This message is to introduce a new live-aboard yacht charter service to those seeking to surf and experience live aboard yacht cruising in the Philippines.  The 112’ motoryacht ‘King of Sports III’ has been exploring the Philippines for the past three years and is now available for charter.

The yacht has 4 very experienced Visayan crewmembers and 1 female cook/stewardess. The cuisine on board is a combination of Asian tastes.  

When the surf is flat we have an inventory of water toys to help pass the time including: SCUBA, wakeboarding, waterskiing, ocean kayaking, snorkeling, a library of books, and selection of DVDs to watch movies in air-conditioned comfort.

Specifications:  King of Sports III

Location:           Visaya Region
Length              112’
Beam                48’

Staterooms          3 (each with King sized bed separate Aircon/bathroom/entertainment systems)
Cabin               2 (double sized bunk beds and shared bathroom)

Guests              up to 10 (preferable only 6)
Crew                5
Rate*              Starting at $80/person per day (all inclusive)
                 *This is a special promotion for the Fall 2003 surf season.

We recently returned from a 20 day voyage in Northern Mindanao- it was the 32nd voyage and 8th trip to the Siargao island area. If you send me your email address I will add your name to the distribution list for future information and our website address.   In short, the weather on the trip was perfect and everything on the yacht is working properly. Surf is small this time of year but we trolled in route to destinations and managed to catch Sailfish, Dorado, Barracuda, small tuna and Wahoo.

The luxury yacht ideally accommodates 4-8 passengers for extended adventure travel. This year from August 1 to October 31 ‘The King’ will be based in Cebu but more likely you will find us anchored a couple hundred meters away from any one of a dozen world class waves somewhere between Samar to Northern Mindanao.  

More information will be available soon and updates will be sent directly to those of you that request to be added to our email mailing list.

This message was modified in response to reader comments.

Whoa! I didn’t expect this kind of reaction. It appears that there is some misunderstanding and irrational fear surrounding this charter service and the catastrophic chain reaction it will supposedly have on the universe.

For the record I’d like to share some more information to dispel some of the hysteria posted so far in this forum. I will respond to postings individually by quoting a comment and then following with a response.

on July 6th, 2003, 7:56am, marklucas wrote:I agree Pet this is the beginning of the end. Now the Philippines can become like the Metawis. Rich surf tours off shore giving nothing to the community while the locals starve. You Pinoys better start running these tours or the foreign hordes are going to take over just like Indo.

on July 10th, 2003, 6:17am, marklucas wrote:No I am not one of the exploitive foreigners as you say and I dont care less if you think that I am. I have put into the Philippine economy close on 300,000 australian dollars over the last 20 years and that does not include the airfares although I have all. . . .

on July 10th, 2003, 10:27am, douglas wrote:King of Sports and Putang,

I admit that my reation to exposure and new surf businesses in the Philippines may be an over-reaction.  I can remember surfing in La Union in the 80's and it was rare to even see another surfer.  It was great.. . . .

on July 6th, 2003, 7:30pm, mabini_girl wrote:This was bound to happen,as our sport is a bussiness now.Look at . . . .

‘I like the bit about how they can stay out for weeks or months without going ashore. This is true testiment that they dont support the locals in the area. . .. .’

The reason why I said we can stay out for weeks/months without re-supplying on land it is because we have no choice when we go to places like Tubbataha reef which is 300km from the nearest market. Have you ever stayed for three weeks in NE Dinagat? At one point we couldn’t find even one chicken for sale. We have to be self reliant in many of the places we go.  If the people living nearby have something to sell, that we can use, we usually like the interaction and make an effort to buy locally.

on July 7th, 2003, 3:21am, Jerry wrote:Hmmm, A big expensive boat full of rich tourists and their expensive toys... where's the Abu Sayeff when you need them...

. . . peace

on July 11th, 2003, 3:03pm, marklucas wrote:One thing though Scott which I can't let go of without voicing my opinion is this comment you made.


If it is OK for you to do it albeit it on a smaller scale why is it wrong for them to do it?
Sorry for boring the crap out of you
Cheers
PS what exactly is a kook is it someone who goes to another persons country to go for a surf?

Fear of sharks is rational but the reality is there are fewer and fewer large sharks around to be worried about. In the the Philippines shark populations have collapsed from overfishing, driftnets, and lack of availible food sources.  There are some deep water species which cling to survival but its extremely rare to spot a dangerous catagory shark on the surface around any populated areas of the Philippines.  

I've spent thousands of hours diving, fishing, and cruising remote surf areas of the Philippines and I have never seen a dangerous shark or saltwater crocodile.  Small reef sharks and the thresher sharks of Malapascua are not dangerous in my opinion.

Some areas of Palawan, extreme Northern Luzon and reserves like Tubataha reef may still contian small populations of sharks listed as dangerous.

The 'sharkiest' waters I've ever surfed were in the remote atols of Micronesia. There are literally hundreds of 4-6' reef sharks swimming in close proximity while you are sitting and waiting for waves.  We got used to seeing them come in within petting distance to check you out. Often you could see their profiles in breaking waves as you paddled to take off.  We felt very relaxed around them and gave them as much thought as you would street dogs cruising an open air market for scraps.

We also regularly spotted giant turtles, rays, and big fish in the crystall waters.  A healthy tropical marine ecosystem defintely adds to the joy of surfing.  I'm sure long ago the Philippines was once like that.  

Any NorthEast facing beach in Luzon should have swell Wednesday - Sunday.  Apari will catch some of the biggest/cleanest waves from this next storm I think.