heya ocean,

not too sure when I'll be back,but I'm hanging to get back there so badly!I'm missing everything over there sooo much,so maybe after April sometime.... ,but if I cant get back anytime then,it'll def. be December

ohhh..I meant Hydro had contacted Dale already.He's one of the shapers.The boards are a pretty good price,cheaper then what you'd pay for a board anywhere else in the Philippines If you want his email addy I can throw it out to you...cos it might be worth looking into.

Over here..Oz!Théres a place called Cabarita not far from where I live...beautiful waves

i have a cousin who lives in Cab..havent caught up with him for a while tho..hehe..he's half oz/half fijian.Him and a few of his mates went surfing over in the Phils sometime last year I think it was!!??I've talked to him for like 2 seconds since he came back and he's just bailed again,but I was thinking maybe that was him and his mates that you guys had met??

hahahaha!step out of your cubicle Al and fight for your lesbian chasing rights!

aww..really todd?you're so kind! ...

ADD KAGE'S WEBSITE!!!!! (if it's not already there?)

or else

ahhh ok..maybe it wasnt my couz..

yeh..got a couple of emails from him.He said u contacted him,so maybe he'll get back to u soon!

hey shmeck,

Mati is about 2-3 hours from Davao.

and yep,there's a small group of surfers who live there.There's also some of the boys who live in Davao that get their crew together and frequent Mati at least 2/3 times a month.I can get you in contact with them if you'd like?They're only young guys,but they love surfing....

There isnt massive amounts of swell action around Davao,only if there's a typhoon you'll see waves right near Davao,Mati is probably the closest.Siargao Is. is about 6/8 hours north by bus if you're keen.

I hope this helps you out a little bit...

enjoy Davao! if you're ever stuck,I have about 50million reletives scattered around Davao that are always willing to lend a hand.I might even see you there some day!

cheers,
millie

yep,been surfing in,around Mati-LOOK ABOVE!

one of my uncles said it's pretty tense around that area at the moment,but some of guys in Davao just went to Mati maybe about 2/3 weeks ago and said it was fine

hey kurdec...is this ondi!!??

I hope you're safe there in Davao...

take care aight!

MR MIYAGI!!!!

onats,
if you're stuck and cant find anywhere that sells sexwax i can send a few blocks.

Al I brought over 20-30blocks of sexwax to give to you guys this last time,but i forgot to give it to you!

.....if any of you guys/girls need wax,just give me a shout ok

tail..GOOD!full deck grip..NASTY!unless you're going to be wearing a rashie all the time...you're going to end up with a super bad grip rash!

Mrs Palmers is good!but.....personally I prefer sexwax.It's got more sticking power,but doesnt irritate your skin as much...and it smells pretty

hey jim!

some nice footage and waves there thanks!

....do you like THE VINES!!??

YAY FOR JIM!You're my new best friend! Have you seen The Vines play live?

....aww..THE STROKES!SMOOOOOTH BOYS!*drools*They're like modern day BEATLES!

Have you heard any of D4,The Datsuns and The Libertines!!If you like the vines and strokes....you'll love these guys too!EAR CANDY!mmmm...

hahaha!nah sponj...I do some fill-in gigs...vocal and drumming stuff sometimes for friends bands,but that's about all! a couple of friends and i have our own band,but we're too lazy....we'll never get past the "saturday afternoon jam session" stage..

VAN HALEN!ahhhh...that IS old skool!I wasnt even born!!hehe..but yep!I'm into them..not a diahard fan,but still keen on their older stuffI love David Lee Roths voice


The Vines are bit like that too...some of their gigs really suck live!Craig doing the whole "i'm a rockstar..i don't give a f$*k if i do this gigging sh*t right!",but one gig we went to was REALLY good!The guy's got bruises covering his entire body..from throwing himself around and onto things and generally being crazy

The D4 and Datsuns are actually from New Zealand!The Libertines are from the UK ....I havent heard of King Adora ,but YES YES!The Transplants..saw them in So Cal!I only really went to see Tim Armstrong in *REAL LIFE*-post RANCID..hehe,but loved them too!QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE!ahh man!you've got me amped on all this music now!haha ;D

ohhh...the distillers rock my socks!Yeh Brodie is Tims girlf..she's damn HARDCORE that one...and yep..up for a jam sesh girl!and get out on that damn battered board!Cover the holes with duct tape or stickers or SOMETHING until u can get them fixed propers!...just get out there!

have fun!

hey shmeck,

I'm actually not in Davao,but my family and friends there said everything is still tense,but...pretty much back to normal,more or less.Nothing really BAD has happened in Davao for a LOOOONG time,so I guess....it's a bit of a shock to the system.But the locals are strong and they won't let shit like that bring them down

and yep...I've heard some good reports from the boys about the swell on the eastern side...

don't worry you're not alone,it's hasnt been too nice on this piece of coastline either

well...I hope you do end up going to Davao shmeck,despite what happened....it's still a beautiful place

knefut....MAN!don't call me "master"....it scares me!

no worries mark

I will be back def. in December and you guys know that I'm more then happy to help you out in anyway as humanly possible.

I've been in contact with the guys who are shaping on Mindanao and we've been talking about going into "business" together.They're producing their own blanks at the moment,but we're going to try and figure something out so I can export blanks and other materials from Oz.The guys learnt to shape from an aussie shaper and they're all surfers..so they've got their fair share of experience..it's just the materials arent too high quality.

If you want to contact Dale his email is:

d_franco@eudoramail.com


What Mark said about anybody making a board,but making a board that works is a different thing...is true.The guy I'm learning from is an old bastard..haha he's been surfing since....surfing started and he's been shaping since he started surfing.He's got the experience and insight into everything about boards.The other guys I'm working with have all learnt under him for the past 4/5 years and they're all top shapers in their own right too.They're all amazing surfers and they know from the very moment a surfer walks into the bay,what kind of board they need.That kind of direct knowledge doesnt happen unless you really know how your board responds to you and the conditions.

I'm telling youse now that learning to shape quality boards isnt dead easy....I've been in the bay all day long,with dead arms and just whinging because it would have been so much easier if I did something a more simpler way,but my boss won't let me because he doesnt want to be sending one of his "kids" out into the shaping world producing crap boards.He tells me to shut the hell up and listen to him and we have fights because I'm stubborn sometimes ,but I really appreciate that he doesnt let me cut corners or take short cuts with learning because I know it'll be worth it in the long run.Just that kind of thing helps you really appreciate shaping good boards....it does help if you surf,but it helps a hell of a lot too if you're super keen to actually LEARN to shape and there's a few of you around who are genuinely keen to learn.

Just lemme see what I can do for you guys ok

Everyones trying to make to the most of that bank at the Goldy cos it's starting to fade away.But it WAS madness there for about a week or so....here on this end of the coast it's been tiny 1ft with a couple of odd fun 2/3ft days,still keeping me sane,so thats ok

happy surfing

Mabini Girl,you're right....I was thinking the other day how people ask "so where are you from?" and I always say "Australia" and I say it with pride cos I love this country and everything it stands for,but now it's kind of embarrassing.I now feel ashamed to come from a country that's hypocrisy ridden government is supporting such hideous notions!

But like Mark said to Jerry,we can't be hiding the fact that we are Australians or Americans or British just because our governments are f*cked up.For example out here,the majority of the Australian population didn't want to be involved with this war.There's been peace rallies almost every single weekend.I went to one today and the amount of people there just blew me away.Just everyone is so passionate about this not happening or at least not going any further.Just one single spineless little Bush sucking bastard whom we have to call our Priminister has chosen to go against the entire nation,what we as common people truely believe in and for that our whole country will have to pay for gods knows how long,just for one f$%kheads actions.

At the start of the week I heard one of the US Officials say "at the end of this week, sit in front of your tvs and watch the fireworks"...like we're supposed to get some light entertainment from watching innocent people being bombed and killed.

That statement for me,just put a stamp on the whole REAL importance and intentions of this war to the democratic countries involved......absolutely NOTHING to do with the prententious bullshit they spin to the people of the world.It's something that is totally driven by power,greed,money and hurt pride.Until somebody with power and good intentions comes along much like the leaders of France,Germany,China and Russia,the cycle will continue to go full circle

PEACE

...beware of the those evil biting pigs and the carabaos that like to chase you too.OH!and the little tiki thingys that laugh like miniture witches,one of them falls off the roof when you're alseep and it can give you a slight heart attack! ...

Can anybody recommend ANY place to stay at LU?Or is camping the best option

yo kage-o!

thanks for the advice girl.I'll keep it all in mind

Will be in Manila at the end of July,catch up then!we'll go run chaos around the city

hey shmeck,

I'll be going to Mati in a couple of months,from Davao.I think it'd be safe going from dvo to mati.They only seem to be targetting places where theres a high density of people.I can let you know how things are when I get there,and if theres any swell pushing through

maybe you should refrain from doing weird stuff...full stop. but I hope your back gets better Al,youve still gotta attempt to run me over with that longboard of yours!

Has anybody been surfing over at Sairgao lately?

hehehe...I liked your story Sponj!Sounds like you're having fun

Zidd,its...SUMAN SEASON here now! freezing cold and suffocating in neoprene....been some good surf tho

Is Mark in Fiji?

true...I dont know the meaning of cold.Here's probably the "warmest" place to be surfing in Oz at the moment.

Leaving for the Phils nxt Wednesday,but like you said...my mind left for the Phils about....6months ago!hehe

ahh,thanks..hopefully the swell will hold up!

Yep!Heading to Siargao...sometime ....the eco challenge is on in the 1st?2nd?week of June,so I'm gonna try and avoid it then.People scare me..hahahaha..joking Oz has just today been issued a travel advisory to avoid the Philippines totally!FABULOUS!

OCEAN!straights for surfboards and coils for bodyboards Dont use the coil on a surfboard..or else..your board will hit you,a lot

I guess when the swells smaller and it's good for windsurfing,but theres some nice clean waves that do roll through in the right conditions.

happy surfing