Surfing in Lanuza, Surigao

This was the First Lanuza Longboard Invitational Surfing Competition in 2005.  And while the pros showed there skills with the gigantic waves, I tried to practice with baby waves on the wayside using an antiquated surf board with an abaca rope leash!  What a shame!  But nothing else was available and I wanted to learn.  As we were walking by the boulevard towards the practice area, I felt the surfers’ eyes fixed on the bulky yellow board I was carrying!  And if stares were laser beams, the antique board would have been riddled with holes!

We scaled down the steps of the concrete embankment and looked towards an island separated by a body of water 500 meters across.  We have to cross this channel by lying prone on the board and paddle with our hands.  In this passage, water steadily flows seaward at low tide which makes for easy crossing….but at high tide, seawater pushes back into the passage creating turbulence as opposing waves crash in the middle….

When we made the crossing, it was high tide!  So, imagine Three surfer wannabees paddling against wayward currents! I paddled, then eased up as the waves threaten to crash.  Then the waves crashed and I get submerged, and get tossed again.  Then I inhaled just in time for another crashing wave crash on me.  Read again 100 times and you get an idea of how wonderful that crossing was!  And Did I swallow water?  Let’s just say I let water come inside my mouth….But we made it across the island, after almost like an eternity!

I tied the rope leash to my ankle and started surfing, but then again, I should have done that already while negotiating that channel.  How stupid!  Anyways, I didn’t go far where the big waves were breaking, I just tried to catch the small ones, body prone on the surfboard.  And after hours of trial and error, I finally caught the waves that shot me shoreward, like a bullet whizzing until the single fin cut through fine sand.  Somehow I felt the adrenaline rush and the fulfilled feeling of having ridden the waves.  I only stopped when I felt the tingling raw wound in my ankle as the abaca rope leash cut through skin!