What’s the big surprise? What does a bunch of fearless kids and world class waves equal? A bunch of banged up surfboards! We can’t get too upset. Jinan lost a fin that got loose off a longboard. Mercy did as well. We joked with the kids that we were subject to suspension as well!
Well, I’ll explain in detail..there was a finless longboard in great condition in Siargao that we happened to have matched with one of our donated fins. However, with the original glassed in fin broken off the board, we decided to duct tape the donated fin on the longboard for a quick sunset session. Waves were great until the duct tape became weak, so Jinan unpeeled the fin off the board and rode a wave back in with the fin in his mouth. He must have been getting barreled because his jaw dropped somewhere along his ride, and the fin was lost.
Another incident involved me riding a shortboard at a very shallow reef break. It was Saturday, and everyone was out. The waves decided to join everyone, too. It was a pitching day, and I ended up in the impact zone with a fresh clean set headed towards me. The water was so shallow that when I duck dived, the board must have hit the reef because I was missing a fin when I reached the surface.
So, from two months after we left, you can imagine the damage that could have been done to our boards by our groms. We have gotten reports from our friends at La Luna Resort, who are overseeing the program, that surf librarian, Balong, has run out of repair materials. As of now, the program is on hiatus until we can fix a healthy amount of the quiver to cut our losses.
With that said, we need some help from our fellow Filipino surfers – anyone know of a shop in Manila/Cebu/Surigao that sells surfboard resin, catalyst, or fiberglass cloth? We are looking for a quick fix before our hefty shipment of repair supplies arrives. We are hoping to do business with these guys.
If anyone knows how to buy surf supplies in the PH, please email me at mercedes.joi@gmail.com
Hanggang sa muli!
Great news! We have a friend picking up some supplies for us in Surigao CIty and another friend delivering more supplies from Cebu. Thanks for your support and welcoming us into your network!