Siargao's local surfers dominate quarter finals of the 20th Siargao International Surfing Cup

Carlito Nogalo of Siargao Island

27 September, Siargao Island – Philippines:  Out of the eight (8) quarter finalists of this year's Siargao International Surfing Cup (an ASC Qualifying Series and ASC Grade 4 sanctioned event in cooperation with the Philippine Surfing Federation), six (6) are Siargao's local surfers, with one Indonesian, last year’s winner Putra Hermawan, and 16 year old Australian Chris Zaffis the remaining internationals.  

Christ Zaffis of Australia

The expected increase in swell provided the international contestants with plenty of opportunities to pull into the world-renowned Cloud 9 barrels, as well as boosting airs and smashing big turns, with the Siargao crew clearly showing their local advantage in the face of the international contestants.

“I’m pretty stoked to still be in it…really I’m surprised to be one of the only international surfers left in the comp, but proud to be flying the flag for Australia,” said Chris.  “I’m looking forward to a pumping morning of surf tomorrow, coz I just want to get barreled and make it into the final!” he added.

The Siargao locals in the quarterfinals are the usual suspects, a mix of previous event winners and Cloud 9 tube masters made up of “Piso” Alcala, “Osot” Alcala, “Dodo” Espijon, Philmar Alipayo, Carlito Nogalo, and “Marama” Tokong.  Almost without exception, everyone on the island goes by a nickname!

On sundown there were 4-6 foot sets blasting over the reef for the two dozen freesurfers enjoying a late session, so tomorrow’s finale should see some event better waves than today for an exciting finale to the event.  There is a 6:30 am call out for the 8 quarterfinalists, so stay tuned!   

 
Check out the highlight clips so far, courtesy of Indo Inc’s Sean Gilhooley
Day 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfas6Oz6eJc Day 2:  Round 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m7DwFy50_A&feature=youtu.be Round 3:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaeA4qqXuUw&feature=youtu.be
Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion tomorrow, and see all the results athttp://www.aspworldtour.com/events/2014/mqs/1078/siargao-cloud-9-surfing-cup/results
 

The 2014 Siargao International Surfing Cup is a co-sanctioned 1-star ASP Men’s World Qualifying event and a ASC Grade 4 event that will run from 24 - 28 September 2014 and boasts US$15,000 Prize Money.  

The 20^th Siargao International Surfing Cup is presented by the MVP Group of Companies and Manila Mining Corporation, with event organizers the Municipality of General Luna and Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte) and support by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), the Philippine Department of Tourism, Cloud 9 Boardriders Club and Fluid Surf.

The event is sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals and the Asian Surfing Championships with the assistance of the Philippine Surfing Federation. 

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About the Asian Surfing Championships (ASC) The Asian Surfing Championships was established in 2010 as the progression of the highly successful Indonesian Surfing Championships that began in Bali, Indonesia in 2004.  The mission of the ASC is to develop and progress the sport of surfing in Asia by assisting in the organizing and sanctioning of professional surfing events, which will help their growing surf communities and draw more attention to their areas for the progression of surfing locally, nationally, and throughout the Asian Region. 

The attached images are royalty free for editorial use only, no commercial rights granted. The copyright is owned by the Asian Surfing Championships. ONLY LOW RES WATERMARKED IMAGES MAY BE POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES WITH THE APPROPRIATE PHOTO CREDIT. Sale or license of the images is prohibited. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Surfing and Serenity on a Remote Philippine Island

The entrance to Siargao Island's legendary Cloud 9 break.
By ONDINE COHANE

We sat facing a weathered wood pagoda set in an emerald sea, the perfect swimming distance from a private beach lined with crooked coconut trees. Grilled mahi-mahi that arrived via a banca, a Filipino fishing boat, just an hour earlier was seasoned with calamansi (a citrus fruit native to the Philippines) and served with grilled eggplant and squash from the resort’s organic farm, accompanied by a bottle of crisp white wine. Steps from the restaurant pavilion was our villa with its huge bed swathed in a white mosquito net, an open shower surrounded by local shiny white pebbles, and swinging outdoor daybeds. The pummeling of an unforgettable surfing session hours before made the idea of crawling back to such luxurious digs even more appealing. 

We were on Siargao (pronounced shar-GOW), a teardrop-shaped island that’s just one of the Philippines’s 7,000-plus, and the southernmost refuge for travelers before the less politically stable region of Mindanao. Even to Filipinos, the island, on the country’s Pacific-facing side, is not all that well known. Before the airport opened here in 2011, it was an overnight ferry ride from Cebu (which Magellan put on the map when he landed there in 1521). And it’s still not so easy to reach: the two-flight, roughly four-hour trip from Manila (including a layover in Cebu) has only the semblance of a schedule part of the year because of mercurial weather. 

But the island is known to surfers, largely because of its fabled break, endearingly called Cloud 9. It stands in the firmament of the best rides on the global circuit, a fast and powerful monster because of the water that sweeps in from the Philippine Trench in the Pacific Ocean. In the fall the arrival of the habagat, a weather system fed by southwest winds and easterly currents, creates even more monumental tubes. Local lore credits a drug runner-turned-surfer with putting Cloud 9 on the radar — and in the decades since, it has drawn world pros for an international tournament hosted by companies like Billabong and Quiksilver. A small industry of hippie-style guesthouses, bars and surf schools has followed. 

My interest in the island was already piqued — I have invariably found in my travels that surfers get to the best beaches first, before mass-market tourism arrives. And then came word of the opening of Dedon Island Resort, a gleaming nine-villa property. Stays there come with a full menu of adventure sports, from surfing to deep-sea fishing, and it has amenities like an outdoor cinema and a private chef using organic produce from its farm. But it also had a $1,600-a-night price tag for two attached (rates have since dropped a bit) and a Web site that used enigmatic terms like “outdoor living lab.” I wondered who was taking two small planes from the Filipino capital to spend that kind of money on an island that they most likely couldn’t place on a map. 

To find out, we left from Siargao’s tiny airport and followed an international mix of young backpackers and surfer types off the prop plane to the waiting fleet of jeepneys — colorful and ubiquitous fixtures of Filipino roads that are part bus, part jalopy, part canvas of personal expression. Cobbled together from former United States army jeeps and random spare parts, they barrel along at alarming speeds with passengers hanging out the open doors and bags haphazardly perched on top.

Dedon’s, however, was unlike any jeepney I had seen. It was done up in mirror-like chrome and shining cream paint, kitted out with terry-cloth seats like beach loungers, piped-in lounge music, and snacks of dried coconut and pineapple. As we traveled, Marlo, a resident surfer who doubled as the resort greeter, pointed out huge carabao, Filipino water buffalo, plowing bright-green paddy fields on one side, and small thatched fishing huts suspended over the water’s edge on the other. School was letting out for the day and children waved to us from the back of their parents’ motorbikes as we crossed through a little village. Then, nothing but empty, white sand beaches flickering between clusters of sloping palms. 

When we arrived at the huge lattice gates to Dedon at the end of a long dirt road, it was clear that these weren’t your usual surfer digs. Woven chairs that looked like big bird’s nests swung from coconut palms, a trampoline sat surrounded by a lattice enclosure, and large, traditional-style wood villas were linked by raised walkways past gardens full of blooming frangipani and wild orchids. On one side, a pool and secluded beach offered views of the ocean and islands beyond; on the other, channels of mangrove lagoons were the gateway to kayaking into secluded canals. After dinner, we lingered on oversize sofas and listened to soft rain falling on the roof. (It was February, the tail end of the rainy season.) 

The foosball table beside us was a reminder of the resort’s genesis. At Dedon’s center is Bobby Dekeyser, a former soccer star from Belgium who, after a career-ending injury in his 20s, turned to the high-end outdoor furniture business, producing pieces in Cebu, known for their high-quality weaving. Once there he discovered Siargao on a side trip and decided to make the property a showcase for his designs, as well as an introduction to his personal Shangri-La. The result is exactly what is advertised: a kind of luxury camp for those who want both high adventure and high design — and have the money to enjoy them in such an isolated spot.

“We are both very active, and in the course of a week we went mountain biking, stand-up paddling at sunset through mangroves, wakeboarding, and surfing in the open ocean,” said Tania Reinert, a guest from Hong Kong. “It is one of the few places that still takes a while to get to, and it feels really remote, based on fishing and farming cultures.” 

Siargao is indeed a gateway to a particularly beautiful and unspoiled region of islands and island culture. Taking advantage of a clear morning, Sean, the resort’s Kenyan-born activities guru, took us on a boat tour. We floated by Pansukian, nicknamed Naked Island, and past Guyam — really just a coconut grove ringed by sea. At a larger island called Daku, fronted by a powdery beach, fishermen mended their nets, children showed us their little brightly painted wood boats, and cockerels crowed periodically in the village’s front yards. The wood-shaded structures set along the headland are crowded with locals on the weekend, Marlo told us, but on this weekday we were alone. It was hard to imagine such beauty remaining undeveloped in other parts of Asia, and in fact a bill to protect Siargao and the outlying islands as part of an ecological preserve was approved by the country’s congress. 

After we digested a beach picnic, the sky turned ominously gray so we quickly headed to the break, where we planned to try out our rusty skills. I hesitantly clambered to my feet on the next wave, but didn’t get far before swallowing a lung full of seawater. But after a few rides I settled into a smoother rhythm. Soon a driving rain began, but our small group continued to catch the growing swell. Afterward we lay under towels in Dedon’s motorboat, shivering from the ocean and rain, drinking fresh coconut water, exhausted but happy.

Source: travel.nytimes

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