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SRI LANKA, the original hippy surfer locale with no true world class setups but bursting with quirky culture, history, recent trauma and a bunch of classy right hand points.

For six years they've hosted the SriLankan Airlines Pro at Arugam Bay, the East Coast's surfing focus. An event which helped restore a surfing jewel almost annihilated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Everyone in Arugam Bay lost someone that day. Now years down the road to recovery this is once again a thriving surf town which last week combined an ASP 6-Star women’s event and an ASP World Longboard Title (WLT) men’s event.

The surf started off small and was pumping by the event's close, World Longboard Champion Duane Desoto took the win in the mals and young ripper Courtney Conlogue the women's title. Here's a pictorial jaunt around the fringes of this colourful competition.

Arugam Bay from the air. It's an 8 hour drive from the capital Columbo or a 1 hour SriLankan Airlines Air Taxi ride. With views like this it's an easy choice to make. All surf events should have their own airline.

© Will H-S - 2012