3 hours drive to Los Angeles. 17 hours from LA to Bangkok. 16 hour layover in Bangkok. 4 hours to Columbo, Sri Lanka. 10 hours drive across the country- seas of three wheeled moto-taxis (called tuk-tuks), cars, tractors pulling cartloads of people, herds of buffalo, and families on bicycles- all merging semi-seamlessly with a symphony of horn beeps and blares. Finally we had arrived, in what felt like the furthest I could possibly be from home.
For a few hours Sri Lanka seemed like another world. Different tastes, customs, rituals, and new waves to explore. We were lucky enough to pair up with the Arugam Bay Surf Club to have them show us a few waves around the region and on our first surf one of the local surfers busted out his beloved Rusty Surfboard! After all of that travel to get so far from home, our Rusty Surfboards were an instant conversation starter and the feeling of being "so far away" melted with the first exchange of waves.
The locals surfed with confidence and style- I was impressed and the feeling of a surf community in Arugam Bay is as present as any surf community I have been to. I let the locals try out my quad fin Slayer as well and they were really fired up on how fast it got going. Surfing with the locals in Sri Lanka is a lot like surfing with my friends at home, despite that sometimes there are elephants, buffalo, or Cobras on the beach. But they are "nice cobras" so it's ok.
It seems that no matter how far away from home I get, Rusty Surfboards are still a great way to start a conversation.
Featured are a few photos of the local Sri Lankan surfers shredding on Rusty Surfboards and a few other scenes one may encounter when searching for waves in Sri Lanka.
