Sugiyama-san went from unlucky to lucky. when i woke up early this morning to check the waves, it was totally flat! i picked him up and told him the bad news. “omg, the waves are so small today, i’m sorry.” we look around and nothing. then i totally forgot about this little shallow reef that catches every kind of swell. we check it, it was good, and we paddled out. as soon as we got out, the waves started getting better and better. lots of waves and lots of barrels. i got barreled 8x today! and Sugiyama-san caught over 40 waves in the 2.5 hours we were out. he was happy, i was happy, so everybody was happy. i was super stoked to meet you Sugiyama-san! great marathon session today! and thank you Hide-san for the intro! hope to surf with you someday in hawaii too!

then i went to pick up the little surfer girls. i use to ask them all the time “hey, do you girls want to surf?” they use to say “no thank you.” now, they ask me “let’s go surfing!” and of course i say “yeah, let’s go-naminori!” i loaded up their boards, they jumped in, we paddled out and caught so many good waves. long rides and everlasting memories as surf buddies. i love these little surfer girls!

we arrived on the west coast of the philippines in the late afternoon, jumped on Scott’s boston whaler and went out looking for spots. after spending 16 hours in the airplane, 2 days in manila, 3 hours in the car, it felt so good to jump into the water for an evening surf session. clean water and golden sunset time. cleanse the mind, body, and soul!

the location of this left point wave was just amazing! felt like we were in a movie setting. it was so surreal that it seemed fake.

then the next morning we get up before sunrise, jump on the boat again, and look for new spots. Captain Scott and my brother searching for the perfect wave.

the things you see in these remote areas is the kind of things you see on the discovery channel. the real thing.

little bays, big bays, outer reefs, and just so many places attracting swell. and absolutely no surfers around. millions of waves going unridden each year in the philippines.

the backdrops were so freaking amazing too. just breathless! i had a thought of how it would be to live right there. probably a good place for me to retire.

so we find a new spot looking super good. i jump off the boat, paddle to the lineup, and swing into the first wave ever ridden at this point. so fresh that there is no name, we didn’t name it, and there will probably never be one. but who cares. all we wanted to do was surf the unknown! we surfed the unknown and left it unknown. cool!

then my brother sits on the boat anchored in the channel and picked up my camera. he uses it for the first time and OMG, he misses my turn!!!! this would have been a great photo if he aimed a little more to the left. well, a lot more.
i’m still buzzing about the last trip and was super stoked to surf 5 spots in the philippines. there are hundreds more yet to be discovered and i’m with the right people on the right path. can’t wait to go back again. mabuhai!

Opps!
Good morning 6am.
Small waves today!
North shore knee high.
South shore waist high.
Trade winds at 15-20mph.
Sunny sky.
Surfing all day!
See you in the water.