BHUBANESWAR: The pristine beaches along the Orissa coast in the next few years could give stiff competition to the “surfers’ paradises” of Kirra in Australia, Jeffery’s Bay in South Africa, Fuerteventura in Spain or Hawaii, Bali or California.
Several locations on the 480-km shoreline have been identified with potential to be developed into global surfing sites as Orissa strives to engage intensively with the “wild and sexy” adventure sports activity.
After development of Ramchandi on the Puri-Konark Marine Drive for soft recreational surfing, the Surfing Yogis, who introduced the sport to this part of the country as recently as April, have zeroed in on three locations in Paradip and Jagatsinghpur for turning into the extreme pro-surfing zones.
“We have found an explicitly suitable wavelines at the Hukitola islands off Kendrapara coast. Eleven feet waves cascading into the sand patches are inviting for any pro-surfer. But the stretch needs more technical assessment like underwater features, current patterns and seasonal impact apart from provisioning of adequate infrastructure, connectivity and facilities to lure them in,” says Sanjay Samantray of Rangers Adventure Foundation (RAF), who conceived the Surfing Yogis to seed the surf culture in the state.
The Surfing Yogis team, comprising Sanjay and international surfers-cum-instructors Justin Michael Creghton (JC) of Australia and Yogi of Hawaii, made an extensive sea expedition recently and found a stretch near the Paradip Port as well as Siali beach in Jagatsinghpur for surf sports. The objective is to position Orissa in the global surfing map and give a boost to tourism in the state.
“The virgin beaches, unadulterated and uncrowded locations are just like dope for the surfers, who are on the prowl for challenging spots. We are, in fact, working to host an international surfing festival in January-February,” says RAF member Dr Debabrata Das.
The Surfing Yogis are, in fact, among the three-four at the most surfing groups in India—the Surfing Swamis of Mulki in Mangalore, Shaka Surf Club at Manipal, and Temple Adventures and Kallialay Surf School in Pudducherry.
The fledgling surfers base at Ramchandi has evoked hearty response from the state people. Though almost an alien watersports activity, a band of indigenous surfers are already in the making. The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation in association with RAF has announced special surf camp packages as well as intensive courses.