Veteran Surfers keen to make Panadura a beach recreation hub
View(s):
From left -- Mayura Botejue, Jan Prins, Anil Amarasekera and Asita Tennekoon standing in front of the iconic picture taken 51 years ago on the Pinwatta beach
A legendary photograph, taken 51 years ago of three local surfers after tackling the ocean waves off the Pinwatta beach, near Panadura, was presented to Jie Jie Beach Hotel last Sunday, by a group of veteran local surfers, who used to addictively and ardently engage in the sport.
The then active, energetic and youthful surfers, now in the veteran’s league, do however make it a point to meet at least once a year, to spend a day together with some active surfing followed by camaraderie.
Making their presence last Sunday were Anil Amarasekera, Mayura Botejue, Jan Prins and Asita Tennekoon, while family members of the members who are no more among the living and a few close associates also joined them.
Jan Prins, who stands at the centre of the 51-year-old photograph made sure to make his presence by coming all the way from Hawaii, USA, where he has been living in for the past four decades. Mayura Botejue, a busy man himself flying to Sri Lanka regularly, very often on professional commitments, took the trouble to make all arrangements in collaboration with the management of Jie Jie Beach Hotel.
Anil Amarasekara, who stands on the right of the old picture, is today a retired military officer, after serving the Sri Lanka Army for decades, even manning troops in the front line during the war. The half century old picture does not have Mayura Botejue and Asita Tennakoon in it, but the duo have been active members of the small clan who explored beaches and waves around Sri Lanka to find perfect surfing spots. Jan Vanden Driesen, who is now based in Perth, Australia, could not make it.
Eventually Pinwatta, Panadura became the group’s favourite surfing joint, with its cozy atmosphere and proximity to Colombo. The group had made weekly visits to the place, even making new friends from the area, who eagerly watched the so called ‘kalu suddas’ (dark foreigners), doing daredevil acts with a plank on the constantly wavy sea.
“It was a wonderful experience way back then and it’s nice to see our fellows back together. If you look at the amount of surfing joints available in Sri Lanka at present, Pinwatta is an untouched, unexplored and underutilized location. We were surprised to see a huge building coming up on the beach we used to surf some 50 years ago, and to tell the truth I felt devastated. Then I broke the message to others, who are scattered across the globe and they too felt a bit bad about it. But one fine day, when Jie Jie Beach Hotel was finally opened, I made a few visits here and informed the management what we used to do on the waters here, and they were overwhelmingly open to listen to us. As a result they have honoured us today by placing one of our vintage pictures at the hotel’s lobby,” a thrilled Botejue stated.
Joining the veteran surfers were present day local surfers who participated in the surfing activity close to the hotel. An entourage of accompanying wives and friends witnessed the youthful exuberance of the seniors and the humor and banter resulting from this activity helped them make the event memorable. The surfing activity of both veterans and the youths aroused the interest of some foreign guests at the hotel who became keen spectators.
The veterans continue to meet and surf on rare occasions. But in the 1960s and 1970s, they pioneered the sport with the help of legendary Englishman Mike Wilson, who ‘hit the road’ down south in his VW Combo Van packed with the then youth and surfboards loaded on the roof rack in the desire to see surfing prosper in Sri Lanka.
“The location between Pinwatta Railway Station and the Jie Jie Beach Hotel is an old surfing haunt that was frequented by the veterans. Fast forward over 50 years and today the sport of surfing has grown to be popular in the south and east coast of Sri Lanka with an event at Arugam Bay on the international competitive surfing calendar. Meanwhile Pinwatta, Panadura has good potential for beach recreation activities and it is hoped that the display of a 1960s vintage photo taken at Pinwatta will help to give recognition to the surfing heritage of the area, Botejue added.
The veteran surfers as well as the present-day athletes, spearheaded by Olympian swimmer Julian Bolling, were optimistic that Jie Jie Beach hotel could build on past history and encourage surfing activity just as at other beach resorts.
“The interest of younger tourists to ‘have a go’ at surfing will develop and adventure types from Colombo will also recognise the convenient location nearby for indulging in weekend fun and frolics that surround the surfing activity,” the veteran surfers voiced out.
With that, the goal of the veterans now focuses on promoting surfing in the Panadura area and develop interest among local youth who will master the skills of ocean craft, life saving and surfing.
“The hope is that some of these youth will learn to run surf board rentals businesses that offer coaching as currently taking place at popular surfing locations elsewhere on the island. This activity will open employment opportunities for young, fun loving, adventurous sporting types,” Botejue explained.
The now veteran ‘surfing gang’ in the early days included Faiz Ahmed, Anil Amarasekera, Wendell Flamer Caldera, Jan Prins, Asita Tennekoon, Jan Vanden Driesen and Mayura Botejue. Peter Dharmaratne, Gihan Jayatileka, Cedric Martenstyn and Niranjan Sinnatamby were part timers while new enthusiasts Astika Botejue, Mayura’s brother, and Ananda Ranasinghe joined the fray later.
While Pinwatta was their frequently used surfing getaway, the clan travelled in the south of the country, surfing other locations in Ahangama, Payagala, Hikkaduwa and Closenberg Bay in Galle.
Veterans such as Astika Botejue, Peter Dharmaratne, Gihan Jayatileka, Cedric Martenstyn and Niranjan Sinnatamby are no more among the living. The remaining veterans Anil Amarasekera, Mayura Botejue, Jan Prins, Asita Tennekoon and Jan Vanden Driesen are eager to see surfing hit more shores of the island. Sharing their vision are Julian Bolling and his set of surfers and the management of Jie Jie Beach Hotel, who are equally eager to see Pinwatta, Panadura become a beach recreation hub.
The half century old picture was given proper treatment before being framed and presented to Jei Jie Beach Hotel, where it is now