Davao - Active Boating Watersports
Davao - Active Boating Watersports
Davao - Active Boating Watersports
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<strong>Active</strong><br />
ACTIVE WATERSPORTS DESTINATION:<br />
DAVAO<br />
MARCH 2011 VOL. II. ISSUE 1<br />
BOATING AND WATERSPORTS<br />
All the Water Sports lifestyle you can handle<br />
KUDOS HILIGAYNONS!!! -<br />
Iloilo Paraw Regatta<br />
A Preponderance Of Holes -<br />
SUBIC BORACAY 2011<br />
Php 80
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK<br />
Into the new year we have stepped and the groundswell<br />
of interest and developments in boating and water<br />
sports is exhilarating.<br />
The first, national jetski championship took place last<br />
month in Iloilo, coincident with the Iloilo Paraw Regatta,<br />
attracting at least one world jetski champion to an action<br />
packed race series. New yacht clubs & marinas are<br />
planned for Dapitan and <strong>Davao</strong> in 2011, to add to the new<br />
yacht club in Busuanga and new marina in Samal Island,<br />
opened in 2010.<br />
Competitive sailing is at the forefront in Subic Bay with<br />
the launch, this month, of the Platu challenge one-design<br />
racing series; the Philippine Superyacht Association has<br />
just opened for business in Subic Bay, intent on attracting<br />
more of the World’s rich and famous to our beautiful<br />
beaches and bays. In June, a new wakeboard park will<br />
start pulling wakeboard enthusiasts around the purpose<br />
built cable-lake in Clark.<br />
A decade ago organized water sports in the Philippines<br />
were largely restricted to scuba diving and a bit of sailing.<br />
Today, there is so much new happening across such a<br />
broad spectrum that it is sometimes a challenge to keep<br />
up.<br />
Last week I had the opportunity to address<br />
undergraduates of the Polytechnic University of the<br />
Philippines, College of Business, Department of<br />
Marketing, and discovered that the across the nation<br />
there is generally a dearth of information about what<br />
is happening in water sports and how to get involved.<br />
Learning to promote the opportunities is the objective<br />
of these young students but there are few with detailed<br />
knowledge of how to do it successfully, and most of<br />
them see too many (mostly financial) barriers to getting<br />
involved themselves.<br />
If the Philippines can embrace the current momentum<br />
for water borne fun and competition then it will surely<br />
move rapidly ahead of other Asia nations to become<br />
the premier water sports tourism destination in the<br />
Region. Mother nature gave us the resource, we have<br />
the enthusiasm. What is required now is investment<br />
in qualified promotion: first, to the nation’s youth; and,<br />
second, to the World of international thrill seekers who<br />
want to explore and experience that which lies beyond.<br />
Action speaks louder than words so herein we introduce<br />
some highlights of one of the lesser known water sports<br />
destination in the Philippines: the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf. Come,<br />
enjoy the journey!<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Martyn Willes<br />
Consulting Editor<br />
Copyright © 2011 <strong>Active</strong> <strong>Boating</strong> And <strong>Watersports</strong><br />
What’s<br />
INSIDE?<br />
A Preponderance of Holes - Subic<br />
Boracay 2011<br />
Kudos Hiligaynons!... Iloilo Paraw<br />
Regatta<br />
11th Philippine Hobie Challenge -<br />
Race Report<br />
<strong>Active</strong> <strong>Watersports</strong> Destination<br />
<strong>Davao</strong><br />
Cruising in Another Century<br />
Looking for Lobster<br />
Photo courtesy of <strong>Davao</strong> Wildwater<br />
Adventure: exhilarating white water<br />
rafting the catergory 2-4 <strong>Davao</strong> River<br />
rapids<br />
<strong>Active</strong><br />
BOATING AND WATER SPORTS<br />
PUBLICATION TEAM<br />
MARTYN WILLES<br />
Consulting Editor<br />
ROMAN AZANZA<br />
GIRLIE CERVANTES<br />
BRUCE CURRAN<br />
CARLOS MUNDA<br />
Regular Contributors<br />
BARRY DAWSON<br />
Production Manager<br />
MBC Concept Planner & Organizer<br />
Design & Lay-out<br />
www.activeboatingwatersports.com<br />
e-mail:info@activeboatingwatersports.com<br />
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Photograph by: Martyn Willes<br />
<strong>Active</strong><br />
BOATING AND WATER SPORTS<br />
Sailing is mostly about wind - the more wind you have<br />
the faster you can sail.<br />
The weather forecast for the start of the 205-mile<br />
Subic Boracay Race foretold a very light breeze of<br />
only four to seven knots (until reaching Batangas)<br />
so everyone was jubilant that as much as twelve<br />
knots was actually available in Subic Bay on the day.<br />
Seventeen sailing yachts, ranging in size from 35 to<br />
more than 76 feet, mustered off Subic Bay’s premier<br />
venue, the Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel, and at<br />
the stroke of midday streamed out towards Grande<br />
Island, spinnakers ripe with excellent pressure.<br />
Just a mile out past Grande Island the wind started to<br />
fluke. By the time Anvaya Cove was breasted, in the<br />
shadow of Mount Silanganan National Park, the first<br />
4<br />
A Preponderance Of Holes - Subic Boracay 2011<br />
words by: Martyn Willes<br />
T he 2011 Subic Boracay Race was a first-class off-shore sailing event, with all of the<br />
predictable and unpredictable winds available in a race that passes near mountains. If<br />
you caught the wind right then it was a run and a reach, a beat followed by another reach<br />
and finally a sleigh ride to the finish; as Frank Pong has oft said, “it is the best race in Asia”.<br />
Approaching Grande Island<br />
Photograph by: Lothar Riedel<br />
expected “hole” in the breeze impeded progress. The<br />
breeze evaporated from a spot on the surface that<br />
rapidly expanded to embrace four yachts for almost<br />
two hours, while others in front continued purposefully<br />
south and those behind maneuvered around.<br />
Those in the hole suffered the agony & frustration of<br />
attempting to capture tiny puffs of wind, teasing like<br />
nymphs momentarily from any direction and without<br />
visible warning ripples, only the lazy smoke from<br />
cigarettes giving a clue of their presence. Mournful<br />
whistles drift across the space between the quartet<br />
as crew apply age old folklore remedies to conjure<br />
the breeze. On top of this there is extreme torture of<br />
watching the others’ sails disappear over the horizon.<br />
Four hours into the race and the seventeen<br />
are now in three basic groups – five<br />
fastest unimpeded out in front, the bulk<br />
of the fleet heading towards Mariveles<br />
and the quartet, stranded off Morong.<br />
The weather forecast for the entire<br />
race was basically easterly breezes of<br />
various degrees of strength. So it was<br />
considered a momentary aberration<br />
when a northwesterly thankfully drifted<br />
towards the Morong quartet. As the<br />
breeze reached each yacht in turn, and<br />
their wake began to hiss, they all took<br />
advantage of the wind direction and<br />
headed out, away from shore and away<br />
from the next known hole in the lee of<br />
Mount Mariveles (locally: “Luzon Point”).<br />
The quartet soon reveled in the freshening<br />
breeze as, one by one, the pack that had<br />
deserted them came slowly into view through the<br />
Manila Bay smog and haze at Mariveles far off the<br />
port beam. It was the quartet’s turn to be jubilant as it
Still struggling for wind...<br />
became clear that the northeasterly was holding and<br />
their former torture was now to be passed to their<br />
quarry. As the sun prepared to rest for the day all except<br />
for the fastest five were now in sight of each other.<br />
Along the Batangas coast, south of the entrance to<br />
Manila Bay, the forecast easterly breeze finally arrived<br />
and all the yachts now headed into the gathering<br />
gloom, south towards Mindoro Island and the choice to<br />
take the Verde Island Passage route, to the East or, to<br />
take the Cape Calavite option, around the West side.<br />
The middle fleet were now spread out by the alternating<br />
soft and breezy patched that are a feature of sailing<br />
the Batangas coast while the distance between each<br />
of the quartet, on a route that would take them West<br />
of Fortune Island, also increased: Sorcerer ahead<br />
with China Rose, Danny II and Slalom Glade trailing.<br />
Light easterly filling-in...<br />
<strong>Active</strong><br />
BOATING AND WATER SPORTS<br />
Photograph by: Martyn Willes<br />
In the dark of the night, before the moon rose, the<br />
quartet lost sight of the middle fleet and had no<br />
way of knowing if their progress was bettered,<br />
but they were fairly certain all were heading for<br />
Cape Santiago and the Verde Island Passage.<br />
In the Passage the breeze quickened. Twenty<br />
plus knots whistled through the funnel between<br />
the Mindoro and Batangas coasts. The waves<br />
pounded and splashed across the decks as crews<br />
huddled in wet-weather gear with safety harnesses.<br />
Despite its light, the moon gives no actual warmth<br />
and before sunrise all are holding out for the dawn.<br />
Approaching Cape Santiago from outside Fortune<br />
Island with an ebb tide through the Passage means<br />
an early arrival at the Mindoro coast, and at least<br />
two more tacks before Puerto Galera peninsula<br />
can be passed. Some yachts tack back across and<br />
Photograph by: Martyn Willes<br />
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Photographs by: Lothar Riedel<br />
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BOATING AND WATER SPORTS<br />
pass Verde Island on the northern side to avoid the<br />
worst of the ebb tide while others hug the Mindoro<br />
coast to take advantage of the occasional back-eddy.<br />
By breakfast, Sorcerer is isolated near Puerto<br />
Galera, with not another yacht in sight, and the<br />
crew happily wave to dive boats, beach-goers and<br />
friends imagined to be watching their passing.<br />
The breeze eases again past Escarceo Point,<br />
towards Calapan, but maintains a meaningful eight<br />
knots all the way to the iconic Baco Islands. Then it<br />
eases further and four hours of almost nothing mean<br />
very slow progress towards the southerly objective.<br />
Two yachts are just visible ahead, floundering in<br />
the approaches to the famed hole at Dumali Point,<br />
so all is not lost. On the Western horizon, a line of<br />
small breaking waves apparently foretell a resurgent<br />
easterly breeze but alas turn out to be only a tide rip.<br />
Sorcerer satisfies herself chasing a few cats-paws<br />
before the easterly very softly returns to fill all horizons.<br />
6<br />
Jelik 2<br />
Lethal Weapon<br />
Jelik 5<br />
SelmaStar<br />
Challenge & Vivaldi<br />
Free Ffire
Photograph by: Martyn Willes<br />
The two floundering yachts disappear around<br />
Dumali Point ahead while Slalom Glade makes slow<br />
progress in Sorcerer’s distant wake. By sundown<br />
the still gentle easterly has carried Sorcerer to<br />
Dumali and China Rose is now also visible astern,<br />
carrying a freshening breeze down to them.<br />
Gybing down the now moderate to strong breeze<br />
for the final 75 miles to Boracay, the time has<br />
come to raise the spinnaker. In the dark, with<br />
now very lumpy and confused seas, it is only safe<br />
to raise the smaller, heavyweight kite but upon<br />
hoisting it fouls on the rail and a two foot wide<br />
hole in the belly of the fabric forces an early drop.<br />
Struggling now to keep direction with speed towards<br />
the finish, Sorcerer is overtaken by China Rose and<br />
the final results can already be perceived. To add<br />
frustration, the normally consistent breeze along<br />
the Tablas Strait abates once more and the final few<br />
Simply Beautiful ... Boracay Beach<br />
The whole Sorcerer crew<br />
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BOATING AND WATER SPORTS<br />
miles are very slow with the<br />
adverse tide further affecting<br />
the final performance.<br />
The crossing the finish line<br />
off the Boracay Shangrila<br />
Resort just after sunrise<br />
is ignominious relief for<br />
Sorcerer but at least nothing<br />
was broken and nobody<br />
was hurt bar a little sunburn.<br />
Frank Pong’s mighty<br />
Jelik 2 took line honors<br />
but was beaten into third<br />
place in the IRC Premier<br />
Racing class by the Sam<br />
Chan’s Ffreefire and Geoff<br />
Hill’s Strewth, both T 52s.<br />
Doni Altura’s veteran Vivaldi<br />
took the IRC Cruiser Racer<br />
class ahead of Martin Tanco’s<br />
Challenge and Jun Avecilla’s<br />
Selma Star. Sorcerer was fifth behind Bobby Benares’s<br />
Lethal Weapon and ahead of Sandoway. Harry Taylor’s<br />
Irresistible, after finding yet another large hole, near<br />
Fortune Island, brought up the rear of the Cruiser<br />
Racing class and was the last yacht to finish the race.<br />
In the PY Cruising class Michael Raeuber & Rainer<br />
Blum’s China Rose bested David McKenna’s<br />
Rapparee XXX, with the plucky Slalom Glade<br />
arriving third. Danny II dropped out of the race at<br />
Puerto Galera, choosing instead the famed warmth<br />
and hospitality of Puerto Galera Yacht Club in favor<br />
over the prospect of even more holes along the way.<br />
If you want to test your relationship with the<br />
wind gods and lady luck then you should not<br />
miss the 2012 Subic Boracay Race, if only for<br />
the pleasure of finally setting foot on possibly<br />
the most beautiful beach in the Philippines.<br />
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What used to be a half-day race for native outrigger boats in the Iloilo Strait, the Paraw Regatta<br />
Festival has evolved into a week-long multifaceted festival to promote Iloilo to the World.<br />
Pardon my ignorance, the fact is, I knew not what to expect in a race like this because my idea of<br />
traditional boats has been limited to the small motorized bancas that transport passengers from<br />
point A to point B. Nonetheless, my mind was set for me to learn about the culture, tradition, history<br />
and more importantly, to complete my task of writing this story that bespeaks of 39 years of history.<br />
Kudos Hiligaynons!... Iloilo Paraw Regatta<br />
Words and Photgraphs by: Girlie Cervantes<br />
In 1973 the Paraw Regatta was conceptualized to relive<br />
the historic escape of ten Bornean Datus from<br />
the tyrannic rule of Sultan Makatunaw. However,<br />
over lunch, another interesting facet came into<br />
focus concerning the rationale for the creation of the<br />
Paraw Regatta. According to the reliable local and<br />
international sources around the table, it was in the<br />
early 1970’s that former President Ferdinand Marcos<br />
issued a directive for the creation of events that would<br />
cost him almost nothing - meaning no use of fuel. In<br />
Iloilo they chose to organize what is now the Iloilo<br />
Paraw Regatta.<br />
In their escape from tyranny in the 13th century, the<br />
Datus used “balanghais” (sail boats) to bring their<br />
extended families to Panay. The balanghai were<br />
large wooden sailing boats, about 18 meters long,<br />
used extensively by Malay settlers of the Philippines<br />
in pre-hispanic times. During the Spanish era, the<br />
word balanghai (sometimes balangay), referred not<br />
only to the wooden boat but was also used to identify<br />
the smallest political unit in the new Philippines;<br />
today we are familiar with the “barangay”, which has<br />
the same meaning in governance. In the 21st century,<br />
these native sailboats are still used as a means<br />
of transportation and source of livelihood by the<br />
Hiligaynon tripolantes - those from Iloilo who make<br />
a living from the sea. It is easy to perceive that the<br />
modern “paraw” replicates the balanghai.<br />
As with the balanghai, a Paraw is a wooden boat<br />
adjoined by planks with pointed hulls at both ends. Its<br />
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bamboo mast is secured by lines attached to double<br />
outriggers and other parts of the boat. Hanging astern<br />
is the rudder, used to navigate the boat.<br />
It is amazing how fast these slim shaped hulls with<br />
colorful sails cut through the waves at 20 to 30 kph.<br />
The Paraws have almost equilateral triangular sails<br />
or “layag” (in the vernacular) made of woven mats,<br />
cloth or canvas, attached to a vertical and horizontal<br />
spar that catches the wind for power and velocity.<br />
They are also equipped with a foresail or jib, which<br />
aids in the general direction of the boat. For purposes<br />
of the regatta, the Paraws are classified according<br />
to their waterline length: Category A - sailboats with<br />
water length of 16 feet or less; and, Category B -<br />
sailboats with water length of 16.1 feet up to 25 feet.<br />
For the last 39 years, fisher folks from various towns<br />
of Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental come<br />
together to exhibit their seafaring prowess and<br />
craftsmanship in a 23.8-kilometer boat race, which<br />
takes-off at Tatoy’s Manokan & Seafood Grill on Villa<br />
Beach, Arevalo, across to Sto. Rosario, Buenavista,<br />
off Guimaras Island, and back to the point of origin.<br />
Since its inception, the paraws have been the main<br />
attraction of the Iloilo Paraw Regatta. However<br />
every year, new events are added to complement the<br />
overall festival that is managed by the Iloilo Paraw<br />
Regatta Foundation, Inc. (IPRFI) with the support of<br />
the City Government of Iloilo and the Department of<br />
Tourism Region VI.<br />
The second major race activity of the Festival is the<br />
Paraw Slalom Race, spearheaded by the Department<br />
of Tourism VI, through the leadership of Regional<br />
Director Edwin Trompeta. The Paraw Slalom Race is<br />
a short course race that covers a distance of about 3<br />
kilometers. This year, 37 entries for category A were<br />
divided into 3 heats while 23 entries for category B<br />
were divided into 2 heats. Winners of each category<br />
heat compete in the final slalom race.<br />
Using a Le Mans start from the beach at Tatoy’s, the<br />
paraws head out about 500 meters in front of the start<br />
to buoy No.1, then right of buoy No.2, which is about<br />
1 kilometer north, then left to buoy no. 3 left again to<br />
buoy No. 4 and finally left back to buoy No. 1, with<br />
the finish on the beach. Upon finishing, boat crews<br />
rush to line-up in front of the race committee for their<br />
finisher’s card and for announcement.<br />
Sponsorship of the Paraw Slalom Race makes for a<br />
very generous event, leaving no entry unrewarded<br />
for their efforts - each finishing paraw is assured of<br />
a consolation prize. However, larger cash prices are<br />
given to the top five winners per category. Bagging<br />
ten thousand pesos and the first prize trophy in<br />
Category A was Jolina, owned by Orlando Tajanlangit<br />
of Tigbauan, while Category B first prize winner<br />
Cherelyn, owned by Rico Tantiado also of Tigbauan,<br />
took home twelve thousand pesos and a trophy.<br />
Dawn on Sunday and the day of reckoning has come<br />
for the main event - The Paraw Regatta Race. I<br />
was not sure how I was going to divide me, myself<br />
and I, to cover all the associated events going on<br />
simultaneously: there was Pinta Tawo (body painting);<br />
Pinta Layag (sail painting); the Sinamba de Regatta<br />
(samba dancing) and the preparation for the Race<br />
proper. But one had to make a choice so I focused on<br />
the main event with a splash of samba on the side.<br />
From first light along the beach, thousands of people<br />
from all walks of life and from all over the country<br />
eagerly awaited the sails to be unfurled. Too many<br />
things happening . . . so little time.<br />
I did have time to scrutinize each flamboyant sail along<br />
the beach. Somewhat to my surprise, I found myself<br />
empathizing with the evident pride of the tripolante<br />
as they exuded enthusiasm for their heritage in the<br />
unique sense of ownership of the vibrant and retained<br />
folkways of the Hiligaynons. And why not? After all,<br />
this year’s regatta theme strongly recognizes the<br />
maritime skills of tripolante and Ilonggos worldwide.<br />
It is an amazement to see a kilometer long line of
A kilometer line of paraws with beautifully painted sails<br />
paraws with beautifully painted sails, each telling its<br />
own tale of honor and pride. As Iloilo’s Honorable<br />
Mayor, Jed Patrick Mabilog, aptly put it, “the Paraw is<br />
a symbol of pride for every Ilonggo . . . it is a tradition,<br />
a culture and a craft”.<br />
After days painting sails and refining the boats, the<br />
final call for entries was announced: 61 traditional<br />
paraws registered as entries for the main event. All<br />
entries lined up according to categories at the starting<br />
mark at Tatoy’s, waiting to take their 23.8 kilometer<br />
sailing distance to Sto.Nino Sur, Arevalo, Iloilo City<br />
to Fort San Pedro to Sto. Rosario Buenavista in<br />
Guimaras, to nagbaga Point Jordan, to Bundolan<br />
Poin and back to the point of origin Villa Beach.<br />
A blast of fireworks from the race committee and the<br />
crews of 38 of the smaller Category A boats run down<br />
the beach in true Le Mans style; the boats bob and<br />
A splash of<br />
Samba on the<br />
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skip into action as the air tugs at the unleashed sails.<br />
Gliding effortlessly forward under the acceleration<br />
of wind to the first marker, the boats cutting through<br />
the water like knives and lining the horizon with<br />
their painted sails swinging backward and forward<br />
depending were the angle of the wind.<br />
Moments later is another call for action, Category<br />
B with 23 boats hear their blast. Boats sweeping<br />
through the waters as the bigger boats fill the beach<br />
and are suddenly gone with the wind.<br />
Kids started jumping into the water while spectators<br />
start to converge at the stage for the final competition<br />
of the Sinamba sa Regatta. I can see the colored<br />
sails popping up and down along the horizon but for<br />
now I follow the crowd.<br />
Having missed the street dancing competition the<br />
night prior, its time to photograph the spectacle of<br />
colors offered by the samba<br />
dancers’ dress, gracefully<br />
swaying like the sails but with<br />
fuller bodies. The Sinamba sa<br />
Regatta is a good diversion and<br />
entertainment for spectators<br />
waiting for the return of the<br />
paraws.<br />
I would have wanted to give<br />
meatier details of how the<br />
masters conquered the wind,<br />
which to my limited knowledge<br />
in sailing seemed favorable for<br />
sailors at that very moment,<br />
but I had no boat to be in the<br />
middle of all the excitement.<br />
At the finish line a technical<br />
team composed of judges,<br />
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About 500 meters to buoy no.1<br />
beachmasters, inspectors, recorders, timekeepers,<br />
commentators and chief marshall are positioned for<br />
the return of the boats. Getting the results correct is<br />
important: the grand prize winner of Category A will<br />
take home 15,000 pesos plus an additional 8,000<br />
pesos if the boat is using painted sails; Category<br />
B boats gets 20,000 pesos for winning and 10,000<br />
pesos bonus for using painted sails.<br />
Jolina followed her victory the day before in the slalom<br />
by bagging First Prize in the 2011 Paraw Race. This<br />
boat must be pretty sleek and crafted to perfection.<br />
Marjhonec, owned by Honorato Espinosa of Brgy.<br />
(Continued on page 13)
(Continued on page 16)<br />
Sto. Niño Sur, Arevalo, Iloilo City topped the ranks of<br />
Category B.<br />
Indeed the 39th Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival livedup<br />
to its billing as “The Best Sports Tourism Event.”<br />
I can boldly say that I had a wonderful weekend<br />
escapade in Iloilo. If only I had the time to enjoy all<br />
of the side events going on all at the same time -<br />
beach ball games, rowing and paddling competitions,<br />
jet ski competition, skim boarding, not to mention the<br />
hospitality and the sumptuous oysters and native<br />
chicken delights for lunch. To me, the Iloilo Paraw<br />
Regatta is not just the longest running water sports<br />
event or a mere exhibition of seafaring skills and<br />
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craftsmanship but an embodiment of the Ilonggo<br />
hospitality, culture and tradition captured in one<br />
grandiose festival.<br />
Kudos Hiligaynons!<br />
To get to Iloilo is easy. Airphil Express, Cebu Pacific Air,<br />
Philippine Airlines and Zest Air all fly between Manila and<br />
Iloilo on a daily basis. You can also fly direct from Cebu<br />
and <strong>Davao</strong> daily with Cebu Pacific Air.<br />
Alternatively, you can take an air-conditioned bus from<br />
Manila via Boracay. Negros Navigation and Superferry<br />
both sail daily from Manila to Iloilo.<br />
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11 th Philippine Hobie Challenge - Race Report<br />
from the log of Roman Azanza<br />
The Philippine Hobie Challenge is one of the classic off-shore racing events in Asia. It is where sailing<br />
champions from around the World come to pit their skills against the local knowledge of Philippine sailors,<br />
and to imbibe the outstanding beauty of the Philippines from the perspective obtained from about six inches<br />
above the next crashing wave.<br />
In February 2011 the 11th Philippine Hobie<br />
Challenge took teams from Australia, Papua New<br />
Guinea, Switzerland, Germany Taiwan, New Zealand<br />
and the Philippines on perhaps the as yet most<br />
scenic Challenge route from Lucena (Quezon), to<br />
Marinduque, Romblon, Sibuyan and Tablas, and<br />
finally to Boracay.<br />
Along the way the teams were sometimes<br />
accommodated in tents on the beach and twice at<br />
five-star resorts. They engaged the community in<br />
school outreach programs at five of the race stops<br />
and, on Sibuyan Island, they learned why this one<br />
small island is known as the “Galapagos of Asia” -<br />
it supports possibly the most diverse ecosystem in<br />
Asia, certainly the most diverse for its size, packed<br />
full of indigenous species of flora and fauna.<br />
Of particular note was the inshore race series in<br />
Romblon town bay. Romblon Bay is a perfect venue<br />
for water sports as the arms of the bay, on which<br />
the town is built, form a natural amphitheater so that<br />
everyone has a chance to watch, even if they do not<br />
have a television.<br />
As for the racing itself, out of Lucena to Maniuaya<br />
Island, Marinduque, the breeze was quite soft<br />
and friendly but, as various legs of the Challenge<br />
advanced towards the Sibuyan Sea and Tablas<br />
Island, the wind and the waves soon offered a true<br />
test of seamanship and tactical sailing. By the time<br />
(Continued on page 16)
Bob Engwirda overall<br />
winner on the 11th<br />
Philippine Hobie<br />
Challenge with kids<br />
from Romblon<br />
(Continued from page 14)<br />
the fleet arrived at the Shangri-la in<br />
Boracay everyone knew they had<br />
risen to the challenge, on the water<br />
and in the hearts of the communities<br />
they touched along the way.<br />
The overall winner on the 11th<br />
Philippine Hobie Challenge was<br />
the pair of Bob Engwirda & Bradley<br />
Wilson closely followed by World<br />
Grand Master Hobie 16 Champion,<br />
Bruce Tardrew & Eric Tomacruz. The<br />
same winners took the trophy in the<br />
Romblon Bay inshore series also.<br />
Next year the Philippine Hobie<br />
Challenge will test itself in the waters<br />
of Palawan.
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Cruising in another Century<br />
In 1755 a remarkable mariner and a man of<br />
many talents cruised through the southern<br />
Philippine Islands. Captain Thomas Forrest,<br />
a Scotsman, chose a Philippine sailboat for his<br />
voyages. He created hydrographic charts and<br />
drew meticulous illustrations along his routes.<br />
He had a<br />
talent for<br />
relating to and<br />
b e f r i e n d i n g<br />
local people<br />
on his travels.<br />
The Sultan<br />
of Acheh<br />
in northern<br />
S u m a t r a<br />
k n i g h t e d<br />
him with the<br />
Order of the<br />
Golden Sword<br />
in 1764. The<br />
Forrest Strait<br />
off the coast<br />
of Myanmar<br />
(Burma) is<br />
named after<br />
him.<br />
In 1755, in<br />
the southern<br />
P h i l i p p i n e s ,<br />
the Sultan of<br />
Maguindanao<br />
ceded Forrest<br />
the island<br />
of Bunwoot,<br />
today’s Bongo<br />
island, west of<br />
Polloc Harbor<br />
in the Moro<br />
Gulf.<br />
He had set out in 1744 in a triple-masted Sulu<br />
prahu called the Tartar Galley from Balambangan,<br />
an island off the north-west coast of Borneo.<br />
He sailed via the Sulu Archipelago through the<br />
Moluccas and eventually to New Guinea.<br />
WORDS BY : BRUCE CURRAN<br />
On the return journey he passed the Moluccas<br />
again, with a prolonged stay in Mindanao, and then<br />
on to North Borneo, and Straits of Malacca and on to<br />
Acheh and Bengkulu in western Sumatra, finishing<br />
his epic journey in 1776. His Sulu prahu was 40 feet<br />
long, with a 20 foot long keel, a draft of 3.5 feet, and<br />
a weight of 10 tons.<br />
It carried four<br />
lantakas, or swivel<br />
guns, controlled by<br />
his English gunner.<br />
It was crewed<br />
by a multi-ethnic<br />
team of 22 people<br />
including Visayan,<br />
Hindustani, British,<br />
Maguindanaoan<br />
and Moluccan<br />
sailors - this<br />
motley crew<br />
boasted names<br />
like Rum Johnny,<br />
Strap, Ishmael<br />
J e r r y b a t t o o ,<br />
Andrew, Marudo,<br />
Panjang and his<br />
pilot Tuan Hadjee.<br />
The boat was<br />
powered by sails<br />
on three masts<br />
but it could be<br />
rowed when winds<br />
were absent or<br />
contrary. The<br />
choice of a shallow<br />
draft vessel was<br />
deliberate for<br />
several reasons.<br />
First, the boat<br />
could skirt the<br />
shorelines in waters that could not be entered by<br />
the much deeper Dutch schooners that patrolled<br />
these waters. These were also coral waters where<br />
a shallow draft was a tremendous advantage.<br />
(Continued on page 20)
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(Continued From page 18)<br />
Charting and mapping could be made more accurate<br />
by passing close to shorelines.<br />
In Mindanao on the return journey, Forrest was<br />
the guest of Rajah Moodo, the heir apparent of<br />
the Sultanate of Maguindanao. He stayed from<br />
May 1775 until January 1776, overhauling his<br />
boat, which had been leaking badly. Among his<br />
illustrations of Maguindanao, Forrest compiled an<br />
elaborate genealogy of the sultanate from the time<br />
of its founding by Serif Ali, its first Muslim ruler,<br />
who had arrived from Mecca more than 300 years<br />
earlier. In all his endeavors Forrest was dependent<br />
on assistance from local people, and he invariably<br />
found it. He had an amazing rapport with people<br />
from all places and all outlooks, which must have<br />
played a major part in his successful journeys<br />
around the region. Eventually the Tartar Gallery<br />
sailed into Fort Marlborough (Bengkulu), the British<br />
trading post on the west coast of Sumatra. This was<br />
his home base with the East India Company, who<br />
funded his expeditions in search of trading goods.<br />
In his later years, Captain Forrest became a “Free<br />
Mariner”, unattached to the British India Company.<br />
It is a sign of those times that he traded in slaves,<br />
owning some himself including one Spaniard. He<br />
traded in opium and harbored stowaways on board.<br />
He was shipwrecked several times during his<br />
illustrious career, and even had to scuttle one of his<br />
vessels when confronted with the French invasions<br />
of Bengkulu in 1760.<br />
Altogether a remarkable man, Forrest was a lifetime<br />
and worthy of the title First Cruising Yachtsman in<br />
the Philippine Islands. If there is evidence of earlier<br />
boaters cruising these waters, I hope I find out about<br />
them (if you know of people more worthy, please let<br />
me know). But until then. Captain Thomas Forrest<br />
is the “main man”. But of course the first sailors<br />
in these waters had arrived long before a trading<br />
Scotsman arrived on the scene.<br />
Seafarers from many lands coursed through these<br />
islands, bringing a sparkling of culture and different<br />
peoples. Some must have stayed, but most returned<br />
to a far off land that was unknown to those whom<br />
they had visited. The beginnings of trade had begun,<br />
and from the Philippines went forest products,<br />
beeswax, rice, and sea cucumber favored by the<br />
Chinese palate, some gold in the form of ornaments<br />
and trinkets fashioned by the local people.
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The first seafarers here, the tripolante, were the<br />
indigenous coastal dwellers, passing between<br />
the islands: fishing, trading and raiding along the<br />
coastlines.<br />
The Butuan archaeological boat site, on the north<br />
coast of Mindanao, reveals a Filipino boat-making<br />
method* with side-by-side (carvel) planking secured<br />
with wooden plugs and curved cross ribs, which<br />
are evidence of the sophisticated methods used<br />
long before any European arrival. This construction<br />
method is still practiced by the Sama and the Ivatans<br />
in the Batanes islands today.<br />
These islands have long held an ancient seafaring<br />
people and since time immemorial the coastal waters<br />
have been churned by the movement of paddle and<br />
sailcloth. Three replicas of this type of boat, the<br />
Balangai, have recently been cruising far and wide<br />
in Philippine waters – there tale is a remarkable one<br />
in modern times.
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Photograph by: Girlie Cervantes<br />
<strong>Active</strong> <strong>Watersports</strong> Destination<br />
DAVAO<br />
Words by Martyn Willes<br />
<strong>Davao</strong> has long been known as the home of the King of Fruits: the durian<br />
– bulging, pungent bags of succulence hanging amongst the branches<br />
of plantation trees or almost hidden in the (sadly) dwindling, virgin rainforest;<br />
pollinated and propagated by the millionstrong,<br />
eco-air-force of fruit bats from Samal<br />
Island.<br />
I could include pomelo (‘suha’), pineapple<br />
and a widest variety of bananas to the list<br />
of ripened ovary excellence that emanates<br />
from this easily accessible corner of the<br />
Philippines.<br />
But then I would be compelled to add tuna<br />
and scallops and, surprisingly, some of the<br />
best Chinese cuisine to be found outside of<br />
Hong Kong . . .<br />
But never before has <strong>Davao</strong> been known as<br />
the home of water sports; until today.<br />
During the past couple of months we have<br />
trekked and trundled paths less trodden<br />
and discovered a feast of activities that,<br />
combined, make the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf one of the<br />
most satisfying water sports destinations<br />
anywhere in Asia. Let us take you on our<br />
journey that starts with skim-boarding and<br />
surfing in the far East of the <strong>Davao</strong> Region
The Amihan Boys of Mati<br />
From the 1500km milestone (from Manila,<br />
presumably) on the highway, beside <strong>Davao</strong><br />
International Airport, the air-conditioned bus takes<br />
around four hours to reach Mati. The last 25<br />
kilometers descend a visually spectacular, winding,<br />
forest-lined, concrete road that offers glimpses of<br />
secluded bays and beaches at every turn.<br />
Alighting the bus in Mati City and taking a jeep<br />
or multi-cab another 15 minutes, Dahican Bay<br />
is achieved. “Dahican”, in the local dialect,<br />
approximates to the action of dragging yourself<br />
along on your belly. That is exactly what four<br />
different species of sea turtle have done here since<br />
time immemorial. Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Green<br />
and Hawksbill sea turtles come to this relatively<br />
protected, horseshoe shaped bay and ‘dahican’ up<br />
the beaches to lay their eggs.<br />
The waves out at each point of the horseshoe offer<br />
excellent Pacific surfing, with the southern point<br />
notable for the “ABC break” - a multi-discipline<br />
break with A for novice, B for intermediate and C<br />
for experienced surfers – the signature break of<br />
Mati, that local surfers claim to be the best in the<br />
Philippines.<br />
Words by Martyn Willes<br />
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M ati occupies a promontory, on the East coast of <strong>Davao</strong> Oriental that challenges the<br />
mighty Pacific Ocean. Almost nothing lies between its coral-sand beaches and Hawaii,<br />
so when the easterlies are full blowing, the mountainous seas deliver pounding surf.<br />
Photograph by: Martyn Willes<br />
However, Dahican Bay is also known for its superb<br />
skim-boarding. Within the bay each wave breaks<br />
perfectly parallel to the shore, rushes up the beach<br />
and leaves a beautifully smooth receding surface<br />
for the skim-board aficionado to skim down at great<br />
speed. The Mayor’s Cup is a national skim-boarding<br />
competition held here each April that draws skimmers<br />
from around the country and further afield.<br />
Dahican Bay is a Philippine Marine Protected Area<br />
and the guardians are the “Amihan Boys”; their<br />
“father” and mentor is George “Jun” Plaza.<br />
Jun started skim-boarding here after seeing someone<br />
on television doing it and recognized that “his” beach<br />
was very similar in many respects. As he tells the<br />
story: lacking any other suitable wood he took a door<br />
from his house and cut it to shape and just jumped<br />
aboard. That was almost a decade ago.<br />
The Amihan Boys are all orphans of the <strong>Davao</strong><br />
Region. Taken in, trained and schooled with the<br />
financial support of the city mayor and local business<br />
interests. When not attending to scholastic pursuits<br />
the (currently) 20 Amihan Boys keep a watchful eye<br />
on Dahican Bay and all of its marine inhabitants:<br />
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reporting illegal fishing, preventing those aiming to<br />
steal the turtle eggs and educating locals & visitors<br />
as to the wonders of nature that have been bestowed<br />
on this perfectly peaceful corner of paradise. The<br />
resident dolphins, dugong, rays, sharks and the<br />
turtles are the beneficiaries, and so are the scuba<br />
divers who venture here to the Tagabakid Reef for a<br />
unique <strong>Davao</strong> Oriental scuba diving experience.<br />
The Amihan Boys have formed the “Amihan sa<br />
Dahican Skim and Surf Team” and pride themselves<br />
on their ability to speak English (mostly learned from<br />
Australian surfers, be warned) and beating almost<br />
all-comers in annual competitions (check out their<br />
Facebook page). If you want to learn how to skim or<br />
surf Mati then the Amihan Boys offer skim-boarding<br />
clinics and act as guides and coaches for surfers. You<br />
don’t need to lug your skim/surf board because you<br />
can rent them right here on the beach, for Php200<br />
per hour; if you want to recruit an Amihan Boy as<br />
trainer or guide then add Php400 per hour. The rental<br />
and training fees go directly to fund their education<br />
and related expenses.<br />
There are two resorts along the beach that offer airconditioned<br />
accommodations fully acceptable to local<br />
and foreign tourists (rooms at Php2-3,000 per night).<br />
Photograph by: Girlie Cervantes<br />
Dahican Bay guardians - the “Amihan Boys” with<br />
their “father” and mentor George “Jun” Plaza (second from left)
Of these, the Botona Resort is the most established<br />
while the Kanaby Resort is the newest. If instead you<br />
want to bring a tent then the Amihan camp grounds –<br />
lawns beneath coconut palms – charge only Php100<br />
per night, and that includes free water and use of<br />
the open-air kitchen. Forgot your<br />
tent? Then rent a hammock above<br />
the Amihan restaurant for Php50 per<br />
night.<br />
One word to the wise: the afore<br />
mentioned resorts offer a broad<br />
cosmopolitan-inspired menu whereas<br />
the Amihan kitchen does not serve<br />
chicken or pork. According to Jun,<br />
consuming pork and chicken will not<br />
allow you to perform your best on<br />
the water – only fish and vegetables<br />
float so if you want to be at your peak<br />
you should only eat food that floats. If<br />
using the Amihan camp grounds you<br />
are also requested not to consume<br />
alcohol or smoke cigarettes in the<br />
vicinity.<br />
There are other marvels in Mati that<br />
we did not have time to investigate:<br />
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a relatively new Philippine Eagle sanctuary; Luban<br />
Island and its fruit bats; and, the mysterious “hidden<br />
sea” - a lake, at an elevation of 2,500 feet, whose<br />
water level rises and falls in harmony with the ocean<br />
tides! We shall return.<br />
Photograph by: Girlie Cervantes<br />
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The Deca Wakeboard<br />
Park Experience<br />
Words by Martyn Willes<br />
If you think you would like to skim but would like<br />
some mechanical assistance then the Deca<br />
Wakeboard Park is for you. For the princely<br />
sum of (currently) Php500 per day you can learn<br />
to wakeboard under the watchful eyes of the<br />
Philippines’ number-one wakeboard champion,<br />
who is also the Operations Manager of the Deca<br />
Wakeboard Park.<br />
The Deca Wakeboard Park is 25 minutes/<br />
Php200 by taxi from downtown <strong>Davao</strong> or a little<br />
longer/cheaper by multi-cab. A little more than<br />
a year old, the trees and flowering shrubs that<br />
occupy Deca’s central island and surrounds are<br />
still establishing themselves so it has that shiny<br />
newness that says “have a go”, so we did.<br />
As stated virgins to wakeboarding, at Deca<br />
we were provided with almost new equipment,<br />
diligent instruction and expert advice about how<br />
not to fall off on the first time around the park.<br />
Knee-boards are where everyone starts: “so that<br />
you will get the feel of the pull of the (overhead)<br />
cable”. This “feel”, we discovered, is absolutely<br />
important as at each “corner” the overhead<br />
cable changes direction quite rapidly and the<br />
acceleration is quick, and addictive . . . if you<br />
are in the wrong place when the cable changes<br />
direction then you are jolted forward (and usually<br />
fall off) instead of embracing the rush. Control is<br />
simple: lean to the right to go right and lean to<br />
the left to go left.<br />
Addictive it surely is and only one of two things will<br />
probably cause you to get off. First, in order that<br />
the largest number of people get to have a go,<br />
Photographs by: Girlie Cervantes<br />
you are typically limited to three or four rounds of<br />
the park following each “launch”. Second, your<br />
upper body will tell you to rest for a while after<br />
about three rounds of the park anyway.<br />
After your third launch on a knee-board you<br />
are ready to try the actual wakeboard. This is<br />
where you tuck your toes into suitably positioned<br />
straps on the wakeboard and try the stand-up<br />
start. Most people don’t make it the first time and<br />
fall into the water within a few feet of the launch
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platform. No problem – the water is soft and,<br />
unlike other water sports we usually engage in,<br />
is not salty; just line up again and take the next<br />
available rope . . . it takes about ten minutes for<br />
your turn to come around again.<br />
On a busy day at Deca you can complete about<br />
25 launches (on a quiet day you can have more<br />
launches than you can handle). And if you ride<br />
the park for most of these, you will have had an<br />
upper-body workout that equates to about four<br />
hours in the gym. In fact, many people we talked<br />
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to come to Deca instead of to the gym because<br />
the value-for-money is better - they feel they have<br />
achieved something by way of improving their skills as<br />
well as muscle tone . . . how many gyms have ramps<br />
to slide up and opportunities to turn somersaults at<br />
30 km per hour?<br />
Deca is different from other wakeboard parks in the<br />
Philippines insomuch as it is not a round or oval lake.<br />
The Deca wakeboard lake is more similar in shape to<br />
a running track, with two long straights between two<br />
graceful curves. For the beginner the longer straights<br />
give you more time to experiment with control of the<br />
board before the “corners” dictate your movement;<br />
for the experienced wakeboarder, it gives more<br />
chance to explore the big-air jumping off ramps and<br />
other “obstacles”, which provide height for practicing<br />
advanced maneuvers (and wipe-outs).<br />
The Deca Wakeboard Park is also different becauseit<br />
is the brainchild of property developer, JJ Atencio.<br />
JJ’s assertion is that all property developments need<br />
a reason to be where they are and a wakeboard<br />
park gives a unique reason to be that offers healthy<br />
exercise, waves of fun and an opportunity to enhance<br />
the resale value of adjacent property due to the<br />
popularity of the reason to be.<br />
Already underway is the Clark wakeboard park, as<br />
an integral part of his new property development on<br />
the former US Air Force base. Expected to open in<br />
June of 2011, the Clark wakeboard park will probably<br />
be even more popular than the Deca Wakeboard<br />
Park inasmuch as it will be the closest wakeboard<br />
park to Manila. On the other hand, Deca will prevail<br />
in popularity for those who love to wakeboard away<br />
from the madding crowd.<br />
JJ’s extended vision is for a “chain of wakeboad<br />
parks” throughout the Philippines. When pressed to<br />
suggest where the next link in the chain might be, the<br />
suggestion was Cebu.<br />
So why start the chain in <strong>Davao</strong>? “My vision is that<br />
every high school and college student in <strong>Davao</strong><br />
should have the chance to wakeboard at least once in<br />
their lives”, says JJ, himself a confessed wakeboard<br />
junkie, “and I can’t afford to sponsor them all to go to<br />
Camsur or Batangas”.
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Having spent the day at Deca<br />
Wakeboard Park we can attest that<br />
there are few other water sports that<br />
are so inexpensive, so healthy and<br />
so enjoyable and that also build selfconfidence<br />
and replace the need to<br />
be bound to the gym for a work-out.<br />
A word from the newly wise: the<br />
sooner you can relax on the board the<br />
sooner you can successfully complete<br />
your first somersault.<br />
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Photograph couresy of : <strong>Davao</strong> Wild Water Adventure<br />
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White Water Rafting <strong>Davao</strong> Style<br />
words by Martyn Willes<br />
fifteen minute taxi ride and we all assembled at the <strong>Davao</strong> Crocodile Park at 9am<br />
A the following morning. Suitably briefed and photographed, we boarded the <strong>Davao</strong><br />
Wild Water bus, already loaded with inflatable boats and all the gear you need for a day<br />
of fun along 13 kilometers of raging rapids.<br />
Our group consisted of a doctor, accountants, a freshgraduate<br />
lawyer, auditors, government employees<br />
and a brace of lovers. Pretty rowdy and ready for<br />
anything, we had each invested Php 2,000 for a wild<br />
ride down the upper reaches of the <strong>Davao</strong> River.<br />
An hour later we disgorged beside<br />
the boulder strewn cascading river<br />
in the barangay of Calinan; still in<br />
<strong>Davao</strong> City!<br />
Three boats were launched: fifteen<br />
crew and three guides strapped<br />
with floatation devices, craniums<br />
encased in helmets and paddles<br />
in hand, we hopped aboard for the<br />
adventure.<br />
Our fist experience, just to be<br />
sure we were totally in tune with<br />
our new environment, was to slide<br />
off the boat and be pulled back<br />
aboard. Important stuff, just is case<br />
of accidental de-boating along the<br />
way, and it was surprisingly easy<br />
to haul any size of water-logged “victim” back aboard<br />
once you knew the trick.<br />
Off we went towards our first obstacle completely<br />
oblivious of the consequences – a valentine’s day<br />
experience where you have to “kiss the wall”. You<br />
Photograph by : Martyn Willes Photo
don’t of course but your boat will kiss and with such<br />
force as to cause it to spin momentarily out of control.<br />
This initiation into the adrenalin of river rafting sets<br />
the scene for the next four hours.<br />
graph couresy of : <strong>Davao</strong> Wild Water Adventure<br />
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The <strong>Davao</strong> River has cut a deep path through the<br />
limestone, sandstone and ash-fields evidential of<br />
<strong>Davao</strong>’s dramatic formation: of tectonic calamity and<br />
volcanic magnitude.<br />
Along the way ancient trees and new growth<br />
(where the ancient value has been stripped<br />
before the Nation’s youth could appreciate) fill<br />
the cliffs and flood plains. Small communities,<br />
otherwise cut off from the buoyancy of <strong>Davao</strong><br />
City proper are happy to watch, with friendly<br />
amusement or curiosity, as our three, city-folkfilled<br />
air bags glide, stumble and swirl, with<br />
accompanying vocal merriment sufficient to<br />
presume Mother Nature has intoxicated us all<br />
to carousal, along the alternating rapids and<br />
passages of serenity.<br />
To the educated, the cliffs and flood plains are<br />
filled with durian, mango, citrus, Philippine<br />
mahogany, nara plus ghostly deciduous trees<br />
I must have never seen before in their naked<br />
state. The river too is full of life, and large carp<br />
are especially favored here for their sport and<br />
ability to satisfy a family with just one catch.<br />
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Photograph by : Martyn Willes
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The river splits around islands held firm by acacia as<br />
we tumble on toward the “washing machine”, “drop<br />
and suck”, “rodeo”, “double drop” and lunch beside a<br />
sandy bank on a river-bow.<br />
As we alight from our rubber boats and clamber over<br />
the boulder strewn sand, four village dogs appear out<br />
of the shrubs with looks of hesitant expectation - that<br />
they too may join in the feast of fish, pork and rice<br />
that is eagerly consumed. Sad to say, on this day, the<br />
dogs were not left with so much as a plastic lunchbox<br />
to lick – our exercise-derived hunger equaled the<br />
provisions supplied.<br />
Onward and downward we laughed, splashed and<br />
glided towards the end of the route, which came all<br />
too soon. We would all have gone twice as far had<br />
the water course allowed.<br />
By 3pm our band of bedraggled and very happy river<br />
rafting enthusiasts arrived back at the Crocodile Park<br />
from whence we came, determined we shall share<br />
our experience with the rest of the World. For surely,<br />
white water rafting in <strong>Davao</strong> is an introduction to a<br />
sport that entertains as much as it inspires.<br />
There are other rivers that can be rafted and kayaked<br />
Photograph courtesy of <strong>Davao</strong> Wild Water Adventure<br />
in <strong>Davao</strong> City and its surrounds, but these require<br />
more than just enthusiasm and a trained guide to<br />
keep you safe.<br />
If I was to speculate: within the decade, <strong>Davao</strong> will<br />
be host to white water kayak competitions that will<br />
attract international champions and enthusiasts.<br />
Accommodation is relatively inexpensive, good food<br />
is definitely inexpensive and the peoples of the area<br />
offer a unique charm and friendliness that is a little<br />
more reserved but also more sincere than the usual.<br />
Photograph by : Martyn Willes
Samal Island Diving<br />
Words and Phtographs by Carlos R. Munda, Jr.<br />
And just like those brightly colored wrappings that<br />
add mystery to those yuletide presents, diving in<br />
Samal also comes in various hues. Green for the<br />
lush island vegetation, vivid blue for the crystal clear<br />
waters, sun-bleached white for the pristine beaches<br />
and bright yellow for the sunshine that warms the<br />
shores all year round.<br />
And speaking of year-round sunshine, it is a fact<br />
that the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf is one of the few places in<br />
the Philippines immune from the wild typhoons<br />
that routinely visit the archipelago.<br />
Whether it is a trick of geography or a<br />
blessing from the heavens is beyond<br />
me, all I know is it allows us to enjoy<br />
those warming rays even when the<br />
rest of the country is being whipped<br />
silly by wind and rain.<br />
Few places in the world support as<br />
much marine diversity as the <strong>Davao</strong><br />
Gulf. With just 173 kilometers of<br />
coastline stretching from San Agustin<br />
in <strong>Davao</strong> Oriental to the north and<br />
Don Marcelino in <strong>Davao</strong> del Sur on<br />
the South, the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf is home<br />
to numerous marine mammals, sea<br />
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Diving in Samal is like opening gifts on Christmas eve - one delightful, colorful package at a time.<br />
With so many dive sites still to be explored, the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf offers scubadivers of whatever<br />
persuasion – be it recreational, technical, or photography – unlimited possibilities.<br />
turtles, pelagic fishes, coral reefs and countless<br />
organisms.<br />
But even with this heavy concentration of marine life,<br />
it is quite surprising that the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf has remained<br />
one of the best-kept secrets of scuba diving in the<br />
Philippines and the rest of he diving world. Instead<br />
of becoming a magnet for divers from many parts of<br />
the country, most have never gone beyond the more<br />
popular dive sites in Luzon and the Visayas. They<br />
don’t know what they’re missing like…<br />
35<br />
Photograph courtesy of Carlos Munda<br />
Photograph courtesy of Carlos Munda
36<br />
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MACRO DIVING<br />
While many scuba diving traditionalists still insist on<br />
shark sightings, manta mantras and the presence of<br />
other blue water biggies before declaring a dive site<br />
Photograph courtesy of Carlos Munda<br />
worthy of world-class status, there is a growing clique<br />
of divers who are shunning the usual standards in<br />
favor of the small stuff – the strange, the weird, the<br />
creepy crawlies of the seabed.
These are the macro photography<br />
divers – a small but passionate group<br />
of underwater explorers whose<br />
diving revolves around spotting –<br />
and taking photos of – the smallest<br />
and strangest things on the bottom<br />
of the ocean. Unlike ‘normal’ divers,<br />
these macro maniacs prefer diving<br />
on barren sand over live, colorful<br />
corals. Instead of scanning the<br />
waters for those pelagics off in the<br />
distance, they spend most of their<br />
time peering into the tiniest nooks<br />
and crannies, shining their flashlights<br />
on every hole and expecting (hoping,<br />
dreaming) to discover the mythical<br />
ornate, hairy, pygmy, painted, warty<br />
ghost pipefish.<br />
In recent years the <strong>Davao</strong> Gulf has gained a<br />
reputation for fine macro diving. Places like Babu<br />
Santa on Talikud Island, Critter Cove in Tagbaobo<br />
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Photograph courtesy of Carlos Munda<br />
and Kaputian Beach in Samal are among the most<br />
popular. But for beginning macro photographers,<br />
almost every dive offers an opportunity to take a shot<br />
at a frogfish, a pygmy seahorse or at any one of the<br />
many critters that abound in the waters of the gulf.<br />
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Bugsay Dabaw Continues to Paddle this Summer<br />
By Lito Delos Reyes<br />
K ayaking in <strong>Davao</strong> City<br />
became more popular<br />
with the creation of the<br />
group of paddlers known as<br />
“Bugsay Dabaw”, on April 8,<br />
2003.<br />
Bugsay Dabaw was formed with the assistance of Wind<br />
and Wave <strong>Davao</strong>, a PADI Dive shop at Sta. Ana Wharf,<br />
which also caters to different water sports including<br />
kayaking, windsurfing, sport fishing and scuba diving.<br />
Despite lacking the experience, Bugsay Dabaw led by<br />
its president Danilo “Jhun” Bacus made their presence<br />
felt by winning 12 medals in the first Cebu Pacific Kayak<br />
competition held on May 14-16, 2004, at the Vista<br />
Marina Resort in Lapu-Lapu City.<br />
The impressive performance earned Bugsay Dabaw a<br />
plaque of recognition on that same year in the annual<br />
So Kim Cheng Sports Awards, held at the Grand Regal<br />
Hotel in <strong>Davao</strong>.<br />
Philippine national coach Lyn-Lyn Isolante, was so<br />
impressed on the Bugsay Dabaw paddlers that she<br />
came to <strong>Davao</strong> to personally invite them to join the<br />
national training pool in Manila, in preparation for the<br />
coming Southeast Asian Games.<br />
Isolante also conducted a free kayak clinic for Bugsay<br />
Dabaw at Wind and Wave <strong>Davao</strong>.<br />
In 2005, Bugsay Dabaw conducted the “WOW<br />
Mindanao Kayak Race” at the Ana Marina Resort on<br />
Oct. 16, and later the “WOW Kayak Adventure Race”<br />
at the Crocodile Park in Ma-a.<br />
Bugsay Dabaw also<br />
participates in helping<br />
preserve the environment<br />
by joining the annual<br />
coastal clean-ups held<br />
every May and September<br />
in celebration of the<br />
International Coastal<br />
Clean-up at the Malipano<br />
Island of the Pearl Farm<br />
Beach Resort in Samal.<br />
Bugsay Dabaw also<br />
promoted kayaking in<br />
the nearby Sarangani<br />
Province by conducting a<br />
two-day kayak event with<br />
a free clinic in the first<br />
Sarangani Bay Festival,<br />
in Gumasa, on May 19-<br />
20, 2006.<br />
Bugsay Dabaw and<br />
Wind and Wave <strong>Davao</strong><br />
most recently had a<br />
kayak competition in the<br />
summer of 2010, at the<br />
Paradise Island Beach<br />
Resort in Samal.<br />
Bugsay Dabaw’s<br />
pcoming event is the<br />
first “<strong>Davao</strong> Summerfest<br />
Kayak Challenge” set on<br />
May 21 and 22, 2011, at<br />
the Queensland Resort<br />
in Times Beach.<br />
The event will be part<br />
of the first <strong>Davao</strong> Summertime Sports Festival of the<br />
City Tourism Office and the <strong>Davao</strong> Association of<br />
Tour Operators.<br />
The categories are the Novice Men’s Singles, Novice<br />
Women’s Singles and Mixed Open Tandem. Cash<br />
prizes, trophies and medals will be up for grabs.<br />
For inquiries, please contact: 0939-5177408 (Jhun)<br />
or 0929-1734748 (Lito).<br />
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Looking For Lobster<br />
The exciting discovery of valuable Ming Dynasty pottery on the sea bed off Mindoro<br />
It Is every child’s dream to come upon a lost hoard of buried treasure, but few manage to do it with the<br />
spectacular success of Brian Homan - an Australian who went for a short holiday to Puerto Galera,<br />
Philippines, in the 1979. He’s still in the Philippines, running a resort hotel, restaurant and diving business,<br />
but this tale is about the day of his first discovery of the buried wreck of an old trading boat stuffed full with<br />
Chinese goods. Since that day he has immersed himself in books on local culture, anthropology, seamanship,<br />
medieval trading patterns and Asian History, as well as in the crystal waters off Mindoro and farther afield.<br />
It was just another perfect day in paradise. I had<br />
finished what passes for my day’s toil at my restaurant<br />
and diving club on Sabang Beach, on the Philippine<br />
Island of Mindoro, and decided to go for a swim.<br />
Although I have worked in the area for almost four<br />
years, and go diving about every day, the underwater<br />
wonders in the crystal waters never weary me. If<br />
the beaches, drowsing beneath the palm trees, are<br />
beautiful then the underwater scenery with its corals<br />
heads and startling variety of tropical fish are even<br />
more spectacular.<br />
Although, today, I drill into all my students the basic<br />
safety principle of underwater adventure: never dive<br />
alone. On this day I was looking for treasure. Truth<br />
be known I was always looking for treasure, and I did<br />
it alone.<br />
As always the wonders of the underwater world<br />
encompassed me as soon as the waves were a few<br />
feet above my head. I cruised slowly, casually, through<br />
the warm water, about halfway between the surface<br />
and the sandy seabed twenty-two meters below the<br />
gentle swells. I spotted a circle in the golden sand of<br />
the sea bed.<br />
There are two things that mother Nature seldom<br />
constructs – a perfect circle and a dead straight<br />
line—and as I got closer to what looked like a round<br />
hole protruding from the sand, it was obvious that this<br />
was not crafted in the art of nature.<br />
At the depth of twenty-two meters, visibility was still<br />
clear. I flicked some of the sand away and the object,<br />
whatever it was, seemed to be a clay circle. I grasped<br />
and tugged. It didn’t move. I dug deeper. From the<br />
open circle, the sand parted to reveal secrets that<br />
had been buried for centuries. With a couple of<br />
centimeters more sand removed, snarling temple
dogs glared up at me. My heart began to race. I didn’t<br />
know how much, then, about archeology, but I knew<br />
it wasn’t Filipino native art. The sand flew away as<br />
I scraped down, down, down, to expose the sides<br />
of what was becoming more and more obviously a<br />
sizable jar.<br />
There was something embossed on the surface of<br />
the long-buried glazing. I scooped away more sand<br />
and rubbed my hand over the side of the jar.<br />
Currents slowly cleared the water and there, shining<br />
golden a few centimeters in front of my face, was the<br />
curling, clawing, befanged emblem of the Dragon<br />
Throne of Imperial China.<br />
How had this come to be here in the passage to a<br />
harbor on the northern coast of Mindoro? What was a<br />
Chinese jar of some obvious antiquity doing resting in<br />
the sands of the Philippine sea. I prodded, I probed,<br />
I dug.<br />
One by one, the secrets of the sands were grudgingly<br />
revealed. Here was another jar! And what is this? A<br />
piece of the familiar white and blue Chinese porcelain,<br />
shining in the subterranean sunlight with gloss that<br />
looks as the day it was fired. I surveyed the area<br />
frantically, fascinated by my accidental discovery. But<br />
my air was running out, so I memorized the spot and<br />
headed for the surface and the shore, mesmerized<br />
by the treasures left behind me.<br />
I trudged up the beach towards my home and my<br />
wife, Alina. What should I do? How can I best ensure<br />
that the ancient artifacts be preserved? Of one thing<br />
I was certain; I had to keep quiet about my discovery.<br />
It was common knowledge that, all around the<br />
world, priceless sunken cargoes had been looted by<br />
unscrupulous treasure hunters and curious seekers.<br />
I talked it over with Alina, and, next day, we were on<br />
the ferry to Batangas and then, in my old pick-up<br />
truck, overland to Manila.<br />
What I sought in Manila was the name of the<br />
Philippine Government official in charge of buried<br />
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underwater treasure. The two men I found were both<br />
at the National Museum, in the heart of old Manila:<br />
Intramuros.<br />
The men I met that day, in September 1983, were<br />
both impressive scholars whose high academic<br />
qualifications were tempered with common sense. I<br />
explained to them what I had discovered and both<br />
the assistant director, Alfredo Evangelista, and the<br />
curator, Jesus Peralta, were immediately excited but<br />
cautioned me that if I was treasure hunting, that was<br />
against the law. “I was looking for lobster”, I said.<br />
“Then that's ok” they replied, relieved.<br />
Formalities sorted, the excitement mounted as I<br />
reached into the bag and withdrew one of the items I<br />
had brought ashore. It was a pale. Almost translucent<br />
green dish, about 60 centimeters across and with<br />
raised sides about eighty millimeters high. “A celadon<br />
incense burner”, Alfredo breathed. Then I drew out<br />
the other artifact, a curiously shaped flask with a<br />
pouring spout, rather like an elongated teapot, in<br />
white and blue patterned porcelain, Jesus identified it<br />
straightaway as a wine flask.<br />
The fact that these two knowledgeable men were so<br />
enthusiastic thrilled me. The long trip up to Manila<br />
had not been waste. We talked for hours about my<br />
discovery; I outlined what I had found , described<br />
the best I could the items still on the sea floor and,<br />
together, we had laid out preliminary plans on how to<br />
go about making a scientific recovery of the site.<br />
There were three main considerations. First, we were<br />
concerned to protect the sanctity of the site so that<br />
any items of historical interest would not be removed<br />
or destroyed by pilferers. Then to plan a scientific<br />
and systematic recovery program, so anything of<br />
archaeological and anthropological interest would be<br />
preserved. Finally, there was the question on how to<br />
finance the project.<br />
We solved the last first, with the signing of a contract<br />
between myself and the Museum: I would raise<br />
whatever on the sea bed; the Philippine authorities<br />
would have first claim on every type of<br />
item reclaimed; and, we would divide<br />
the remainder of the find. Both sides<br />
considered this fair.<br />
To ensure the work was done in<br />
a scientific manner, the Museum<br />
provided divers who were expert in<br />
excavating archaeological sites. They<br />
also arranged a Coast Guard team to<br />
provide security.<br />
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By the time we were ready to begin operations, I had<br />
spent many further hours prowling the sea bed, in<br />
ever-increasing circles around the spot where I had<br />
made the original discovery. The more I looked, the<br />
more I found. As the Museum divers, underwater<br />
workers and I took<br />
relic after relic to<br />
the surface, the<br />
experts began to<br />
piece together<br />
a fascinating<br />
historical jigsaw<br />
puzzle.<br />
The 7,107 island<br />
that make up the<br />
modern Republic of<br />
the Philippines lay<br />
sprawled across<br />
the trade routes of<br />
Asia. The Chinese<br />
traders came early<br />
to these protected<br />
channels and bays,<br />
sailing down from<br />
the delta of the<br />
Pearl River on the<br />
northeast winter monsoon, pushing their big junks<br />
before the swells, The Arabs came too, on a surge<br />
of exploration and to spread the word of Islam. Later<br />
came the Portuguese and Spanish in search of the<br />
legendary Spice Islands and, to harry them, Dutch<br />
freebooters and English privateers. The Spanish<br />
stayed for more than three centuries before the tides<br />
of history cut loose their political grasp on the country.<br />
Nature had taken its toll on all these sailors over the<br />
centuries; the sea beds of the Philippines, mostly<br />
unexplored, are littered with the wrecks of ships sunk<br />
by typhoon winds, uncharted reefs, warfare or piracy.<br />
Jesus Peralta, Alfredo Evangelista and other experts<br />
patiently compiled the evidence brought to the<br />
surface. As they pondered above, workmates and<br />
I toiled below, scouring with powerful suction pipes<br />
that wiped away the layers of sand laid down over six<br />
centuries.<br />
As we literally swept the sea bed, more and more<br />
exciting pieces of evidence came to light, helping fill<br />
in blanks in the puzzle.<br />
Scraps of burnt wood, charred planks preserved in<br />
the sand, scraps of broken clay. Everything went<br />
under the scientists’ microscopes and the machine
that pinpointed the age of the objects using radiation<br />
techniques.<br />
What emerged was a picture of a sophisticated and<br />
complex international trading pattern that flourished<br />
between China and the islands. The forty-five foot<br />
vessel, had been built was Southeast Asian teak and<br />
was far more heavily laden than I had first assumed<br />
- some of the round glaze vases had been rolled<br />
hundreds of yards by the currents before being<br />
buried .<br />
Suppositions by the experts, reinforced by what<br />
historians already knew, was that Chinese traders<br />
had regular contacts with the Mindorans, before the<br />
early days of the Ching Dynasty. They surmised the<br />
Mindorans would place orders one year, to be filled<br />
when the monsoons brought the junks back twelve<br />
months later. The junks would rendezvous with the<br />
local trading vessels and unload silk, metal goods and<br />
other prize products. In return, into the commodious<br />
holds of the now empty junks would go rare birds,<br />
spices and herbs, beeswax, coral, deer, rattan and of<br />
course gold, so richly sought after in China.<br />
This rare metal gives the island its name. In Spanish,<br />
“Mindoro” means the Isle of Gold and “Puerto Galera”,<br />
simply the Port of Galleons. The Spanish trading<br />
pattern was thus similar to that of the Chinese.<br />
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So how did this vessel, this inter island trader that<br />
served the villages and towns scattered along the<br />
coast, come to sink in a sheltered cove. Does the<br />
charred wood gave a clue? Perhaps a cooking fire<br />
overturned or perhaps pirates struck. We’ll never<br />
know for sure.<br />
Alfredo Evangelista tells me my find is one of the most<br />
significant underwater archaeological discoveries<br />
ever made in this country. Jesus Peralta says there<br />
are countless more wrecks lying under the crystal<br />
waters awaiting discovery. Villagers on Mindoro tell<br />
tales, handed down through generations, of ships<br />
with huge wings – white sails? Which went past but<br />
never to be seen again. Spanish? Portuguese?<br />
Dutch? English? Arab? Japanese? Who knows.<br />
But out there, somewhere, amid the twisting channels<br />
and countless waterways, through the passages and<br />
lagoons that separate the Philippine islands, I believe<br />
there is a lot more to discover that can bring us closer<br />
to unrecorded past.<br />
One thing is for sure, I’ll be looking for lobster for a<br />
long time to come.<br />
Editor’s note: the original of this article was<br />
authored by the late Kevin Sinclair and first<br />
appeared in the Discovery magazine in September<br />
1984, it is edited and reproduced here with the<br />
permission of Brian Homan.<br />
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Next To Number-one In <strong>Davao</strong><br />
Words by Martyn Willes<br />
Sitting at the edge of the lake, enjoying<br />
the still largely virginal surroundings of<br />
the Deca Wakeboard Park in Mintal, <strong>Davao</strong>,<br />
I noticed that one spectator was intent on<br />
vocally acknowledging the more extreme<br />
performance of the boarders. Even when<br />
someone wiped-out, so long as they did it while<br />
trying something a little extraordinary, he would<br />
shout words of encouragement and praise.<br />
Curious; I walked over and introduced myself.<br />
The “spectator”, that I had assumed, is actually<br />
the Operations Manager of the Park: Albert<br />
Lehman. Youthful in physique and attitude,<br />
Albert is a modern <strong>Davao</strong>eño with a passion for<br />
wakeboarding. His passion has already taken<br />
him to top spot in the Philippines, where he is<br />
rightfully acclaimed as the number one Philippine<br />
wakeboarder in his class, and he has aspirations<br />
of doing the same in the Asian rankings.<br />
Albert admits that getting to the top in the World<br />
rankings will be much more of a challenge<br />
because he started late – already a college<br />
graduate – while the Europeans, in particular,<br />
start learning almost as soon as they can<br />
walk because there is so much opportunity<br />
to learn. In Germany, for example, there are<br />
more than 60 wakeboard parks whereas in the<br />
Philippines there are currently only three, and<br />
these have only opened over the last six years.<br />
Youth is not a vital ingredient for wakeboarding<br />
and people of all ages frequently take up the<br />
sport instead of going to the gym – it is a lot more<br />
fun. But if you want to be the top wakeboarder<br />
in town then you had better be flexible in body<br />
and fearless in spirit, so youth has its benefits.<br />
It was while working as protege to his civil<br />
engineer father, on a project in Camarines Sur,<br />
that Albert first felt the rush. At the Camarines<br />
<strong>Watersports</strong> Complex he discovered that his<br />
natural exuberance lent itself to experimenting<br />
with airborne twists and turns and, most<br />
important, if he failed to achieve some acrobatic<br />
feat then he quickly learned that the water<br />
made for a very soft and safe landing.<br />
Although an engineering graduate himself,<br />
Albert has no immediate plans to change<br />
his wakeboarding career, especially as he<br />
has at least another decade of opportunity<br />
to get to the top in the World rankings.<br />
What impresses is that Albert is also so<br />
enthusiastic to help others excel in the sport<br />
that is currently his road to fame. You could<br />
Philippines’ No. 1 Wakeboarder<br />
easily perceive that he will grow to become<br />
the godfather of Philippine wakeboarding, in<br />
much the same way that Efren Reyes has<br />
become a global sports icon and yet is as<br />
much loved for his friendliness and generosity.<br />
If you are starting out want to be cheered on<br />
and supported by the number one in Philippine<br />
wakeboarding then take the time out to wakeboard<br />
at the Deca Wakeboard Park in <strong>Davao</strong>.
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