Jarmila Jackson, Features Writer

Shane Simmons of Jamaica riding the waves to take the Junior championship at Yallahs, St Thomas, last Sunday. - Photo byRoger Chuck

The thorn-ridden black sands of the Makka Surfing Beach in Southhaven, St Thomas, came to life last Sunday as the crowd multiplied into the thousands to transform the beach into a dazzling theme park.

People came from far and wide to witness the grand spectacle, as over 30 surfers from across the Caribbean and the United States competed for the championship and a wad of cash in the second annual Makka Pro Surfing competition. It was a thrill-ride of an event.

The day saw awe-inspiring radical manoeuvres from the region's finest surfers, including last year's reigning champion, Jason Apparicio of Trinidad and Tobago, Ishack, Icah and Inilek Wilmot of Jamaica and an impressive 12-member squad from Barbados, which travelled through gale force winds - caused by last weekend's tropical wave - to make it to the competition.

"It's really a thing that brings us together as Caribbean people," said Anthony 'Billy Mystic' Wilmot, head of the Jamaica Surfing Association. "No matter who wins, everybody enjoys themselves," he added, and he had the crowd in stitches with his interactive commentary of the event.

Indeed, the cultures merged as the sun blazed brightly with Jamaican, Bajan and Trinidadian flags flapping in the breeze. The old mingled with the young as soothing sounds of roots reggae music saturated the atmosphere. As the crowd grew larger, so too did the waves, encouraging mystifying displays of skill and technique which had spectators climbing on top of jeeps and even on the back of a trailer to get the best view of the show. To the joy and comfort of a lucky few, one young man (who had travelled from Kingston) even brought a couch.

Spectacular show

When the reigning champ fell out in the quarter finals, many began to bubble with anticipation, roaring and screaming when their own surfers conquered, and grimacing when they were clobbered by the waves. Jamaica's 17-year-old wonder, Shane Simmons, sparked the crowd into a frenzy as he seized the championship in the Junior's division with a spectacular 360 degree turn in the most critical part of the wave in the final second of his heat. Jonathan Reese and 13-year-old Chelsea Tuarch (both of Barbados), took home the titles in the Men's and Women's Open, respectively.

Minutes after the results were announced and the sun had set, the crowd gathered in a circle around the giant speaker boxes, now blaring dancehall music. The dancers had now become the spectacle and the after-party was under way.