[i]Phuket’s surfing community will honour the victims of last years Tsunami caused by a 9.0 earthquake near Sumatra which devastated southern Thailand on Dec. 26, 2004, with a “paddle out”.
As most of the club members live or at least spend a good deal of time on or near the beach, the ceremony will be especially poignant as they
themselves lost family, friends, and livelihoods to the Tsunami.
During the ceremony, participating surfers will paddle their boards
offshore and join hands to form a large floating circle. Following
tradition, they will sprinkle flowers into the sea and observe a minute’s
silence in memory of those that perished.
Phuket Boardriders Club, said the gesture is a tradition for surfers honouring one of their own, but this circle will go further than that to reflect the Thai and expatriate surfers’ bond to the island and more importantly to it’s people.[/i]Though traditionally a way to mourn the loss of a fellow surfer, the
Boardriders feel that a surfer’s circle is the most appropriate way for the surfing club to pay their respects to those who were lost to the sea’s wrath one year ago.
Ceremonies will be held on December 26, 2005 at Loma Park in Patong Beach at 2pm, and the north end of Kamala Beach at 4pm.
Expected to join are the clubs 60+ members, but anyone with a surfboard wanting to pay their respects is encouraged to participate.
For more information, please contact Phuket Boardriders Club President Khun Joob at 01 956 5854 or club volunteer Khun Tom at 01 894 1994.
The Tsunami in December 2004 was caused by a massive earthquake measuring over 9 on the Richter scale. The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue island, off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The tsunami devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and other countries with waves up to 30 m. It caused serious damage and deaths as far as the east coast of Africa, with the furthest recorded death due to the tsunami being in South Africa, 8,000 km away from the epicentre.
The reported death toll from the earthquake, the tsunami and the resulting floods varies widely, but could total over 265,000 people with tens of thousands reported missing, and over a million left homeless. The U.S. Geological Survey records the toll as 283,100 killed, 14,100 missing, and 1,126,900 people displaced
[url=http://www.saltwater-dreaming.com/gallery/index.php?cat=9]Tsunami Photos here[/url]