The Captains log

During the months of July and August is the perfect time to go swell chasing in the Philippines. The monsoon on the West Coast and the Typhoons on the East coast can provide tons of waves, its just a matter of knowing when to go.

With the effect of La Nina, the anticyclone was active mostly on the South China Sea which means less or no storms at all during this time of the year. Luckily some low pressure started forming on the Pacific Ocean side and intensified the southwest monsoon on the South China Sea.

First stop is Baler, one of our favorite local spot. With the short swell period we managed to score just a day of swell.



With the swell picking up on the west coast, I decided to pack my board and started the 12 hrs long bus ride from Baler to Zambales via Manila. The forecast didn’t look so promising as the wind will be blowing at 10mph making the beach break choppy.



Then Mac (Ramos of Crystal Beach Resort) tagged me along to check out this cove which is half an hour ride by banca (local outrigger) and we were not disappointed. The swell was perfectly aligned to the cove which is protected from the wind, giving us glassy head to overhead perfection.





Surfers – (wahine ) Bea Vega
(Pinoy power) Mac Ramos

We've put together some pics from the other nights Dim Sum and Drink some party! Just realized we didn't actually take that many photos, but you get the idea. It was a great night with some yum grinds, cold beers, good mates and some live tunes! We'll have to do it again soon. Stay tuned as we'll be organising some movie nights and jam sessions! Thanks everyone for coming, we are so grateful for your support! Don't forget to check the video at the bottom!

Float Captain - Aberdeen Outpost from float captain on Vimeo.

Quick run-down of a recent Bali surf trip! When we arrived the forecast was off the charts showing 12ft+ at 16secs interval, which sounded a little much for those of us who have been out of the water for some time. We spoke to some local guides and they suggested Balangan should be working well, not too big and maybe about overhead and epic conditions. So after a 45 minute drive we caught a glimpse of Balangan and our jaws dropped to see it double over head with only a few guys out.

 

 After deciding to pass on that, we headed on to check Padang Padang. Here it was around 10ft but was breaking super fast.

We finally met our boat guide and he brought us to Toro Toro, a right hander reef that breaks nearby to the airport. It was super fun around 8-10ft and long lulls but heavy crowds. Apparently Toro is super mellow during big swells and is a favorite among beginners and advance alike.

The swell has dropped overnight and the next day it was around 4-6 ft so we decided to go back and check Balangan again.  It was packed, but luckily it can handle large crowds as the break has several different peaks.

This years collection takes us deeper into to our roots here in Hong Kong, where we have infused some  local references into of our designs mixed with subtle nautical and tropical themes. Join us as we continue to ride the contrast between the traditional surf culture imagery of Hawaii, Australia and California and the local urban culture of Hong Kong. Or better yet, come and experience it for yourself at the Aberdeen Outpost!

Some pics from our recent trip down to Sydney over the Easter break! Managed to get a couple of surfs in as well as meet some awesome guys, not to mention picking up a couple of sick boards!

I'd heard a lot about Rich Pavel being the Godfather of the modern day fish, he is creator of the Speed Dialer board as well as the lokbox Speed dialer fins. His boards were hard to come by so when I finally managed to snag a 5"10 from a shop in California we were all stoked!

On first impressions it looks like a regular quad fish but look closely and you can see all the details that make this a special fish. Low entry beak nose, winged tail, slight concave deck, beautiful sloped rails and a vee to double to single concave out the tail for a tonne of speed.

I took it out at lined up Courts at Ala Moana (Hawaii) with a solid SW swell running at about chest to head high. Paddling was as expected with a fish although this one was narrower than my other fishes usually running at 21" wide. Getting into a few set waves took sometime but I finally managed to stroke into a few. Once up the board felt super drivey and fast down the line. A lot faster than expected and with a much more controlled and a precise feel. Surfing the waves top to bottom was easy and I found that I could push it really hard through cut backs and not have it slide out.

The lok box Speed dialer quad fins work insane and give you a lot of hold with a decent amount of release off the tail too when coming off the top. They are basically a pair of twin keel fins that are split into two fins . The lok box fin box allows you to adjust the position of the fins and I experimented over a few sessions to get my preferred position sorted.

All in all a very well balanced board which was easy to ride and really fast. I found the board definitely preferred lined up waves with some power. I found it didn't grovel as well as my other fishes which had a wider planing surface and less rocker.

We recently visited Manila's newest and freshest surf/skate lifestyle shop Easy Skate Surf and we were stoked. The decor is great, the store vibe is awesome, the staff are friendly and very helpful. The store has a strong range of carefully curated gear and accessories that caters to all your skate and surfing needs. We were also stoked they carry and make great coffee! (we love our coffee!)  Gerard Cancio (co-founder) mentioned they wanted their customers to get a "homely and friendly experience, and basically just chill and have a coffee, It creates a better vibe for the shop". Naturally we are glad to be stocked with the Easy crew!

Easy Skate Surf is located at:
Unit 104, 3 Brixton St., BRGY. Kapitolyo
Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

http://easyskatesurf.com/