Subic Bay: Secret Beach Surfing

The Secret Beach
Having met Bianca's cousin, JJ Montelibano, at Swell Bar and Cafe a few nights back, I was tagged along for some surf action with surf guru, Corey Wills and Mona Lisa Neuboeck. I wasn't sure what the original plan was (Zambales?), but Bianca told them of a surf area right under their noses in Subic. Everybody was, "Huuuwat?". Apparently none of the surfer dudes knew it existed. A secret surf area in Subic that nobody knew? It was too good to be true. Already, my heart was pounding to the 80's beat of Martha and the Muffins' Echo Beach!

Moses Bianca
Bianca gave directions as we twisted and turned on the winding road until we hit a locked fence. Either we take a long walk with our boards, or we called it quits. Bianca, not to feel defeated too easily, pulled a rabbit out of her hat. Not sure exactly what strings she pulled, but we headed off to the military base where she talked to some brass. After that, the Red Sea parted - the fenced gate was unlocked and we were on a dirt road towards the beach head.

Reef Break
From where we stopped, it still took maybe 100 meters of walking, carrying our boards on our heads before we hit the beach. The surf was indeed promising. It was a reef break. I was the newbie. Bianca would take the long board and just paddle through and snap some pictures.

Paddling Pain
The paddling was the tough part. While everybody was already at the surf area, I was still close to the shore, hardly moving despite the vigorous paddling. I'd like to blame the small board for not being buoyant, but Corey's was smaller and he was ahead of the pack. Yeah, it was me - not the board. Apparently, there was a technique to paddling your board.

Bench Warmer
Everybody already had a few rides by the time I got there. They were playing the waves like kids in a toy store. My dilemma wasn't over yet. I couldn't catch the wave. They'd all be riding while I'd be stuck there, completely ignored by the wave. This happened all the time. I mean, every single time. The only wave I caught was the one I wasn't taking. I was already on my tummy when it took me all the way to the shallow end. Whoa! What just happened there? Corey saw the whole thing and said there was a lesson there - that you don't necessarily have to paddle to catch the wave. All it takes is perfect timing. Hmmm. Maybe in 10 years.

Surfer Zen
While waiting for the next wave, Corey was patiently giving me surfing morsels that sounded as Zen as surfer movies go - of being independent, of reading the waves...knowing exactly where the shadow is cast before it breaks. He said that shadow works on any wave on any part of the world. Once you recognize it, you'll gain your independence. I nodded like a pupil who has seen the light, although it was all abstract. But I liked it. I'm sure given more time on the surf, I'll get to understand what he was talking about. In the meantime, I'm simply grateful for this humbling experience.

Thank you Bianca, Corey, JJ and Mona. That was simply too fab !!!

--- TheLoneRider

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Comments:

Rio Marasigan
(Jul 26, 2011) hindi na secret ngayon.

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