©The Cruising Yacht Club

of the Philippines

September 2007

Achieving Independence

and Beauty

Achieving Independence

and Beauty

Hobie Heaven

Inside the Volcano

Hobie Heaven

Inside the Volcano

Nokia and Siemen’s

Brave PG Waters

Nokia and Siemen’s

Brave PG Waters

Commodore’s Letter

PGYC Board of Directors

Commodore: Peter Stevens

Vice Com: Mike Tucker, Jurgen Langemeier

Treasurer: Geoffrey Cannell

Directors: Michel Bigot, Carl Broqvist,

William Moore, Owen Stull,

Andrew Wrightson

-----------------

Secretary: Carlos Garcia

PGYC

September 2007

3

Philippine Copyright © 2003 - 07 by The

Puerto Galera Yacht Club, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Contents

Commodore’s Letter 3

Seen on our Moorings 5

Nature News: Snakes Alive Part III 6

Head Winds and No Bear 8

Build it and they will come 13

Cloud 9 Beach Babes and Surf 15

Achieving Independence and Beauty 16

Hobie Heaven Inside the Volcano 22

Nokia and Siemen’s Brave PG waters 28

Yacht Friendly Moorings

- Romblon Town 31

Production

Sales & Distribution: DeBe Enterprise &

Service (+63 917 846 3388)

Design: Terry Duckham/Asiapix Studios

Layout: Aira Fernando/Asiapix Studios

Front Cover: Martyn Willes

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

www.pgyc.org

The views expressed in Cruiser News are those of the

authors and not PGYC. No responsibility for any loss is

accepted by the authors or by PGYC

It seems ages since I wrote the last of these letters for Cruiser News back in

June. At that time we were looking back at a very successful Easter Regatta. This

time we’re looking forward to an even bigger ROYAL/HEAVYLIFT ALL SOULS

REGATTA in just a few weeks time. You will guess from the title that, once again,

our members LUKAS MARQUART and MICHAEL RAEUBER have stepped up

with the main sponsorship, with our good friend and neighbour Bill LUTT (The

Mansion, Puerto Galera) and Mr.Klaus KOPPENHOEFER from Illig Far East

each contributing to the cause as sub-sponsors. Thanks guys. We couldn’t do it

without you.

At the time of writing we are expecting at least 15 visiting yachts (probably

closer to 20), plus a fleet of hobies from Lake Taal for the main event; with a

regatta-within-a-regatta taking place in the bay involving the LAWIN fleet. For this

we’re expecting teams from Puerto Princessa, Manila, Subic and SAILABILITY

PHILIPPINES to come and compete against our local lads and lasses. There will be

two classes - under 18s and 18+ so there’s room for everybody to have fun. The main

regatta will feature the normal PGY pursuit races, plus a more traditional windward/

leeward course for the out and out racing IRC class. It looks like a very competitive

fleet this year so should be great fun. Look for the ad in this edition of CN.

The town-folk are planning to turn the regatta Saturday into a fiesta on the

pier so that more local people can enjoy the atmosphere. When you visit you will

certainly notice the improvement in that atmosphere on a day to day basis since

the new Mayor has made good his promise to stop all vehicles from driving along

the pier. No more annoying, noisy, smelly tricycles and shoving drivers and porters

spoiling your pizza and cold beer.

As for the LAWINS, the great news is that our friends in the ROUNDTABLE

10 in Hong Kong liked the youth sailing program that we have so much that they

have committed funds to build 10 brand new boats, with proper fittings and gear,

plus spinnakers! This is fantastic news and will enable us to take the program to the

next level in terms of sailing skills for the students. Watch for future CN articles on

the antics on the water.

The acquisition of the adjacent land which I confidently pronounced in June

as being ‘just about finalised’ is now, as I write, just about finalised! By the time

you read this we will have full and clear title, fully paid up, annotated, assigned,

notarised and whatever else has to be done. As soon as this is ready, we will start the

urgent work of constructing the access road from the National Highway in time for

the ASR weekend.

Finally, enjoy this interest-packed edition of Cruiser News. You’ll be carousing

with me and the snakes for the last in the series about the reptile zoo; joining Sea

Feather and her new owner on their trip to Mindanao; constructing artificial reefs off

local beaches here; surfing in Siargao; sailing with sweeties in Subic; touring TAAL

and, finally, relaxing in Romblon.

Enjoy.

Pete

PGYC

September 2007

5

Michael Raeuber’s Celestial 49 China Rose slipped in

from Manila for a couple of days.

Puerto Galera visited Puerto Galera with six of the

Pace clan aboard, led by Grant and Susan. She (the boat, not

Susan) is a Formosa 50 and was en route to Subic after visiting

Tequila Mike in Coron/Busuanga.

Ali Baba, a French 33-footer, with Guy Falletti at the

helm, passed through on its way from Cebu to Manila.

My old friend Benoit Lesaffre breezed in on his

incredible Crowther-designed 49’ speed- monster catamaran

Atmosphere on his way back to Subic from Boracay. I’ve done

close to 20kts across the Lamma Channel in

Hong Kong on this boat, settled comfortably in

a bucket seat sipping red wine. Awesome!

The John B, which was presumably a

sloop, bucked the trend and arrived from up

north, with Mick-whose-name-I-can’t-read-on-

the-form, aboard.

He was followed by another old friend

of mine Lotus Mantra, with her new owner/

skipper Wayne Berge aboard. She’s a Prout 37’

and little sister to my own 39’ Flying Dragon,

on which the original owners, Phil and Innes

Langham sailed in HK while deciding which

boat to buy. I believe that they’re now up in

Langkawi somewhere, on their new toy. If you’re

there reading this say “hi” to them for me.

Talking of toys (BIG toys) the beautiful

Tayana 58 Moonshadow, with owner Dick

Beaumont and friends, came back through

after a few months cruising down south. And, finally,

Anaconda, a self-built, Swan-style design, 43’ ketch, arrived

for an extended stay with her builder/owner/skipper Dane,

Jan Klintegaard and his American wife, Sue (and dog Ana)

aboard. He left Denmark in 2001and has sailed here through

the Caribbean and the Pacific. I persuaded him to write an

account of the trip which will feature in a future edition of

Cruiser News. After sailing across the Pacific with Jan, Sue

decided that she needed to learn how to sail properly and

completed our dinghy sailing course. They have since left,

promising to return.

I hope they, and the rest of you too, do so soon and

safely.

Peter Stevens

Commodore

By Peter Stevens Photo by Terry Duckham

Seen on our Moorings

With Vice-Commodore Mike Tucker off

around Europe somewhere, I’ve had my MAROPS

hat on for a few weeks. In that time we’ve been

pleased to welcome the following visitors and

friends:

PGYC

September 2007

6

Words and Photos by:

Peter Stevens

NATURE NEWS

NAKES ALIVE!!

NATURE NEWS

Then we moved along to the

commonest poisonous snakes in the

Philippines – the spitting cobras. I knew

that this is what they were due to the

hissing and then the venom dribbling

down the inside of the glass at my eye

level! Irritable things, spitting cobras.

Here’s another interesting fact about

them. Every major island has its own

unique species. So what? So get bitten

by one in Luzon (the only place where

you mightbe lucky enough to find

anti-venom (more accurately called antivenin)) and then go

to Samar and get bitten again (careless of you), there will

be no point taking the medicine that you saved from Luzon

‘cos it won’t work! That’s why an estimated 2-300 hundred

people (mostly rice farmers) die of cobra bites every year in the

Philippines. So be careful out there. That

still doesn’t justify the wanton chopping

up of every snake you see. There are many

out there that are not venomous and they

all have a valuable part to play in the

ecosystem. A good example of the hysteria

surrounding snakes was living in another

case. The Rat Snake (known throughout

the Philippines as the Red Snake) can,

according to local beliefs, “kill a carabao

in three minutes with one nip and should

be killed on sight”. The truth is that it is

completely non-venomous and harmless

. . . if you’re not a rat, which it kills by

constriction.

Another constrictor, the beautiful Red-tailed Boa

Constrictor, is a South

American stunner. Mike let

me handle this one too and

it was a strong guy. If you

look carefully at the picture

you’ll note the lovely red tail

wrapping itself around my arm!

On the subject of stunners, check out the picture of the

Mangrove Snake, a local beauty, though not one with which

you’d want to snuggle.

We then moved along more pit viper cases, including

those of the beautiful and extremely

endangered Batanes variety, which

I mentioned in the previous article.

Then finally, just when I thought

I’d seen it all, we got to the most

venomous snakes in the World, a

couple of mambas, the Green and the

Black. Which is more deadly than

the other is academic; whichever

one happens to bite you (tho’ you’d

have to travel to Africa first) you

have about three minutes before the

pure neurotoxins shut down your

respiratory system and you suffocate to

death. If you happen to be within that

distance of a hospital with a heart/lung machine you might

NAKES ALIVE!!

PART III

This is the last of three insights into the Paradise Zoo in Puerto Galera. Located on the road to the

Ponderosa Golf Club, the zoo is active in breeding endangered species from around the world for the

purpose of reintroduction. In this issue Mike, a young American graduate in marine biology who works

there as a volunteer, introduces Peter to the deadliest of the deadly.

Left: Each island has its own

spitting cobra; each has unique

venom

Below: The Red-tailed Boa seems

content on Peter’s arm

PGYC

September 2007

7

just survive. I asked Mike how he fed them. “Very carefully”

was the reply. The other good news about them is that they are

one of the few snakes in the world that will actually chase you

if you disturb their nest or kill their mate! No kidding. You’d

have to be a world-class sprinter

too ‘cos they can move at 22-

kph. That’s faster than most

tricycles in Puerto Galera.

Last on the scary list for

the morning (I thought) was

our old friend Ophiophagus

Hannah, the King Cobra, so

named because they grow to

5-metres and can lift half their

body length off the ground.

That means that they could

look down on a 8-foot tall man!

‘Ahhh, but they live in India’ I

hear you say. Not so my friend.

They are also found throughout

the Philippines. The one in

Mario’s tank was found on his property! The good news is that

they only eat other snakes. Not much consolation if you find

one in your bed. Time for some fresh air.

Back out in the sunlight we headed down the trail past

compounds with various monitor lizards, green iguanas,

Australian Bearded Dragons (that’s a lizard, not a rugby

player), more small crocs and some turtles, one species

of which was believed to be extinct until a few years ago.

Needless to say, Mario has succeeded in breeding them. A

quick “hi” to the Butaan monitor mentioned in the earlier

article and then, just when I thought I was safe, we entered the

rattlesnake house! Yet more fascinating facts about the length

of the fangs of the Gaboon Viper (6-centimetres!) and views

of rattley things and it was time to call it a day. And what an

interesting and exciting day it was too. If you’re not a rat or a

chicken, I highly recommend a visit. It’s advisable to contact

the zoo first because they often have groups

of schoolchildren there. You’ll be asked to

contribute Php500 (about US$10) towards

the upkeep of the place (less for kids and

local residents), which is a small price to pay

for helping Mario and his staff rehabilitate

injured animals and to help him in his

tremendous conservation efforts, targeted at

our own Philippine endangered species. Keep

up the good work. For full details of how to

contact Mario and an insight into what the

place is all about go to www.herpaworld.com

Till the next time (I hope).

Pete

Left:Peter checks out the spitting cobras

Below: The beautiful, and only weakly venomous, Mangrove Snake

Bottom: Australian Bearded Dragon

PGYC

Cruiser News,

September 2006

8

PGYC ,

September 2007

HEAD

W

INDS AND

NO COLD

BEER

Words by Colin Smith

Photos by Colin Smith and Bernadette Willes

We have just sailed more than 300-miles from Busuanga

to Bonbonon, near Dumaguete, on the South coast of Negros

Island and as you might gather from the opening paragraph;

the trip was pretty rough at times. We started out on a Sunday

morning after unsuccessfully trying to get ice to compensate

for the fridge that was not working . . . no cold beer on this

trip!

The wind was about 15-knots from the South East on

the moorings at El Rio Y Mar resort, not good news as we

wanted to go South East, but we were told that the wind

should be East to Northeast once we got outside. I checked a

weather forecast and it said the same thing, so we took a deep

breath and headed south. The wind hadn’t read that forecast

and we spent the next 24-hours fighting a strong Southeasterly

– Busuanga didn’t want us to leave!

At the end of that first day and night, peppered with

many “Why did we ever start this” thoughts as the next sea

washed over the deck and Sea Feather took another great roll,

we reached the lee of Panay. The second afternoon started with

a light following wind and sea & life was good again. Nothing

remains steady for long amongst the islands and as we started

to cross the Panay Channel, between Panay and Negros

islands, the wind veered to funnel out of the straits and we

started plunging across big seas again. At least this time it was

on the beam and we were travelling in the right direction. We

rolled the foresail to about 70%, left the mizzen up and took

the mainsail down; with this sail plan we were comfortably

doing 7.5-knots.

We came into the lee of Negros Island by early morning

and relative calm returned. The wind decreased more and

we ran the motor to keep the speed up as we were hoping to

make Bonbonon by nightfall. We may have done so except a

broken fan belt lost us a precious hour or so and we decided to

anchor for the night, to arrive in daylight – the channel into

the harbour at Bonbonon is mainly unmarked, twists back and

forth and with the added excitement of fish nets put out across

the channel some nights, it is best attempted after sun-up.

So we anchored in a large bay, about 30-miles from

“What do you think Darl, are you Ok to continue?” the Skipper asked, feeling far from confident

himself, as another big wave dumps water over Sea Feather’s decks. The prospect of 12-hours of darkness

fighting big seas, isn’t exactly how he imagined their first night at sea together should be. His 1st Mate’s

encouraging and brave smile gave him the confidence he needed. He didn’t feel they were in any particular

danger, the Cheoy Lee Offshore 41 was handling things very well, it was stories of unlit fishing buoys made

of enormous steel drums and a friend’s near disaster last week -- in these very waters, in a very similar

boat, the chain plates failed and the rig nearly went over the side -- that played on his mind.

Bonbonon, with good holding in sand

and sheltered from the Easterlies. Less

than an hour later a strong wind decided

to try the West for a change and we were

pitching and rolling uncomfortably!

Thankfully it gradually dropped and gave

us a fairly peaceful night.

We left at 6.00am to ensure a

daylight arrival and had a wonderful

reaching sail, for the first nine miles,

across the bay and in ?at-water sheltered

by the mountains to windward. “This

is the life” we thought; we sent an SMS

message ordering lunch and cold beer to

be ready when we arrived!

We should have known better!

As we reached the seaward end of the bay, with about

15-miles to run, we saw white caps ahead and our peaceful

sail suddenly changed to crashing across the waves at nearly

8-knots . . . even though we had quickly rolled in the headsail

completely. Sea Feather sailed very well under main and

mizzen but we were taking plenty of water across the decks

with big waves throwing themselves into the cockpit every few

PGYC ,

September 2007

9

minutes. Thank goodness the water was warm!

We endured this until the turn towards the entrance

at Bonbonon put the wind right ahead . . . again! I decided

to motor-sail with the wind just off the bow enough to keep

the sails filled. With our speed much reduced Sea Feather’s

gyrations lessened and we were managing about 3-knots

almost in the direction we wanted to go. We were content to

think we would get there in about three hours. We could do it:

we were ‘Sea Feather Sailors’. We even felt relaxed enough to

make a movie. The wind and seas gradually moderated and we

actually arrived in about two hours.

Three buoys have recently been laid at the seaward

end to mark the channel into Bonbonon, which reassuringly

confirmed my GPS entrance point. The marked channel

ended once inside and I nervously

tried to remember where the

channel was from the sketch map I

had seen. In fact, the only problem

we encountered was an anchor rope

?oating right across the channel

from a moored fishing boat. I cut

the motor and prayed . . . the rope

passed safely beneath us without

snagging anything. “Thank you

Mr Cheoy Lee” for your smooth

underwater design.

As we approached the

mooring buoy the wind was still

strong, but the water calm.

“Slowly does it Colin, just

hold her against the wind, just

nudge up to the buoy” – slowly,

Continued on page 11

Left: Sea Feather, two times Easter Regatta winner

Right: Mutual appreciation upon arrival – Gina

snapping Colin

PGYC ,

September 2007

11

especially as Nicky, the local guy who owns the moorings, is

between the boat and the buoy! “That’s it, right alongside,

pick it up Jimmy. You have it . . . great, but you can’t get it

aboard its too tight?” “Ok let go, going around again . . .

there, we missed all the other boats, let get it this time” . . .

Same problem “Get a rope through the eye…can’t do it!”...OK

third time lucky…”Bugger the engine has stopped!”

Skipper runs down below to restart; praying the wind

wouldn’t sweep us down onto the adjacent boat, which

was very close. Luck was with us and Sea Feather behaved

beautifully, “Let’s go around again. Rope ready? Get it through

and back on deck . . . Well done guys we are here!”

It is wonderful how the times of discomfort and worry

soon fade from memory but the feeling of achievement stays

proudly with you. I guess you have to go sailing to understand

Headwinds... continued from page 9

About the writer...

Colin Smith, currently lives in Balingasag, near Cagayan

de Oro, Mindanao with his 1st Mate Gina and Cabin Boy John.

They took possession of Sea Feather, a Cheoy Lee Offshore 41,

from long term owner David Endsley at Easter 2007 in Puerto

Galera. With the help of two old sailing friends who ?ew in from

Australia, they managed to win the PGYC Easter Regatta and the

Lindamans Cup, among mutterings of “Too generous a handicap”.

They then cruised to Busuanga and down to Bonbonon as

described in this article. He is planning to return to PG for the All

Souls Regatta in November knowing the handicap will be much

reduced, but still expecting to enjoy the experience, whatever the

result.

He has a webpage www.magicmagicol.wordpress.com if you

want to contact him or learn more.

1st Mate Gina, Cabin Boy John and Skipper Colin

PGYC ,

September 2007

13

The destructive tropical storms of 2006 wrought

havoc on the shallow reefs off the beaches of Sabang & the

two Lalagunas and elsewhere on the Southern shores of the

Verde Island Passage. Many coral areas were stripped of their

vibrant cloak of life, as the waves pounded a millennium of

communally-calcified cnidaria (a.k.a. coral; Greek = stinging

needles) growth to rubble while many corals in other areas

were broken, dislodged and tumbled.

Puerto Galera, like so many other tropical paradises,

primarily survives as a tourist destination because of: the coral

Build it and they will come:

Words by John Smart

Photos by Alice & Bjørn Askholm

In the 3rd dynasty of the Pharaohs (27th

century BC), in Egypt, pyramids started to be used

as the intended repositories of the dead “to aid the

king in the transition between his earthly functions

and the position which he was to assume amongst

the gods after death” (quote: W. Stevenson Smith);

pyramids of distant antiquity have been found in

Greece, Cyprus, Italy, India, Thailand, Mexico,

South America, U.S.A., Ukraine, Bosnia, Cuba

and various Pacific islands and almost all are

believed to have had a similar purpose -- to offer

sanctuary for the soul and to become the starting

point for rebirth into a new dimension. Now, in the

21st century AD, in Puerto Galera, AB Wonderdive

is using similar pyramid structures as places of

sanctuary, transition and rebirth of a different sort.

polyps that give sanctuary

to a full spectrum of sun-

loving, unicellular algae

(a.k.a. zooxanthellae)

and voraciously feed

on current-riding

microorganisms; the fish

that feed on the coral

polyps; the fish that feed

on the coral polyp-feeding fish and, the thousands of scuba

divers who come to imbibe the beautiful feast and capture it in

splendorous pixelation. Recognising this and the importance

of timeliness, and following advice from the Puerto Galera

Dive Association, Alice & Bjørn Askholm, the determined

Danes of AB Wonderdive, took affirmative action to restore

at least one part of the coral community, at the same time

expanding the variety of scuba diving attractions along the

beaches.

PYRAM

ID REEF

Left:Life-enabling,

crystal-clear currents

Below: “we want our

visitors . . . to enjoy the

experience”

Bottom left: Carefully

balanced on the dive boat

PGYC

September 2007

14

Deviating from the arduous disciplines

of Egyptian pyramid making, Alice & Bjørn

recruited local metal workers and within three

days they completed two pyramids of steel at a cost of less

than US$200. On 21st July the pyramids were loaded onto a

boat and, about 200 metres off AB Wonderdive’s dive shop on

Small Lalaguna Beach, lowered to the sandy bottom close to

the existing damaged reef. The pyramids came to rest between

18 and 20 metres down, there to be infused by the life-

enabling, crystal-clear Verde Island Passage currents.

To the pyramids, sections of steel mesh have been added

to facilitate the attachment of broken (but still showing

viable life) coral pieces retrieved from damaged reef areas; the

structures are secured to the seabed by the weight of broken

coral clumps and concrete blocks. The expectation is that the

viable corals will revive & ?ourish, eventually covering the

steel frames and concrete blocks before the steel eventually

corrodes to nothing in the oxygen-rich, cobalt-blue water.

The exact timing of the pyramids’ demise as steel

structures is not clear – probably eight to ten years – but it

is hoped that by that time sufficient “stinging needles” will

have lain down their lives and communally-calcified, creating

sufficient mass and solidity such that, at the very least, the

pyramids may only partially collapse.

Assuming minimal collapse they will

offer a network of “chambers” and

crevices where fish will find sanctuary

and homeliness sufficient to confirm

the new reef’s significance, in place of

those that have been lost or damaged.

Bjørn says that he will probably

not stop at two pyramids, “if these

show results within the year then we

will add more” he asserts, “we want

our visitors and those from other dive shops to enjoy the

experience of watching them grow”.

Within a week (on 26th July) “pyramid reef” had already

accepted its first fishy residents so it looks as though Bjørn

may have to plan for more structures faster than he thought.

And as he pointed out, “these pyramids cost so little and

require so little effort the all the dive shops on all the beaches

could start their own programs”.

If you want to know more about the repopulation and

rejuvenation of Puerto Galera’s reef ecosystem then stay tuned

to the Cruiser News; in the next issue we hope to bring you

the story of one man’s passion to reintroduce the harmless (to

man) black-tip reef shark – only rarely seen off Puerto Galera

these past fifteen years.

If you want to watch the growth of “Pyramid Reef”

month-by-month then check out the “Artificial Reef Project

07” on the AB Wonderdive website (www.abwonderdive.com)

or, better still, book a dive with Bjørn & Alice, or any one of

the scores of other dive shops, and check out the Pyramid Reef

in real-time.

Left:No hard labour here; no Egyptians

Below: Within a week; first fishy residents

PGYC

September 2007

15

The big news this year is that Australian surfing

equipment supplier, Billabong, has signed up to support the

international competition held at Cloud 9 on the island of

Siargao, Surigao del Norte, and the Cruiser News magazine

will be there to capture the action.

Due to Siargao’s unique location in the Philippines,

big swells from the Pacific Ocean roll in from the second

deepest stretch of water in the world to create flawless, hollow,

barrelling right-handers. Cloud 9 is considered to be one of

the ten best waves on the planet.

“Cloud 9 is one of the most perfect right hand reef

breaks”, said Chris James, General Manager South East Asia

for Billabong. “To invite 48 tube-riding specialists to a wave

of this calibre has serious potential to bring world class surfing

to South East Asia”.

Cloud 9 Beach Babes & Surf

From various sources Photo courtesy of Billabong

It seems that everyone has finally woken up

to the fantastic opportunity that only Pacific rollers offer

when it comes to surfing.

Surfing is the most awaited sports tourism activity in the

province. Started in 1995, it has now evolved into a world-

class and widely contested event.

In addition to an ever increasing number of experienced

Philippine surfers, the international line-up in 2007 includes

high profile surfers such as Mark Matthews (Maroubra, NSW,

AUS), Jamie O’Brien (Oahu, HAW), Manoa Drollet (Tahiti),

Dylan Longbottom (Gold Coast, AUS), Makua Rothman

(Oahu, HAW), Ryan Augenstein (California, USA), Luke

Dorrington (Gold Coast, AUS) and Asher Pacey (Gold Coast,

AUS).

The seven-day Cloud 9 Invitational tournament will run

from Monday September 24th to Sunday September 30th.

The opening ceremony will be staged on Monday 24th with

competition commencing that day.

PGYC

September 2007

16

The waters of the bay, splendid in their delicate veil of

early morning mist, enticed & invited and confirmed the sanity

of our decision to accept the invitation to participate in the 4th

Independence Day Regatta in Subic Bay.

Announcing our arrival at the Subic Bay Yacht Club we

found our skipper for the event, Dirk van Straalen, below decks

recovering or discovering a shackle within the inner-recesses

of The Judge (Peterson 33); Dirk’s wife, Wilma, was directing

herself above decks as we request permission to board. Stowing

our gear and checking the camera we were ready for the start of

a day of racing and photography.

We had not sailed in Subic Bay for almost a year and so

there was much to record as waves of development continue to

wash around the bay, the beaches and coves. The new shipping

terminal at Cubi Point is almost ready, with its orange & white

“Imperial Walker” (for the Star Wars fans) cranes poised to

heave fully-laden containers on and off trucks, to service the

burgeoning populations and industry of Central Luzon; the

ACHIEVING

INDEPENDENCE & BEAUTY

Words by Martyn Willes Photos by Bernadette Willes (boats) and Martyn Willes (babes)

Leaving the beautifully-smooth North Luzon Expressway at the San Fernando (Pampanga)

exit in the early hours of Saturday morning, we cut across country along the cracked-concrete

arterial road towards Bataan, through how-long-can-we-hold-up-the-traffic-at-one-miniscule-

intersection Lubao before turning right through the three-wheel-capitol-of-the-Universe,

Dinalupihan. Finally, we arrive (all a little frazzled -- the car feels it too!) in the peace and

relative tranquility of Subic Bay Freeport.

PGYC

September 2007

17

gargantuan Hanjin Heavy Industries

ship building facility, in the erstwhile

picturesque (and now raped) Barangay

Cawagon on the North shore near Subic

city, has had its typically Korean-blue

roof installed and looks ready to produce

mega-ships just as soon as they have

completed construction of the coal-

fired power station on the adjacent (and

similarly raped) promontory; and, the

project to refurbish and upgrade all of

the navigational buoys within the bay

has been completed, confirming the

new numbering system -- all-new steel

structures, bobbing green and red, with

brightly painted numbers in an attempt

to help the old-timers from getting

confused.

The Independence Day Regatta,

Subic Bay, was born out of the rampant

passion for sailing instilled in Jun Avecilla, combined with the

decades of sailing & racing experience of Peter Sharpe.

In 2004, following a successful recipe first used in Papua

New Guinea with the Wednesday Afternoon Gentlemen Sailors

(the “WAGS”), Peter Sharpe inspired Jun Avecilla, Jeremy

Simpson and Stan & Zeny Krug to engage in regular sailing

under the banner of the “Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen

Sailors”, with women sailors actively encouraged. The original

logo for SAGS depicts all four boats under spinnaker.

“SAGS” was born but it wanted to do more that

just entertain on Saturdays so in the same year the first

Independence Day Regatta was organized, to be attended by

just a few curious yachts and crew. The second event was more

competitive and national & international media reports in the

Continued on page 19

PGYC Email News and elsewhere ensured

that the message was delivered to other clubs

and potential event sponsors. The 2006 event

saw multiple entries from the Manila Yacht

Club with crews from the Puerto Galera Yacht

Club in attendance, and the regatta is now

established as a regular event on the Philippine

water sports calendar.

All good events, like all good stories,

entertain more when packed full of adventure,

glory and a liberal infusion of romance.

The Independence Day Regatta of 2007

had it all: great sailing breezes to challenge

the adventurous crews to excel, with faster

spinnaker hoists & drops and mark roundings;

glory and recognition for the winners in each

racing class on both days; and, for the first time

in Subic Bay, the attentions of a deluge of beauties from the

Mutya ng Filipinas pageant, housed deliberately-coincidentally

at the sponsoring Lighthouse Marina Resort.

As part of their fortnight long challenge, thirty of the

Region’s most beautiful women assisted in awarding trophies

to sometimes bashful skippers and crews at a party on Saturday

evening; on Sunday they were invited onto the yachts to pose

and chat, and to boost adrenalin before the start of a glorious

day of racing.

Unquestionably the invitation to the pageant contestants

to grace the yachts before the race brought a dimension of

spectacle that enlivened almost everyone. It was a master stroke

Previous Page: Lucky 7

Left:Kenneth Peralta aboard Punta de Uian

Selma Star passes the blue-roofed

Hanjin shipyard

The Haswell’s aboard Cloud IX

Ouch! Stilettos on deck – next year a deck shoe

sponsor?

Beneteau, it

was a joyous

occasion for

more than one

reason: he was

applauded for

captaining

his yacht to

victory; he

was applauded

for delivering

the beauty of

Mutya ng Filipinas; and, he

was applauded for supporting

the SAGS group in their

ambition to make Subic

Bay the premier fun sailing

destination in the country.