Believed to be a World First, Cloud 9, Siargao, will be open for night surfing, 365 days a year, from October, 2010. Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has confirmed that he will break a ceremonial surfboard at the venue to publicize the Cloud 9 Night Surfing project.

Construction of a lifeguard & floodlight tower commenced this week along the reef and is scheduled for completion before the end of October. Every night, nine thousand watts of floodlighting will illuminate the World famous surf break at Cloud 9 to allow for safe surfing under the watchful eye of lifeguards. It is also planned to install an Internet connected IP camera at the site, so if you can’t get there you will be able to watch those who do.

Image courtesy Billabong Australia

UPDATE 7TH AUGUST 2010: THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED

[Originally published June 2010] The Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational surfing cup on Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte, is the most eagerly awaited surfing event in Asia – mainly because of the uniqueness of the Cloud 9 break but the idyllic tropical island location, combined with the laid-back Siargao Island lifestyle, has a lot to do with it.

An international cast of surfers from Australia, Bali, Japan, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Hawaii and the Philippines are the typical line-up for international surfing cup events at Cloud 9, Siargao, and if a typhoon happens to pass by then everyone will be literally on Cloud 9.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The All Souls Regatta 2010 in Puerto Galera will be the largest All Souls Regatta yet organized, the news that the Philippine Hobie 16 fleet (from Taal Lake Yacht Club) will be joining the racing & cruising keelboats and multihulls is a guarantee of extra color and fun during this legendary sailing event.

The All Souls Regatta was first held in Puerto Galera, in 2004. It was specifically designed to be the first sailing regatta of each Philippine racing season. The Philippine racing season starts with the arrival of the drier northeast monsoon in October and runs until the following May, when the wetter southwest monsoon blows in . . . competitive sailing still continues throughout the year around the Philippines but the southwest monsoon weather keeps some of the less hardy sailors at home.

Image courtesy Girlie Cervantes

Competitive sailing flourishes in Subic Bay in August with two weekend regattas: the Lighthouse Marina Resort Ninoy Aquino Anniversary Invitational Regatta; and, the Philippine National Hero’s Day Invitational Regatta. The best of the racing and competitive cruising sail boats will be in Subic Bay for these events.

Organized by the Saturday Afternoon Gentleman Sailors (SAGS), supported by The Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel and the Subic Bay Yacht Club, these two regattas will feature races around Subic Bay and possibly (weather permitting) to some of the nearby islands outside the bay area. Winds in August can be somewhat unpredictable so courses will be set on-the-day to suit the forecast conditions.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The impending opening of a new marina on Samal Island confirms that the island is maturing into an all-round water sports destination. The all new Holiday Oceanview Marina will open its pontoons for visiting yachts from August, 2010.

GetWet has been watching the development of the Holiday Oceanview Marina since it first came onto our radar three years ago. As with most things on Samal Island, it has taken a lot longer than originally envisaged to reach a stage of functionality. Along with the adjacent property development and sub-division, the new marina is an integral part of a water sports vacation destination, about 30-minutes from Davao International Airport.

Image courtesy Rodney Hegerty

Game fishing tournaments in the Philippines are monthly affairs organized by various angling groups around the country. To find out about what is going on and who to talk to about getting involved is a challenging. Characteristic of the sport no doubt, even when you find “the right person” you need to apply constant prodding to finally gaff and disgorge the desired information.

Despite the obstacles, we have finally obtained the schedule of the Philippine Game Fishing Foundation’s (PGFF) calendar for this year, albeit a little late. The 2010 game fishing tournament schedule was published a couple of weeks ago on MyCam-Asia.tv’s website under the Game Fishing In The Philippines section.

Image courtesy Busuanga Yacht Club

Finally, a new yacht club has opened in the Philippines: Busuanga Yacht Club. Located on Busuanga Island, Palawan, the Busuanga Yacht Club is attached to the Puerto Del Sol Resort, in the municipality of Conception, on the southwest corner of Busuanga.

If you are sailing, the Busuanga Yacht Club offers a perfect stopover on routes leading to either, the East or West coast Palawan passage to/from East Malaysia or, cruising the beautiful waters of the Palawan archipelago.

Image courtesy Girlie Cervantes

The Philippine Independence Day Anniversary Regatta in Subic Bay started as a very local sailing affair organised by and for members of the Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen Sailors (SAGS) – a motley band of sailing enthusiasts who wanted to sail in Subic Bay despite the challenges posed by fickle yacht club rules and the weather. They just went out and did it.

Significantly supported by Jun Avecilla’s Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel, the Philippine Independence Day Regatta is now the best off-season competitive sailing event in the Philippines, and possibly the best in Asia in June.

Photo courtesy Martyn Willes

The first ever Kayak Explore Anvaya Cove / Subic Bay 25 Km Kayaking Marathon event will be held here this May, to highlight the natural beauty of the entire Subic Bay area. This kayak marathon event is the latest in the Philippine Kayaking Series, which has already taken kayaking enthusiasts to One Hundred Islands, Corregidor Island, Cebu & Bohol.

In addition to the 25 Km marathon event, there will also be: novice races, kayaking clinics (to train first time kayakers) and presentations on the creatures that frequent the beaches of Subic Bay, including the Pawikan (Sea Turtle), which regularly use the Subic Bay’s beaches as places to lay their eggs.

Photo courtesy Joanne Booker - S/Y Pied A Mer

A long awaited cruising yacht rally, that aims to span BIMP-EAGA and the newly defined Equator Asia, was disclosed during a meeting in Davao City on Saturday, 13th March, when BIMP-EAGA members met at the Apo View Hotel in downtown Davao City.

The main impetus to this series of BIMP-EAGA tourism sailing events was an impromptu yacht rally, where cruising yachts sailed from Borneo to Palawan, during February and March, 2010. A series of sailing events now follow, aiming to bring groups of up to 15 cruising yachts at a time, under sail, from their traditional watering-holes in Thailand and Peninsula Malaysia, to Australia.