Board Sailing At Caliraya

I was excited to meet again my friend who will be visiting the Philippines after three years of working in the Midwest. As I met her at the airport, I squealed my happiness and hugged her. And I was gushing about how good she looks when she sighed and said, using our Cebuano language, that the Philippines is a noisy place. That zipped my mouth. For half a minute. I couldn’t stop myself from asking her, “Are you saying I’m noisy?”

Of course not, she said. She explained that her ears were just oversensitive because she stayed in Iowa, a place where the people are too few and the crime rate is practically zero. She has grown accustomed to the silence. And the level of noise at the airport has jarred her.

Well, perhaps most States in the Midwest are similar to where she came from. And perhaps many tourists will feel the same thing about our airports. And so I asked her what she wants to do during her vacation. She said that she wants to do something new and she wants to see a body of clear water. In Iowa, all they have is a man-made beach with murky waters, in which she couldn’t bring herself to dip into.

I crossed my arms and asked her what she objects against more, the “man-made” part or the “murky” part. When she chose “murky”, I told her that I have just the adventure she will enjoy: board sailing at Caliraya.

The Philippines has two wind systems, the “habagat” and the “amihan”. The habagat or southwest monsoon blows from June to December while the amihan or northeast monsoon is dominant from October to April. It is the amihan that made the Philippines an ideal country for board sailors. The winds blow at a steady 12 to 30 knots. With the warm weather, board sailing is easily an activity filled with fun and thrills.

Caliraya - 3 Hours from Manila

Caliraya is only a three-hours ride from Manila. It is a man-made lake built in the 1930s by American engineers. Its original purpose was to supply hydroelectric power in that region of Laguna. But this man-made lake is situated at 1,200 feet above sea level.

Such location made it subject to cool winds that move just above the water. That is, the surface remains relatively smooth even if the winds reach 30 knots. With the crystal waters reflecting the lush greenery around, Caliraya is the finest sailing site.

Philippines Travel Information