Well…our South China Sea passage from Hong Kong to the Philippines will go down as memorable in my personal log book…the first 48 hours was pretty messy…ESE winds periodically gusting up to 30 knots, forward of the beam seas mostly 5’-9’. A little bouncy! However, the last 12 hrs at sea was a gift…nice and calm. I could make my morning quiche and eat it too!
We’re reminded on these passages how nice it is to be cruising with another like boat, our buddy boat Seabird. Example – fifteen hours out of Hong Kong we got a radio call from Seabird. Problem – water was spraying from a locker in the engine room. What to do? First taste it… salt or fresh? Turned out to be fresh, so good news, Why? Because the boat carries alot of water, in Seabird’s case a 1,000 gallons of fresh water and you can deal with that, but there is a lot more salt water around and if that is gushing on board it could be life raft time. After the taste test need to know if this kind of leak ever happened on the Pearl? Yep it did. It was a ruptured fresh water line union in the engine room port side behind the parts storage locker and just aft of the evacuation pump thruhull. Invaluable info that enabled a quick fix for Seabird – quickly locate the leak, swap out the split union, replace it with new and good to go.
Back to the passage – near dawn the day of our arrival, cruising along the lee of Luzon Island (the NW monsoons were still in play and Luzon shielded us), we came upon several small fishing boats. The traditional fishing craft are small, narrow of hull with outriggers and often lightly built with very little freeboard. Forget the radar cause these boats are low in the water and wooden. It was an eye opener at dawn to suddenly see so many of these boats…we had no moon and we seldom saw these boats at night. Must have just missed knifing a few of them in half. When we do spot them they often come charging toward us, wearing t-shirts covering their heads and neck (sun protection) or maybe masked to hide identity? Only their eyes and nose show, they wave at us or do a ‘see me, see me now jig’. They are either trying to warn us where their nets are or come close out of curiosity.
Colorful fishing bangka”s
We arrived in Subic Bay and berthed at Subic Bay Yacht Club, located on the former US Navy base. Until 1992, Subic Bay was the largest U.S. Navy installation in the Pacific…home of the huge 7th Fleet and, the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces after Clark Air base in Angeles City, PI, closed in 1991.
We were pleasantly surprised to see the former base has been fairly well maintained and it appears to be a family-friendly tourist destination…unlike what we found in the Panama Canal Zone and the Alaskan Aleutians areas.
Fast forward on some earlier history of this country…the Spanish ruled over the Philippines for three centuries. In 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. During the American era, reforms were instituted aimed to improve the Filipino’s life. The most important reform was a complete overhaul of the education system. Besides schools, Americans built bridges, roads and sewage systems. And, they instituted an American-style political system that gradually gave more and more power to the Filipinos. Americans also made a gesture considered unprecedented in the history of imperialism: they openly promised the Filipinos eventual independence. The U.S. endorsed the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935, along with the drafting of a US-style constitution and the first national election. Plans for independence over the next decade were interrupted by WWII when the Japanese invaded and established a puppet government. Many atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war, such as the Bataan Death March and the Manila Massacre that culminated during the Battle of Manila. Allied troops defeated the Japanese in 1945. By the end of the war it is estimated that over a million Filipinos had died. On July 4th, 1946, the Philippines were given their independence.
We spent a few days visiting Manila. From Subic we rode to Manila on a seaplane – 30 minute ride. I’d done some investigating and found an ex US military pilot based in Subic who owns a seaplane and would take 6 of us on two separate flights. The night before I fretted as only a few of us had seen the seaplane we would be taking…it’s very small and rickety! The pilot was emphatic about the weight limit – 550lbs total. Weight wise – we decided it was best that the two ladies(with small bags) would go with Jose and his luggage(heading back to the States from Manila) on the first leg. The remaining three fellas, Braun, Steven & Wayne would leave on the next leg. The bathroom scale came out and weigh-ins were mandatory…yikes! Needless to say, both groups weighed in at about 590lbs…pilot Mike didn’t seem too happy, he mumbled a few words and, told us to get in. It was a pretty cool trip. Although the flight was fascinating we had a driver with a nice size van drive the 3-hour return to Subic Bay…
Carol, Jose & I…weighing in…
Subic Seaplane taking off
View of Subic Bay harbor. Old US Navy dry dock in the foreground and Subic Bay Yacht Club in far right background.
Urban Manila exhausted us. So we took a full day trip tour of ‘Corregidor’ which was sobering and memorable. Clearly, I have glossed over the interesting history we share with the Philippines in high school. Corregidor is an island located in the entrance way to Manila Bay an often referred to as “The Rock”. It is also, a WWII battle site where General MacArthur made his famous…and, famously egocentric…’I shall return’ pledge – then he split for Australia. The island bastion of Corregidor, with its network of tunnels and formidable array of defensive armament along with the fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay, was the remaining obstacle for the Japanese Imperial Army. The Japanese had to take Corregidor, as long as the island remained in American hands, they would be denied the use of Manila Bay, the finest natural harbor in the Far East. Within hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they invaded Corregidor.
The United States and Filipino Army recaptured the island in 1945.
Braun posing in front of a Japanese anti-aircraft artillery gun
The GP crew posing in front of the Top-side barracks
War Memorial statue
A few days passage from Subic Bay we landed in the beautiful deep natural harbor of Puerto Galera located on north tip of Mindoro Island. The surrounding hills are lush with palm trees. The collection of small beach resorts caters to an array of dive enthusiasts as marine life and underwater real estate makes this a real hot spot. Other than diving and snorkeling, we hung out at the Puerto Galera Yacht Club. Which according to the guide book is what you do…diving is
king with drinking coming in a close second (we missed you, Jose!). At the yacht club, we always found a lively group of Brits, Aussies and Germans (yachties) loudly drinking cold $1.50 San Miguel beers (non-member prices!). The town itself is very colorful with plenty of shops and restaurants.
Braun exchanging Old Dominion Boat Club(Alexandria, VA) burgee for a Puerto Galera Yacht Club burgee from Peter Stevens
Entering Puerto Galera harbor
Presently, we are cruising in the southern Philippines. Entering the Calamian group of islands we were tipped off to anchor one evening in a small bay and visit the wildlife game reserve. To be precise, the Calauit Game Preserve & Wildlife Sanctuary. An array of animals commonly seen on safari in Africa, like giraffe, zebra, etc…can be viewed in their um…adopted Philippine habitat thanks to Ferdinand Marcos’ efforts in 1976 to help save the African wildlife…who da thunk? It took some convincing but, Braun finally relented and joined the group for the “tour” of the preserve. Yea..same guy who was caught shortly thereafter feeding a giraffe.
Giraffes…
Steven…the accidental tourist!
We’ll enjoy Easter weekend here at in harbor off the Puerto del Sol Resort/also, known as the Busuanga Yacht Club…home of “white sand beaches and tropical wreck diving”…that’s right – there are a reported 7 WWII-era ships of the Japanese Navy that lie but a dinghy ride away from our mooring location.
So…to cap off our update…I’m happy to report there has been no shortage of spectacular sunsets…with this becoming the norm –
Wishing everyone a blessed Easter –
Tina, Braun & Wayne
SUBJECT: Re: Greetings from the Philippines!
Sounds great! Big adventure all the time for you guys.
We are all home safe now and the kids are happy to see Cody. Everyone enjoyed Punta Cana with the highlights being a swim with the dolphins and snorkeling with some huge nurse sharks and stingrays!
We did not see much of the island but I did sample the world class golf. The resort was, well, Club Med. They kept us busy there. I will send you a few pictures later.
Be safe!
Best regards,Braun
SUBJECT: RE: Greetings from the Philippines!
Tina
Your writing skills are superb. We enjoy receiving your updates Thank you very much!
Good luck
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President
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From: blog-17828-comments@t… [mailto:blog-17828-comments@t…] On Behalf Of tina@p…
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 4:55 AM
To: Grey Pearl
Subject: Greetings from the Philippines!
Well…our South China Sea passage from Hong Kong to the Philippines will go down as memorable in my personal log book…the first 48 hours was pretty messy…ESE winds periodically gusting up to 30 knots, forward of the beam seas mostly 5’-9’. A little bouncy! However, the last 12 hrs at sea was a gift…nice and calm. I could make my morning quiche and eat it too!
We’re reminded on these passages how nice it is to be cruising with another like boat, our buddy boat Seabird. Example – fifteen hours out of Hong Kong we got a radio call from Seabird. Problem – water was spraying from a locker in the engine room. What to do? First taste it… salt or fresh? Turned out to be fresh, so good news, Why? Because the boat carries alot of water, in Seabird’s case a 1,000 gallons of fresh water and you can deal with that, but there is a lot more salt water around and if that is gushing on board it could be life raft time. After the taste test need to know if this kind of leak ever happened on the Pearl? Yep it did. It was a ruptured fresh water line union in the engine room port side behind the parts storage locker and just aft of the evacuation pump thruhull. Invaluable info that enabled a quick fix for Seabird – quickly locate the leak, swap out the split union, replace it with new and good to go.
Back to the passage – near dawn the day of our arrival, cruising along the lee of Luzon Island (the NW monsoons were still in play and Luzon shielded us), we came upon several small fishing boats. The traditional fishing craft are small, narrow of hull with outriggers and often lightly built with very little freeboard. Forget the radar cause these boats are low in the water and wooden. It was an eye opener at dawn to suddenly see so many of these boats…we had no moon and we seldom saw these boats at night. Must have just missed knifing a few of them in half. When we do spot them they often come charging toward us, wearing t-shirts covering their heads and neck (sun protection) or maybe masked to hide identity? Only their eyes and nose show, they wave at us or do a ‘see me, see me now jig’. They are either trying to warn us where their nets are or come close out of curiosity.
Colorful fishing bangka”s
We arrived in Subic Bay and berthed at Subic Bay Yacht Club, located on the former US Navy base. Until 1992, Subic Bay was the largest U.S. Navy installation in the Pacific…home of the huge 7th Fleet and, the largest overseas military installation of the United States Armed Forces after Clark Air base in Angeles City, PI, closed in 1991.
We were pleasantly surprised to see the former base has been fairly well maintained and it appears to be a family-friendly tourist destination…unlike what we found in the Panama Canal Zone and the Alaskan Aleutians areas.
Fast forward on some earlier history of this country…the Spanish ruled over the Philippines for three centuries. In 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. During the American era, reforms were instituted aimed to improve the Filipino’s life. The most important reform was a complete overhaul of the education system. Besides schools, Americans built bridges, roads and sewage systems. And, they instituted an American-style political system that gradually gave more and more power to the Filipinos. Americans also made a gesture considered unprecedented in the history of imperialism: they openly promised the Filipinos eventual independence. The U.S. endorsed the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935, along with the drafting of a US-style constitution and the first national election. Plans for independence over the next decade were interrupted by WWII when the Japanese invaded and established a puppet government. Many atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war, such as the Bataan Death March and the Manila Massacre that culminated during the Battle of Manila. Allied troops defeated the Japanese in 1945. By the end of the war it is estimated that over a million Filipinos had died. On July 4th, 1946, the Philippines were given their independence.
We spent a few days visiting Manila. From Subic we rode to Manila on a seaplane – 30 minute ride. I’d done some investigating and found an ex US military pilot based in Subic who owns a seaplane and would take 6 of us on two separate flights. The night before I fretted as only a few of us had seen the seaplane we would be taking…it’s very small and rickety! The pilot was emphatic about the weight limit – 550lbs total. Weight wise – we decided it was best that the two ladies(with small bags) would go with Jose and his luggage(heading back to the States from Manila) on the first leg. The remaining three fellas, Braun, Steven & Wayne would leave on the next leg. The bathroom scale came out and weigh-ins were mandatory…yikes! Needless to say, both groups weighed in at about 590lbs…pilot Mike didn’t seem too happy, he mumbled a few words and, told us to get in. It was a pretty cool trip. Although the flight was fascinating we had a driver with a nice size van drive the 3-hour return to Subic Bay…
Carol, Jose & I…weighing in…
Subic Seaplane taking off
View of Subic Bay harbor. Old US Navy dry dock in the foreground and Subic Bay Yacht Club in far right background.
Urban Manila exhausted us. So we took a full day trip tour of ‘Corregidor’ which was sobering and memorable. Clearly, I have glossed over the interesting history we share with the Philippines in high school. Corregidor is an island located in the entrance way to Manila Bay an often referred to as “The Rock”. It is also, a WWII battle site where General MacArthur made his famous…and, famously egocentric…’I shall return’ pledge – then he split for Australia. The island bastion of Corregidor, with its network of tunnels and formidable array of defensive armament along with the fortifications across the entrance to Manila Bay, was the remaining obstacle for the Japanese Imperial Army. The Japanese had to take Corregidor, as long as the island remained in American hands, they would be denied the use of Manila Bay, the finest natural harbor in the Far East. Within hours after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they invaded Corregidor.
The United States and Filipino Army recaptured the island in 1945.
Braun posing in front of a Japanese anti-aircraft artillery gun
The GP crew posing in front of the Top-side barracks
War Memorial statue
A few days passage from Subic Bay we landed in the beautiful deep natural harbor of Puerto Galera located on north tip of Mindoro Island. The surrounding hills are lush with palm trees. The collection of small beach resorts caters to an array of dive enthusiasts as marine life and underwater real estate makes this a real hot spot. Other than diving and snorkeling, we hung out at the Puerto Galera Yacht Club. Which according to the guide book is what you do…diving is king with drinking coming in a close second (we missed you, Jose!). At the yacht club, we always found a lively group of Brits, Aussies and Germans (yachties) loudly drinking cold 1.50 San Miguel beers (non-member prices!). The town itself is very colorful with plenty of shops and restaurants.
Braun exchanging Old Dominion Boat Club(Alexandria, VA) burgee for a Puerto Galera Yacht Club burgee from Peter Stevens
Entering Puerto Galera harbor
Presently, we are cruising in the southern Philippines. Entering the Calamian group of islands we were tipped off to anchor one evening in a small bay and visit the wildlife game reserve. To be precise, the Calauit Game Preserve & Wildlife Sanctuary. An array of animals commonly seen on safari in Africa, like giraffe, zebra, etc…can be viewed in their um…adopted Philippine habitat thanks to Ferdinand Marcos’ efforts in 1976 to help save the African wildlife…who da thunk? It took some convincing but, Braun finally relented and joined the group for the “tour” of the preserve. Yea..same guy who was caught shortly thereafter feeding a giraffe.
Giraffes…
Steven…the accidental tourist!
We’ll enjoy Easter weekend here at in harbor off the Puerto del Sol Resort/also, known as the Busuanga Yacht Club…home of “white sand beaches and tropical wreck diving”…that’s right – there are a reported 7 WWII-era ships of the Japanese Navy that lie but a dinghy ride away from our mooring location.
So…to cap off our update…I’m happy to report there has been no shortage of spectacular sunsets…with this becoming the norm –
Wishing everyone a blessed Easter –
Tina, Braun & Wayne
You can access the blog entry here.
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