Missing surfboard in Hawaii turns up in the Philippines

A surfboard that was lost to the sea in Hawaii has been found in Sarangani, Davao Occidental!

According to a “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” episode, Doug lost his favorite surfboard in Waimea Bay in Hawaii in 2018.

“It was the biggest day of surf I’ve ever experienced,” Doug said. “I fell on a wave and the board came off my leg. I climbed all the way across the rocks as far as I could to see if I could find it and I couldn't.”

Doug's surfboard was blue and had an elephant design and the name of the maker, Lyle Carlson, at the top.

Doug said he looked everywhere for his missing surfboard. He posted about it on Facebook, Instagram and even printed out pictures and placed them at the harbor where fishermen could see it.

But there was no news about his board.

Board shows up

After two years, the surfboard somehow turned up on the shores of Sarangani, thousands of kilometers away.

Abdul, the fisherman who found the board, said that he initially thought it was part of a ship that sank. But when he picked it up, he realized that it was actually a surfboard.

He then sold it to Giovanne, the teacher-in-charge at an elementary school in Barangay Ibran, for P2,000.

“Love ko talaga ‘yung  surfing. At saka may anak din ako na baka in the future gusto nila ng ganitong sport (I really love surfing. And I have a child who might like this sport in the future),” said Giovanne.

Giovanne said he and his wife, who is also a teacher, moved to Balut Island in 2010, while their two children remained in Davao City.

“Naisip namin na dito sa isla inaalagaan namin iyong mga bata dito. Ngunit kami, sa sariling anak namin hindi namin naturuan. Masakit para sa amin (It has occurred to us that we are caring for the kids on this island. But not our children. It’s painful for us),” said Giovanne.

To ease the pain, Giovanne said he looked for a distraction. That’s when he found his neighbor’s surfboard and immediately bought it.

Giovanne said the surfboard was in good condition, although one of its fins was missing.

“May logo kasi itong elephant tapos may pangalan na Lyle Carlson. So siya ‘yung una kong ni-search sa Facebook, tapos nakita ko doon sa profile niya may hawak siyang surfboard (It has an elephant logo and there was a name written on it. So I searched Lyle Carlson on Facebook, then I saw on his profile that he was holding a surfboard),” he said.

It was then that he discovered that the surfboard just might be what Doug had been looking for for over two years.

While looking up the surfboard online, Giovanne said he read an article and realized how much it meant to its owner.

Meanwhile, Doug said Lyle tagged him on a certain photo.

“I saw one photo of my board in a dark room. And I looked at it really closely and I could not believe it,” he added.

After a while, Giovanne said he received a friend request from Doug. That’s when the two started to talk.

“I wasn't a hundred percent certain. The color of the board, it was definitely faded. It was originally kind of light blue gray color,” said Doug.

Doug remembered, however, that he wrote his own name at the bottom of the board.

“Nakita ko rin sa likod ng surfing board nakasulat doon ‘yung pangalan niya (I found his name written at the back of the surfing board),” Giovanne said, confirming that the board was indeed what Doug had been looking for.

“I was honestly relieved because I didn’t know what happened to my board. And now I know, it is actually pretty amazing,” said Doug.

“Ang sa akin, nag-iisip ako in the future na baka gusto ng mga anak ko, tapos hindi ako makabili ng ganito kasi masyadong napakamahal ang mga board na ito (For me, I just thought of how my children might want this in the future, and I couldn’t afford it because a surfboard like this is expensive),” said Giovanne.

For the first time, the two spoke with each other through a video call. Doug said he was more than willing to give Giovanne the board as long as he would take care of it.

Giovanne expressed his gratitude, and said the surfboard would be used by his children and those living on the island.

After talking, Doug found out that the students on the island needed books for the upcoming school year. He then began a project to help the children learn English.

So far, he has raised over $1,000.

“Anumang mga problema na dumadating sa ating buhay, dapat manalig tayo sa nasa Itaas. Dahil wala Siyang problema na ibinibigay na hindi mo kayang solusyunan. (Whatever problems we encounter, we must always have faith in God. He would not give us a problem we couldn’t solve),” said Giovanne. – Kaela Malig/RC/BM, GMA News