Yesterday was California Coastal Cleanup, part of an international effort to clean up the world's beaches. Juliana and I went down to Brookhurst Street in Huntington Beach. She actually did a good job seeking out the plastic, fast food wrappers, cans, your basic beach trash, and placing the trash in her little bucket. After about 15 or so minutes, she, being the 3 1/2 year old that she is, got bored and decided to play with some other children who were building a sand castle. So, not having proper beach provisions, I sat on the bucket next to the kids and watched them play, about 15 minutes later, this older man, probably in his late 50s early 60s, comes out of the water and says "There is the whole beach to choose from and you decide to block my view." I was at first sort of shocked, but then again not surprised considering these people think they own the whole damn beach.
This is the OC after all, lots of assholes live here. So I said "sorry about that" and proceeded to move about 2ft to the right of where I was originally sitting. Which I am sure pissed the guy off because I heard him mutter "Unbelievable" under his breath as he walked back to the water's edge to rinse off his wetsuit. If the guy was courteous, and said something like, "can you move a bit buddy, you are blocking my view" I would have had no problem moving away from him, but he was a total asshole, like a dog marking his territory, so, in essence, I made no real effort to move, because 1. he was a total asshole, and 2. my daughter was playing right next to where he was sitting. I was waiting for him to say something adverse, being the dick that he was initially, but when he came back from rinsing his wetsuit, he said to me, "your daughter is really cute." Which in of itself defused the whole situation. While it is true that I would have blocked his view, nobody was sitting there when we first arrived, and I thought it not a big deal to sit next to where juliana was playing. But the guy was such an asshole, an entitled, wrinkly, American scoun who owns the whole damn beach.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
20 years later a surf subculture thrives in the Philippines
If ever I was wrong about something, it is about the Philippines progressing. Well, I can't really say if it has gotten better, but judging on the surfing culture that was virtually non existent 20 years ago, it has blossomed into a full fledged subculture. Back in 1987, when I shipped two surfboards to the Philippines inside my cousin Marlon's Toyota 4Runner, I had no idea that I would ever get to use the boards. It wasn't until 1989 that I was able to use them, albeit at a small beach break south of Manila called Matabunkay Beach.
In 1985 I was in the Philippines for three months with no surfboard, and Typhoon Saling roared through, coming from mainland China and causing 100 deaths and more than $68 million in damages. After the storm, my Uncle Ramon wanted to get out of the house, so he and I drove onto the Coastal Road for a typical Sunday drive. Although the destruction of the nipa huts, and alimango stalls was depressing to see, along with felled palm trees and water everywhere, what really caught my eye were these perfect little lefts that somehow made it through Manila Bay and were breaking just offshore, a stones throw from the Coastal Road. These were hollow barrells that were a bit fast, but totally makeable. It was a constant barrage of waves with no interval between. I asked my Uncle to stop and I watched the waves roll in, one after another after another. Perfect shape, top to bottom. It was then that I realized that the Philippines was a potential surfing mecca that will rival Indonesia.
In 1989, I surfed Matabunkay with a new found friend Joselle of BF Paranaque, whose family owned a cement/ brick company off of Sucat Road, my then wife Rosalynn (who boogie boarded), and a local guy named Rolly, who was the resident king of Matabunkay Beach. When we arrived at the beach, the waves were small, but shreddable, and I paddled out right away. Joselle being a big mestizo, rode a Dewey Weber Performer. Almost immediately, two menehunes came out and started dominating the peak. They were not more than 12 years old, but were already ripping. One was riding a finless thruster while the other was riding a thruster with a side fin and the center fin. They were having a blast and we traded waves for an hour or so before Rolly called them in. He then came out and started to rip. I was trading him maneuver for maneuver; off the lips, cutbacks, floaters, until he went switchfoot. I couldn't do THAT!
Fast forward 20 years and Philippines is truly the new surf mecca. While Indo has Uluwatu and the Mentawais and Nias, Philippines has Cloud9 and Majestics. I've spent the last 10 years going to Hawaii every vacation and should have went to the Philippines. I've missed the country grow up surfwise. Now there are contests, a thriving surfwear culture and endless possibilities to get tubed. Bring me my passport to surfing heaven.
In 1985 I was in the Philippines for three months with no surfboard, and Typhoon Saling roared through, coming from mainland China and causing 100 deaths and more than $68 million in damages. After the storm, my Uncle Ramon wanted to get out of the house, so he and I drove onto the Coastal Road for a typical Sunday drive. Although the destruction of the nipa huts, and alimango stalls was depressing to see, along with felled palm trees and water everywhere, what really caught my eye were these perfect little lefts that somehow made it through Manila Bay and were breaking just offshore, a stones throw from the Coastal Road. These were hollow barrells that were a bit fast, but totally makeable. It was a constant barrage of waves with no interval between. I asked my Uncle to stop and I watched the waves roll in, one after another after another. Perfect shape, top to bottom. It was then that I realized that the Philippines was a potential surfing mecca that will rival Indonesia.
In 1989, I surfed Matabunkay with a new found friend Joselle of BF Paranaque, whose family owned a cement/ brick company off of Sucat Road, my then wife Rosalynn (who boogie boarded), and a local guy named Rolly, who was the resident king of Matabunkay Beach. When we arrived at the beach, the waves were small, but shreddable, and I paddled out right away. Joselle being a big mestizo, rode a Dewey Weber Performer. Almost immediately, two menehunes came out and started dominating the peak. They were not more than 12 years old, but were already ripping. One was riding a finless thruster while the other was riding a thruster with a side fin and the center fin. They were having a blast and we traded waves for an hour or so before Rolly called them in. He then came out and started to rip. I was trading him maneuver for maneuver; off the lips, cutbacks, floaters, until he went switchfoot. I couldn't do THAT!
Fast forward 20 years and Philippines is truly the new surf mecca. While Indo has Uluwatu and the Mentawais and Nias, Philippines has Cloud9 and Majestics. I've spent the last 10 years going to Hawaii every vacation and should have went to the Philippines. I've missed the country grow up surfwise. Now there are contests, a thriving surfwear culture and endless possibilities to get tubed. Bring me my passport to surfing heaven.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
