Editor's Note: The one-and-only Pat Panakos (a.k.a. Projects Pat, Pancakes) is currently in the middle of a three-month trip to the Philippines where he is helping to design and expand the Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC: www.camsurwatersportscomplex.com). Pat decided to write a little journal and shoot some photos during his trip for alliancewake.com. This is the first installment of those journal entries. Stay tuned over the next couple weeks to see what Pat has been up to and what's going down on the other side of the world.

Tuesday, Oct. 22nd:
My brain is going crazy. I have 12 hrs to pack for a two and a half month journey in the Philippines. I’ve been trying to get things in order the past two weeks so I can leave town for so long.  It’s been difficult because this winter The Projects will undergo a major facelift.  We are bringing in a first class head coach, remodeling the camp house and renovating the rail park. Most of this will happen when I am gone.  So I’m a bit stressed to make sure everything is in place and ready to run smoothly when I’m gone, but at the same time really excited to get going on this new project in the Philippines.

Wednesday, Oct. 24th:  

What just happened?  That was a wicked long flight.  Orlando to Detroit to Japan to Manila.  There was this old Japanese guy sitting next to me.  Right when we took off from Detroit he popped two pills and within 5 min he was out and stayed that way until we landed in Japan.  When they served our delicious in-flight dinner, I was trying to squeeze lemon on my shrimp but it ended up all over my pill popping Japanese friend’s face.  He didn’t even move. I swear he was dead. Anyway it’s 12pm we’re in Manila and Grubbs, BT, Lidberg, Perry, Courtney and I are heading to Rascals. It’s a local bar where Grubbs and Perry are superstars and BT is the resident DJ.

Thursday, Oct. 25th
We went back to the airport in Manila to reach our final destination. The CWC (Camsur Watersports Complex). That’s what this whole trip is about.  For the last 8 years my life has been consumed by The Projects Wakeboard and Wakeskate camp.  A place Scott Byerly and I created to bring beginners into our sport, to teach the people in our sport how to do it better and finally not only a place to challenge the skills of professional riders but to help them and their companies to test and develop new products. Oh yeah, and to aid them in the making of incredible video sections and contests. It’s not one of these alone but all of them together that would make our sport grow.  I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to not only build rails for The Projects rail park but for contest and videos for the last 9 years.  It was only in the last year that I formed a rail building company called Abox fabrications.  It’s wicked that my passion became a reality.  Now my crew and I are building rails, pool jams all over the world.  Because of this the Governor of Camsur, Philippines, Lray Villafuerte, brought me over last May.  He has orchestrated the creation of the world’s best cable park, which is evolving into an action sports resort.  He asked me to design the rails in his cable and boat lake and create the first ever winch course.  Yes that’s right, winch park.  Back in May of 07 he approached me about the idea of a nine-hole winch course to be built next to the cable.  Well it’s becoming a reality. Except I’m taking the golf out of it and just making it a park.  No need to wear collar shirts or keep score here, just bring your stick and thrash the park.  Anyway it’s like a dream come true. After arriving, Grubbs, BT, Daberg, Perry and I hit the cable for a couple hours until our jetlag caught up with us.