After days in which I visited batcaves, hiked to the highest peak, combed the sands and swum in isolated beaches, I was ready to catch the breeze with my windsurfing sail.
The windsurfing area was only 15 minutes walk from the famous White Beach on the other side of the island. On this side, the waves were teased into gentle peaks by the wind coming directly from the Sibuyan Sea heading for shore. The direction of the wind made it safe for any novice to end up onshore if he had trouble. Orienting by shoreline in the non-shifting wind also made windsurfing easier.
I first trekked to the windsurfing side on my way up to Mt. Luho. The sandy shore on this side was lined thickly with coconut groves and littered with coconut debris. The waves were not as high as I would have wanted. A man informed me that in the past days, the best windsurfing weather was from 7 am - 10 am. I wondered if I would find it a great effort to wake up early the following day.
From Mt. Luho, the highest peak, the sea showed several shades lighter on the coral reefs and turned even paler nearer the shore. The waves reached higher as they neared the beach. It was also obvious that I would be windsurfing in a wide bay. Perfect for me, or anybody with or without windsurfing experience.
The alarm clock woke me up the next day and I hovered between laziness and thoughts of an energetic morning. I trudged to the window and one look at the clear blue sky and swaying palm trees prompted me to action. Soon I was on my way to the other side, relishing my brisk walk on that narrow unpaved road early morning. Ducks swum placidly on a small lake fringed thickly with trees, vines and bushes. The stillness magnified the soft warbles of birds. Every now and then a sharp bird call pierced the air. However, the sources of those mysterious sounds remained invisible to me.
From the end of the narrow road I stepped unto the shore and viewed the

breadth of the bay. The waves crested at three feet high before breaking on the sand in constant rhythm. The thicket of palm along the shore swayed wildly. Jay was waiting and he hollered a hearty "Are you really surfing today?" I nodded and just for the sake of doing it, I stuck a finger in my mouth and held it up as Jay just stood there with his hands in his pockets looking out to sea. I grinned when I felt the coolness on my finger and turned my attention to Jay who said that storms are not expected for the next days.
Quickly, Jay chose two windsurfing shortboards about 2.8 meters long each with a sail of 4.5 square meters. Longboards and bigger sails are better for calmer seas and shortboards and smaller sails are better for stronger winds. Jay politely positioned my board near the water so I didn't have to drag all those kilos all the way. After adjusting the footstraps and putting on my harness, I lifted the board by the footstrap with my left hand and held the sail slightly above water with my right hand and pushed into the water. When the water reached slightly above my knees, I went around the aft of the board and positioned myself on its left side without letting go of the sail.
This is not as difficult as it sounds since the bottom of the mast attached to the board allows the mast to be directed in any direction. Using my foot and the sail, I directed the prow to face the wind at less than 45 degrees and got ready for my beach start.
When I felt the sail lift with the wind, I stepped unto the board with my right foot and steadied with my left foot firmly. Fortunately, boards have a rough surface that help to prevent slipping off. I waited, as Jay waited, for the wind to lift me with the sail unto the board. Eventually, the wind lifted the sail and I clung to it, gaining foothold on the board. Jay waited until I was stable on my board and getting more wind before pushing off from shore and soon he was waving at me.
By slightly moving my upper body, I quickly swung the hook at the end of