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Hong Kong’s no surf heaven, but the Hurley Surf Cup 2009, held on November 22, shows how a little can go a long way. By Hamish McKenzie.

It’s a warm, overcast morning at Shek O’s Big Wave Bay, with a light wind whipping in quickly from the northeast. The beach is empty, save for an army of dark-green trash cans standing sentry like silent Daleks; the only sound comes from the constant chatter of the waves disintegrating on the flat, slick shore. The breeze is all that holds the surf aloft today, fluffing the waves just enough to give a small band of surfers something to play with.

“This is wind swell,” says Bryant Vallejo, a Filipino who’s been living and surfing in Hong Kong since 1998. “If the wind stops, there’s not going to be any waves.”

Vallejo and his friend Red Baluyus are part of Hong Kong’s tight-knit community of surfers, most of whom have jobs that allow them enough flexibility to slip away to either Big Wave Bay or Sai Kung’s Tai Long Wan whenever the swell calls. They’re here with 12 others at 9am on a Wednesday to see what they can make of a day that ranks a “four out of ten” for wave quality, by Hong Kong’s meagre standards.
Vallejo is also one of the competitors in this year’s Hurley Surf Cup, hosted by surf and skate shop X Game at Tai Long Wan on Sunday 22. He’s entered in the B grade and sees the event as a chance to test his shoulder, which is recovering from surgery he had in summer last year.

The Cup also has an open grade for the best surfers, a women’s section, and a bronze section, for the rookies, with cash prizes of up to $3,000, awarded to the winner of the open category. Competitors and judges are flying in from Bali, Taiwan, and The Philippines for the occasion. But none of that stuff bothers Vallejo, who says, “Just going out there and hanging out and watching the comp is fun already.”

If it should strike you as strange that Hong Kong even has a surfing competition, then, well, fair enough. It’s no secret that our surf conditions leave a lot to be desired. Our surf is shallow and messy, with waves often collapsing – or ‘closing out’ – suddenly, spoiling hopes of a killer ride. On top of that, our coastline boasts no significant reefs – the lifeblood of a good, consistent break – meaning our waves simply roll over ever-shifting sandbars, which are short-lived and easily destroyed by typhoons. The best time for surfing in Hong Kong is the period between November and March, when swells from the northeast typhoon produce the best, most consistent waves.

As you might have guessed by now, Big Wave Bay and Tai Long Wan are the busiest spots, and, because of the sport’s increasing popularity here, they’re sometimes over-crowded. “It’s fine to learn on, but it’s not what you consider really surfing,” says Shek O resident and surfing nut Sam Pleitgen. A select few, however, know of other options. Says Pleitgen: “There are spots all over Hong Kong, but they’re well-kept secrets – they will not be divulged.”

Tai Long Wan is good because it’s facing a direction that in winter gives it beautiful waves – and even on an off day, the lack of big rollers can be a good test of a surfer’s abilities. “You’re presented with the best of three waves in a heat,” says Pleitgen of the competition, “and it’s a case of what can you do?” In last year’s Cup, two teenagers from Bali went out in placid conditions and showed their more senior competitors how to do it. “These two kids went out there and ripped. They were handed slop and they showed us what you could do with it. Really, they were the best surfers out there.”

Tai Long Wan also has it setbacks – though optimists will tell you they’re really advantages. For a start, you have to hike for more than an hour to get there from the nearest bus stop, Pak Tam Au, and then: “The beach has no electricity, no water, no toilet, we just camp there.” That’s X Game owner Ken Choi, who founded the event in 1991 and represented Hong Kong in windsurfing at the 1984 Olympic Games. “We have to come down a few days before to bring a generator so we can have a sound system on site. There is also a barbecue. We try to make it like Hawaii in the US. We do it like the World Cup.”

The organisers are expecting between 300 and 500 people to show up for the competition. Last year’s event attracted 300 people and 68 competitors, and Indonesian star Rizal Tanjung performed demonstrations between heats. The organisers hope Tanjung will be back this year, but even without him the Cup is set for success. The beauty of Tai Long Wan – a vast beach backed by dense bush and a range of craggy mountains – is enough of a draw for a day of beach partying, regardless of the surf.
Meanwhile, back at Big Wave Bay, the dozen surfers are bobbing about on an undulating sea like bits of fruit in a barrel. From the shore, you can see the shadowy outline of a woman eking what she can out of a low wave. She’s up for four seconds before the wave closes out. It’s time to swim out again and wait for the wind to blow just that little bit harder.

The Daleks stand silently on the shore, and the breeze flutters dormant sun umbrellas on the patio of a beachside bar. Hong Kong may not be a surfing mecca – but then, as the organisers of the Hurley Surf Cup understand, it’s what you make of it. When you’re handed slop, you have to show people what you can do.

Additional reporting by Phillippa Stewart

The Hurley Surf Cup 2009 takes place at Tai Long Wan on Sun 22. Registration is $200 at X Game (Shop 8 & 9, UG/F, Car Po Commercial Building, 18-20 Lyndhurst Tce, Central, 2890 2321; and 10/F, 10 Pak Sha Rd, Causeway Bay, 2881 8960; www.xgamehk.com).