Issue 8, 06
ŠThe Cruising Yacht Club of the Philippines
Lane All Souls Regatta 2005
Maiden Voyage Part Two Triumph Out Of Disaster
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
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Commodore's Letter
Contents Commodore’s Letter Boats with a Past: The Bogeyman’s Boat Seen on our Moorings PG Nature: Collared Kingfisher Maiden Voyage Part Two Engines and Ensigns Small Boats: Happy Birthday Puerto Galera Lane All Souls Regatta 2005 Anchors and Rum Triumph Out of Disaster Yacht Friendly Moorings
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PGYC Board of Directors Commodore: Jurgen Langemeier Rear Commodores: Mike Tucker, Peter Stevens Treasurer: Graeme Gilbert Directors: Alan Burrell, Carl Broqvist, Martyn Willes, Steve Pike Secretary: Carlos Garcia
Looking back over the past year, I am proud to announce, that we have achieved our goal to be “The Cruising Yacht Club of the Philippines”! We have hosted two major sailing events: The Easter Regatta and All Souls Regatta, this time combined with a Jazz Festival and well covered by TV and other Media. Up to 20 boats participated in the race and a few hundred persons attended the various post race parties, enjoying the fun and entertainment. Another success story was the completion of our 10 Lawin Dinghies and start of a Sail Training Program last August. It culminated with an impressive sailing demonstration by 18 Scholarship Students during the Puerto Galera Town Festival in December. I also want to report on some other club developments: • The construction of the Storage Room extension, combined with a Staff Living Quarter, was started in November, completion is scheduled for late January. • Discussions with interested parties to take over our Food and Beverage Organization are ongoing and our target is to present positive results by early next year. • The Committee for Club Expansion is gathering ideas related to future (next 5 years) needs of the Club. A summary together with a layout proposal was be presented at our Annual General Meeting. The incessant work of some Directors of the Board and Members, who stepped in to assist when help was needed, as well as the generous financial contributions from the main sponsor of our Small Boat Program and donations from various Members made it possible to realize the above mentioned projects and events.
Production Sales & Distribution: Aireen Alejandro (PG), Martyn Willes (All other Locations) Design: Terry Duckham/Asiapix Studios Layout: Aira Fernando/Asiapix Studios Front Cover : Terry Duckham Special Thanks: Martyn Willes Cruiser News is published by Puerto Galera Yacht Club Inc., P.O.Box 30450 Sto Niño, Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines Tel / Fax : 63 (043) 442-0136 Email: info@pgyc.org Philippine Copyright © 2003 - 05 by The Puerto Galera Yacht Club, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.pgyc.org
I would like to thank the TEAM and Sponsors for their help to make this year a good one. My best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all of you. A warm welcome to our New Members: • Geoffrey B. Cannell • Sean Manley
Fair winds,
Jurgen Langemeier Commodore
Copy deadline for next issue?????
call (63)043-2873019
mobile: (63)0919-3970811
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
BOATS WITH A PAST: THE BOGEYMAN’S BOAT By Martyn Willes
Sitting at Vasco’s Bar & Grill the other day the subject turned to the old wooden hull perched precariously on the end of the pier. “What was it and where did it come from?” I asked Vasco’s owner, Old-PG-Hand Brian Homan. “Ah!” he said as he sat lazily in his chair, one hand raised to eye level with a knowing finger pointing to the Gods, “that is
the boat of the bogeyman.” “The Bogeyman!” I exclaimed. I took another glance at the boat and concluded, quite rightly I thought, that the boat was certainly not small enough to sail in or out of the bogeyman’s traditional realm – under my bed. Brian pushed his arms forward using a classic Tommy Cooper gesture and said, “Not a lot of people know that”.
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I laughed at the memory, but Brian was only using the momentum to bring himself upright so that he could turn and face me more easily. His expression now more impish, he proceeded to enlighten me about the true origins of the “Bogeyman” and the very real people who inadvertently spawned the myth that has traveled across the seven seas. According to Brian the original bogeymen (for there were many thousands of them) came from South Sulawesi. They were fishermen and traders, and sometimes pirates. “Tall and handsome with clear complexions” They were the Buginese peoples who can trace their origins back to the creation of the world. Long before the Chinese, Dutch, British, Portuguese and the Spanish came to trade in the spice islands, the Buginese were trading throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Buginese ships have always been built of the finest teak and other exotic hardwoods; designed to withstand the vagaries of the alternating tropical monsoon and typhoon seasons. Known as Phinisi, the construction methods are steeped in tradition and mystic ritual. Their raison d’être was fishing and trade. When the Chinese and European trading ships finally discovered the Spice Islands, some of the Buginese discovered that there was less effort involved in taking goods from someone who had already purchased it than to go through the arduous process of barter and negotiation. As a consequence even legitimate Buginese traders were frequently labeled as pirates and treated with caution whenever their distinctive ships were seen on the horizon or entering a port. In what is now Singapore, for example, the Buginese had their own trading dock and in the same way the Chinese traders in Manila were “encouraged” (through the discriminatory actions of the Spanish overlords) to trade only from Sangley Point in Manila Bay, the Buginese were “encouraged” to trade from the area that became known as Bugis wharf and later Bugis Continued on page 7
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Devon, UK, via the Red Sea route. 'Mariposa', a German registered 42 footer, with owner Rolf and Uta Leffin, is on its way to Bonbonon in southern Negros. David Shepherd with his big Adams 54, 'Southerly Change', and Australian family returned to Puerto Galera for a visit and stayed long enough to join in this year’s All Souls Regatta. 'Aragon' (formerly Harmonia) returned to Puerto Galera after a big steel refurbishment in Subic Bay and will continue her refit here with local craftsmen. We hope to see more of Gundolf Ahrens in the future. Unfortunately engine problems almost meant having to miss the Friday Night BBQ until a banka tow was taken. Frequent visitor 'China Rose' popped in again. While here her quick thinking boatmen gave Sebastian Bried's 'Akela' a pull off after she touched bottom and was quickly pushed sideways by the wind. A rising tide saved the day and no damaged was done to boat or the corals. 'Warrawilla', another Adams designed 42 footer, with British owner Paul Caine is on the way from Hong Kong to Europe. Hans and Mariet Van Der Sluijs collected 'Alexandra' well pleased with the attention the boat received from the local boatman in their absence. They have now departed for Subic Bay and onwards to Hong Kong.
Seen on our Moorings By Mike Tucker 8 December 2005
It's been raining for the last few days. Good for the trees but not so pleasant for the cruising boats in the harbour. There has also been a 'brown out' in my part of town for the last 20 hours! But at least I have a generator. Well there has to be a downside to living on 'One of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World'. Since I last put my fingers on the keyboard to write this series we have seen quite a fleet in our little harbour, with the moorings and nearby Boquete Bay almost overflowing since September. Some of the most notable: 'Columbus' is an 39 foot Adams with our old cruising friends Trish & Fritz. Unfortunately they had an engine problem, which meant taking the cylinder head to Batangas for attention. Now all is repaired and they are on the move again. 'Jipz Rose', a Baba 35 designed by Bob Perry and owned American Bill Wiggins, is en route to Honolulu after having a bottom job at Watercraft Ventures in Subic Bay. 'Alma's Gift', an Island Packet 40 with American owner and new club member 'Ed’ Gebele, arrived to make Puerto Galera her Philippine base. 'Talio', a 36-foot steel Herreshoff design, owned Hebe Haven Yacht Club member Jonathan King, with wife Liz and family sailing west to Singapore and then on to the Saltash,
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06 Boat with a past......continued from page 5 Street. But I skipped the important bit. Where did the term “bogeyman” come from? While pirating around the Malacca’s they would frequently lose a man or two during conflicts over ownership of someone else’s cargo and would need to replenish their number before entering the next conflict. So when restocking with fresh provisions from a town or village the Burgis would keep a weather eye peeled for potential new (typically young) crew members, based upon the latter’s prowess in swimming or running along the beaches. They would interview these candidates for employment just before setting sail and should a candidate decline a life of swashbuckling camaraderie at sea, the Bugis would simply carry them aboard, bound hand and foot. Of course, once word of this method of crew selection and employment got around it became incumbent upon parents to encourage their offspring to stay away from the beaches and preferably remain indoors whenever a Bugis boat anchored in the vicinity. One can also imagine how useful the presence of the Bugis boats was to enforce certain disciplines on errant children. When the various foreign traders started arriving in the Region the Bugis rubbed their hands with glee for they now had a new crop of unwitting recruits who had no prior knowledge of the Buginese way. The stories eventually travelled the winds and tides back to Europe and the continent’s parents, seeking a new and more
7 scarifying inducement to curtail youthful exuberance, elevated the Bogeyman (Bugis-man) to urban legend status. Of import in the Bogeyman’s longevity as a deterrent against juvenile disobedience was the word’s similarity in sound to other words that were already in use in various European countries that had even more sinister or devilish connotation and imagery. Thus, it's apparent that the Bugis-man stories as employers of the less than willing blended with the European evil-spirited imagery to create the boogieman and (in the Southern U.S.) boogerman or buggabear; he is known to Germans as Boggelmann, to the Irish as bocan, to the Scottish as boggart and bogle, and to Icelanders as the linguistically related puki. What of the other famed attractions of Bugis Street in Singapore’s more recent past? (Bugis Street was once known for parades of transvestites and ‘bakla’) The epic and very ancient Buginese poem 'I La Galigo' offers an exposé of indigenous transgender characters and transvestites, which are part of the Bugis belief in five genders (masculine and feminine men, feminine and masculine women and priests incorporating characteristics of both) – the basis for much of their belief in self. Make no mistake, the Buginese were and are not effeminate in any respect. In addition to their famed skills in hand-to-hand combat they are also credited by some as the creator of the Lantaka deck mounted gun which kept many a Portuguese men-o-war at bay. But more on the Lantaka in another issue. It is still possible to commission modern versions of the Buginese Phinisi, fitted out as luxury sailing yachts, but the buyer must usually be very patient -- there is only one right time to fell the tree used for the keel and there are so many days for work between each celebration of an ancient god or goddess or, an Islamic holy day. One fine example a Phinisi, complete with traditional black sails, is depicted here (the Katharina); she is available for charter through Sea Trek Sailing Adventures, Bali.
Interested in cruising on a bogeyman’s boat? Contact: Dwi Setijo Widodo, SEA TREK Sailing Adventures, Jl. Danau Tamblingan 77, Sanur 80228, Bali-Indonesia, +62 361 283 192, contact@anasia-cruise.com, www.anasia-cruise.com
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PG Nature: Collared Kingfisher. (Todiramphus chloris) By Peter Stevens Here it is at last, although it only just crept in over the temptation to include something exotic from my recent trip to the jungles of Sabah, North Borneo. Perhaps more of that another time or space. The more observant of you will also notice that the scientific name of good old Collared Kingfisher has changed from the evocative Halcyon to the almost unpronounceable Todiramphus. I much preferred the old name, which was a bird said by the Ancient Greeks to nest on the water and to
charm the wind and waves into calm for that purpose. Good name for a yacht, that. Worldwide there are 86 kingfisher species, most of which are tropical. North America has many wonderful birds but only one species of kingfisher, the Belted, which is a boring grey and white (with a tad of brown). Who could live in a country with only one kingfisher? The Philippines, on the other hand, has a magnificent 15 species, 6 of which are endemic, and all are beautifully coloured and very sexy. Despite the name, very few kingfishers actually live exclusively on fish. Many live in forests and eat bugs and things. They also range in size from the sublime 12 cm/5 inches of our own Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher to the stupendous 46cm/ 18inches of the Giant Kingfisher of Africa. So what do we know about Todiramphus chloris, apart from the fact that it wakes me most mornings at some horrible hour with it’s harsh ka ka ka ka ka call? Firstly, it has a huge range, from the shores of the Red Sea all the way to India, throughout Asia, on to northern Australia and through to the Pacific islands of Samoa. There are 50 different races of the species through this range, which vary slightly in size and colour. Some of these are restricted to mangroves (hence it’s other name – Mangrove Kingfisher) and others are common in gardens and woodlands. Of all the kingfishers in the Philippines it is by far the most common and conspicuous. It can be found on exposed reefs (i.e. sitting in that lone mangrove tree near Asia Divers), to towns and open country, where it will often be found sitting on power lines. One place that you are not likely to find it is in the forest (if you can find any forest!). As expected from its extensive range, it has a very varied diet, including fish and crabs to lizards and grasshoppers. It nests in excavated holes in termite mounds, road cuts or stream banks and breeds in April and May. So, there you have it at last. From Muscat to Micronesia – Halcyon chloris – keep an eye out for him on your travels.
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MAIDEN VOYAGE Part Two – Engines and Ensigns By Debbie Barber
This second and final part of Cherly Ramalho’s maiden voyage as skipper of her yacht Feisty Lady, documented by enthusiastic crew woman Debbie, sees them leave Pandan Island intent upon diving on the amazing Apo Reef and then sailing on to Maricaban Bay, Busuanga. Friday 21st - Day 4 6.50 a.m: Kapitana Veggie Lessie, Eddie, and I bid farewell to Pandan. Eddie gets the mainsail up and I narrowly avoid being garroted by a reefing line. Last night as we lounged on our respective sail bags discussing single-handed and long haul ocean trips. It’s incredible, that in previous times Columbus, Magellan or any of the others managed to get between two places without running aground, starving to death or being poisoned by rotten food. Our aim today is Apo Island. Tomorrow we should meet the guys from Mariposa Diving and join them for two dives on the reef. 12.30 p.m: We arrive at Apo Reef. We go over to where the mooring buoys are, but there is a bit of a swell, so Mon Capitan takes the executive decision to relocate into the lagoon for safety. I head below to prepare lunch and after lunch, siesta. When we awake, the wind has picked up a little and the sea is becoming a bit choppy. Cancel the idea of a swim. After supper the wind is getting stronger. I try to raise everyone’s spirits with a bit of a singsong… Ging gang goolie
goolie goolie goolie watcha ging gang goo, and Kum-bay-ar The wind seems to have turned. When we stopped we were facing the lighthouse, now it is behind us. Mon Capitan is concerned about sea conditions. I try to reassure her, “Worse things happen at sea”, “We are at sea”, she says. Hmmm. The decision is made to depart Apo at first light and get the hell out of there. Bed at 9 p.m. Saturday 22nd - Day 5 Eddie was put on anchor watch and the GPS alarm set to pick up any unplanned movement. I wake up some time in the early hours of the morning, sea and wind deadly calm, spooky. Awake again, alarms sounding, muffled voices of Capt’n and first mate, padding about on bare feet. I figure that if they need me or we are to abandon ship they will call me, so I stay snug in my bunk. The Capt’n commented, that maybe I am the Jonah, fated never to dive Apo Reef, this being my third failed attempt to dive here. We are out of the reef, sails up, motor running to charge the batteries. Then the engine makes a funny noise, we
10 smell burning rubber, and the fan belt is broken. We have two spares and fit a new one and off we go doing five knots. Then, the engine coughs and dies. Then, the wind dies. We are now managing a pitiful 1.3 knots with a one-knot current running the wrong way. Kapitana shows concern, but not outright panic. Dirty fuel is pronounced as the problem and it is confirmed by diesel samples from the engine. Solution – clean the filter and bleed the fuel lines. Never fear, out comes “Diesel Engine Maintenance” full of clear instructions, nice diagrams, but nothing seems to relate to the Feisty Lady’s engine. Hawkeye Ramalho spots a blip in the distance; myopic me sees nothing. “What’s that Eddie?” she cries, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. “Fishing boat” pronounces the Rock. Aha! Next thing our intrepid Captain is stationed on the forepeak signaling wildly with a brightly coloured sarong. Since the Captain is purported to be a vegetarian lesbian and not a former Girl Scout, she must have learnt the sarong semaphore technique during her South Sea cruises. The Tahitians are known to be very adept in the use of signal sarongs and it has been suggested that the use of letter flags by the Royal Navy was devised after a tour of inspection in the Pacific Ocean. Having finished with the retrieval of their nets the fishing boat motors over. With Eddie acting as interpreter,
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06 they ascertain that we are not sirens, or pirates intent on looting their fish, and they do indeed know Maricaban Bay. We ask if they would tow us there and how much? We bargain, they offered P10,000, we said P5,000 and eventually settled for P6,000. We organize a towrope and off we go. As soon as we are within radio distance of Maricaban, we call Tequila Mike. We reach our safe harbour and Mike helps the not quite so Feisty Lady on to a mooring. We celebrate our arrival with a beer. The next few days are spent in delightful fashion being squired around Coron, Conception and Sangat Island by Mike, while Rock Steady Eddie and Feisty Lady were left to rest and recover in Maricaban Bay. Saturday 29th - Day 9 We are still moored at Maricaban Bay. Our intrepid captain is about to have Lesson 2 in diesel engine mechanics. While waiting I eat a banana, in true boat fashion (recycling, fish feeding, biodegradable products and all that) I flip the banana skin out of the galley porthole. Flop! (the sound of it landing in the tender). 9.30 p.m: Back to the boat after a delicious meal in El Rio Del Mar a.k.a Maricaban Bay Resort. Our plan is to slip our mooring at 6a.m. and begin the
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return trip to Pandan. A long, possibly hard day’s sail but we should be there by sundown. Diesel lesson number two was successful, pipes have been bled, the engine was running smoothly when we left for the day and we had ice, bread, beer and coffee beans. We were set. Eddie waits until this point to announce that the engine stopped abruptly at about 10 a.m. after running for an hour or so. Mon Capitan does not receive this news well. Next thing we know she is over the side, into the dinghy and paddling madly away from the boat. Monday 31st - Day 11 It is still apparent that whatever is wrong with the engine it is not going to be solved within the next day or so. Chinese New Year is looming ominously on the horizon and my responsibilities back in the real world are calling. So I pack my belongings and, stifling a tear (sniff, sniff ), leave Mon Capitan in the safe haven of El Rio ‘what’s it’ with Tequila Mike and head for home, by air. As the South East Asian Airlines twin prop climbs in a wide sweeping turn away from Busuanga airfield I catch my last glimpse of Feisty Lady hanging off the mooring in
Maricaban Bay. I rub my eyes . . . is it my imagination or is that Mon Capitan signaling something again with her sarong? No time to reply – a puffy white cloud engulfs us and carries us to Manila.
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
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SMALL BOATS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUERTO GALERA By Donna Penman
Puerto Galera town was founded on 7th December 1927 and, for the first time ever, the municipality officially celebrated its anniversary this year . . . its’ 78th birthday. The weather God’s weren’t very kind to us as the day kicked off with a parade in persistent heavy rain. This definitely deterred many potential participants and spectators for some of the events. But not so for the PGYC LAWIN sailing race!! Eighteen students from PGYC’s scholarship sailing program, along with their parents, friends and supporters braved the torrents to make it to Boquete Beach for the scheduled race. The competitors started with fairly light easterly wind but as the race progressed they experienced some rather gusty conditions. Some of the sailors obviously had decided on different tactics and two of the boats, Nos. 2 and 7, helmed by the Garcia boys, went off in a different direction to the rest of the fleet searching for clear air. Despite some doubting observers on Phillip Williams’s powerboat, these two rounded the port side of the first marker buoy ahead of the rest. Both
lost a little ground however, when they sailed too far out before tacking around the second buoy, but Gio Garcia and Cathlyn Magsumbol on boat No.7 soon recovered and crossed the finish line in 2nd place. Competition was fierce, especially boats Nos. 9 and 10 who jockeyed for 3rd and 4th place. Eventually No. 10 managed to sneak past and cross the finish line a mere two seconds ahead to take 3rd place. Exciting stuff! RJ Mauro and Florence Caganan on boat No. 6 crossed the start line 65 seconds late, but soon got themselves sorted out and, with Florence at the helm, soon made superb use of the wind to overtake a number of others. After they rounded the second mark, the crew changed positions and, with impressive use of their jib, continued to overtake the rest of the fleet to cross the finish line first! Best rigging awards went to Boat No 9, crewed by Israel Magsumbo and Mariel Acuna, with no adjustments required.
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They also went on to finish in 4th place after a close battle with boat No. 10. The prize giving was held on Muelle pier, with pizzas donated by Dave and Mildred Balman from their newly opened Sharkies Pizza Restaurant. After the trophies were awarded an extra treat was in store for these young sailors; the Muelle Bay Traders Association broke with sailing tradition and gave each participant Php200 in prize money. Despite the lousy weather, a great day was had by all The smiles in the photographs tell their own story.
Prizes went to:1st Place RJ Mauro and Florence Paulin Cagaman (Boat No. 6) 2nd Place Gio Garcia and Cathlyn Magsumbol (Boat No. 7) 3rd Place Gabriel Fetizanan and Ana Marie Candava (Boat No. 10) Best Riggers Israel Magsumbol and Mariel Acuna (Boat No.9) The other participants were:• Aryzx Garcia • Eralyn Alinsuot • Kevin Bunquin • Cindy Navo • Joana Bunquin • Jay Mark Aspecto • Rose Maniebo • Lyndon Reyes • DJ Cabarles • Kristel Gutierrez
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LANE ALL SOULS REGATTA 2005 It was the regatta that had everything: sun, wind, no wind, tides, reefs, live music, television and media, movie stars, babes, shoats and so much much more. In the end, twenty keel and multi-hull boats participated in the racing and some 350 people from all over the world invaded the Sandbar Resort and the yacht club for the parties; many more boats arrived just for the parties. Plus, no less than eighteen sailing scholarship students took to the water in the, built-in-Puerto-Galera, Lawin dinghies to show the skills they had learned during the past month, when the club opened its doors for sail training. Sunday started with a televised cooking-aboard presentation in the galley of that most elegant of cruising schooners, Star Gazer. The television cameras then passed through the fleet taking gigabytes of footage of the yachts as they beat up the Verde Passage, rounded the Sabang Beach mark and proceeded around to Encenada Beach before running back to the finish off Haligi Beach. No expense was spared and even a helicopter was corralled as a camera platform. First to finish in the cruising boat class was Vincent Ruais’s, Suncharm 39, Rosie, complete with visiting crew who flew all the way from Bombay and Hong Kong for the event. Second place went to Australian, Dennis Shepard’s, Adams 54, Southerly Change. John Carruthers’s beautiful little ketch, Surprise II, sailing her first regatta since leaving Labuan earlier in the year, took third place with joint skipper Steve Pike at the helm. In the racing (boats that can point worth a fig) class, first place honours went to Dirk van Straalen’s, Peterson 33, The Judge. With Lukas Marquardt’s, Macintosh 47, Kalayaan II, with German-flag spinnaker billowing, taking second. Third place was snapped up by Dick Morris, just returned from the USA, aboard
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06 his Shock 35, Salina. But that was only part of the story. Also participating was the 67 foot, ex-BT Challenge, Devonport dockyard built, Spirit of Outward Bound Hong Kong. South African skipper Sandy Marr was elated with the performance of his novice crew in executing the maneuvers around the islands and reefs, coming at the midpoint through the two-week sailtraining course out of Hong Kong. Regrettably, Sandy and crew were not able to participate on the second day because their schedule required them to head back to Hong Kong on Monday morning. During the racing Graham Gilbert’s Artemis III achieved something that nobody has done in the history of this event and landed herself unceremoniously on a reef off the Lane house. It could have been that the skipper of the day – none other than PGYC’s Commodore, Jurgen Langemeier -- was unfamiliar with the handling of Graham Gilbert’s boat or it may have had something to do with the prize that Artemis III also won during the regatta: “the most babes onboard award”. Whatever; only pride was actually damaged and Artemis III did go on to compete the following day also. The main weather feature of the race was the excellent, easterly sailing breezes at the start followed by a lull in the middle of the race and then a complete change to a westerly while most of the racing class boats were still only half way around the course. The wind shift did not affect the enthusiasm of the camera crews aboard the media pursuit boat or aboard Alan Burrell’s Farr 1104, Rags. Rags was skippered for the day by Kelly Zaldariaga (Alan was aboard Susie Burrell’s normally slippery Bashford 36, Sandoway) and whipped the Sports Unlimited television show crew into shape to place respectably in fifth place. Sunday evening the party started on the lawns of the Sandbar Resort on Boquete Beach with free beer and a prime spectator position for the sailing scholarship students aboard the Lawin dinghies inside the bay. As the sun slid gracefully behind Lubang Island far out to the West, the Puerto Galera Jazz Festival took over from the regatta party and the stars started twinkling in the heavens as well as on stage. Beach festivities largely finished around 10.30pm when the
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06 last transport to / from the beach stopped but, for those with enough stamina, the nearby yacht club bar continued to host the day’s victory boasts and commiserations until 4.00am. Monday morning saw the fleet sail out towards Bonito Island where the cruisers had to make a round of both Bonito and Chicken Feather before reaching to the finish off Haligi Beach; the racers performed two rounds of the island pair before pursuing their quarry across the slackening tide. Once again the racers had to tough out a mid-race lull, this time coupled with surface-boiling tide races ‘twixt the islands, before being rewarded with a close reach back across the Verde Passage and home. The cruising multi-hull and Hobie racers found the conditions perfect and stamped their authority on the results with Chris Boddington’s trimaran, Windjammer, taking full advantage of the conditions, closely followed by Martin Shanks’s, cruising cat, Suzi Q. Frank Doyle had a whale of a time on his Hobie 16 and made short work of the 10 to 15 knot reaching winds. In cruising class John Carruthers’s Surprise II continued to surprise with a first place finish and Trish‘n Fitz’s, Columbus sneaked a second. Southerly Change again came near the top with a third place finish despite taking aboard more than their fair share of visitors who wanted to be part of the action. The racers had a real tussle for the finish but Dick Morris finally overcame all aboard Salina. Jun Avecilla’s purposefully driven Beneteau First 31.7, Selma, crossed the line in second place ahead or Dirk van Straalen’s The Judge. The post-race yacht club party, primed with copious amounts of sponsored San Miguel beer and plates of tasty munchies, started with the awarding of prizes before the kitchen opened for the culinary expertise of hired-for-the-regatta chef and
15 smokehouse-meats producer, Mason Ring. The overall winner of the Lane All Souls Regatta, 2005, was Dirk van Straalen with The Judge. In second place were John Carruthers and Steve Pike aboard Surprise II followed by Dick Morris and his shockingly quick Salina. Special participating club recognition awards were presented to: Selma of the Subic Bay Yacht Club; and, The Judge and Salina of the Manila Yacht Club. Special cruising boat participant awards were awarded to Ton and Mina’s Cocobolo, Dennis Shepard’s Southerly Change and Trish’n Fitz’s Columbus. Alan Burrell had the fishing net -- “acquired” on the Friday night race down from Manila to Puerto Galera -- mounted and returned to him in remembrance and special thanks were extended to Southerly Change for their enthusiasm in introducing visitors to the delights of cruiser racing in the Philippines. Terry Duckham was singled out for an award for organizing the television and media coverage of the event and for bringing the jazz festival back to Puerto Galera for what is hoped will be a regular occurrence coincident with the All Souls Regatta. The 2005 All Souls Regatta was sponsored by: Lane Removals and Storage, San Miguel Beer, the Big Apple Dive Resort, DHL Danzas, Heavylift Manila, the Paco Park Oasis Hotel, Future Trade International and the Sandbar Resort. The Puerto Galera Jazz Festival was additionally sponsored by Cebu Pacific Air, the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Hong Kong and the El Galleon Beach Resort. For more regatta fun in The Most Beautiful Bay In The World, visit the Puerto Galera Yacht Club in April or, if you must, wait till the 2006 All Souls Regatta when the Taal Lake Yacht Club have threatened to bring their entire Hobie 16 fleet down from their fiery volcano lake home.
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ANCHORS AND RUM By Peter Stevens Many prudent cruisers take one look at the large-scale charts of the West coast of Palawan and decide to drop in to El Nido, but then to chart a course well offshore from myriad shoals, rocks, reefs and other hazards shown on the chart. Many do not stop until they get to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, or even Singapore. True, at first sight, there is an awful lot of pale blue and thousands of little circles around very small numbers. But it is well worth looking more closely and planning to coastal hop in a series of easy day sails. We did this a couple of years ago and took 55 days to get from Puerto Galera to Kota Kinabalu. We found many outstandingly beautiful anchorages, the best of which I have included here. The main consideration for selection was shelter from the northwest swell as the trip was made
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06 in late winter. Some would afford little shelter though in direct westerly or anything south of westerly winds. El Nido is well worth visiting for the day sailing around its beautiful limestone islands and a last taste of ‘civilization’ for several hundred miles. Assuming that one does that it’s an easy 30nm sail down the coast, bypassing MALAMPAYA SOUND, around ENTERPRISE POINT, to a couple of small bays just before WHITE ISLAND (11.15N 119.13E) My log for this spot reads; “Excellent, sand 5 - 7 m. Lovely gently sloping sandy bottom. Sheltered all but SW. Water from stream ashore .. long carry. BUSTER ROXAS and family. Nice folk. Good habitat, scope for good birding. Reef not bad. Quite a few large shell-fish.” That is exactly what it was, a beautiful spot with an easy sloping sandy bottom that afforded good holding and plenty of room to swing. The Roxas family were very keen to sell me the whole place! The ‘long carry’ for water was just that … a couple of hundred meters from a nice clean stream. A 25 litre jerry can feels like it weighs 100 after a few minutes. Strangely enough, friendly as they were, none of the local lads offered to lend us a hand. We tore ourselves away after a couple of nights and headed SW for BOAYAN ISLAND, a very easy 20nm trip across IMURAN BAY. Ship’s Log: “Good, gently sloping sand. VILLAGE BAY. Locals inquisitive. Kids aboard. Water from pipe ashore. Fishing boat filling up when we there.” We sneaked right into where the charted depth changes from 14.6m to 3.6m and dropped anchor in about 4.5m into more nice sand. We didn’t venture ashore and this was one of the few places that the local kids came out to visit. For those new to cruising, this is not always as welcome, or as much fun as it may sound, and sometimes a firm hand is needed to stop them clambering all over the boat. Water supply was obvious and plentiful from a hose run down from a small bluff, although I can’t vouch for its portability. The next stop was in oddly-named JIBOOM BAY, just 20nm down the track. Ship’s Log: Good, sand/mud 3m in bay half way up. Lower bays exposed to swells. Nice little spot, excellent habitat. Good, extensive forest with access from beach up to old logging trail. Need further exploration. Jelly fish soup! Some with brittle-stars living onboard. We motored up the bay and turned right into a smaller bay where the charted depth shows 4m. This
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PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
was an uninhabited spot, except by literally millions of jellyfish, some of which had Brittle Stars (a type of starfish) in residence. I wonder if it’s a symbiotic thing. This was the best forest habitat that we found the whole trip and has lots of potential for a birding trip. Not the spot for snorkeling or swimming though. The next anchorage of note is FISH BAY (10.1N 118.66E), although we did stop in ULUGAN BAY for a couple of days. It is highly unrecommended. It looks good on the chart but was a nightmare of large swells, reefs and nowhere to hide. Give it a miss and go to FISH BAY, which is only another 13nm further down the track (30nm from JIBOOM).
Together with WHITE ISLAND, this ranks as one of the best spots we found on the whole trip. Again, it had a lovely, gently sloping, sandy bottom with miles of room to swing, although I do recall that there was a shallow patch in the middle. It’s a long sandy beach and a good spot to stretch one’s legs. It might be possible to get a jeepney from the houses in the south end of the bay to go to Puerto Princessa, across the other side of Palawan. From FISH BAY we day sailed down the coast, with a stop at MALAMUT (Quezon town .. the next ‘civilized’ bit after El Nido), until we reached CLIFF POINT, an insignificant dent on the chart but a good spot to stop.
Ship’s Log : Excellent, sand, gentle slope to beach, 5m. Lovely spot, no swell. Good water available from folk at S end of bay. Very nice guy and family (Rolando?). Nic nics on beach. Water COLD to swim!!
Ship’s Log: Excellent anchorage, gently shelving sand, sheltered all side except direct SW. Lots mossies. Interesting military vehicle on shore. It’s a bit of a challenge navigating the channel into this place, especially as the best chart that I have is 1: 402000. Thank goodness for a forward scanning depth-finder and a computer that talks to the GPS! But it’s well worth the effort if you are need a sheltered spot on an otherwise unpromising coastline. There’s nothing to do here, although a long dinghy trip through the shallows to the mangroves at the head of the bay might be worth trying. Quite how an armoured personnel carrier got to be on the beach is a puzzle. That, as they say, is ‘it’ for this time. If there is room, (and Nick asks me back!) next time we’ll explore some of my favourite spots further north on LINAPACAN ISLAND and CORON.
Do you have your own special spot amongst the islands you would like to share with other sailors and neo-explorers? Please send you text to The Editor, Cruiser News, at the email address: cruisernews@pgyc.org. Please send photographs as separate .jpg files and not included in the body of the text.
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
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Triumph Out Of Disaster Story and photos by Cameron Leitch (Little Cam) The annual Melbourne to Hobart Race is not as well known as the Sydney to Hobart, and has a slightly different format -- it starts coincident with the start of the Melbourne to Launceston Race. The Melbourne to Hobart Race takes the West route around Tasmania and is frequently a bigger challenge than its more infamous counterpart. We on the Sea Eagle contested the 2004 Melbourne to Hobart (know as ‘The Westcoaster’) starting on the 27th December on the same start line as the Melbourne to Launceston race. With a combined total of 40 odd boats at the start line, including 16 on their way to Hobart, there were plenty of boats around to make winning anything a worthy accomplishment. The weather briefing suggested gale force winds from the SW and frequent squalls; the foul weather was expected to keep up for about 48hours until a slow moving high pressure front would take control and the wind was forecast to drop out all together. The race started with plenty of wind so we all powered along to Port Philip Bay Heads. Just as we were approaching the rounding buoy to get out into the rip a dirty big squall hit the fleet with plenty of hail and 50plus knots of wind (boat log packed it in, so we only had apparent wind). Needless to say, large portions of the fleet - many very experienced ocean racers - began turning back. After making six tacks to clear the heads we were just settling into the squally conditions and eight meter seas for the long beat to King Island when, with the noise of a shotgun blast, we blew a whole panel out of our mainsail, directly below the third reefing point (we had two reefs and the no. 4 up at the time). Our first thoughts were "S*it, guess that's it for us then.." but our second
helmsman calmly noted that we had run the 3rd reefing line and it looked like it would hold. So we moved up to the mast and secured the 3rd reef on the horn; it looked pretty good. That was until we noticed a large tear had worked its way about half way up the sail, about 1m from the leech. So we all had a chat and decided we would continue until the main blew completely and in that eventuality we would put up the storm sails and go home. At this time there was a bit of carnage in the fleet with most boats retiring for various reasons. Two crew on one boat were washed overboard (fortunately attached by their tethers) and the boat drifted between Corsair Rock and Point Nepean (listed depth of between 1 - 2m) with massive swell pushing them through and breaking waves everywhere. Needless to say they were VERY lucky to survive that AND still have a boat! Another - a big 15m ocean going Elliott - blew in a window in the hull and more than half filled the boat with seawater. They lost control and a mayday was issued. After the rescue chopper was scrambled and an hour of bailing they had the inundation under control and made it back to port under their own power. Yet another boat, this one from the Hobart fleet, pulled out a few hours in and was dismasted in the rough conditions. We kept powering on into the night, all amazed that the main looked to be holding out well and we were keeping up with what was left of the fleet. We also started to notice that our bilges were getting rather full and were requiring frequent emptying. It was then we discovered that we had ruptured our fresh water tanks and lost all fresh water. To top this off we had three crew who were
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22 unable to keep their food down. So at about 3am - half way to King Island - the skipper calls a meeting to decide our next course of action. Reluctantly we decided that our race was run and that we can't make it to Hobart punching into such rough seas for another 30 hours. Race control is called and we ask if we can change course and join the Launceston race. Our request is OK'd and we receive new sked times and finishing procedures. During the night we get several breakers over the boat. For those on the helm it was an awesome time, one of my best sailing experiences. When off shift or on the rail, it was cold and utterly miserable. We had no start list or sked sheet for the Launceston fleet, so we had no idea how we were doing in the race. We were making decent speed as we had made it more than half way to King Island before switching destinations so we were no longer hard on the wind -- more like 35 degrees to the apparent. We kept pushing all the time despite no longer being in the Hobart race, desperate to salvage some pride by a good finish at Launceston. When we were about one hour / eight miles from the finish and called race control and they congratulated us as we would probably take line honours! We let out a cheer and made three enthusiastic sail changes to get to the line.
There was some debate on the radio as to whether we were entered in the race or not, and in the end we were declared the "unofficial winner" as we indeed had not entered. Pity as the three boats that did finish the race were all quite a bit larger than us, so it would have been line honours and handicap. All told only four boats made it to Hobart (after setting a new race record for the slowest ever as the wind really did die completely) and four, including us, to Launceston. Not a bad example of sailing in the Bass Strait! Keep racing . . .
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YACHT FRIENDLY MOORINGS This second in our series of yacht friendly moorings features Maricaban Bay Cruising Club, the home of El Rio y Mar Resort and Tequila Mike. It is located on the northern side of Busuanga and is a part of the Calamian group of northern Palawan.
El Rio is a small, friendly boutique resort with 14 highend rooms available in a peaceful bay setting. Within a few hours of being here, guests and staff are usually on first name basis. The location offers a very peaceful nights’ sleep with almost ne’er a wave in the bay, and is the best starting point after Pandan island (last issue) for exploring the more than 100 islands surrounding the main island of Busuanga. Most of these islands are deserted, except for the odd caretaker, and the eastern side of all of them offers a good anchorage backing onto a sandy beach during the Amihan (Dec-May Nor’easterly) season. These are ‘yer actual’ picture postcard islands. It is worth checking in back issues of this magazine and local internet sites for information on the other two main islands of this group, Coron and Culion islands, as they all have different attractions. Maricaban/El Rio has seven moorings available for yachts to 50 feet/25 tons max. The moorings are 25 mtrs down and
have 1” poly rope underwater and 2.5 tons of concrete on the bottom. Tequila Mike’s yacht survived the last Nov 20th typhoon, which went through Maricaban with 100 knot plus winds, tied off long to two moorings. For more information but you should read ‘Safe anchorages around Busuanga’.in Issue 4 number 4 of this magazine. The two photos in this article show an approach to the bay from the NNW towards the first waypoint and the second shows a view toward the moorings with the resort off the starboard side. Keep 100 meters off the resort and you should be fine to the waypoint on the moorings. The charts you will need for this area are:- Northern part of Busuanga - Western entrance to Coron Bay - Coron Bay Another helpful chart is the chart for anchorages around
PGYC VÜâ|áxÜ axãá, Issue 8, ‘06
Busuanga. On all charts the area is referred to as ‘Port Caltom’ The mooring charge is 150 pesos per day and this entitles each crew member to the following benefits:• 50% discount on all drinks except wine • 30% discount on a la carte and buffet meal prices • Free transport to Coron and back (regular shuttles only) • Free transport to Club Paradise for the day, (500 peso consumable island fee) • Free use of facilities such as pools, showers, towels etc • Discounted supplies such as diesel, veggies, beer etc. Both Club Paradise and El Rio are high end resorts, and sailors are the only group so far who have been given such discounts, so please respect this concession to us mariners and
25 keep the peace. No fishing from yachts is allowed in either resort in an effort to try to protect the reefs and marine life. In El Rio, there is a beautiful freshwater infinity pool, television / dvd in rooms, internet, lots of watersports with the exception jet skis and parasailing. El Rio is also the closest location to the Calauit Island African Safari, and escorted trips can eb arranged to visit the animals that Tony Parkinson brought over from Kenya in the 70’s, (actually the originals are probably all dead by now but the offspring are thriving!). The diving from Club Paradise, run by Dirk and Rolfie and a team of experienced divemasters , is excellent. There is a WWII 500 foot wreck just two miles from El Rio and if you need tank fills or equipment, check out the advert in the Cruiser News for the Dugong Dive Centre at Club Paradise. The house reef there has many large turtles, a giant clam garden, black tip reef sharks and huge cuttlefish as well as large schools of Jacks buzzing around. Both resorts run on 24 hour generated power and have workshops equipped to help with many repairs. Beautiful rooms are available in both resorts at a reasonable price but bookings can be heavy in season. Well worth checking out if you need a night off the boat in aircon-hot water luxury. If you blow your horn as you pass the resort on your way in, someone will come out and show you to a mooring suitable for the size of your yacht. First dinghy pick-up is free, but best to use your dinghy to the floating dock after that. Motor yachts and very large sailboats should anchor 100 meters off the large white roofed building as you pass the resort. Anchor in 25 meters and you should be in sand. This is a honeycombed reef and if you anchor shallower you’ll be dropping your anchor on coral ridges. Certainly not appreciated! Contacts Tequila Mike +63920 9505944 Gm Sharmaine +63 920 6350298 El Rio Y Mar +63 920 9515009 Club Paradise +63 920 9119704 Waypoints. Port Caltom Bay Entry N 12.11.02 E 120.06.53 Bearing To Moorings 306-307 Degrees Magnetic Moorings Waypoint N 12.11.46 E 120.05.92 Looking forward to seeing you soon!