Surfarticles: Arugam Bay

Arugam Bay Main Point: The next best BreaK?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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Surf Points 13

Arugam Bay is on the list of the top ten surf points in the world. Situated on the South East side of Sri Lanka Arugam Bay receives the same Antarctic winter swell’s that hit Indonesia in the in the middle of the year. The best time of the year is between May and November when the predominant wind is offshore for at least the first half of the day.

Due to its location and southerly swell direction the area is dominated by right hand point breaks. There is a beach break in front of the Stardust Hotel, which can be fun for body surfing or for beginners but that’s about it. Three of the point breaks “The Point”, “Pottuvil Point” and “Crocodile Rock” are within a hour tuk tuk ride from the Hotel, with “The Point being visible (15 min walk) from the hotel. There are several other points that are within a 1-hour’s ride or can be accessed by boat. Some of the staff at the hotel surf and are only to happy to help you plan surf trips to some of these lesser known breaks

Surfing at sunriseThe Point: This is the main break at Arugam Bay. The point is a long right-hand point/reef break that breaks at the headland in front of Arugam Bay. It is also the best swell magnet of all the points and you can almost always guarantee that the The Point will be a couple of feet bigger than any of the other breaks. It breaks from anything between 2 and 6 feet but tends to max out after 6 foot. Due to its location it is also attracts the biggest crowd but seems to be handle it as it often sections in a few spots. On a good day it provides a clean rideble wall that will barrel in the sections and give you a 400-meter ride right through to the inside. When you ride all the way through the best option is to paddle a few yards to the beach and walk back out to the entry point (booties are advisable as the reef starts from ankle depth). There is also cafA?A?A?run by some of the locals that provides a grant vantage point to watch the action from and take in stock up on energy for the next session.

Pottuvil Point: Pottuvil Point is every surfers dream tropical wave. A long deserted sandy beach doted with some huge boulders at the waters edge, make this wave a favourite with some of the season veterans. Less crowded because of the hour tuk tuk ride north from Arugam Bay, Pottuvil point provides 800 meter rides from the outside section right through to the beach on the inside. The unique thing about this wave is that for most of it you can be working a four foot face and be only a few meters from the beach as the wave grinds down the sandy point. The outside section sucks up and throw’s out as the swell raps into the point giving a 30 meter wall to work with before it fades as it hits deeper water for about 10 seconds. The wave then tends to double up as it hits a shallow sand bottom section that will have you hanging in there for all you worth just to try and make the next 40 to 80 meter section. Failure can leave you standing in knee deep water with a mouth full of sand if you manage not to get slammed into one of the boulder’s first.

If conditions are right and you can make it through this section then the wave peels perfectly meters from the beach for an eternity until it closes out in the bay and you begin the long walk back. Pottuvil Point needs a decent size swell before it starts working at all and a large swell before the middle section is makeable. If “The Point at Arugam is 6 foot Pottuvil will be 4-5. Beware there is little or no shelter at Pottuvil so bring plenty of drinking water.

Beach Hut

Crocodile Rock: A hour tuk tuk ride to the south will leave you with a twenty minute walk along another beautiful beach to reach Crocodile Rock. I don’t know if the place is named after one of the rocks on the point or some of the large salt water crocs that live in the lagoon 50 meters from the break but it is a beautiful spot for a day surf mission. This is the smallest of the three points, and you need a medium to large swell for Croc Rock to work at all. When the point is 6 foot then Croc Rock will be 3 foot. It is however a perfect wave for the beginner/intermediate or long board enthusiastic. A suckey take-off section over sand leads on to a long wall that breaks right down the point for about 400 meters much like inside Pottuvil point. Again bring lots of water and make sure that your tuk-tuk driver is there to pick you up after a session and a long walk back in the searing tropical sun.

Additional Info:
Transport: The hotel has a land-rover and will often provide you with a lift but you will often find that a tuk tuk is the just as easy. It’s a good idea when travelling to any of the points other then The Point at Arugam that you don’t pay the driver until he picks you up after the surf this ensures that he’s there when you are ready to leave. Like all of Southeast Asia they will quote high and settle for about double what the locals pay. We ended up paying between 250 – 400 (local) for a return trip to either Pottuvil or Croc Roc.

Tides: The micro tides seem to have little effect on any of the waves in the area.

SOURCE:

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