SOMETHING NEW

Moored Position 13'30.332 N  120'57.224 E
Puerto Galera, Mindoro

It seems I have been a bit remiss in my postings as it's over a month since the last update of our adventures. As you may notice we have been on the move north and are now securely moored in Puerto Galera at the northern end of the island of Mindoro here in the Philippines.





MOORING FIELD AND LOCAL BANKA'S

 To back up a bit we were last in Coron the island of Busuanga some 90 miles to the south of our present location. We greatly enjoyed the area visiting several different anchorages and once again managed to get in warm clear water to enjoying snorkling the lovely coral reefs. We also managed to get stuck in the Busuanga area for longer than anticipated, this was caused by several different reasons mainly waiting for mail and a proper weather window. Weather was the biggest factor as our next intented stop was straight into the northeast monsoon. As we looked at various forecasts our window of opportunity looked good over the time frame of the last days in February and first of March. Our original plan was a late afternoon departure from an anchorage on the northwest corner of Busuanga and then a overnight run to the Paluan anchorage. This plan was cancelled after talking to another yachtie who had just experienced a tramatic armed robbery in that anchorage. On to plan B. A straight overnight passage from the Puerto del Sol anchorage to Puerto Galera.

We departed early on 27 February for our intended 135 mile passage. We knew starting that it would be mainly a motor and hoped for light headwinds. The first 100 miles were as predicted and a full moon made the late night watches more enjoyable. The last 35 miles were not so fun!! Once rounding the top of Mindoro island we were forced to beat into a 20 to 25 knot headwind with short choppy 4 foot seas. We made progress tacking back and forth close in along the shore where the seas were a bit smaller. Finally at 4 pm after 14 hours of bashing to make the last 35 miles we entered Puerto Galera.

The Puerto Galera yacht club had a transient mooring available and we were assisted on to it by their service boat. Next a glass of wine for Kathy and a tot of rum for me before a restfull night secured to a mooring ball.