From The Editor’s Desk

Into the new year we have stepped and the groundswell of interest and developments in boating and water sports is exhilarating.

The first, national jetski championship took place last month in Iloilo, coincident with the Iloilo Paraw Regatta, attracting at least one world jetski champion to an action packed race series. New yacht clubs & marinas are planned for Dapitan and Davao in 2011, to add to the new yacht club in Busuanga and new marina in Samal Island, opened in 2010.

Competitive sailing is at the forefront in Subic Bay with the launch, this month, of the Platu challenge one-design racing series; the Philippine Superyacht Association has just opened for business in Subic Bay, intent on attracting more of the Worlds rich and famous to our beautiful beaches and bays. In June, a new wakeboard park will start pulling wakeboard enthusiasts around the purpose built cable-lake in Clark.

A decade ago organized water sports in the Philippines were largely restricted to scuba diving and a bit of sailing. Today, there is so much new happening across such a broad spectrum that it is sometimes a challenge to keep up.

Last week I had the opportunity to address undergraduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, College of Business, Department of Marketing, and discovered that the across the nation there is generally a dearth of information about what is happening in water sports and how to get involved. Learning to promote the opportunities is the objective of these young students but there are few with detailed knowledge of how to do it successfully, and most of them see too many (mostly financial) barriers to getting involved themselves.

If the Philippines can embrace the current momentum for water borne fun and competition then it will surely move rapidly ahead of other Asia nations to become the premier water sports tourism destination in the Region. Mother nature gave us the resource, we have the enthusiasm. What is required now is investment in qualified promotion: first, to the nations youth; and, second, to the World of international thrill seekers who want to explore and experience that which lies beyond.

Action speaks louder than words so herein we introduce some highlights of one of the lesser known water sports destination in the Philippines: the Davao Gulf. Come, enjoy the journey!