Music drifts across the beach. It is a warm day and a few wispy clouds grace the otherwise brilliant-blue sky. The smell of barbecued burgers hangs in the air and the morning sun glistens off the water. In the distance, a surfer weaves and glides on a wave thrown up by a gentle northeasterly swell. A small crowd of spectators cheers his name. This is man against the ocean in a battle to catch the right wave and the eye of the judges, who have gathered to scrutinise a band of international competitors. This is not a scene from a surfing contest in California or Hawaii; the setting is Hong Kong and the city's Hurley Surf Cup.
Hong Kong may not be the most obvious destination for surfers but the sport is attracting new participants and the local surfing community is growing fast.
The Hurley Surf Cup, held in November, was the biggest such competition organised in Hong Kong to date and preparations are under way to stage the contest again this year. Organised by X Game, a chain of three extreme-sports- and surf-related shops in Hong Kong, the cup drew more than 75 entrants - locals, and those from Australia, Israel, France, Malaysia, the Czech Republic, the Philippines and Indonesia. Present were more than 100 spectators, ranging from babies in carry-cots to middle-aged surfer dudes. An array of cultures meshed on Tai Long Wan beach, in the Sai Kung Country Park, all with one thing in common - a love of surfing.
The exact origins of surfing are unknown but it is thought to have begun in Polynesia more than 3,000 years ago when fishermen realised that riding a wave was the most efficient way of bringing back their catch. But it wasn't until the 1960s that surfing and its associated 'culture' became mainstream. The 1959 American film Gidget, followed by The Endless Summer, in 1966, increased the sport's popularity and was the start of an explosion of surf culture in California, Hawaii and Australia. Surf music, popularised by bands such as the Surfaris and the Beach Boys, became a global phenomenon. But, to borrow a lyric from the Beach Boys, when did 'surfin' USA' become 'surfin' HK'?
Surfing developed a foothold in Hong Kong during the Vietnam war. American marines here on breaks from the war zone hit the beaches with their long boards. It was not until the late 70s, though, that a surfing community developed.
Wanda Kennedy, or Tai-san ('Tarzan') as she is affectionately known, has been a part of Hong Kong's surf scene since the early days. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, the 58-year-old has been catching waves in Hong Kong for 28 years.
According to surf lore, the 16th-century Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon missed the point in his search for the fountain of youth: what he was looking for was all around him. To stay young, all he needed to do was to jump over the ship's rail and start surfing. Kennedy may be proof of this. Her eyes sparkle when she talks about surfing and she exudes a youthful energy. Originally a boogie boarder, she graduated to a longer board three years ago.