle, will be held at Kamala Beach from August 14 to 16, and the third and final event will be called the Island Crown, when surfers will ride the waves of Kata Beach from Sept 4 to 6.
The scoring is similar to Formula 1 motor racing, Mr Chanin explained.
Competitors collect points from each race, so surfers must compete at three beaches to reach their final score.
“You may be a champion on the first beach, but that doesn’t mean you will be the winner of the championship.
Doesn’t that sound exciting to you?” he asked, smiling.
Hawaii, Australia and Bali are well-known and popular with surfers, with good waves and good weather, but Phuket does not yet attract people in the same numbers.
“There may not be many giant waves like on the major surf beaches you may have seen on television, but here at Kalim Beach, for example, from June to September, storms that come in from the Indian Ocean can generate surfable waves up to two metres,” said Mr Chanin.
After consolidating its position on the local surfing scene for almost seven years, recently this southern island was recognised by international surfing brand Quiksilver, one of the largest organisers of surfing championships worldwide, which has committed to a three-year deal as a sponsor to promote this first Asian Surfing Championship tour event to be held in Southeast Asia, and the first major surfing tournament in Thailand.
After keeping a low profile, it’s time for Thai surfers to ‘‘go inter’’, Mr Chanin remarked.
Being governed by the rules of the International Surfing Association, Mr Chanin revealed that since this competition has become part of the Asian Surfing Championship (ASC), participating surfers feature in the ranking system, giving them recorded profiles to compete in other events around the region.
Categorised into four divisions, the three-day event of the Monsoon Riders included the men’s open, longboard (2.7 to 3m), women’s and juniors’ (under 14).
On the final day of the first round, surfers could be seen on the beach, some busy waxing their boards to help it stick to their feet for better performance while others were observing the waves before their turn came. Loud music boomed out, exciting passers-by and those waiting in the audience to witness the performances of their favourite surfers. Mr Chanin was on the microphone, promoting the event in Thai and fluent English. “As you can see now, we will let four surfers enter the water; each will wear a shirt of a different colour for judges to recognise them when giving points,” he explained. “Fifteen minutes will be given and surfers will have to perform their best to reach the full score of 10. However, the time could be extended depending on the quality of the waves during the competition.”
On the final day, under the scorching morning sun, the women’s division was the first category to see a winner.
Planning for a holiday in Thailand but bringing home a more memorable experience was Australian Bree Evans, who conquered local surfers and rode the unfamiliar waves with impressive skill.
Heating up the the longboard division event were some strong winds, which encouraged a smorgasbord of surfing manoeuvres, including nose rides, cross steps, head stands, fin-first take-offs and everything in between. But at the end of the day it was Preecha Trirat who narrowly defeated his Kata Surf Club mate Chalee Yampluem for first place.
“It has been four years since I first learned how to paddle the board. Watching my friends win the competition every year, it now feels great that I could finally win,” said Mr Preecha of his performance.
Named the toughest wave-killer of the men’s open, Ekkarat Sriden of Kamala Beach used his small-wave prowess to full effect in a challenging final at Kalim Beach last Sunday to take the top spot with the best score of 8.25.
The highlight of the event was in the junior surfers’ division, where rising star and the only female finalist of the division, Annissa Tita Flynn, who turned 11 on the day of the competition, won herself a birthday present with the highest score, leaving the boys to fight over the runner’s-up award.
Before sunset, the legendary pro surfer from Australia, Jake Paterson, walked along the beach with Indonesian pro surfer and founder of the Asian championship tour, Tipi Jabrik, to demonstrate their professional wave-riding skills in front of the audience, media and participating surfers.
“It’s a pleasure to be here,” said Mr Paterson, after shaking hands with young surfers who were impressed by his talent. “I could see the potential here in Phuket as a surfing destination, and look at this young generation.”
Mr Jabrik also added that what he enjoyed most was the friendship among surfers: “The surf community here is very strong. As you can see, everybody knows each other. They all love surfing, and this is the most important thing of all.”
After a long tiring day for surfers and fans, the award ceremony for the champions of the first round was held in a relaxing area of the Jungceylon shopping complex at Patong Beach.
It was almost the last stage of the celebrations but Mr Chanin still looked busy running the event; however, that smile was still there, even bigger.
“Please, come and visit Phuket next month for the second round and you’ll fall in love with surfing,” he insisted, before bidding goodbye as the monsoon rains began to touch the ground.
**The Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series is sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships, and the next event will be the King of the Jungle at Kamala Beach from August 14 to 16. **
Visit www.phuketboardriders.com or www.thaisurfseries.com.
LOVE OF THE WAVES: Winner of the junior division, Annissa Tita Flynn, left, and first runner-up Oliver Penmit.
GOING ‘INTER’: Right, last week, after winning the junior division on Kalim Beach, Annissa received an official letter from Jake Paterson, sponsored by Phuket Boardriders, to participate in both the ‘wahine’ (ladies’) division and the ‘grom’ (children’s) division of the famous Quiksilver King of the Grom surfing competition in Kuta Beach, Bali. Young Annissa performed at her best in the largest league in Asia, and made it though to the second round of the event.
WINNER: Australian surfer Bree Evans, champion of the women’s division.
SURFERS: From left: Jake Paterson, Chanin Aiyarak and Tipi Jabrik.
*Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com *