Celebrating a scourge

Since at least the end of the last ice age, autumn in Penghu has meant the arrival of howling winds that for seven months scour its low, dry islands, leaving them raw and barren. Up until a few years ago these gales were considered an unmitigated scourge, but now with a growing interest in windsurfing, these winds are the motivation for a tourism festival.

The 2002 Penghu Sailboard and Cobia Tourism Festival began last week and runs through November 24. The capper will be the Adecco Penghu Pro-Am, one of five stops on the Asian Windsurfing Tour, which features the world's top competitors in the sport and runs Nov. 20 through Nov. 23, finishing on the second to last day of the festival.

Last year, US$18,500 in total prize money was awarded at the competition, and for this year's Pro-Am the purse is expected to be bigger. Top names to appear at the competition include Frenchman Antoine Albeau, the current world number one freestyler according to the Professional Windsurfing Association (PWA), and last year's winner of the Asia tour, Australian Robbie Radis. Competitions will be held in both slalom and freestyle sailing events.

Now in its third year hosting a professional event, Penghu's reputation is growing fast as one of the windiest sailing spots in the world. According to Bump & Jump, a local equipment rental outfit that keeps daily records of wind speeds during the windsurfing season, 71 percent of days between October and mid-May have winds of 17-40 knots, 13 percent have winds of 41-55 knots or more, and only 15 percent have winds of 10 knots or below.

Penghu will be this year's first stop on the Asian pro tour. Other stops include Bintan, Indonesia, Boracay in the Philippines, the Marianas Islands, and "Monsoon Madness" in Kuantan, Malaysia.

Events related to Penghu's windsurfing and tourism festival include free outdoor concerts to be held every Saturday and Sunday from this weekend through Nov. 24. They'll take place from 7 to 9pm at Kuanyinting (觀音亭), the harbor that serves as the base for Penghu's windsurfing scene.

During this festival month, Penghu will also celebrate cobia, a type of fish that is harvested in the fall and that Penghu natives consider to be a special characteristic of their local seafood. Cobia commonly grow to about 15kg and are farmed in Penghu in a special inshore aquaculture area.

Visitors can visit the facility, and a government published tourism brochure describes potential visitors experiences as follows: "Here, they will not only experience the thrilling sight of thousands of cobia in a feeding frenzy but will be able to experience the ecology of clam farms as well."

For those who prefer to eat fish over watching fish eat, festival organizers will make cobia tasting available at concerts and windsurfing events. The fish is known to make a very good sashimi.