Lagido as second option. Baleal/ Peniche. Portugal

The ladies need to be finished by Monday and Steph Gilmore wants to kick off at Supers. Like, right now. “Unfortunately, there’d only be a few of the girls who could handle it,” says Rip Curl team manager Garry Dunne, “We’ll have to move them to Lagido.” The wave the men are already refusing to surf? Really? Lagido is a ten minutes drive from Peniche. Sometimes when the waves are not quite right this could be an option. This day was the girls day. The women’s competition speeds through to the quarter-finals. Bruna Schmitz gets knocked out and lover Jeremy Flores curses the judges. It’s a race against the monstrous purple blob in the Atlantic that threatens to bring XXL-sized waves. Organisers need to get as much done as possible. Carissa Moore and Sally Fitzgibbons make the waves look better than they are. Carissa Moore was the girl of the day. Congratulations Carissa.

Waiting for the good weather, enjoying Perhentian sunset. Malaysia.

The weather is really lousy in Lisbon today. It is raining and windy. I had in my program a surfing weekend at Peniche, with some surf to myself, but also to get a glance at the Rip Curl Pro Portugal and see the action of the best from the best surfers in the world. But, after assessing the conditions at Supertubos, Belgas and Lagido, the ASP organization decided to call competition off for the day. Severe storm is expecting to move in throughout the day. Rip Curl Pro Portugal, are calling for a massive swell system to move into the region in the next 48 hours, with seas up to 20 feet (7 meters). Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 8am to assess conditions for a possible 8:30am start. Meanwhile, I feel like going in to the sun again, to the clear waters of Asia. Let’s go to the Perhentian Islands. The Perhentian Islands are a small group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, not far from the Thai border. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Big Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Small Perhentian"). Kecil attracts more travellers as it has cheaper accommodation, while Besar is a little more expensive and caters more to families and those who want to avoid the backpacker party scene. The sea is extraordinary for snorkeling, diving or just swimming. It is a fantastic place to spend holidays and to discover a bit of the hidden Malaysia. Of course the sunset is always a high moment, even if you have to cross the all island to get to the other side, after all, we can’t have sunrise and sunset from the same side. Keep waiting for the good weather.