Text + photos: Tim Hain

To the average traveler, the tourist destination of Phuket in Southern Thailand evokes scenes of white sand beaches, blue water, beach chairs, and sunny days with which to tan, relax, eat and drink the holidays away. Memories of the 2004 tsunami linger distantly, but are all but forgotten as the many hedonistic pleasures advertised come to the fore, with activities running the gamut from wholesome family fun such elephant rides and splashing about in the swimming pool or ocean to the no-holds-barred all night every night disco’s, bar’s and café’s offering every type of adult entertainment imaginable… and some even unimaginable!
So as unbelievable is it may be, there is in fact among this plethora of well-known hedonistic distractions another activity that is not so well known… surfing! In fact, there is a solid core community of surfers there composed of locals, full and part time ex-pats, as well as seasonal travelers. They have quietly gone about enjoying their bounty each monsoon season (their wet season in Bali terms), relishing the clean and clear water, lack of crowds in the surf, and all the many comforts of a top-notch tourist destination, not to mention some of the best food in Asia!

The monsoon season in Phuket runs from approximately from May to October, and its during this time that the Southern Indian Ocean storms that come rushing up towards India and Indonesia find a few gaps between the Andaman Islands and ruffle the Andaman Sea enough to create surfable waves along the Phuket coastline. Numerous options exist along the west-facing coastline of this island that is approximately the same size as Singapore, with spots like Ni Harrn Beach, Kata Beach, Karon Beach, Kalim Beach, Kamala Beach and others providing numerous sand and reef break options that each have their own particular set of requirements, with which when satisfied they produce some very fun waves.

By way of history, in a seemingly natural progression in the surfing world, the various Phuket locals eventually formed their own surf clubs and in time began to hold surf competitions for fun and local prestige. Eventually an umbrella organization was needed to tie it all together so in 2002 the Phuket Boardriders Club was formed. Since then, they have been holding two or three surf contests each year and having loads of fun. So much fun in fact that they decided not to keep it so much to themselves but to let others in on it too!
Through a confluence of events Quiksilver (South East Asia) CEO Paul Hutson and Sports Marketing Manager Jake Paterson met with Club President Chanin “Joob” Aiyarak in Phuket and thus came to pass a three-year commitment for the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Series, three events over a four-month period from June – September each year.

The first event of the three was named The Monsoon Riders and saw over 100 surfers competing in four divisions at Kalim Beach; Men’s Open, Longboard, Women’s, and Junior’s (under 14 years old). It was held over a three-day period from Friday June 12 to Sunday June 14, with a truly international field of competitors from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hawaii, the USA, and Thailand.
Check out SURF TIME MAGAZINE for full story