Moored in the same Spot
Puerto Galera, Mindoro
NOT OUR HOUSE!! During our cruising travels and when visiting areas that yachties hang out the local yacht clubs periodically sponsor races mostly for fun and to get people out sailing. In the past we have participated on Po oino Roa, our house. Here in Puerto Galera we declined to race Po as it's so much work to get ready to race. Instead for the next three days of the Easter Regatta here we will get to crew on the yacht "X" a Santa Cruz 50. We have just returned from the prerace meeting and will soon be joining "X" and the rest of the crew.
Photos, results and more to follow.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
PASSPORT BOOGIE A MANILA ADVENTURE
Moored Position 13' 30.322 N 120' 57.224 E
Puerto Galera, Mindoro
We have just returned to Puerto Galera after a short trip to Manila for the "Passport Boogie". Back in 2007 we received our current passports while in the Marshall Islands. They are good for ten years and contain twenty pages for visa stamps. On checking in here in the Philippines last October we had only two blank pages remaining and were told by immigration that we needed to get more pages. Luckily for US citizens this can be done through an embassy. Going online with the embassy in Manila we were able to download the proper form, make only one phone call to clarify the directions and then able to begin the process.
The forms were completed and then along with our passports sent to the embassy in Manila. We used a courier service for this. Five days later we received an email to come to the embassy to pay for the page additions and have our passports returned. Next came the organizing of our jouney.
Now as the crow flies Manila is not to distant. Due to the need to be at the embassy to pay our fee at between 9 and 10 in the morning and then pickup the passports at 3 that afternoon and the fact that our travel time from Puerto Galera to Manila via ferry and bus was going to be five hours we needed to spend a couple of nights in Manila.
We checked with John of the "Rusty Anchor Bar" how to best accomplish our trip. The reccommendation was the Si-Kat service thru the Father Son line ferry service. This included our Banka, a local boat, to Batangas then bus to Manila being dropped off at the hotel we would stay at just a short walk from the U S embassy.
As we make the fifteen mile channel crossing the captain has very limited visibility so his lookout occupies another custom chair perched on the boarding gangway.
The banka's are also referred to as pumpboats. Here a crewman is busy pumping the bilge. this is a very familier sight on all the bankas as we observe them making their way around the Philippines.
Manila is a very busy city with terrible traffic and lots of different sights and sounds. We had a fairly nice hotel for $60 US a night within an easy walk to the embassy, a HUGE shopping mall and all the restaurants and bars one could desire. At the mall we managed to replace our recently dead DVD player, buy a new mixer valve for our shower along with some other things.
We enjoyed our short trip to the big city but were very happy to return to the quiet of Puerto Galera.
Puerto Galera, Mindoro
We have just returned to Puerto Galera after a short trip to Manila for the "Passport Boogie". Back in 2007 we received our current passports while in the Marshall Islands. They are good for ten years and contain twenty pages for visa stamps. On checking in here in the Philippines last October we had only two blank pages remaining and were told by immigration that we needed to get more pages. Luckily for US citizens this can be done through an embassy. Going online with the embassy in Manila we were able to download the proper form, make only one phone call to clarify the directions and then able to begin the process.
The forms were completed and then along with our passports sent to the embassy in Manila. We used a courier service for this. Five days later we received an email to come to the embassy to pay for the page additions and have our passports returned. Next came the organizing of our jouney.
Now as the crow flies Manila is not to distant. Due to the need to be at the embassy to pay our fee at between 9 and 10 in the morning and then pickup the passports at 3 that afternoon and the fact that our travel time from Puerto Galera to Manila via ferry and bus was going to be five hours we needed to spend a couple of nights in Manila.
We checked with John of the "Rusty Anchor Bar" how to best accomplish our trip. The reccommendation was the Si-Kat service thru the Father Son line ferry service. This included our Banka, a local boat, to Batangas then bus to Manila being dropped off at the hotel we would stay at just a short walk from the U S embassy.
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| OUR BANKA WAITING AT THE DOCK |
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| NOTICE THE CUSTOM CAPTAINS CHAIR |
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| A LITTLE ADDED BALAST TO THE AUKU |
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| HOISTING THE STERN ANCHOR |
As we make the fifteen mile channel crossing the captain has very limited visibility so his lookout occupies another custom chair perched on the boarding gangway.
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| ENJOYING THE RIDE |
The banka's are also referred to as pumpboats. Here a crewman is busy pumping the bilge. this is a very familier sight on all the bankas as we observe them making their way around the Philippines.
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| A BUSY MANILA STREET |
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| THE ALLEYS ARE AS BUSY AS THE STREETS |
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| FRESH FRUIT |
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| TRAFFIC EVERYWHERE |
We enjoyed our short trip to the big city but were very happy to return to the quiet of Puerto Galera.
Friday, March 8, 2013
PUERTO GALERA
Moored Position 13' 30.332 N 120' 57.224 E
Puerto Galera. Mindoro
We have now been here in the Puerto Galera area for the last week and enjoying the small town and yacht friendly area. We are guests of the local yacht club and staying on one of their moorings for 336 pesos or about $8 US per day. Along with a secure mooring which is supposed to rated to hold in a typhoon they provide a service boat to take you either to town or the yacht club dock. Trash is just left in the service boat to be disposed of and there is fresh water available at the club dock.
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The trykes here are a bit smaller than those in the other areas of the Philippines, we managed to fit barely!! On the next ride kathy got the sidecar and I sat behind the driver on the motorcycle seat.
Puerto Galera. Mindoro
Since being here we have been not to busy with any on going boat stuff just enjoying taking it easy, though I'm sure that won't last to long as the to do list never rests. We have explored the small town of Puert Galera and found OK provisioning including real cheese which had not been available in Busuanga. We have also enjoyed getting a real hamburger at a local bar The Rusty Anchor run by an expat ,John, who previously was a Tempe, Az. firefighter
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| FRONTAGE STREET TO THE BAY |
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| LOCAL BUS |
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| NOTICE THE FAN WITH CLOTH BLADES KEEP THE FLIES AWAY |
The trykes here are a bit smaller than those in the other areas of the Philippines, we managed to fit barely!! On the next ride kathy got the sidecar and I sat behind the driver on the motorcycle seat.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
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.
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.
Puerto Galera, Mindoro
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| MOORING FIELD AND LOCAL BANKA'S |
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.
Monday, January 21, 2013
BUSUANGA PHOTOS
Anchored Coron Town
Another day here in Coron Town, Busuanga island. There was early morning laundry, running the little Honda generator and making some water. Next was a dinghy trip to town, more provisioning, a trip to the post office to mail a letter, a visit to the computer repair guy as we were having a problem copying some music, more petrol for the dinghy. BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!
Here are a selection of photos taken here in Coron or at the Al Faro resort.
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THE SCORBOARD WITH TEAMS FOR THE BOCCI BALL TOURNAMENT
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Another day here in Coron Town, Busuanga island. There was early morning laundry, running the little Honda generator and making some water. Next was a dinghy trip to town, more provisioning, a trip to the post office to mail a letter, a visit to the computer repair guy as we were having a problem copying some music, more petrol for the dinghy. BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!
Here are a selection of photos taken here in Coron or at the Al Faro resort.
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| LOOKS TO BE A STERILE SPOT TO HAVE WORK DONE |
THE STEEP WALK TO AL FARO
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| AN OLD ALBATROSS |
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| MEXICAN TRAIN |
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| JIMMY AL FARO'S PROPRIETOR |
KATHY DOING A HAIRCUT FOR ONE OF THE AL FARO GIRLS WITH
NANITA JIMMY'S WIFE WATCHING
THE SCORBOARD WITH TEAMS FOR THE BOCCI BALL TOURNAMENT
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| THE GAMES BEGIN |
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| OFFICAL JIMMY AT WORK |
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| CELEBRATING THE LAST SUNSET OF 2012 |
Sunday, January 20, 2013
SAFARI
Anchored 11° 59.7 N 120° 11.6 E
Coron, Busuanga Is.
Today finds us back in the anchorage in Coron. It was time to restock the cupboards and take care of some internet projects such as taxes and a blog update with photos. Here I am able to add the photos but it is terribly slow. So it's writing using our Sailmail provider and then once on the blog go back and add the photos through the edit process.
We have just returned from a week of cruising around several different anchorages of the Calamain group of islands. We even managed to enjoy a short safari while visiting Illulluk Bay and Calauit island. There we anchored at 12° 16.16 N 119° 53. 08 E. In the late 1970's the Philippine and Kenyon governments came to an agreement and three species of African animals were imported to what is now the Calauit Safari park. Originally there were fifteen each of Zebra, Giraffe and Eland antelope. All three species have thrived and each now numbers about thirty even though the original group has died off. The park is also home to some 700 of the small Calamain deer along with crocodiles, snakes, porcupines, monkeys and other indigenous animals. Some of the smaller animals such as the monkeys, porcupines and Palawan bearcats are kept in enclosures for viewing, though only for a month at a time and then released back in to the wild as a new group are brought in to the view areas.
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Coron, Busuanga Is.
Today finds us back in the anchorage in Coron. It was time to restock the cupboards and take care of some internet projects such as taxes and a blog update with photos. Here I am able to add the photos but it is terribly slow. So it's writing using our Sailmail provider and then once on the blog go back and add the photos through the edit process.
We have just returned from a week of cruising around several different anchorages of the Calamain group of islands. We even managed to enjoy a short safari while visiting Illulluk Bay and Calauit island. There we anchored at 12° 16.16 N 119° 53. 08 E. In the late 1970's the Philippine and Kenyon governments came to an agreement and three species of African animals were imported to what is now the Calauit Safari park. Originally there were fifteen each of Zebra, Giraffe and Eland antelope. All three species have thrived and each now numbers about thirty even though the original group has died off. The park is also home to some 700 of the small Calamain deer along with crocodiles, snakes, porcupines, monkeys and other indigenous animals. Some of the smaller animals such as the monkeys, porcupines and Palawan bearcats are kept in enclosures for viewing, though only for a month at a time and then released back in to the wild as a new group are brought in to the view areas.
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| ILLULLUK BAY |
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| CALAMAIN DEER |
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| BABY ZEBRA A WEEK OLD |
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| GIRAFFE |
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| ELAND ANTELOPE |
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| PORCUPINES |
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| WILD BOAR |
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| PHILIPPINE SEA EAGLE |
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Sunday, January 13, 2013
MOVING ABOUT
Anchored Position 12°10.67 N 119°52.31 E
Gotub Anchorage, Busuanga Is.
As the new year 2013 has begun we are enjoying moving around here in the area of Busuanga Island. This area is referred to as the Calamian group and is made up of many island along with coral reefs.
After departing Coron on Boxing Day with the threat of tropical storm Quinta we spent the next week in the sheltered D'Pearl Bay. There we enjoyed the use of a mooring which had been installed by the Puerto del Sol resort and made an effort to visit both their restaurant and bar in repayment for the mooring use. In another part of the bay was the Al Faro resort run by a Swiss, Jimmy and his Philippine wife Nanita. They run a wonderful resort located high on a hill jutting out into the bay. The location provides spectacular sunsets. Here Kathy and I were fortunate to be the victors in an international bocci ball tournament. The field included both resort guests and yachties. Countries represented included Swiss, Norwegian, Australian, Botswanian and Kathy and I from the USA. I think perhaps our several years of Bocci ball on the beaches of Tenecatita, Mexico provided an advantage.
New years day found us off back to Coron town to reprovision. The refrigerator was bare and we needed other staples such as a propane refill, fresh fruit and veggies along with necessities such as beer and rum. January 4 th found us once again headed back to D'Pearl Bay. We found ourselves on the same mooring. Another benefit of the Al Faro resort is they have wi-fi and we could receive it on the boat. It is not speedy but does allow us to keep updated on weather, news and sports. Here in a country that gets lots of rainfall we are in the dry season and have had very little and our watermaker cannot really provide enough for laundry. Kathy was very happy to find a local woman to do some washing for her. It was done in a stream and came out very clean.
Another week quickly past watching the sunsets, enjoying the pool and more bocci ball at Al Faro. On 10 January we finally managed to pry ourselves away and headed off to visit some other places. First was Calumbuyan Is. just two miles due east of Puerto del Sol. We had been told that there was very good snorkeling on the surrounding coral reef and even moorings to use. Traveling to Calumbuyan involved a bit of what we call "the pearl farm cha cha" or dodging vast areas of floating buoys. There were eight mooring balls in the area but none that we thought would be satisfactory for overnight stay. The reef looked nice so we did secure to a mooring for several hours to have an underwater view. It was great to once again have clear warm water and lots of varieties of live coral. After our swim we headed off to Popototan Is., 11°59.53 N 119°51.32 E. here we were once again able to use a mooring ball provided by the Coral Bay resort. In Potototan we enjoyed visiting the resort and another nice snorkel in the warm water.
Yesterday the 12th of January we moved along again, this time going up the west coast of Busuanga Is. to our anchorage here. This once again is a very protected spot and would make a good typhoon refuge. We'll sit here today. This morning we did have some welcome light rain to wash the decks of salt and we're enjoying a quiet day with the most difficult chore being running the watermaker.
An interesting thing that we have noticed in our short time here in the Philippines is the lack of other cruising yachts. Yes we had a group of perhaps 25 yachts when in Puerto Princesa but since we have seen very few. As we are now in the part of the year that is least typhoon prone we have been a bit surprised
by the small number of other yachts we've shared anchorages with.
Weather permitting, meaning a sunny day more than anything, we will move along again tomorrow. I say that good sunshine is important due to the many coral reefs that abound in the area and without good light are difficult to see.
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Gotub Anchorage, Busuanga Is.
As the new year 2013 has begun we are enjoying moving around here in the area of Busuanga Island. This area is referred to as the Calamian group and is made up of many island along with coral reefs.
After departing Coron on Boxing Day with the threat of tropical storm Quinta we spent the next week in the sheltered D'Pearl Bay. There we enjoyed the use of a mooring which had been installed by the Puerto del Sol resort and made an effort to visit both their restaurant and bar in repayment for the mooring use. In another part of the bay was the Al Faro resort run by a Swiss, Jimmy and his Philippine wife Nanita. They run a wonderful resort located high on a hill jutting out into the bay. The location provides spectacular sunsets. Here Kathy and I were fortunate to be the victors in an international bocci ball tournament. The field included both resort guests and yachties. Countries represented included Swiss, Norwegian, Australian, Botswanian and Kathy and I from the USA. I think perhaps our several years of Bocci ball on the beaches of Tenecatita, Mexico provided an advantage.
New years day found us off back to Coron town to reprovision. The refrigerator was bare and we needed other staples such as a propane refill, fresh fruit and veggies along with necessities such as beer and rum. January 4 th found us once again headed back to D'Pearl Bay. We found ourselves on the same mooring. Another benefit of the Al Faro resort is they have wi-fi and we could receive it on the boat. It is not speedy but does allow us to keep updated on weather, news and sports. Here in a country that gets lots of rainfall we are in the dry season and have had very little and our watermaker cannot really provide enough for laundry. Kathy was very happy to find a local woman to do some washing for her. It was done in a stream and came out very clean.
Another week quickly past watching the sunsets, enjoying the pool and more bocci ball at Al Faro. On 10 January we finally managed to pry ourselves away and headed off to visit some other places. First was Calumbuyan Is. just two miles due east of Puerto del Sol. We had been told that there was very good snorkeling on the surrounding coral reef and even moorings to use. Traveling to Calumbuyan involved a bit of what we call "the pearl farm cha cha" or dodging vast areas of floating buoys. There were eight mooring balls in the area but none that we thought would be satisfactory for overnight stay. The reef looked nice so we did secure to a mooring for several hours to have an underwater view. It was great to once again have clear warm water and lots of varieties of live coral. After our swim we headed off to Popototan Is., 11°59.53 N 119°51.32 E. here we were once again able to use a mooring ball provided by the Coral Bay resort. In Potototan we enjoyed visiting the resort and another nice snorkel in the warm water.
Yesterday the 12th of January we moved along again, this time going up the west coast of Busuanga Is. to our anchorage here. This once again is a very protected spot and would make a good typhoon refuge. We'll sit here today. This morning we did have some welcome light rain to wash the decks of salt and we're enjoying a quiet day with the most difficult chore being running the watermaker.
An interesting thing that we have noticed in our short time here in the Philippines is the lack of other cruising yachts. Yes we had a group of perhaps 25 yachts when in Puerto Princesa but since we have seen very few. As we are now in the part of the year that is least typhoon prone we have been a bit surprised
by the small number of other yachts we've shared anchorages with.
Weather permitting, meaning a sunny day more than anything, we will move along again tomorrow. I say that good sunshine is important due to the many coral reefs that abound in the area and without good light are difficult to see.
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