Boardsailors who’ve been to the out-of-the-way village of San Teodoro in the province of Batangas call it “the Gorge of the Philippines”. The area got its nickname because of the powerful winds that funnel down from the mountains — in a similar fashion to the “nuclear” winds of Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, one of the world’s most famous boardsailing meccas — to produce some of the most extreme and consistent high-wind conditions anywhere in the country.
The phenomenon occurs during the amihan season — the local name for the northeast monsoon — which lasts from November to March. Although most parts of the Philippine archipelago get strong winds during this period, at San Teodom the venturi effect gives the amihan an extra kick. The winds roar down from the mountains into the bay, thqn funnel into a 6kmwide channel. San Teodoro is on the mainland side of the channel and on the other side is an island called Caban, which also has good sailing. If the true windspeed is 15 knots, it’ll be 25 knots in the channel. If you sail from San Teodoro, count on rigging up a 4.5sq m sail; in Caban, sail sizes vary between 4.5 and 5.5sq m.
San Teodoro is relatively unknown even to Filipino boardsailors. The bay is nearly always deserted, which means you’re almost guaranteed to have the whole place to yourself.
The easiest way to get to San Teodoro is by taking a boat from Anilao. The other option is to go by car, but the road passes through private property and is off-limits to visitors, so you have to stop short of the beach and climb with your board down a steep cliff. San Teodoro has a few small resorts so a weekend trip is possible. But take all your own boardsailing gear as there are no rental facilities.