Catanduanes Forum

Surfing in Catanduanes

Situated in the Bicol region off the coast of Legaspi City, Catanduanes is a rather out of the way island, but when the surf is happening, it is worth the attempt to get to. Surfing in the Catanduanes is pretty impressive and so it should be. If you look on the map you will see why. The deep rumbling Pacific Ocean is its closest neighbor. Waves travel a long distance before they hit land and the first land they hit is Catanduanes. If you include the numerous typhoons the island is renowned for then you can get a pretty good idea what the surf will be like. The only problem is that there can be long flat periods.

The best known wave on the island is called Majestics, located off a beautiful beach in the village of Puraran, which is in the middle of nowhere, two and a half hours from the capital of Virac. Majestics is a strong and fast right hand breaking wave that gets raves from surfers. It can be exceedingly dangerous. In fact two years ago a British surfer was killed there. All this really means is that only those with experience should try this wave. The wave is so dangerous because the reef is actually a shallow ledge. This means that the wave jumps out of the ocean very quickly and instead of rolling like Monaliza, it forms a fast moving bowl, which slams down into the shallow reef below. If you make a mistake on this wave you'll have one majestically big headache. If not I'm certain you will be very happy.

While Majestics is considered world class, the problem is that it does not come around that often. The best months to surf there are July, August and September. Many surfers hive walk for days and weeks to reach Puraran only to sit around looking at a flat ocean for days on end. There are several cottage style places to stay on the beach which offer package deals of meals and nipa huts for reasonable prices. A lesser known surf spot on Catanduanes, located in the village of Baras is called Moning. Moning can only be surfed at high tide and only from September to January. You may need to hire a fisherman to take you out to the break as it is quite far. The whole island is quite breathtaking with mountains touching powdery white beaches; even if you don’t surf it is pretty easy to lose yourself within the beauty here.