Photojournal: Turning the tide

Months earlier, Arugam Bay had earned the surfing community's official sanction, by hosting a major sporting event - the British Pro Surf Association's Champion of Champions.

"We found a quality of wave that gives surfers the chance to perform at their best," says BPSA chairman Dave Reed.

The waves "point break" – that is, they break at the same spot each time, and at an angle peeling in one direction.

The Brits liked it so much they vowed to return in 2005.