Waiting for wind & waves

With reggae music blasting from loudspeakers nearby, sportsman Domingo Juan smiled at youngsters pumping air into the kite.

The wind was blowing strong from the Pacific Ocean to Bagasbas Beach of Camarines Norte’s capital town of Daet, producing waves upon waves almost 2-meters high from the horizon that came crashing on the shore.

Juan, 60, watched his fellow kiteboarders get ready for the latest project of the Philippine Kiteboarding Association (PKA) to promote the sport—ICTSI Philippine Kiteboarding Tour Season Two. ICTSI stands for International Container Terminal Services Inc., the project’s main sponsor.

The third leg of the tour on Bagasbas Beach ran on Feb. 13-15.

Combining the fun of flying a kite with the adrenaline rush from surfing, kiteboarding is seen by national sportsmen as a sport both for the young and those looking for new passion, even if they are beyond their 40s.

“Hang gliding was my sports before I tried kiteboarding six years ago,” Juan said.

Season 2

The tour is now on its second year of attracting kiteboard riders all over the world to the country’s surfing capitals in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The first season was held from November 2013 to May 2014.

It is usually organized every November to February, months of the year when the winds are strong enough and the waves are of the right height.

Riders compete for total prizes of $10,000 from PKA in each leg or a total of $40,000 for the four-leg tour, with prize winners coming from TwinTip racing, Freestyle and Hangtime events, for both men’s and women’s divisions.

Season 2 has top riders in the Philippines pitted against riders from Asia, the United States and Europe, said Jay Ortiz, PKA president. It kicked off in Anguib beach in Cagayan Valley, then went to Bulabog Beach in Boracay, Aklan, on Feb. 6-8, en route to Bagasbas Beach.

The tour will have its final leg in Emerald Playa Beach and Nature Park in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan province, on March 6-8.

Ortiz said the Daet leg was held despite slightly rough weather conditions.

Of the 45 participants on Bagasbas Beach, two were local riders from Camarines Norte, said Daet-based rider Mike Gambrill, an American married to a Daet native.

Mayor Tito Sarion said kiteboarding began in Bagasbas sometime in the early 2000 when Gambrill brought the sport to the town.

Gambrill said he and fellow kiteboard riders also organized a separate competition that started in 2006 for the locals, with competitors coming from other Philippine surfing capitals as a way of drawing in tourists and promoting the sport.

 

Competitors

Among those who came for the third leg of the ICTSI tour was Carlo Leongson, 57, who successfully defended his title in the Master’s crown in the TwinTip race against aspirants from Germany, China, Philippines, France and US in the leg of the race held off Bulabog Beach in Boracay on Feb. 8.

He hopped to kiteboarding three years ago after winning national and international awards in motocrossing (an off-road motorcycle racing) with his brother Ernie, both as members of the Philippine team.

Also in Daet, Juan who finished eighth in Boracay, was among the contenders competing in the 40-and-above age bracket in one of the events.

Both Leongson and Juan said the sport is relatively safe compared with the other sports they used to do when they were younger.

Christian Tio, 13, who competed in his age bracket (junior riders, 10-17) for men’s freestyle, said he started at 7.

Influenced by his parents Liezl Tio and Chris Mohn, who chose the sport for him, Tio said kiteboarding is easy and fun. He said he honed his skills in the sport in their home in Boracay.

Doque delos Santos, 31, who competed in the Hangtime event in the men’s division, said he had been practicing the sport for 11 years.

Adrenaline rush

TwinTip racing involves racing through the waves from one point of the beach to another twice; while Freestyle is a show of skills and tricks of the kiteboard rider. Hangtime involves jumping from the waves and staying airborne with the kite for the longest time.

Ortiz, who refused to reveal his age but said he is already beyond 40, said the kiteboarding competition was created to develop local talents and to promote the sport throughout the country. He said he has been into the sport for nine years now.

Leongson said kiteboarding is safe compared to motocrossing. The beginner only has to worry about the amount of seawater he has to swallow while learning.

“I love the adrenaline rush it gives me minus the worries of accidents that usually happen with extreme sports like motocrossing,” he said.

Leongson said those who begin kiteboarding at an advanced age only have to impose discipline in their diet and exercise.

Juan said he found kiteboarding very easy and less dangerous than hang gliding as it could be taught to kids and even older people like him.

The sport also helps him keep fit and healthy, which means it is a good choice for people wanting a healthier lifestyle, he said.

No specific diet

Tio and Delos Santos said the rider also does not need to follow a specific strict diet when into kiteboarding.

“Just keep riding and practicing to become better,” Delos Santos said.

Juan said anyone who wants to get into the sport has to prepare around P100,000 to purchase the kite and the board and all its accessories.

In Boracay, tutorials are available at P2,000 a package, he said.

“Then you wait for the winds to start riding,” he said.