Surfs up
December 19, 2003 | 12:00am
For many of us this time of year is a time for shopping, spending time with friends, and enjoying the Christmas break as the weather cools and we put on our beloved sweaters and cardigans. But, for an few extreme sports lovers though, this time of year represents the Amihan season (Northeasterly wind season) that translates into epic waves and ideal boarding conditions. And just who are these wind-loving thrill seekers? They’re the Philippines’ top group of windsurfers!
Every year these wave riders await the perfect surfing conditions to put their skills and boards to the test in the epic combination of man, wind, and sea. It’s not just a matter of having a board and a sail and paddling out into the ocean. For those who choose this sport, wind-surfing is a tricky combination of skill, gear manipulation and heart under uncontrollable forces of nature! As John Fajardo puts it "Windsurfing isn’t just something anyone can do. It’s more than brute strength, it’s more than having skills, it’s more than having the right gear – it’s a perfect combina-tion of everything that will sustain you. Windsurfing is like chess on water."
With that in mind last December 6 th and 7 th I had the privilege of catching the best Philippine windsurfing Bobby Fischer’s in action at the recently concluded 2003 San Mig Lite Windsurfing and Ex-Tri Competition at Balai Resort. Organized by Poch Belamide, himself a windsurfing aficio-nado and proprietor of the venue, Richard Paz, two time windsurfing Olympian and head of the Anilao windsurfing school, and Verge Bayani, head of the Caliraya wind-surfing school; the competition brought together the best of the best from both windsurfing camps and pitted them against one another in a friendly competition on neutral grounds.
Balai resort was the perfect neutral grounds to choose. A wonderful resort for relaxation, Balai sa Laiya is situated right on the white sand beach and has cozy little cottages perfect for passing time. Not to mention the crystal clear waters are wonderful for swimming or catching the waves.
"It was a massive task to organize a race of this magnitude here at the resort but it was really something I wanted to do because I love windsurfing and I wanted to promote it," Poch Belamide of Balai admits. "I wanted to invite the windsurfers out here to experience new surfing conditions and get them all together outside of their respective camps. At the end of the day it was all worth it to see the exuberant smiles on everyone’s faces."
The weekend was actually the perfect time for windsurfing to get well-deserved recognition from fellow sports lovers. The compe-tition happened in tandem with the Ex-Triathalon also held in the Balai last Dec. 6. This is the second Extreme Triathalon or Ex-Tri. The first was held earlier this year and was a complete success among race lovers everywhere all clamoring to join again. The reason this triathalon is different from others is because it puts the competitors right in the heart of nature making it more extreme than the usual running/biking/swimming races. As Eric Imperio, race director for the Ex-Tri, said "The Ex-Triathalon pushes the athletes to their limits and challenges them by pitting them not only against each other but against nature as well. That’s what makes this race different."
As the Ex-Tri racers trudged through swimming in the ocean and biking and racing through the dirt and rocks of the mountainside the windsurfers faced less than ideal racing conditions. Throughout the day of Saturday the winds refused to blow hard enough for the surfers to take to the waves. "That’s probably one of the only drawbacks to windsurfing," confides windsurfer Zane Fansler who tries to get in some practice every week. "But the rewards far exceed it. The adrenaline and challenge you get when windsurfing are unbelievable. It’s a hard sport to excel at but if you’re really committed and you practice as much as you can you’ll really improve and grow to love the sport."
Committed is the word that best describes the 30 or so windsurfing competitors who waited around praying for wind that afternoon. A storm brewing in the far distance managed to blow in a few strong enough gusts for what they call a slalom race (which basically means a down-wind race that is focused more on speed than actual tactics) and which was enough to whet the competitors appetites.
As the first day of competition came to a close the windsurfers contented themselves with cheering the athletes on finishing the Ex-Tri and enjoying ice-cold bottles of San Mig Light and an unending supply of Power Bars.
I took the time to get to know the competitors a little better and I found that nothing fazes these windsurfers. In a word, they’re positively cool! If I had driven out for over five hours lugging my gear and found myself passing one whole day without any real wind it would drive me out of my mind, but these guys just shrugged it off and enjoyed the evening together with smiles and jokes.
"It’s important to be flexible," Jody Jacinto told me. "You really can’t control the conditions and sometimes you’re all ready to go and there’s just no wind. You just have to take it and hope that the next day is better. It generally is and at least in the meantime you can hang out with good friends and fellow sports lovers."
Luckily as Sunday rolled in the winds were more accommodating and blew by at 20 to 30 knots giving the surfers ideal boarding condi-tions. "It was a perfect day for us," Manny Cabili, windsurfer extra-ordinaire, disclosed after the Sunday races. "The winds were blo-wing, the sun was shining. Sunday was unbelievable for the Balai race."
All the boarders took to the waves and gave their all in a Formula One windsurfing challenge that combined both skills on the board and the speed of the wind. Gazing through my bino-culars I could catch glimpses of the different surfers showing off their techniques as the battled it out all in good sportsmanship. Some of the eye-catchers during the race included German Paz, whose been windsurfing for the past fourteen years, Class O Champion and brother of Richard Paz, Class B Champion Lance Joson, and all of the three female surfers considering there were only three of them.
"It’s a normal thing for there to be only a few female surfers," Leslie Gomez told me after the race. "I admit that while windsurfing is an equal opportunity sport it can be a little harder for females to excel and compete than it is for males. We do have an advantage though and that’s our size allows us to be lighter on the board, so we have to find ways to manipulate our skills and not rely on physical strength."
Indeed while windsurfing has its pros and cons for everyone (as do almost all sports) with determination and perseverance anyone can turn themselves into a champion. I, for one, had an amazing time watching the racers glide through the waves at Balai and learning more about windsurfing through the passionate athletes that love it.
As the final race for the day came to a close the windsurfers from both the Anilao and Caliraya camps came together to award the winners and officially end the weekend. The female division saw third place go to Ka King, second to Les Gomez, and first to Yay Hizon.
In the men’s division the results were as follows : Class C first place went to Bebong Pacia; second place to Luigi Paolo Sorreda; and third place, Jody Jacinto. In Class B First place went to Lance Joson; Second place to Karl Leung and third place tp Jerome Leung. In Class A, first place went to Orly Francisco; second place to Raul Lazo; third place to Migs Camacho. And in Class O first place went to German Paz, Second to Bingo Moreno and third place to Jao Coveta.
While German Paz led the troop once again everyone agreed that all the competitors were winners and handshakes and hugs were passed all around as the 2003 San Mig Lite Windsurfing Competition at Balai came to a close. The winds definitely blew in more than the waves that weekend, they brought with them happy feelings and the determination to succeed and as the surfers packed up and got ready to leave the good feelings followed them all home to Manila.
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