Back to the Rat Race

28-29 August 2010
Maricaban Bay, Busuanga - Sablayan Bay, Mindoro - San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas
Philippines

Paraluman, our home away from home

The trip home from Busuanga to Pugad (our home in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas) is 115 nautical miles (approx 18 hours). We did not want to travel at night though or be anywhere near the infamous Calavite Passage at an unpredictable time so we broke the trip into 2 days. The first day was 58 nm in 8.5 hours from Busuanga to Sablayan Bay, Mindoro. Ahhh, the joy of sailing- quiet, crisp blue skies, steady 16-18 knot wind with waves and current on the same direction as ours. (click here to read why sailing on this day was extraordinarily delightful).

The second leg, the final day of our trip, was 85 nm in 12 hours. We crossed the notorious Calavite Passage which brought a certain dread for Raul and me. Located at the northwestern tip of Mindoro, it is a notoriously treacherous passage and brings trepidation to every boat that passes through. To understand why, imagine all the wind and water from the entire South China Sea flowing into/from the one and only funnel into/from the Philippines from the west. You get a monster of a washing machine of water, waves and wind.

Baby Come Back

28 August 2010
Maricaban Bay- Sablayan Bay/South Pandan Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

We left Maricaban Bay at 7am for our homeward leg, home being San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas. Mariel stayed behind to fly back to Manila from Coron. She leaves for a 10-month student exchange program in Germany in a week’s time and opted to spend some time with her friends before then. Moreover, she was “sick of being with her parents all day and all night” for 11 days.

Mariel fooling around with our dinghy, Putol.

I should be pleased that Raul and I have the boat to ourselves now. We have more space in our snail home where you can hear every burp and fart. There’s one less mouth to feed (she’s vegetarian and my husband is a carnivore so cooking is always a double effort). We no longer have to hide our illegal substances or control our sexual urges. I can now play my own music anytime. No more messy clothes and clutter everywhere.

Happy Birthday To Me

27 August 2010
Illutuk Bay- Maricaban Bay
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

After a day and night of non-stop pouring rain and gusty winds, we woke up to a spectacular orange sunrise which led to a shining sun and crisp blue skies. It’s my birthday today.

We sailed to Maricaban Bay and moored at the El Rio y Mar Resort. I had 4 frozen margaritas of different flavors over a sumptuous lunch of grilled prawns which I didn’t prepare and wash dishes for. It’s my birthday today and I’m taking a day off from my vacation.

Drinks and lunch at the bar at the end of the pier surrounded by water in El Rio y Mar.

It's Payback Time

26 August 2010
Gutob Bay – Illutuk Bay
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

It was a risk to do this cruise during the habagat (monsoon) season. So far we’ve been extremely lucky and blessed with fair weather. We’ve had a squall here and there, nothing bad, just enough to cool us down and wash our deck. But the weather’s been too good to be true and the habagat is now rearing its ugly face.

One of numerous squalls during the habagat season

We woke up to heavy rain clouds threatening to burst at any moment. Approaching Illutuk Bay, there was a squall approaching our way and it was a bet whether we would get to the narrow entrance before it did. It was quite a tricky entry with a shallow reef at port (left side) and required hugging the rock wall on starboard (right). Once past the entrance, we needed to maneuver through a tight and winding path with 5 turns within 1 nautical mile- the equivalent of a water slalom course. We were faced with uncertainty whether we should proceed and risk navigating through the delicate entrance and twisting turns in a squall (the rock wall on the right looked painful…), or wait indefinitely outside the entrance in 8-10 foot waves for the squall to pass. The entrance is a strong tidal stream and it was not a smart idea to be there in rough conditions. We opted for the former and, luckily, we made it through before the squall hit. (If you want to read a hairy close encounter with a squall, click here).

7,107 Islands. So Little Time.

24-25 August 2010
Puerto de Sol- Pass Island- Popototan Island- Mangenguey Island- Gutob Bay
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

We are getting used to this cruising life and becoming more confident with our sailing skills. We have been visually navigating using the charts and uhhmmm… our eyes instead of plotting our course in the electronic chartplotter. We use basic triangulation, the kind we learned in high school but works just as well. We are not so paranoid and harsh on ourselves anymore over sailing rules and safety precautions.

That’s because we’re too engrossed with enjoying this amazing scenery around us! There’s an endless parade of tropical paradise islands wherever we look, in different shapes and sizes, with immaculate white beaches, snaking sand bars, verdant hills, graceful birds and vibrant marine life.

We see an island that attracts us? We simply sail to it and drop anchor.

Sailing a Luxury?!

Whenever people find out that I’m going sailing, they get into oohs and aahs and say how they would love to be in my shoes. I think they imagine that all we do is sit back with a frozen margarita in one hand and a book in another. What they don’t realize is that sailing is hard work. If they knew what our life on a sailboat is like, I bet they would prefer to stay home and watch TV.

Sailing is not a luxury. Unless you are Larry Ellison (which we’re not) or at least have his kind of money (far from it), own a luxury powerboat (which we don’t) and a crew to serve you (it’s just my husband, daughter and myself on our boat), expect to get your hands dirty.

The Pleasures of a Shower and Good Company

23 August 2010
Culion to Coron Town to Puerto del Sol
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

Little by little, we are shedding the trappings of society. I’m not just talking about email, cell phones, Facebook and such. I’m also talking about routine matters such as putting on make-up, blowdrying my hair, choosing my clothes for the day, and other rituals such as perfume, exfoliant, toner, hairshine, and the list goes on. Raul has stopped shaving. The only clothes I need are my bikini for the day and a fresh shirt and underwear at night. The rest of my clothes remain untouched. I wear no jewelry, not even a watch. I wake up when the sun rises, sleep when I’m sleepy and eat when hungry. Although we have internet access, we only log in to check the weather. The only regimen I religiously follow now is applying sunblock. And yet I wonder if it’s another rule needlessly imposed by society as I see fishermen everyday burning under the sun but have yet to meet one suffering from skin cancer.

To Motor Or Not To Motor?

23 August 2010
Culion to Coron to Puerto del Sol
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

It was the 5th day of our sailing trip and uhmmm… we haven’t sailed. Meaning, we have been using our auxiliary engine all this time and haven’t raised our sails.

The Cathedrals- the towering limestone cliffs of Coron Island

Busuanga is a boaters’ paradise with a myriad of beautiful islands clustered together in one place. According to Mike Bachelor, owner of Puerto del Sol (post on this new yacht club coming up), “Busuanga has the highest density of islands in the Philippines, with 800 islands within 4 hours of sailing and 2,000 in 8 hours. You can see a new beach everyday for 2 months and enjoy 1/3 more annual sunshine than Boracay.” If you look at the map, the Busuanga mainland is surrounded by a mish mash of green, blue and green-blue blotches, with islands as green, water as blue, and green-blue as the reefs that make this a boaters’ paradise.

I Will Treasure This Moment Forever

22 August 2010
Bauan Bay to Ditatayan Island to Culion Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

This was the day of the CamSur (Half) Ironman 70.3 km race where Raul and I had registered for a team relay. However, about a month before the event, we realized that there were 3 non-working holidays between August 19-30, giving us a rare opportunity to go on a 12-day vacation out of a 5-day leave (the consequences of being an employee). After a frantic search for replacements, Raul and I decided to pull out of the event and go on this sailing trip instead. It was a major decision as we had been training for several months and were looking forward to the race.

On this vacation, we kept ourselves free from work and detached ourselves from our cell phones and email. This was the first day I kept in constant touch with the outside world to keep track of how my family faired in the CamSur race- my 2 brothers, sister-in-law, nephew, brother-in-law and numerous friends. My parents who are in their late 70s- our biggest fans and cheerleaders- were even there to root for everyone.

It was drizzling in the evening and we couldn’t hang out on deck. Precious moments indeed, with the whole family snuggled indoors. We fit perfectly, tight and warm in our snail home. With nothing much to do, I cooked a full Chinese meal. The boat was full of cooking smells, love and laughter. The CamSur event felt like a world away. I had only one thought in my head- “I will treasure this moment forever”.

Where is Everyone?

22 August 2010
Bauan Bay to Ditatayan Island to Culion Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

Mariel enjoying the calm waters in our anchorage

Must be its past as a leper colony but Culion town gave me goosebumps. Or maybe it was the huge cultish-looking alpha and omega characters on the façade of the imposing church which welcomed us at the entrance to the bay, looking incongruously large and well-maintained compared to its shabby surroundings of houses on stilts. Or the gigantic eagle insignia on the side of the mountain?

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

22 August 2010
Bauan Bay, Bulalacao Island to Ditatayan Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

See Paraluman in the far background

Lifted anchor at 7am and headed for Ditatayan Island so the girls would wake up to a new place. We read about this island somewhere, looked it up in the nautical charts and what a wonderful surprise! It was beautiful, untouched, another picture-perfect paradise island. The sand bar was breathtaking. We were so happy to find this place, we were literally jumping with joy on the sand bar, and took our time snorkeling, birdwatching and touring the rest of the island. Had a picnic lunch on a different beach on the northeast side of the island, under the trees where I saw a bayawak earlier, hoping to see more.

Seeing Through Water

As we look for anchorage at the end of every day, it is my job to position myself at the bow of the boat (this is where Kate Winslet stands with her eyes closed and arms outstretched with Leonardo di Caprio behind her in the movie Titanic) and watch out for shallows we might hit. Although we diligently consult the nautical charts and plot which areas we should avoid, I still need to visually watch out for reefs or coral heads when approaching shallow waters for anchorage while Raul is manning the helm at the back of the boat. It is a task I dread because it is not easy and the implications are enormous. If I don’t do my job well, the boat will hit bottom. At these moments, the burden of responsibility of keeping our boat safe is on me, the boat we bought with our life (and future) savings. This would be relatively easy though on bright sunny days with clear waters and a good pair of polarized shades.

From One Tropical Paradise Island To Another

21 August 2010
Bauan Bay, Bulalacao Island to Malcapuya Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines


Woke up to 15 knot winds and heavy gray skies. How can this happen when we slept last night to glassy water?

Fancy this beautiful sand bar? Then just dock beside it and enjoy it.

Sky cleared quickly though and we sailed to Malcapuya Island. This is the first of many days like this- beautiful, sunny, peaceful lazy days hopping from one tropical paradise island to another, each one more beautiful than the last, just snorkeling, swimming, napping, taking in all these amazing scenery around us.

From Magnificent to Menacing in Minutes

20 August 2010
Uson Island to Coron Island to Bauan Bay, Bulalacao Island
Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

Raul bought bait from this fisherman. We couldn't help but stare at him because he was so dark, almost black. Coron Island.

Cruised down the entire western side of Coron Island the whole morning, mesmerized by the seemingly unending towering limestone cliffs. There is a marked difference as we sail south. While the northern part of Coron Island is lush and green with foliage, the southern side is much less verdant and thus the limestone cliffs look grayer, more forbidding, and much more spectacular, rising up to 2,000 feet. They seemed to go on and on and on… until we rounded the southern tip and found a peaceful bay where we anchored off as close to the cliffs as we possibly could. Took our dinghy, Putol, for a drive and let ourselves get lost in the nooks and crannies of the cliffs. We hardly spoke as we did not want to disturb the silence and we could only stare in wonder at these magnificent cliffs, breathtaking and bathed in sunshine in sharp contrast to the hovering clouds in the distance.

Surprise, Surprise!

19 August 2010
Coron Town to Uson Island
Busuanga, Palawan Philippines.

Uhhmm are there crocodiles here?

A month before our trip, we decided to load scuba gear “in case of emergency”, specifically in case our anchor gets entangled which rarely happens but when it does, can make or break a trip. I had my 20+ year old Conshelf IV regulator overhauled and a tank backpack set up (my BC was too dilapidated to repair and besides, I was a “macho” diver in college, diving recklessly without a BC), borrowed a tank, and stored all these at the very back of the storage area, sure that there would be no need for it. Well, as luck would have it, around 5pm of the first day of our trip, we realized we were anchored too near a reef and after several attempts at lifting the anchor, realized it was stuck at 60 feet. I am a certified divemaster, logged hundreds of dives in college, and have never been afraid of the water, but I must say I was scared at the idea of diving then- it was almost sunset, the water was very murky due to the mangroves, my antique albeit newly overhauled gear was untested, I had no BC, haven’t dived in 15+ years, yikes! But dive I did and a most unusual sight met me underwater. Our anchor was floating midwater entangled in a web of lines. I had to surface to fetch kitchen scissors which I used to cut our anchor free.

After the excitement though, we settled down amidst glassy water, mangroves and nothing but the sound of birds… and Mariel’s ukulele.

5 nautical miles from Coron town to the southern bay of Uson Island where we anchored off in a small beautiful uninhabited protected U-shaped lagoon, at 60 ft, mud bottom, gradual slope, watch out for shallows at entrance to lagoon.

Sailor Joy

19 August 2010
Coron Town, Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines

This is the start of a 12-day sailing trip around the unbelievably beautiful islands of Busuanga, Palawan, with my husband, Raul, and Mariel, our 16 year old daughter.

The fun started before we even hit the water. In the shuttle from the Busuanga airport to Coron town, we met Joy, a wiry, wrinkled 50-ish American woman who has been sailing around the world for the past 20 years with another female American companion. Their boat, Banshee, sank (!) and was eventually salvaged in Papua New Guinea and she has a book about it http://www.bansheeboat.com/. She flew to Manila to get spare parts for her ref and took advantage of the trip to see a doctor for a leg wound that had been festering for some time- the doctor immediately scheduled her for surgery the next day as it turned out to be skin cancer. Her sailing stories during the hour long shuttle ride were priceless indeed and I was sorry to see her go at the end of the ride, limping from her wound clutching her precious ref spare parts.

I need more inspiration like Joy.