PKA Kite Championship Lakawon

I had already put Lakawon on my list of spots at home. A rather luxurious resort occupies a small paradise island full of palm trees surrounded by turquoise shallow water. The banka takes me from Sicogon to Estancia, by minivan to Concepción and then two more large bankas two hours over to the next kiteboarding paradise five kilometres north of Negros.

The Philippine Kitesurfing Championships in Airstyle, Hangtime and Race will take place here over the next four days. More than 50 kiters from all over the world will be competing for the throne. The imported beer, which is actually banned, and several bottles of rum are professionally distributed to the rooms by tractor. Howard Hughes from the Philippines throws one funny round of “Who’s afraid of Duterte?” after another.

After ten days of light winds, the Amihan on Lakawon is finally blowing at more than 15 knots again. It rains almost non-stop for the first two days, but the wind holds out. Everyone is happy, only the colours are hiding, and a warm shower is definitely missing after kiting. From the third day onwards, the sun comes out and the wind picks up again. On the last day, both are fine.

The spot in Lakawon is at the western end of the island, a few hundred metres from the hotel. There is plenty of shallow water behind the sandbank in a small bay, but the waves are also low on the other side. Only 300 metres out behind the reef does the sea surge strongly with swells of up to one and a half metres – thanks to the long run-up to the next large island. At low tide, you have to walk out a little way. You can cross the reef from mid-tide. The Amihan comes sideon from the right. You can kite around the whole island in half an hour. The Westpoint kite centre also rents out equipment.

As paradisiacal as the Lakawon spot looks, it is unfortunately not. I’ve been kiting for 20 years at almost every spot in the world without neoprene shoes. You should definitely take some with you here. There are very sharp pieces of coral and pointed shells everywhere in the shallow area. I ram three coral splinters into my feet on the very first day. They catch fire overnight. The next morning, I cut them out with the help of the resort nurse and disinfect everything. There are also lots of sharp pieces on the beach. I collect a few pieces of broken glass.

All the competitions are exciting and go off without incident. The Filipino riders, in particular, perform the most amazing jumps in ten centimetre chunks of coral water. In the pro race, 30 kites of up to 18m² start synchronised in front of the station. Watching on your own feels like you’re a little kid again and your parents are taking you along for the ride. My neighbour from Sicogon takes second place in the twintip race with the 13er Edge. Now I own a winning horse.

For four days, the competitions flow smoothly into the most intense parties. Tiger Beer sponsors the championship with plenty of free beer at 6.9%. The Tanduhay promo ladies pour you one free whiskey after another. I’m taking a break from healthy living. The whole island is in a massive slump.

There’s live samba on the first night and a good electro DJ on the second. At sunset on the third day, we all go over to the floating bar a few hundred metres off Lakawon. From the upper deck, you jump onto sling cushions or trampolines in the water in front of it. The award ceremony follows on the fourth afternoon, and the last group photo is a sight for sore eyes. The group was a legend.

The sun sets in a Philippine firework display. The campfire burns on the beach under palm trees. I hit a stone in the dark. A toenail comes off painfully and bloodily. The heavy swell on the return journey the next morning offers excellent opportunities for inner contemplation. One kilometre off the mainland, we break down with engine damage. The “Zuckerbrot 2” drags us to Concepción.