Topics

The voice of surf & outdoors
Los Angeles, California
Top Searches:

surfEXPLORE Taps Into The Philippines

On a recent surfEXPLORE project to the Philippines, we found many quality waves that have never been seen by surfers, let alone ridden.

BY John Seaton Callahan |

On a recent surfEXPLORE project to coastal Mindanao, we tapped into the potential of the east coast of the Philippines. There are many quality waves that have never been seen by surfers, let alone ridden. Photo: John Seaton Callahan
  • 1--ph3961

    Filipinos are nothing if not friendly. When a carload of foreign surfers suddenly arrives in a village, it always draws a crowd. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 2---ph4046

    Phil Goodrich starting to freak out while checking the bend at a new right reef, one of many unsurfed waves on this coastline. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 3---ph-4

    We came back and surfed the wave on a higher tide and afternoon light, fast rights into a deep channel. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 4---ph4312

    Sam Bleakley leans into a glassy evening wall on his German engineered Hydroflex longboard. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 5---ph5270

    All the kids came out from the village to watch, escorting Erwan and Phil across the coconut-log bridge and back up the track. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 6---ph4289

    Erwan Simon gets in a clean carve on the end bowl section. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 7---ph5680

    Emiliano Cataldi enjoys the empty lineup and afternoon light with an audience of local schoolchildren. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 8---ph5694

    Throwing the rope as Phil Goodrich throws evening spray. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 9---ph5495

    Team surfEXPLORE walking out at low tide to catch the incoming tide at an outer reef wave with massive ancient mangrove trees growing on the reef, something we had never seen before. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 10---ph5653

    Bathtub-warm clean water, a few friends sharing an empty lineup in Mindanao - one of the rewards of getting off the beaten track. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 11---ph5390

    Phil Goodrich tucking into a tropical tube. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 12---ph-2

    Sam Bleakley, getting on the nose and meeting local kids, who came out in droves to watch as they had never seen surfers before. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 13---ph5445

    Phil Goodrich swings his keel-finned Mini Simmons off the top. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 14---ph3733

    Local children at a sari-sari shop, with gasoline for motorbikes sold by the liter from Coke and Pepsi bottles. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 15---ph5402

    Erwan Simon finds the power to launch an air over the end section. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 16---ph5409

    The wrapping bowl section was perfect for carving, Emiliano Cataldi draws a curve with his quad.

  • 17---ph5604

    Sam Bleakley fits his longboard rail into the bowl section and throws a fan. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 18---ph8209

    Team surfEXPLORE takes a break at a local shop. Cold Coca-Cola in recyclable bottles goes down well when it's hot and sweaty at 8am. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 19---ph-8

    Local shops sell everything from the notoriously pungent durian fruit to vegetables to fresh-caught fish. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 20---ph-1

    First session at this wave after a long hike in - an excellent hollow right reef break.

  • 21---ph-6

    Emiliano Cataldi works up an appetite burying his rail and chooses a fish for lunch. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 22---ph-5

    Erwan Simon lost a few inches off his nose to the reef but found the juicy, hollow waves in Mindanao much to his liking. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 23---ph6279

    Phil Goodrich slides into a glassy afternoon barrel - on a major swell event, this wave could be amazing. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 24---ph-7

    For local people, their lives revolve around the sea. Johnny the Guide with some speared mudskippers. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 25---ph6418

    Sam Bleakley, out of the barrel section into a cutback on the shoulder. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 26---ph6694

    Phil Goodrich, up on the lip on his Mini-Simmons. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 27---ph6731

    Sam Bleakley, speeding over the sharp and shallow reef. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 28---ph6845

    Phil Goodrich, another cobalt-blue afternoon barrel. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 29---ph6488

    Hiking back at dusk - on the beach, over the rocks and through the cave. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

  • 30---ph6972

    Erwan Simon, pausing at dusk in a coconut grove. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: On the east coast of the Philippines, there are many quality waves that have never been seen by surfers, let alone ridden. On a recent surfEXPLORE project to coastal Mindanao, we tapped into the potential of this vast area, finding several high-quality waves in a short stretch of coast that had never been surfed.

This area (and Mindanao in general) has suffered from a reputation for violence and political instability for many years, but recent changes appear to be beneficial to the local people. The coast highway has finally been finished, great improving access and a rural electrification program has brought electricity to many villages.

Surfers are only beginning to venture into this area and with the improved infrastructure, and many more discoveries await. Stay tuned.

Related Articles