Your Christmas Bumper Issue!

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, near Bususanga, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico Yacht Club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and weighed anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out by the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread and enjoying fabulous sun sets.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn’t all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up with my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People in dinghies could be seen zipping across the harbour from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn't really have known what was coming or what hit them.   

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attending the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we island hopped to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  It worked for the first few days and we motor sailed to some very nice overnight anchorages and visited a local village on the Western side of Mindoro.  Weather predictions were for 2 calm days on 15^th and 16^th December with strong winds to follow so we couldn’t hang around.  We got round the northern point of Mindoro no problem and thought we were home and dry – ha!  Our 35 mile run - in was a case of short choppy seas and wind on the nose all the way.  Once again Pelangi bashed and splashed her way through 6 hours of more misery.  If she could talk I’m sure she’d report us for abuse!! G’s only comments through the entire trip were “I effin hate sailing!” and “I am NEVER doing this again!”  Still, we managed to get round the point and are here now.  We’ll make this our base for Christmas and New Year and have plenty of options now for going South again when we’re ready to leave.  Mindoro is a big island so we can do lots of overland exploring and P.G is a series of white beach after white beach – some very touristy, others quiet and only accessible by boat.  There’s some nice looking outer island to explore too with lots of diving and snorkelling exploration to be had so it was worth the trip.  The harbour where we’re anchored is mainly mangroves and only a small beach to speak of, but there’s a v. nice yacht club ashore where we’ve already met some colourful ex pat characters and the locals are really friendly too.  Plus, you can get ferries across to Manila from here so it’s a very handy spot. Quite a few yachties we met in Busuanga have headed this way with more hoping to follow so it should be a good place to party over the festive season.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season, be it on land or sea, and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

Your Christmas Bumper Issue!

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico yacht club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and slipped anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out with the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn’t all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People on dinghies could be seen flying across from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn’t really have known what was coming or what hit them.

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attend the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we are planning on island hopping to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  So long as we get there for Christmas it doesn’t really matter, so we can hold steady and take our time and, if we find some where we like, we can stay for a couple of days and explore.  It’s much more touristy in P.G. than we’re used to, but we’re up for some fun now!  Plus, there’s a great yacht club there, lots of people we’ve met over the last few weeks are heading that way and it seems like a good place to party for a while.  Plus, because we’re further north we’ll have more options for onward passages in the New Year.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico yacht club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and slipped anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out with the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn’t all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People on dinghies could be seen flying across from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn’t really have known what was coming or what hit them.

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attend the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we are planning on island hopping to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  So long as we get there for Christmas it doesn’t really matter, so we can hold steady and take our time and, if we find some where we like, we can stay for a couple of days and explore.  It’s much more touristy in P.G. than we’re used to, but we’re up for some fun now!  Plus, there’s a great yacht club there, lots of people we’ve met over the last few weeks are heading that way and it seems like a good place to party for a while.  Plus, because we’re further north we’ll have more options for onward passages in the New Year.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico yacht club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and slipped anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out with the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn’t all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People on dinghies could be seen flying across from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn’t really have known what was coming or what hit them.

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attend the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we are planning on island hopping to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  So long as we get there for Christmas it doesn’t really matter, so we can hold steady and take our time and, if we find some where we like, we can stay for a couple of days and explore.  It’s much more touristy in P.G. than we’re used to, but we’re up for some fun now!  Plus, there’s a great yacht club there, lots of people we’ve met over the last few weeks are heading that way and it seems like a good place to party for a while.  Plus, because we’re further north we’ll have more options for onward passages in the New Year.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

Your Christmas Bumper Issue!

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico yacht club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and slipped anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out with the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread and enjoying the spectacular sunsets.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn't all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People on dinghies could be seen flying across from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn’t really have known what was coming or what hit them.

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attend the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we are planning on island hopping to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  So long as we get there for Christmas it doesn’t really matter, so we can hold steady and take our time and, if we find some where we like, we can stay for a couple of days and explore.  It’s much more touristy in P.G. than we’re used to, but we’re up for some fun now!  Plus, there’s a great yacht club there, lots of people we’ve met over the last few weeks are heading that way and it seems like a good place to party for a while.  Plus, because we’re further north we’ll have more options for onward passages in the New Year.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Cheers then

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

Your Christmas Bumper Issue!

It’s been a busy end to the year with visitors, birthdays, weddings and typhoons all coming our way.  Gareth joined the Big 50 club on 20^th November and his mum, Bev, was keen to join us and celebrate this momentous occasion, and, as we’d be back in the Philippines by then what better place than Sangat Island, north of Palawan, where we spent Christmas with Laura last year.  A striking island with a lovely resort and even lovlier resort owner, Andy, and his staff!  Bev was booked into her own cosy beach chalet for the first few nights of her holiday while she found her sea legs so we were on a tight schedule to get there for her arrival on 17^th November. 

We finally bade farewell to Malaysia on 5^th November and needed to do a straight run to Peurto Princessa, Palawan, where we could stock up on food and spend a few days with the wonderful John and Cissy who own Abanico yacht club. Many a merry night (and day!) had been spent there the year before and we were keen to catch up with everyone again.  We had a hellish run up, very choppy seas, lots of rain, black clouds and dark nights, lightening and squalls, but Pelangi pushed on through the miserable conditions.  We arrived safely at P.P. midday on 7^th, but that second night was really awful.  The wind had died but the seas were confused and choppy and we spent the night rolling around like clothes in a tumble dryer.  Needless to say the first San Miguels with John and Cissy went down a treat!! The bad weather continued but we had little choice than to push on if we were to meet Bev in time and slipped anchor on 13^th.  The 1^st day back out at sea was pretty much a repeat of our earlier passage, but on 14^th things started to look up.  We had nice wind so we could cut the engine and actually sail for a bit, the sun came out and it suddenly felt great to be back in our favourite cruising ground!  We made it to Sangat Island on the 17^th, just a few hours before Bev arrived.  Our good friend Ben was also at Sangat when we got there on his super, duper, fast catamaran complete with stash of very nice French wines which he was more than generous at sharing with us!  So, G’s big day arrived and we had a lovely time chilling out at the resort.  After dinner a birthday cake was brought out with the entire staff singing “Happy Birthday” with lots of balloons and kisses for the birthday boy.

Soon enough it was time to get Bev out of her lovely cottage and onto Pelangi, and whilst her cabin was somewhat smaller and less salubrious than she’s used to it has a nice big hatch so she could lay in bed at night and stargaze.  Besides, most of our time was spent in the cockpit drinking red wine, eating nibbles or feasting on curries and home - made bread and enjoying the spectacular sunsets.  We went to a number of islands where the sand is white and sea is clear with lovely snorkelling.  We met some old friends from our previous visits (this was our 3rd time in Busuanga) and some new ones like Patrick.  He’s an ex pat building a new resort on one of the islands.  He welcomed us to his house (beach hut really) for Sunday lunch where we were greeted and almost licked to death by his 2 gorgeous English bull mastiffs.  We also spent a day cooling off at the local waterfalls, a day cruising on resort owner Andy’s very nice catamaran (on condition that G and me crew!) and spent the last 2 days of Bev’s holiday in Coron town where she could stock up on pressies for the family and get a taste of the “local” flavour unique to this lively town.  It wasn't all plain sailing and we did have our moments of tension trying to navigate (and hitting!) shallow reef and snatch mooring buoys in strong winds, but crew member Bev came through with flying colours!  Bev, it was fantastic to have you with us on Pelangi.  You were such a good sport, hopping in and out of Dolly like a teenager, keeping showers to a minimum, and putting up my grumblings about our ancient oven!  We’re so glad you came and welcome you back on board any time!

With Bev gone it was time to think about heading further north as we’d decided to spend Christmas in Peurto Galera, Mindoro island but there was a Super Typhoon brewing just East of the Philippines and heading straight for us.  At first it was a “wait and see” situation, but as the days went by it was looking more and more ominous and was almost sure to hit us, and hit us BIG.  With half a dozen or so yachts in Coron harbour each day was like a scene from Spooks.  People on dinghies could be seen flying across from boat to boat, checking the weather, looking at charts and plotting a course of action.  We decided to head for a known typhoon hole that has a resort on shore and very strong mooring buoys.  I’d actually sat there last year during a threatened typhoon that never eventuated (Uno crew, you know it – PDS).  We know the owners of the resort and knew other yachties would be there, so we’d have moral support and good communication should things turn really bad.  We set about stripping Pelangi of anything that could be blown off; both sails, solar panels, spinnaker pole, all lines were tightened; anchors were ready to be deployed if needed.  We then sat and waited for the pasting we were sure we’d get.  24 hours later and all we got were lots of rain and a few strong puffs of wind, nothing worse than a winter’s day in Wellington!  Once we’d put everything back up and headed back to Coron town, we learned that whilst we were fortunate others weren’t so.  The typhoon had hit Mindanao, a large Eastern island. The height of the island had broken the back of it but it had taken almost 700 people at last count with it, either dead or missing.  Our hearts go out to those poor people whom wouldn’t really have known what was coming or what hit them.

With the typhoon threat gone there was just 1 more thing to do before leaving Coron again, and that was attend the wedding of our friend Jaime who finally married his childhood sweetheart, Tess.  Jaime was Gareth’s dive guide when we first came to Coron (Marty, you’ll remember him too).  He’s still the only guide G’s ever tipped, so he must be good!  He now manages the dive shop at Sea Dive Resort and each time we pass through we make a point of catching up over a beer with him in the Sea Dive bar.  The Sea Dive staff did a great job of decorating the restaurant area of the resort, which has beautiful views over the harbour and a feast was laid out that could have fed the whole town, in fact I think it did!!  He seemed so pleased that we’d stayed the extra days to attend (although we did avoid the 2 ½ hour baptism and church service!) and it was lovely to see all the girls in their beautiful silk dresses and high heels, and boys in their smart suits and colourful shirts.

So, with the Nor Easterlies well and truly set in we are planning on island hopping to Peurto Galera in order to gain a point of sail and try to avoid head on winds for the 80 or so miles there.  So long as we get there for Christmas it doesn’t really matter, so we can hold steady and take our time and, if we find some where we like, we can stay for a couple of days and explore.  It’s much more touristy in P.G. than we’re used to, but we’re up for some fun now!  Plus, there’s a great yacht club there, lots of people we’ve met over the last few weeks are heading that way and it seems like a good place to party for a while.  Plus, because we’re further north we’ll have more options for onward passages in the New Year.

We hope that you have fun wherever you are and whatever you do this festive season and that it’s a safe and happy holidays for you all.  And remember, he’s watching, so if you’re not good he won’t come!!

Merry Christmas and our bestest wishes for 2013

Cheers then

Captns J and G, Pelangi, Dolly, Humphrey, Hoppy and Percy (our New Zealand blue penguin and recently adopted new crew member!)  XXX

Up The river Without a Paddle

When I checked the blog I couldn’t believe it’s almost 3 months since I posted anything – slacker!!  I can’t even use the excuse that we’ve been cruising, out of internet coverage, living it up wildly…….  In fact our sailing season pretty much came to a standstill shortly after getting Pelangi back in the water.  We’ve been up and down the West Borneo coast on various missions to collect or fit new gear after malfunctioning equipment and purchasing up-grades.  No wonder Pelangi’s smiling she now has; 2 new hatches, 6 new jammers, a new winch and new lines, new engine mounts fitted, new autopilot control and computer (begrudgingly bought I might add!), 4 brand new new deep cycle batteries, battery generator/alternator, battery monitor, all new interior cushion covers and even more stuff to come!!

To help pay for some of this I did pick up a bit of training work for Estee Lauder which included a trip to Frankfurt (don’t EVER fly with Lufthansa unless you have to) and delivery of a training course in Singapore.  However, I did fork out a fair amount in new, grown up shoes, lippy and mascara, new pants and a cardi, so the fee didn’t go as far as it should have.  Mind you, I did get a free bottle of DKNY perfume for me and Tommy Hilfiger aftershave for G – just what you need when you’re trying to keep the mozzies at bay!  Still, it’s v. nice smellies and it was quite good to get “back into the corporate saddle” for a bit.

In between all of this activity we did manage a week away from things work related and enjoyed our first river trip with The Pangers and Dolly.  The Klias River cuts through the wetlands of Western Sabah and is home of the proboscis monkey, that’s the one with the big nose and round belly.  As with most river entrances the water level is low and shifts a lot, so you need to time entry very carefully and enter on a rising tide and even then it’s a buttock clenching 0.5 meters under the keel!  Once in the river proper it’s important to remember that the water is highest on the outer edge of the bend so you basically zigzag your way through.  We had a nice breakfast stop on the first day just inside the river proper.  The first thing we noticed was the quietness; we were the only humans there nestled into the bush enjoying bacon butties and mugs of tea.  We went about 15 miles on day 1 and the evidence of man’s destruction became clearer the further up we went.  What was once miles and miles of lush rainforest has been chopped down and replaced with palm trees for the production of palm oil.  Palm oil is now Malaysia’s number 1 income earner with these plantations popping up on every piece of spare land possible.  This means that the home and food source for the monkeys and bird life in Malaysia is disappearing at an alarming rate.  It wasn’t until day 2 when we were about 25 miles up the Klias river that we spotted our first furry family.  Our spirits were lifted by the sight of these cute and funny proboscis monkeys.  The whole family where swinging through the branches of a small patch of original forest that still exists just across from where we anchored – very cool!  We watched them for quite a few hours and just as beer o’clock was upon us half a dozen boats pulled up filled with tourists who had obviously come to see the same family at play.  Funnily enough, at the sight of us anchored and enjoying a coldie in the cockpit drew more attention than the local wildlife as cameras clicked and people waved frantically at us – 1 guy asked us to put the kettle on for him and another wanted to know what we were having for tea.  We were the Posh and Becks of River Cruising for about 20 minutes!  We were in for another treat as darkness fell; hundreds of fireflies lit up the trees like Christmas lights.  We turned off all the lights in the boat to look at them and a few actually flew into the cockpit like flecks of pixie dust floating through the air – magical!  On day 3 we took Dolly further up the river to get even closer to the riverbank.  Once again we were disappointed by the lack of animal or bird life but did get very close to a proboscis monkey enjoying his breakfast of leaves.  He didn't seem bothered at all by the sound of our outboard or us gawking at him at such close quarters, just kept on chompin!  After lunch we turned around and started to head back, the only sound coming from our engine as we puttered slowly along enjoying the serenity of our surroundings.  Day 4 saw us back at our breaki stop and we decided to stay there the night.  The tide was going out again now and we saw a group of baby Macaque monkeys playing near the water’s edge.  Very close and very cute!  Another ride on Dolly brought us closer to another group playing in a ravine before we headed back for dinner.  So after another new experience and a trip well worth the time effort despite the disappearing landscape, day 5 was a return butt clencher to the duty free island of Labuan where we could stock up on the beers we’d consumed without dipping too deeply into the disappearing maintenance budget!

Once the remainder of our new equipment has arrived and been expertly fitted by the very clever G we can continue to travel north before the north easterlies kick in back towards the Philippines and what we hope will be another 6 months of (maintenance free) beautiful cruising.  With over 7,000 islands to choose from we will be visiting some old favourites from last year – Palawan and Bususanga before continuing further north to new places such as Peurto Galera which gets rave reviews from fellow cruisers.  So, lots to look forward to including a new member joining us for 2 weeks YAY!!  Bev, G’s mum is on a mini Asian tour including Singapore and HK and is joining us in Busuanga for some R N R on the beach and sun downers on the deck!  She will get here just in time for Captn G’s 50^th on 20^th November.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed for light winds and sunny days in this beautiful part of the world.

In the meantime there’s a bit more hard work for G as he continues to sweat and swear his way through cutting, sawing and running cables in the least accessible parts of the boat while at anchor with the sea churning underneath us and power boats flying past every 2 minutes– not easy I can tell you!

Hope all is well with you after such a long time.  As always drop us line –it’s been a while since we heard from you too you know.

Take care and get ready for that Christmas countdown – Ouch!!

Cheers then

Captns J and G XXX

On The Hard

At 8.00am on 28^th June the travel lift picked up Pelangi, took her off the concrete blocks she’d been sitting on for 69 days and carefully lowered her back into the water. 

When we hauled her out we thought we’d be a few weeks in the boatyard then on to a safe anchorage while Gareth undertook a few new assignments and I went back to the UK to visit my family.  A quick sand down, slap on a few new coats of anti foul and she’d be right for another few years.  However, close inspection of the hull revealed blistering that needed serious attention.  Plus some rudder repairs were in order.  So, armed with some heavy duty grinding and sanding equipment G set to in 40 degree heat to take her back to bare and start the repair process.

We left her to “dry out” and G headed to Malaysia’s interior and Hong Kong while I went on to the UK for some long overdue “family time”.  Our Bev and Neil are still running their fantastic Guest House (Sampson Barton – or Sammy B’s to us) in beautiful North Devon and Mum lives with them, but is kept clear of the guests as she is getting a bit absent minded (shall we say) in her old age!.  I was really lucky to have great weather the whole time I was there so was able to take Mum on days out to the beach and long drives through the rolling countryside and over the moors of Exmouth. 

With guests fed and watered for the day we also had the chance of a few family days out to traditional cobbled stone villages and yummy pub lunches as the seaside.  Laura managed a week end visit to Sammy B’s and at the end of the trip I was able to spend 3 days in London with her and meet her fab flat mate Bridget and hunky new boyfriend Dave.  On my last Sunday Laura, Dave and I caught up with my old Wellie friends Nyki and Mat who been living in London for a few years now.  We met them on Hampstead Heath on a schorcher of a day and ended it drinking Pimms in a local pub beer garden.  Mat assures me that he reads all my blogs, so a questionnaire will be sent to you Mat in 6 hours on the content of this post!!

It was fantastic to see my wonderful family again and heartbreaking to leave them, but then it always is!!  After a 3 day trip back G was waiting at Kudat airport which made it a bit easier.  Although Pelangi was still in a grotty boatyard with the same concrete block and step ladder to negotiate it was great to be back on board.  With all prep work done we set about getting the anti foul on and getting her spruced up for a re launch.  I varnished the companionway and stairwell and gave the interior a few licks of paint to brighten her up and she was ready to go.

We stayed in Kudat a few extra days as there was a Sunset Music Festival being held on the Tip of Borneo.  We’ve actually sailed round here and it’s a fantastic spot with a gorgeous, long white sand beach just before the headland, then the sea crashing on the rocks at the actual tip.  A stage had been built on which the KK Philharmonic Orchestra played and accompanied most of the performers.  The youngest was an 8 year old violinist whose feet couldn’t even touch the ground – cute!  The festival was great with music ranging from classical to folk to jazz to contemporary and the setting was perfect.  A great night out and definitely worth hanging back for.

Since then we’ve slowly made our way back down the Borneo coast.  When I checked our log we made this passage 11 months ago on our way up to the Philippines, so some of the anchorages were familiar.  We did find a beautiful spot on Gaya Island off Kota Kinabalu which we hadn’t seen before.  A sheltered golden sand bay with fringing reef and very nice resort ashore.  We went over for dinner one night and got spoilt by the friendly staff and lovely food.  From there we re visited Tiga Island, a remote and deserted place which is only a few hours from the duty free port of Labuan.  We stocked up today so we can leave tomorrow for the dry state of Brunei with plenty of liquid refreshments on board, so the sundowners can continue!  We also have a few friends there who we’re looking forward to meeting up with again.

So with our first haul out experience under our belt and Pelangi gliding swiftly through the water with her new bottom we look forward to new and good times on the water.

For those of you interested, or who might be visiting the UK any time soon Sammy B’s link is always on the bottom of this blog.  You’d be made very welcome and would definitely put on a few pounds after all that country fayre!

Cheers then

Captns J and G XXX

Farewell to the Philippines

We decided to head back to Malaysia rather than continue trying our luck in the Philippines against the prevailing winds.  The weather was starting to turn and we were still battling those bloody Northerlies.  We’d promised Pelangi that we would take her out of the water and give her a good bottom scraping and new coats of anti -foul at the end of our cruising time in the Philippines.  We could have done that in Cebu, but getting there was the challenge.

After our trips to HK, Macau and Singers (and the luxury of king size hotel beds with crisp, white sheets – such luxury!!) we retuned to our ever - faithful Pelangi in Dumaguette.  The good news is that our stuffed auto pilot wasn’t stuffed at all.  Corroded wire connections had been the problem all along (you’d think G being an ex electrician would have figured that out!!) So a quick snip and re connect and “Otto” was back with us.  Having said that the control head unit that displays all relevant info has well and truly given up the ghost, so we do need a new one. 

After a bit of provisioning and a few farewell drinks with the ever helpful and entertaining Nigel from Togo Sailing Club we slipped anchor and headed back west with a gentle breeze behind us – perfect!  Our aim was to get to Guimaras, then move up the coast between islands and pop across the top of Cebu enjoying some lovely cruising along the way.  After that, we could go into a shipyard in Cebu and get lots of work done.  What a great plan!

Well, we made it to Guimaras easy enough.  With a couple of days lovely sailing stopping at beautiful anchorages along the way – the cruising chute came out when the wind gave up and we didn’t care if we were only doing 3 knots.  The sun was shining and the world was a wonderful place to be in!  Guimaras was everything people told us it would be.  Very nice anchorage, friendly villagers, nice town and beautiful beaches and reef to explore in Dolly.  Guimaras is known as Mango Island as this is where most of the exported mangoes come from.  The sweetest, juiciest fruits we’ve ever tasted!  Plus once you get on the main road into town and look at the scenery there are mango trees everywhere – just lovely!  So, with our bellies (and fridge) full of mangoes and waving a fond farewell to the local fishermen who’d been our neighbours for over a week we continued northwards.  We made it to the Eastern side of Panay Island and found a nice anchorage opposite another fishing village.  But, once we started heading further North East those dammed winds were there again.  We could have made it, but it would have been hours of hard slog to get to the next island, good anchorages would be hard to find and a yet another divorce would have been on the cards!  It was best to go with the wind, head back to P.P., then south again to the tip of Borneo to Kudat.  There is a very well known haul out facility where we could give the boat the TLC she deserves.

We opted for a 2 day, 2 night sail straight back to PP. which went without a hitch.  We had a full moon lighting our passage at night and sunny, calm seas during the day.  Sadly, no wind, so it was the iron sail (motor) that eventually got us back to P.P. An unexpected re union of fellow sailors welcomed us back!  There was Sue and John on their Diesel Duck Solita, Sage, a Japanese sailor on his new catamaran (which he calls the floating kitchen!), John and Sheila on their catamaran PFM (Pure F***ing Magic) the “usual suspects” of the Abanico Yacht Club clientele, plus, the surprise appearance of Ben Ben on his super-fast, custom-built, brand new catamaran.  Needless to say, we only needed the one invite to board his boat on his first night at anchor, drink all his rum and take charge of his ipod!  After a week in PP it was an overnighter to Balabac Island.  Interestingly, this was our last night’s anchorage in the Philippines as well as being the first one we stopped at on our arrival. We were just 5 days short of 6 months since our first time there.

A day later we were cracking a beer as we entered Malaysian waters and the day after that we had our first experience of watching Pelangi being pulled out of the water and set “on the hard” – dry land.  It was a nervous time for her parents, but she coped better than we did! And I sit almost 7ft in the air as I write this entry.  We’d heard lots of stories about the place being rat-infested.  In fact one couple who were here hoisted the mainsail on departure only to find it had a bloody big hole in it where a rat had sat happily for many a night chewing it’s way through the dacron!  Needless to say, our main sail is OFF  and rather than accept the offer of a ladder for us (and ratty) to get on and off the boat, we have a concrete block which our swim ladder runs down to.  At night I pull up the swim ladder, close all the hatches, put the fans on and cross all fingers and toes.  So far it seems to have worked. There’s a lot of stray dogs on site, so I also took to feeding them biscuits in the hope that one would sleep under the boat at night and “keep guard”.  Sadly, there’s neither hide nor hare of these silly creatures in the morning and one of them has taken to stealing our flip flops!  At least they stole G’s right flip flop and my left so I still have a pair to work in!

And so the big clean up has begun.  G has duly scraped Pelangi’s bottom and she definitely needs work.  Some small blisters, which if not treated could develop into osmosis, which would mean bye bye Pelangi.  She’s also had rudder repair work done previously which now needs re doing.  We’ve paid for a months berth here, but I think it will take longer to get everything done on our wish list.

I’m off to the UK for 2 weeks mid May to visit my fabulous family and spend some long-over due and precious time with my mum, big sis, her partner (the Gordon Ramsey of Devon!) and Laura.

It’s been a time of reflection whilst sitting here in a dusty, dirty boatyard.  It doesn’t matter how long we spend here fixing up Pelangi, she’s given us so much joy (and at times tears!) in the last year and a half and taken us to places some people never even get to dream of.  We’ve met some of the most amazing people we will ever know and now it’s time to “give back” (or to the less romantic amongst you – do the maintenance that’s required when you become a boat owner!!).

Our thanks and hearts go out to the Pinoys – the Philippino people who have so little compared to us, but seem to enjoy life so much more.  They are welcoming, trustworthy, and friendly, sing constantly and are a joy to be around.  Their islands are almost as beautiful as they are!

And finally…. For those of you who’ve followed our adventures and at times envied us….. well now is the time for revenge!  When you hop out of your comfortable bed for a quick wee in the night, think of me having to climb down a swim ladder, hop onto a log carefully balanced on a concrete block followed by a 2ft jump just to reach ground, followed by a hike across the yard in the pitch black keeping an eye out for Roland Rat for my last toilet visit of the day.  We are using communal toilet and shower facilities (if you can call them that!) Then, in the morning, after a night of rain, do the said same routine with a bag full of toiletries and towel tucked under my arm, run across a muddy landscape that resembles Glastonbury (or Woodstock for the more life-experienced amongst us) only to realise I left the effin key to the effin toilet block on the effin boat!!

Cheers then

Capts. J and G XXX

High Seas and Landlubbin!!

The year started out very lively for Pelangi and her crew, but the past 6 weeks or so we’ve virtually come to stand still.

Once we’d got our visa extensions sorted out in Coron, where we’d bade a sad farewell to Laura it was time to start cruising again, but strong North Easterly winds (which are typical for this time of year) meant we couldn’t sail our planned Easterly route.  So, we headed back West and re visited some of the islands we’d been to with Laura.  We knew the passages quite well now and would also be sheltered from the strong winds by anchoring on the western side of the islands.  Better than just sitting in a windy hole and we could at least start to move South towards Cuyo, our half way point to Panay, then up to Guimaras and around the top of Cebu which was our final destination for this part of our journey.

We slipped anchor on 15^th January and let the winds gently push us back through the narrow channels and towards Galoc Island, a known playground for dugongs and turtles.  Whilst we didn’t see any turtles we’re sure we saw 3 dugongs. 

By 19^th January we’d come about 120 nautical miles and were safely tucked into a pretty anchorage on Lubic Island, but the winds were getting stronger by the day, the seas were getting a little agitated and so was our auto pilot.  We’d had problems once before, but had managed to re set our compass which had done the trick.  This time no such luck.  Every time we activated auto pilot Pelangi would start to turn into wind and refused to hold course.  Nothing for it but to helm the boat ourselves operating on 2 hour shifts of the 50 mile passage to Lubic.  Our hand held compass came in real handy too as our electronic compass was now reading about 70 degrees off course!  

It was a short 20 mile sail the next day from Lubic to Cuyo - and we were very happy to get there!  It’s a pretty island with friendly locals, a small market and lovely sandy beach where you can enjoy a well - earned coldie and nice sunsets.  After a couple of days rest we decided to keep going.  The wind was getting up again, but we were right on course and now used to our helming routine.  Our next stop at Panay Island was almost 70 miles away and arriving in the wee small hours and trying to anchor in bays peppered with reef and coral is not recommended.  Once out to sea we’d be in deep water with little in the way of hazards (apart from the odd fishing boat with no lights, which we’re used to now!), so we decided on a late afternoon start, sailing through the night and arriving some hours after dawn.  However, less than 1 hour into the journey it was obvious we were going nowhere that night.  The winds were squally and blustering at over 30 knots, plus the waves were starting to build – no way were we going to sail 12 hours of darkness in that!  We’d learned very early on that forward planning is essential on any crossing and had identified a small bay on a steep island about 10 miles along which we could use in an emergency.  This was turning into an emergency!  The sun had just disappeared and with the help of what light she’d left behind we dropped the anchor closer to shore than we would have liked, but with a few local bankas for company we settled into anchor watch mode and hoped for calmer seas the next day. 

At first light on Monday 24^th January we poked our bow out of the bay and were thankful it was calmer.  The miles we’d done the night before meant we could still make Panay before nightfall, but with almost 60 miles to do it would be a long day.  The further we went the stronger the winds.  It was again blustery with white caps coming fast and furious and waves starting to build to 2 meters and above.  But, after our experience coming into Peurto Princesa we were confident that Pelangi could handle things, and she did!  We safely dropped anchor just before dusk at Southern Panay with just enough energy left to make a hot meal and go to bed!

We stayed there a couple of days enjoying the hospitality of the villagers, the hot springs just up the road and the ever present karaoke bars, which we managed to avoid this time round!  On the 26^th we slipped anchor for an easy passage round the tip of Panay and up towards the highly recommended island of Guimaras.  Ha!  Not so fast……  Once again out to the sea the weather was waiting for us and refused to let us past.  The winds were gusting about 25 knots, which we could handle, but the waves were now getting up to and above 3 meters and it was impossible to hold our course without fear of broaching (the boat sitting side on to the waves and rolling over).  We had no option to stick with a South  bound course that would eventually lead us to Port Bonbonon on the southern tip of Negros some 117 miles off course!  We had hoped to reach Dumaguete (the main city), but it’s a commercial port with little anchorage opportunities, plus it’s on the Easterly side of the island and blows like a bastard!! 

That was on 28^th January, some 14 days, 10 islands (anchorages) and 324 nautical miles later.  At times scary, other times tiring and bothersome, but surprisingly exciting and adventurous once we got into a routine with the right spirit and confidence in ourselves and our boat.  Our mainsail had come away from the mast at the top, which on later inspection turned out to be more of a design fault than poor seamanship – we’d learned our lessons about reefing in early!!

Since then we have been to Cebu (it’s just the next island over), but on the local ferry to visit a sail maker and get our main repaired, plus finally get new battens to replace the ones we lost and the ones we got made in P.P. which have lasted surprisingly well.  It was good to get off Pelangi for a few days, after all our hours on the tiller plus there’s a boat builder we were keen to visit to discuss some maintenance work that will need doing soon.

Port Bonbonon is a typhoon hole (although it blows pretty hard through here most days) and there are quite a few boats here on moorings.  Most of their owners are either waiting for the seasons to change before sailing on, or waiting for the next round of pensions, or share prices to go up to get their boats seaworthy again!  Nigel, an ex pomme/australian runs a small, and slightly run down beach resort here, plus he’s the local coast guard so looks after fellow sailors with cheap beer, good food and plenty of stories, sound advice and help.  He runs us into town in his van when we need to stock up and is an all round nice guy.

G got offered some work in Manila, Honk Kong, Macau and Singapore and with new, expensive electronic gear needed, he took the work.  Well that, and the fact that he got to ponse around in 5 star hotels whilst being called Sir!!  I joined him in HK so we could shop around and get replacements.  Naively we thought we could simply rock up to a dealers and get what we wanted but this is boat parts we’re talking about here!  With nothing we wanted in stock, and little by way of assistance on alternative products (apart from stuff we don’t need right now) we came back empty handed.  It was a good trip, although it felt rather strange being back in a “big city” with traffic, noise, people……, but a few pints of Tetleys and footie on the telly in an English pub and we soon felt at home!  Macau was great.  Staying at the Hard Rock Hotel was super cool and I was tempted to gamble the money we hadn’t spent in the casinos, but the thought of G’s reaction if I lost all his hard earned cash on the throw of a dice was too much to even contemplate!!  Singapore was hot, sticky and more crowded than ever, and again, no luck with the boat parts.

We’ve been back on Pelangi a week now.  Strong winds are still blowing, although it seems to be calmer on other parts of the island.  So, if it ever stops blowing long enough for us to get our sail back on, we’ll try to re-trace our course and head back for Guimaras.  Hopefully on a different tack and with the wind behind us we’ll make it this time. 

Cheers then

Captns J and G

Here’s to 2012

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a bright and positive 2012.

My niece Laura was flying out to the Philippines on 17^th Dec to spend the holidays with us,  G had been doing some work off shore and was also coming back on the 17^th, so managed to get the same flight from Manila to Busuanga, Palawan.  I was alone on Pelangi making sure everything was “ship shape” and that we had enough supplies (beer!!) for her arrival.  However, the day they were due to arrive so was a rather nasty Tropical Storm that threatened to shut down the airport and with the potential to do serious damage to our beloved yacht!  Fortunately, I was on a mooring buoy belonging to a resort in a typhoon hole along with a few other boaties.  We’d check the weather each day and track the storm and sure enough it as headed right our way. I started to lash everything down and was prepared to take down the headsail, dismantle the solar panels, collapse the bimini (sun canopy) secure the outboard motor and bring Dolly on deck.  The weather gods must have been smiling on us though because on the morning of the 16^th the storm started to track south and any threat more or less disappeared.  G and Laura arrived safely and we were on board Pelangi enjoying our first (of many!) gins and celebrating her safe arrival.

I’d put together a plan that would take us to some deserted islands with white sand beaches for a real “cruising” experience, along with some stops at local villages for a real “Philippines” experience and Christmas moored off an idyllic beach and dive resort.

So, on 18^th  we set sail to our first stop.  The island was less than an hour away from where we were and the wind was quite strong, probably a slight backlash from the storm, but we found a lovely sheltered spot to anchor for the night.  Laura had her first experience of jumping off the back of the boat and snorkeling over some beautiful coral full of fish less than 50 meters away in clear, warm tropical waters. 

After breakie the next morning we continued travelling North West, again experiencing some strong winds and currents so abandoned our first choice of anchorage and went with our 2^nd.  It was a sheltered bay, out of the wind and although the sea was choppy we were comfortable on the hook.  Laura and I swam to a small beach after lunch and in the evening we went ashore to Coral Bay Resort for dinner.  Candles on the tables, sand between our toes and fairy lights in the trees made for a lovely, evening.

Next day, further north again to a deserted island (more like an atoll really) where we swam ashore, snorkeled, collected shells and had dinner and drinks on the boat.  The last island on our passage north was a very deep 30 meter anchorage, so we made it a lunchtime stop only. G stayed on board while Laura and I swam ashore, checked out a cave on the island, then swam back.  We lifted the anchor and went a few miles back and anchored off a small island and fishing village.  We went ashore to check out local life and were immediately swamped by loads of kids running down to the beach to check out Dolly and the strange, pinkie visitors.  We were like pied pipers as we walked through the narrow streets with all these kids following us,  giggling and laughing.  As we stopped at a local store to get some ice we were immediately invited inside for a drink with a few (well oiled) locals.  Before we knew it, the karaoke machine was on (Philippinos LOVE their karaoke!!), the disco lights were flashing and me and Laura were up there murdering Spice Girl and David Bowie songs!!  When one particular guy started to get a bit “over friendly” towards Laura, we bade farewell and headed back to the boat, much to the disappointment of our many fans – ha ha!!

On 22^nd we headed to Sangat Island where we spent Christmas at Sangat Dive Resort.  Andy, the owner is a really cool guy who we made contact with through a mutual friend.  Because the front of the resort is all coral and reef, you can’t anchor in front of the resort so, Andy has a couple of mooring buoys and gave us the use of one for as long as we wanted.  It was around the tip of  the island in a quiet and sheltered spot with lovely snorkeling and hot springs you could swim to – Laura went twice!!  We were warmly welcomed by Andy and all his staff for the 4 days we were there.  Laura and G did some diving with the resort guests and we ate there at least once a day – sumptuous buffets of rice, salads, chicken, fish, veggie curries – all delicious and freshly cooked. 

On Christmas day morning Laura made sure Santa knew where Pelangi was because when we woke up “he’d been”!!!  and left a stocking filled with chrissie goodies!!  We all got new Christmas Day outfits from Our Bev and Laura gave us a hard drive full of our fave music, plus lots of cool, new stuff to help replace our ipod that got stolen – such a sweetie!!!.  After pressies  me and Laura went ashore to do some snorkeling and sun bathing while G set to doing some maintenance work that he’s been itching to do for a while (he WANTED to, we didn’t MAKE him!!).  A quick shower and change and we back on the resort early evening for their Christmas evening buffet complete with full roasted pig (with apple in mouth) which Laura, being a vegetarian, thought was lovely!!  The chairs and tables were taken out of the restaurant and placed in the beach garden with lights and lanterns floating across the trees.  It was a beautiful setting.

We did 1 final stop at Culion Island made famous as a leper colony many years ago, It was our only day of rain, so was an appropriate place to be as there is a very interesting museum in the small town where you can learn about the colony and how they eradicated leprosy.  We also had a beverage stop at a hotel on the edge of the hill with great views before heading back to the boat slightly damp and with a bottle of gut rot (local rum of a very strange luminous orange colour!!) and coke.  As it was too wet to go back ashore in the evening, we had a movie night on board and proceeded to do damage to said gut rot!

On 28^th we tried to get to the main town of Coron where Laura could get a van to the airport for her flight home on 29^th, but with strong winds on the nose , very choppy seas and some shallows in a narrow channel that we weren’t sure of it all became a bit risky.  We weren’t far from Sangat, so, to be safe, we rang Andy at the resort.  Not only did he give us our mooring buoy back, but arranged transport to Coron for us on one of his boats and a van transfer to the airport for Laura, then a boat back to the resort and Pelangi for us – all free of charge.  Nice one Andy!!  So, it was a tearful farewell at the jetty on the 29th.  We had a great holiday and really loved having Laura with us.  What I miss most are the nights when we simply sat on the back of the boat with a gin in hand star gazing and chatting about stuff – special times and treasured moments!!

We did manage to get Pelangi to Coron the next day and bumped into friends we’d made in P.P; Mark and Theresa.  Mark has a lovely motor cruiser and he invited us onto his “floating hotel” for a new years eve dinner and drinks.  At midnight we watched a rather impressive firework display from his viewing deck.  He left on 2^nd Jan and we’re now just waiting for our visas to be extended before we leave Busuanga and head out for another 2 months of cruising these beautiful islands.

We don’t really know what 2012 will hold for us.  We hope to have good health, fair winds and continue to be amazed by our good fortune and excellent friends who support us and help make our life on Pelangi that little bit easier.

We wish all of you the very best as another year starts to fly by. 

Cheers then

Captns J and G XXX