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.
For Raul and me though, our fear was highly personal. We got into an accident the last time we crossed Calavite in April 2009, Good Friday, on Marikit, our first sailboat. Our rudder broke, an incident akin to losing the steering wheel of your car. At 20-30 knots of wind, 3-4 knots of opposing current and 10-15 foot waves with no steerage, we were tossed around like a paper boat in a washing machine, an incident that brought me closer to God than any other time in my life. This incident deserves an article on its own and I will write about it sometime.

As we crossed Calavite Passage on this trip, Raul and I were extra cautious and treated her with utmost respect. We were well-prepared- psychologically, mentally and physically. We were ready for all kind of contingencies, dressed and geared up appropriately, ate properly, our minds on full alert, Paraluman checked and double-checked. We prayed and alerted our friends.

The passage brought with it the strongest winds (20 knots average gusting to 28) and biggest waves yet in our entire trip with cross currents and crosswinds, but we sailed smoothly without any untoward event. We crossed it safely and comfortably, and offered a prayer of thanks. We realized that sometimes, it is anticipation that can kill you.

2 hours away from home, I started feeling sad because our trip was about to end. The sight of our backyard- Sombrero and Maricaban Islands- brought a roller coaster of emotions- the familiar sight of home and comfort, and the thought of seeing my kids and grandson Diego again, was accompanied by the truth that the vacation was definitely over. It was way too short and I was not ready to go back to reality- to stressful meetings and deadlines in the office, Manila’s horrendous traffic, all the unanswered emails and decisions that need to be made.

The world moved on while we were tucked away in our little paradise, protected from the cares of the material world and the rules of society. The dramatic bus hostage-taking took place in Manila, killing 8 Hong Kong tourists, embarrassing our newly installed president and top government officials, and forcing several countries to declare a travel ban to our beautiful country badly in need of tourism (The whole world watched live while we learned of the event a full day after.) I received miserable news from the office when a senior executive in my team resigned, leaving me wondering how I can manage the intense workload that awaited me. These events seemed surreal as we enjoyed so much tranquility around us. Am I ready to leave my little paradise and reenter the concrete jungle and its problems and responsibilities?

I asked myself these questions and I answered with a resounding Yes! Just as we crossed the dreaded Calavite Point successfully, we can face the world again with all its imperfections. We just need to be prepared, to focus and commit. And we will not just survive. We will thrive and enjoy the moment. Bring it on! We are already planning our next sailing trip.

I end my chronicles of this specific Busuanga trip by thanking some people who helped make this trip a success: my brother, Roland, and very good friends and fellow sailors, Monchu Garcia and Renie Ticzon, who looked out for us via regular weather updates and following our track on the internet. My mom, who is always praying for our safe passage (I believe that Mom’s prayers are the most powerful). Tequila Mike’s blog and Bruce Curran’s book, Combing the Coral Carpet, were a source of invaluable information and highly recommended for anyone sailing in Busuanga and the rest of the Philippines.

We broke the long 115 nm journey from Busuanga to Mabini, Batangas into 2 legs. We only had 2 choices on where to spend the night due to the habagat- via Apo Reef (totaling 119 nm) or Sablayan Bay, south of Pandan Island (141 nm). We decided on the latter because of a more assured anchorage even if it was farther. Anchorage was not very calm because it was fully exposed to the southwesterly, but safe because we were inside a bay. Anchored at 40 ft.