april-2012

Wild, wild waves
I arrived on the island for the fi rst time in 2003 — seven
days before the competition was to take place — pumped
with high expectations and the prospect of incredible surf. I
had already sampled some of the other popular surf spots in
the Philippines, so I was pretty sure I knew what to expect in
Siargao. Man, was I wrong.
Geographically, Siargao Island is located next to the
Philippine Deep and the Marianas Trench (the deepest in the
world), and is directly in the path of big Pacifi c Ocean swells.
This means the waves are able to travel hundreds of miles
undisturbed at full speed, building up power before suddenly
slamming into perfectly positioned reef coastlines. This raw
power puts Siargao Island in the same weight class as more
famous surf destinations like Hawaii or Bali. Some even call it
the “Disneyland of surfi ng,” as it offers a veritable playground
of numerous surf breaks in such a small area.
On the day that I arrived, the waves were relatively small
— perfect for people wanting to try surfi ng for the fi rst time.
I stood on the coral and white sand shoreline, looking out
at the ocean and thinking to myself, “This is it? This is what
I traveled thousands of miles across the Pacifi c for?” I was
disappointed that I had traveled such a distance for what
felt like the entire day, only to see what looked like ripples
in the ocean.
S URFING NORTH TO SOUTH
{ 78 }
From top: Part of
the surfi ng workout
is paddling out
to the catch a
wave; surfers take
a boat to get to
the other breaks
around the island;
coral formations,
some of them with
razor-sharp edges,
emerge at low tide.