For ages, surfing in the Andamans has felt like a complicated dream: part logistical nightmare, part island wonder, and always shaped by questions of access across an archipelago of protected islands. If the difficulty kept some away, for others it only made the islands more compelling.
Little Andaman is one of the few inhabited islands in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, which stretches across more than 850 islands. Reaching it is no simple task. A couple of hours’ flight from mainland India gets you to Port Blair, followed by another six- to seven-hour overnight ferry that typically runs only once or twice a week. But once you arrive, the reward is clear: long stretches of coastline, clear water and empty, still quite untouched breaks.
This week, Little Andaman is set to host its first-ever national competition, a key stop in the domestic surf season that helps determine which athletes go on to represent India internationally. Nearly 90 people, including athletes and officials, made the journey this week to the island, arriving during the short south-west swell window that lasts until May.
The competition will be held at Butler Bay, a left-hand reef break that opens into a cove. When the swell eases, the cove settles into calmer water, also creating the perfect conditions needed for the SUP event to be held over the same period. “There were also two other spots—Kumari, a beautiful right-hander, and Lighthouse—but both are currently too inaccessible to host a competition,” says Nawaz Jabbar, Contest Director at the Surfing Federation of India. “They were firing even after Butler had died down, but reaching them would require boat rides to get to the point.”
That challenge, of having good surf, but not always the infrastructure around it, was running through almost every part of organising an event in the Andamans. Competitive surfing in India has existed for more than a decade now, and over the years the system around it has become more established, making contests easier to run without having to fly in large support teams. But organising one in the Andamans, Nawaz says, felt like stepping back into the early years.
Though the fact that this year’s national event is sponsored by the Andaman and Nicobar tourism board marks a shift in itself. For years, Little Andaman has appealed to surfers for the quality of its waves, even as its remoteness made organised competition difficult. Now, with better access on the ground and more support around transport, the island is beginning to feel more workable as a contest venue.
Some of those changes are practical but significant. Butler Bay can be reached from shore, but the break lies one to two kilometres from the nearest guesthouses, with the approach cutting through the jungle. A paved access route now will make it easier for surfers carrying boards and equipment. Ferry services, too, have long been one of the biggest barriers. Reaching the island has never been easy, but for the competition there will be a ferry departing every night, easing what has traditionally been one of the hardest parts of the journey.
Accommodation has been another limitation. Until a couple of years ago, guesthouse options on the island were minimal. That, too, is beginning to change, with more locals being encouraged to develop homestays and create the kind of basic infrastructure a surf destination needs if it is to host visitors more consistently. But infrastructure is only one part of the equation. The island is also known for the presence of saltwater crocodiles in surrounding waters, an added layer of risk that organisers have had to factor in. “Every possible safety measure has been taken, much like at any other surf break where natural risks need to be considered,” adds Nawaz. “The forest, medical, tourism departments have all been kept in the loop and will be present to make sure everything is in place.”
For years, surfing in the Andamans belonged mostly to those willing to go out of their way for it. But what this competition suggests is that now the islands may no longer remain only a faraway surf dream.
