Tuesday 2nd September
We arrived in Manila at about 2130 in torrential rain caused by the typhoon north of Luzon. We later learnt that the typhoon went straight through Hong Kong and we were sorry to hear that there was some damage to the boats on the beach at Discovery Bay.  Let's hope they can be repaired.  We stayed overnight at the Cherry Blossom Hotel in Robinson Place and were pleased to learn that the coffee shop was open 24 hours so there was no problem with the 0530 breakfast next morning.

Wednesday 3rd September
We had breakfast at 0530 ready to catch the SeaAir flight to Busuanga at 0715. We checked in at 0630 and the check-in girl told us "Oh, the schedule is changed and your flight leaves at 0630 but I think it will be delayed until 7".  Lucky really since we didn't know about the change of flight time. We later discovered that the office in Coron had asked them to delay the flight for us since they couldn't contact us to let us know. We arrived at Maricaban Bay Resort around 1000 hours. The boat looked fine, a bit musty but that was to be expected after being closed up in the wet season for 6 weeks.

Thursday 4th September  (12º 11.5' N 120º 05.7' E)
We had breakfast in the resort since food supplies would be a bit low until we got to Coron. We left at about 1100 hours to go to the Calauit Game Reserve on the Northwest corner of Busuanga. We'd stopped there in July but for the next few weeks had Steve's son Mike on board and thought he'd be interested to see it. We arrived there just before 1700 hours and Steve rushed ashore in the dinghy to catch the staff before they finished for the day and let them know we'd like to do a tour in the morning.
Overnight we had a torrential downpour in about 35 knots of wind but the anchorage is a deep inlet with a mud bottom surrounded by mangroves so it was noisy but safe.

Friday 5th September  (12º 16.1' N 119º 53.1' E)
Had an early start this morning to begin the tour at around 0730. The reserve was originally set up by Marcos who populated it with giraffe, zebra and about seven kinds of deer. Most of the species survived apart from two of the types of the deer and have increased their numbers. The park now has a breeding program for some endangered species indigenous to Palawan such as the Bearcat, Mousedeer, Palawan Crocodile, Calamian Deer and one or two others.
We finished around 1030 and sailed/motored around to Sangat Island just west of Coron Town. Had the wind on the nose to start with but for the last few miles had a comfortable beam reach in about 10 knots. I took the opportunity to make some bread so we'd have something for lunch and breakfast. Stayed overnight on the mooring buoy at Sangat and delivered the Marmite for Andy (the owner) as promised.

Saturday 6th September  (11º 57.5' N 120º 04.5' E)
We left Sangat around lunchtime to motor to Coron. The way in is a bit narrow with quite a few reefs so motoring with careful attention to the forward looking echo sounder and the charts seemed the safest way. We anchored just off the town close to the SeaDive dive shop since Mike would be doing his diving course with them. Went ashore to sort out the course and he started the theory that evening and would be completing the course over the next few days. There were no other students so he'd have the instructor all to himself.

Sunday 7th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
Mike went off to do his diving course around 0830. We did maintenance and cleaning. Steve refitted the Autohelm computer that we'd had repaired in the UK and installed the radio we'd had to buy to be able to take part in Rowdy's net (or Mobile Maritime Net Zone 3 as it calls itself). Steve also set up his carefully designed rainwater catching system which involved cutting a small hole in the suncover, fitting a small plastic plughole in it and attaching a hose pipe underneath leading into one of the water tanks. It works perfectly, in a 15 - 20 minute downpour we catch somewhere between 5 and 15 gallons of clean water to supplement the watermaker.

Monday 8th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
More housekeeping today including shopping and yogurt making. Went to collect Mike from the dive shop late afternoon and the instructor told us he'd completed everything except the written exam which he was just about to take. He passed it no problem so tomorrow we'll all go diving.

Tuesday 9th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
Diving at Coron is mostly 2nd World War Japanese wrecks. A convoy was bombed here so the wrecks are mostly cargo ships and gunboats. The insides have been pretty much cleared but the structures can still be seen and there's the occasional shell to be found but the outsides have a healthy coral growth with plenty of fish so there's quite a lot to look at. Today we did 2 coral dives and a shallow fishing boat wreck.

Wednesday 10th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
 More diving today this time on a cargo ship and a gun boat where we found a few shell cases each about 7 or 8 inches long.

 Thursday 11th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
Today was a cave dive through a short wide tunnel where there were a few lobsters into a large cave, nicknamed The Cathedral.  The cave is about 30 - 40 metres high with bats nesting at the top and a small entrance from the top of the cliff very near the top so inside there was daylight. Lots of spectacular stalactites.  The next dive was a sunken barge which went down to about 40 metres then to use up the last of the air we did a shallow dive over coral.
 

Friday 12th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
Had a break from diving today and went to see the hot springs just outside Coron. A number of different sized concrete pools of different sizes and levels have been built and the springs directed through them so you can just laze around and enjoy the experience.
After the hot springs we went to update the Internet and buy more food but were held up by yet another torrential downpour. I shall be glad when the rainy season is over.

Saturday 13th September  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
Diving again today to Barracuda Lake on Coron Island. We didn't see any barracuda but we did experience a strong thermocline at about 20 metres where the water temperature went up to about 40ºC. We came across some pugnacious shrimps on the way up which must have been at least 15cm long. To get to and from the lake we had to climb some fairly steep limestone rocks - no mean feat in full diving gear including the tank. In the afternoon we dived on two more Japanese wrecks but the visibility was very poor.

Sunday September 14th  (12º 00' N 120º 12.5' E)
We wanted to leave Coron today so we left Mike sleeping while Steve and I went ashore for last minute shopping etc. When we got back we found the bilge alarm had been sounding for some time. We rushed below and started checking the bilges for where the water was coming from. It appeared to be pouring in from somewhere near the stern so we started lifting everything in sight to find it when we realised there was a pump going - yes a water tank connection had burst and the pressure pump was busy emptying the whole tank into the bilges. It's just as well we have 2 water tanks. We repaired the burst connection, pumped out the bilges (at least they're a lot cleaner now) and switched to the other tank. We estimate it will take the watermaker about 20 hours to refill the tank.
We finally left about lunchtime to go to Culion Town on Culion Island. On the way Steve taught us a new phrase for going about when suddenly coming across an unexpected reef. I believe the phrase was "Oh sh*t tacking"
Culion used to be a leper colony and still has the best hospital in the area. There is an interesting museum documenting the history of the colony from the time the first lepers were forcibly sent there (around the end of the 19th century) until a cure was found and leprosy stopped being the incurable horror it once was.

Monday September 15th   (11º 53'N 120º 01.3'E)
From Culion Town we were headed for Linapacan so went south around the east side of Culion Island under motor since the wind was on the nose and there are numerous reefs and islands on the way. We expected help from the current across the Linapacan Straight since the chart told us it runs at up to 3 knots but there was nothing. We anchored in the same bay that we'd used on our way back from Palawan in July but the wind had swung a little since then and there was an uncomfortable swell this time.

Tuesday September 16th  (11º 27.7'N 119º 46'E)
Today we are heading for El Nido. It was a bit overcast but the wind was from the NW so we were able to sail close hauled and just made the Northern tip of Palawan. We arrived around 1430 having managed to avoid 2 big wet looking rainstorms on the way. We already had the waypoints for the gap in the reef and the anchorage from the last time we'd been here so going in was relatively simple this time. We re-established our relationship with The Blue Karrot bar and found a new restaurant (Marbers) for dinner.

Wednesday September 17th  (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)
Mike had picked up an ear infection at the end of his dive course so we are going to do sightseeing and sailing here instead of diving. Did a day trip to a local waterfall arranged by Judith at the Art Café. Judith can arrange sightseeing trips, island hopping trips, local airline tickets, does good breakfasts and runs a good souvenir shop. The waterfall trip involved a 10km by motorised tricycle (that's 3 of us squashed in the cab and the guide on the back of the motorbike. We had an unscheduled stop when the sidecar got a flat tyre but with years of experience behind him the driver fixed it in next to no time. The walk to the waterfall took about 45 minutes through jungle including wading across rivers and avoiding the leeches on the path. There has been a lot of rain recently so the waterfall was quite impressive. We had dinner at Loily and Abert who gave us an impressive looking menu but everything was off except for fish, squid and vegetable so it wasn't a difficult choice.

Thursday September 18th  (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)
The plan today was to stock up with food and fuel in the morning and head out to an isolated anchorage in the SW corner of Bacuit Bay around lunchtime. When we woke up the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in torrents so we shelved the plan until the next day.

Friday September 19th  (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)
Today we trailed round all the little shops buying a few veggies in one, a tin or two in another, veggies we couldn't get in the first shop in the third and so on until we'd got enough food to last the next few days. We even found a shop selling frozen chicken and not quite frozen bacon, ham and sausage. About lunchtime we left El Nido for the short sail to Dibuluan Island tucked into the corner of Bacuit Bay with a beautiful anchorage on the south side off a sandy beach fringed with coconut palms and sheltered by a long sandspit to the east. To the SW we were sheltered by the mainland so the anchorage is sheltered on all sides by land. We'd just got the anchor nicely bedded in when we were approached by a local banca offering to sell us lobster. We eventually bought 4 small ones for about 500 pesos (approx US$10). We had no idea what to do with them so the girl on the banca told us we had to steam them but to be sure to hold the lid on the pan to start with otherwise they'd fight their way out. The theory is you start with cold water and as it warms up they lose consciousness without suffering.

Saturday September 20th  (11º 03.5'N 119º 22.3'E)
Started with an early swim and spent half an hour or so scrubbing the weed from the waterline accumulated during Carillon's 6 week stay at Maricaban. Steve and Mike took the dinghy to Pintail Island nearby to take a look at another Cathedral Cave. This is a very high limestone cave with impressive rock formations accessible by dinghy on the W side of Pintail Island. It's also a bit smelly since there are large numbers of bats roosting at the top. At low tide we took a walk along the sandspit while it was uncovered. There are numerous tiny fish and just a few soft corals at the outer end and quite a lot of dead  coral at the inner end. Along the beach we found numerous giant clam shells. We cooked stir-fried pork with banana flower for dinner - the banana flower was most unusual but quite tasty.

Sunday September 21st  (11º 03.5'N 119º 22.3'E)
Took the dinghy the other way to see another cave accessible from the beach at Cudugman Point. The entrance is about 2 feet in diameter but the cave is quite large and very high again with bats roosting in one corner. While exploring the beach we found an area of coral full of small giant clams, lots of tiny fish and a few soft corals. It looked like a fish nursery area.

Monday September 22nd  (11º 03.5'N 119º 22.3'E)
Sailed gently across to Malapacao to visit Leeann again. She showed us the yoga temple she is having built to extend her facilities as a spiritual retreat. She had visited California in August and had made a few contacts to attract more clientele to Malapacao.

Tuesday September 23rd  (11º 06.6'N 119º 24'E)
Left Malapacao about midday to return to El Nido and organise a snorkelling trip for Mike's last day.

Wednesday September 24th  (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)

Had breakfast in the Art Café where Judith had organised the island hopping/snorkelling trip by banca. First stop was 'Secret Lagoon" on Miniloc Island. The banca anchors in a very sheltered cove by a small arch in the rocks. You swim under the arch and find yourself in a lagoon totally enclosed by limestone cliffs. There is no coral but the water is crystal clear and the bottom sandy. It is too deep to stand up in. The next stop was 'Big Lagoon'. Access to this is over a shallow coral shelf with only just enough clearance for the banca into a long deep lagoon with steep coral sides that can be clearly seen in the still waters. Again the lagoon is surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. After that we stopped on the beach close to the '10 knots Resort' on Miniloc Island where the boat boys cooked lunch (rice, salad, barbecued fish and bananas) while we snorkelled off the edge of the reef. Simisu Beach came next, this is an excellent area for snorkelling, the reef is quite shallow with plenty of small fish then larger fish at the edge of the drop off. The coral was in quite good condition here unlike other places we've seen where it has suffered badly from dynamite and cyanide fishing. Last stop was 7 Commandos beach just as the rain came over the hill.

Thursday September 25th  (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)
Spent the morning provisioning (ie. I went round the shops while Steve and Mike sat in a café waiting for a fish vendor to pass by. They were carrying all the tinned stuff though while I was buying vegetables and the did manage to buy a fish from a passing vendor.
1300 and it was time for Steve to take Mike to the airport at El Nido for his flight back to Manila. They went by dinghy but weren't quite sure where it was so stopped a passing launch to ask directions. Having found the right beach the walked up the runway to the terminal building to check in.

Friday September 26th (11º 11.9'N 119º 23'E)
We left El Nido around 0700 to head for the E side of Palawan. The plan was to get to Shark Fin Bay if possible and find an anchorage off a likely island. We managed to sail until early afternoon then the wind died so we headed for a bay on the S side of Batas Island. Had one false start going in and had to quickly back away from a reef (thanks to the Forward Looking Echo Sounder - it's worth it's weight in gold in these waters) but got it right next time.

Saturday September 27th  (11º 09.2'N 119º 35.9'E)
Cleared a few small jobs this morning. About lunchtime a banca approached from the village asking if we could give them a donation to help build a girl's toilet for their convent school. A thinly disguised request for an anchoring fee I think. We left about midday to head for the small town of Mabini on the mainland. This anchorage is in the NW corner of Shark Fin Bay. There is an island at the N end of the bay that looks like an enormous shark's fin so it may be that is how the bay got it's name. We anchored in about 7 metres in mud about half a mile offshore. It is very calm and sheltered.

Sunday September 28th  (11º 08.2'N 119º 30.7'E)
Left Mabini to head for Flower Island where we were told there is a resort. We picked our way carefully through the reefs leaving Mabini and motored across to Flower Island. It had a beautiful beach but looked totally deserted. There were a couple of mooring buoys off the beach so we picked one up. The line was completely covered in soft coral and weed so we guessed it probably hadn't been used for some time. We went ashore but found only the caretaker and his family. The boss had gone to Taytay and would be back maybe tomorrow. Most of the resorts we visited have no guests. It is the low season but they all say that business has been badly affected by the Abu Sayyef kidnappings near Puerto Princesa 3 years ago and the western world classifying them as a terrorist area. It would be hard to find more peaceful and friendly people than those we've met in our travels so far and we feel considerably safer here than we would in some of the inner cities of the western world.

Monday September 29th  (11º 08.1'N 119º 39.3'E)
From Flower Island we went to the resort on Apulit Island called Club Noah Isabella. This is a Philippine style fairly upmarket resort and most unusually was almost full. They didn't quite know what to do with us since having a cruising yacht stop is an unusual occurrence for them but when we explained that we just wanted a mooring for the night and to have dinner in the restaurant they were more than happy to oblige and indeed were very friendly and welcoming. It seems that most of their guests were Korean honeymooners since September is an auspicious month for getting married in Korea.

Tuesday September 30th  
Left Club Noah Isabella early to go to Taytay. There is a spanish fort there and we can reprovision and buy diesel. The fort is fairly simple but there seems to be some renovation work being done and you get an excellent view of the harbour. As with all the ports in the area the entrance to the channel winds it's way through reefs but so far our Philippine charts have been very reliable. Taytay is larger than El Nido and was once the capital town. The market and shops were very well stocked and we were even able to buy apples and oranges.

Wednesday October 1st  (10º 49.8'N 119º 30.9'E)
The weather had been deteriorating over the last few days and this morning there was rain and heavy cloud everywhere so we stayed another day in Taytay.

Thursday October 2nd  (10º 49.8'N 119º 30.9'E)
The weather is much improved so we sailed to Dumaran Island. The wind was NE so maybe this is the start of the NE monsoon season. After motoring out through the reefs we were able to sail in about 10-15 knots of wind and had a fabulous sail to Dumaran Island. We had decided to anchor inside a small island on the W side of Dumaran since our pilot book recommended it. On arrival we found the whole area full of pearl farms. We managed to find our way through them but found ourselves accompanied by a banca. On anchoring we were approached by a bigger banca with an official looking personage who politely enquired what we were doing there since he represented the pearl farm and they owned all the waters in the area. After explaining that all we wanted was an overnight anchorage and assuring him that we had no intention of pillaging the pearl farm he seemed happier and a little more friendly and conceded that it would be alright for us to stay there overnight.

Friday October 3rd  
Left the pearl farm at 0800 in no wind intending to stop at the Cocoloco Resort but when we arrived the only people we could see seemed to be sleeping at the back of the beach and totally uninterested in us. There were no moorings and anchoring didn't look safe so we passed it by and headed towards the coast and the town of Roxas. We decided to look at Flat Island as a possible anchorage on the way in and it was perfect. A quiet little bay on the SW side gave protection from the NE winds and the mainland gave protection from the west round to the south. There didn't seem to be anyone living on it and at high water we found out why. Almost the whole island was submerged leaving the mangroves and the trees standing with their feet in the sea acting as our windbreak.

Saturday October 4th  (10º 16.5'N 119º 21'E)
Left fairly early for Honda Bay. There was no wind to start with so we motored to the headland at the N of Honda Bay where we were able to sail for a few hours towards Fondeado Island. We found a protected anchorage behind Fondeado Island for the night. From Fondeado we could see the Dos Palmas Resort where the hostages were taken from 3 years ago. There were searchlights sweeping the whole area periodically and an armed presence at the resort to deter any further incursions.

Sunday October 5th  (09º 56.3'N 118º 55'E)
Watched the fishing boats coming in before we left this morning. They look like a mother duck followed by her ducklings. A large banca tows up to 6 tiny bancas from way offshore after their nightly fishing trip. We also saw some dolphins swimming very lazily down the channel.
No wind again so motored for Meara Island where there was supposed to be a welcoming resort but we could see no sign of it and went a little further behind Meara Island. We found 2 or 3 islets almost connected by spits at low water creating a protected bay with about 12 metres of water in sand/mud. One of the islets had a small beach with a holiday house built on it. At high water the land apart from the hump the house was standing on was covered.

Monday October 6th  (09º 52.8'N 118º 46'E)
Today we go to Puerto Princesa. We had a beautiful sail all the way. The wind was ESE so we were close hauled with 12 - 15 knots of wind, sunshine, blue seas and only one near miss with a reef. Arrived at Puerto Princesa in the early afternoon and anchored just N of the main pier. At first sight it looked very scruffy and dirty but having been ashore and done some exploring it was OK. The main street was noisy and full of fumes from the traffic but the rest was quite green and pleasant.

Tuesday October 7th  (09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
Today we needed to organise a security guard for the boat so that we could go to Sabang for a few days. Leeann at Malapacao had given us the name of her assistant in Puerto Princesa and he turned out to be a gem. He organised a guard and was also able to help us with a few other things so that we could leave the next morning for a few days.
In the afternoon we paid a visit to the Butterfly Garden and the Crocodile Farm. The butterflies are bred to keep up the numbers and the garden, though small, is crowded with butterflies. The crocodile farm breeds both freshwater and saltwater crocodiles, the former to release back into the wild and the latter to be used for commercial gain i.e. turned into handbags. They also have a nature conservation section but nowhere near as well run as the Nature Reserve at Calauit.

Wednesday October 8th  (09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
Put the guard on the boat. We almost had a hitch with the port security chief who queried whether or not our guard was permitted to work within the port areas but Roy sorted it out. Caught the jeepney to Sabang at about 0800. Because we were foreigners we had the dubious privilege of sitting in the front by the driver. The first half of the trip was OK along a good concrete road but the second half was on unmade road fairly narrow and deeply rutted in places. We could have gone in an air-con car but decided the jeepney was far more exciting. Sabang is sleepy. We stayed in a resort called Mary's Cottages away from the main town overlooking a sandy palm fringed beach.

Thursday October 9th  
The attraction in Sabang apart from the beautiful beach is the underground river. We walked to the entrance from the resort - a distance of about 4 km on a trail going through jungle and up and down cliffs on wooden ladders and walkways. The trail is well kept and the park area well organised. You must buy a permit in Sabang (200 pesos) otherwise you are not allowed to enter the park area. The underground river is well worth seeing. A guide paddles you along it in a small banca for about 1½ km giving a running commentary all the way. You are also provided with a large powerful torch. The river is 9metres deep at the entrance and the roof height varies from just above head height to 65 metres. There are many varied rock formations. The river is navigable for about 14½ km but most of it is restricted for research purposes. We went back to Sabang on a banca, walking one way was interesting, walking both ways would have been masochistic. We found another resort about halfway along the beach called Taraw Resort where we had dinner. It looked very neat and well kept and well worth a look if you were staying in Sabang.

Friday October 10th  
Had a lazy morning and caught the jeepney back to Puerto Princesa about 1230. The journey was much the same as the one coming and we were pleased to find no problems with the boat on our return.

Saturday October 11th  09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
Jobs day - Steve trailed around Puerto Princesa to try to get the gas bottle filled. There were lots of places that exchanged empty bottles for full ones but finding the filling station to get our own bottle filled was a bit more of a challenge but he found it in the end. We also filled the diesel tank, found a notary to countersign some paperwork and chased up the travel agent in Manila to DHL our Christmas flight tickets to Puerto Princesa. I spent most of the day writing the web update for the previous 6 weeks.

Sunday October 12th (09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
Steve did his first oil change on the engine - previously it had always been done by our mechanic in Hong Kong. With the manual in one hand and the oil change pump in the other he managed a pretty good job.

Monday October 13th (09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
We found an Internet café to upload the website update, got the visas extended (the maximum visa you can get for the Philippines is 59 days and that has to be done in advance, normal entry only gives 21 days) that cost 7000 pesos for the two of us. We chased up the travel agent in Manila again who promised the tickets would be DHL'd this afternoon and should arrive in Puerto Princesa by tomorrow. We stocked up on non-perishables that we can't buy in the smaller towns - things like olive oil, UHT milk, tinned tomatoes, ordinary butter and other such exotic items. Looking forward to leaving here tomorrow or Wednesday.

Tuesday October 14th (09º 44.8'N 118º 43.8'E)
Checked the email, changed some travellers cheques, went to the DHL office to see when the tickets were likely to arrive - they already had!! All we need to do now is stock up on perishables and we can leave so straight to the market. Got back to Carillon around 1300 and decided to leave Puerto Princesa straight away and anchor in Honda Bay overnight to give us time to clean up the dinghy before bringing it onboard for the overnight trip to the Cuyo Islands. After Puerto Princesa Honda Bay was so quiet, clean and peaceful.

Wednesday October 15th (09º 50.55'N 118º 46.08'E)
Got up at 0600 to leave but found it was dismal, dreary and raining. Left about an hour later still in rain but by 0900 it had stopped and although still overcast it was dry. We are heading for the southern tip of Panay with the intention of stopping at the Cuyo islands on the way just to have a look. It should take about 30 hours to get there. The wind is from the southwest blowing about 8 - 10 knots. We're heading northeast so it's right behind us with a ½ - 1 metre swell - slow and uncomfortable. About 1600 it became northerly, the clouds started to break up a bit and things looked a bit better.

Thursday October 16th (10º 18.9'N 120º 14.5'E)
My watch from midnight to 0400 was pretty uneventful, the wind continued to come from the north and built to about 15 knots. When I came back up on deck just before 0800 the Cuyo Islands were in sight. They look like widely scattered lumps of rock. The one we're heading for is Cuyo Island itself and there are possible anchorages south and east of it's closely adjacent island and also off Cuyo town. As we approach there is a dense rain squall passing over Cuyo Island so we hove to until the worst of it had passed. We looked at all the anchorages but in the unsettled weather they all seemed exposed and uncomfortable so we decided to keep going and head direct for Panay.

Friday October 17th (10º 29'N 121º 43'E)
When I came up for the midnight watch we were within 11 miles of Nogas at the southern tip of Panay. The wind had increased during Steve's watch so he had made good time. We decided to heave to during my watch rather than try to go in in the dark. We had about 14 or 15 knots of wind from the north so Carillon sat very comfortably hove to and had drifted about 5 miles on the current by 0400. We started sailing again and arrived off Nogas Island around 0700. We anchored just east of Juraojurao Island and southeast of the tip of Panay. Since the wind was from the northwest it should have been sheltered but the swell still managed to work it's way in. We'll stop here for today and tonight then head for Guimaras Island tomorrow. After dark it seemed as though the whole village was out in the bay all around us fishing. There must have been 50 tiny bancas around us but by late evening they had all disappeared again.

Saturday October 18th (10º 24.7'N 121º 58.1'E)
By the morning the wind had swung round to the southeast so our sheltered spot had quite a swell running into it. We left fairly quickly to head east towards Santa Ana Bay on Guimaras. The wind was light and coming from the east so we motored to start with until it swung a little more to the north. We sailed for a good few hours then spotted a very black rainstorm coming over. Initially we tried to sail away from it but no good - it was definitely out to get us so discretion being the better part of valour we shortened sail and turned on the engine to allow us to run the radar since visibility was almost zero then huddled under the dodger while it went over. About 10 miles or so from Guimaras we spotted a line of fishing markers anchored in about a thousand metres of water and substantial bamboo constructions. Not something you'd want to come across at night or in poor visibility. Arrived at Santa Ana Bay late afternoon and anchored in the recommended spot just off the pier. Another yacht was anchored a little further in but we later discovered it had been there for some years since the owner's wife had flatly refused to go to sea again.

Sunday October 19th (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
The local mayor dropped by in his banca this morning. He was very friendly and informative and stopped to chat for a while as we were working on deck. Went ashore to try to find diesel and vegetables and were met by two friendly ladies from the house on the pier who gave us directions. The petrol station was a kilometre or so up the road so we waited until a tricycle came by then booked him for an hour to make as many trips as necessary to fill up the tanks. I went to Nueva Valencia to check out the market and managed to buy a few vegetables. The local mayor had told us there was a resort in the next bay run by an Englishman so we pottered round in the dinghy to say hullo. Like all the other resorts business was pretty slow but we arranged to have dinner there in the evening. The food was excellent and Peter (the owner) turned out to have done a lot of cruising SE Asia in previous years.

Monday October 20th (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
Spent most of the day on the boat tidying up a few jobs. Went ashore later in the afternoon to investigate the small resort close to the pier called Villa Clara. It was run by Susan who was very chatty and friendly. We learnt that the friendly lady from the house on the pier was the mother of Naldo who works for our good friend Benoit on the yacht Atmosphere and also of Ernie who helped our friend Iain sail Zuma back from here last year. There is a small boatyard on the beach which apparently does good work. During the night a heavy rainsquall came over and at full stretch on the anchor chain the depth under the keel was 0.0 metres. Whoops!! Must move the anchor first thing in the morning.
 

Tuesday October 21st (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
The plan today was to go to the capital San Miguel and from there go and look at Macopo Falls but just as we'd got a local tricycle organised to take us around for the afternoon a black rainstorm started heading into the bay. Having just moved the anchor we thought we'd better be on board when the squall came through in case the anchor wasn't holding properly so rushed back in the dinghy to get there just as the wind and the rain did. The anchor was fine but the rain lasted until well into the afternoon so that put paid to the sightseeing trip. There are two big typhoons out in the Pacific slowly moving north and we think this very wet weather may be the tail end of the rainbands of the closest one. They are a long way north and don't present any danger but do have long wet tails. Of more concern is the tropical depression forming just west of Palawan. We had intended leaving tomorrow but will hang on now until we see what it is going to do.

Wednesday October 22nd (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
Walked up to pick up a jeepney to San Miguel. It wasn't too crowded to start with. Not far from San Miguel an old man got on and started talking to us. Having discovered we were English and not American he went on to say quite forcefully that with reference to President Bush's recent whirlwind visit to the Philippines if President Bush really wanted to know what the people of the Philippines thought he should come out into the provinces and talk to them and not hide away in Manila. We have come across a lot of ill-feeling towards the Americans for wrongly labelling the Philippines a terrorist country and causing a lot of hardship through the declining tourist industry. Anyway we visited Macopo Falls which is a small but attractive waterfall set in lush surroundings not far from San Miguel. It would have been even more attractive but there has been so much rain recently that the water is saturated with silt so looks a bit brown and cloudy. We took a look at Jordan a bit further along the coast where the ferries go to Iloilo on Panay. You can see Iloilo quite clearly so it's not very far. Apart from the ferry piers there's not much else at Jordan.

Thursday October 23rd (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
Decided to hang on a few more days until the depression west of Palawan has cleared so today we need to write up the webpage and tomorrow we'll take the ferry to Iloilo to find an Internet Cafe and update the web page and check out the email. Went for a walk in the afternoon to nearby Alubihod Beach which is supposed to be a beautiful white sand beach with attractive resorts - I think it needs a bit more work.

Friday October 24th (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
The low pressure system to the west seems to be dissipating but we'll wait until tomorrow to leave just to make sure. We left the boat early tpo go to Iloilo by jeepney then ferry. It took about 1½ hours altogether. I'm glad we decided not to take Carillon to Iloilo, the waterfront artea is very crowded and dirty. The town is quite big - about 350,000 people and has taxis not motorised tricycles for getting around. We found a supermarket and managed to buy proper cheese (not processed), UHT milk, shower gel, coconut milk powder and fresh chicken. Apart from the chicken the other items are just not available in the other places we've been to.

Saturday October 25th (10º 32'N 122º 31.7'E)
The weather looks much better and much more settled so we leave early to go and check out an anchorage off Nagarao Island on the southern tip of Guimaras. The sailing is good with the wind from the NE. As we went around the south of Guimaras the wind increased until we had about 20-25knots from in front. Nagarao Island was a non-starter in the strong Northeasterly wind. There were strong tide rips either side and the swell worked it's way right up to the beach with the wind gusting strongly over the island. Time for Plan B. This was to tuck into a bay on the main island about 3 or 4 miles to the west, the only snag being an apparently unbroken line of fish traps between us and the anchorage. We went anyway since logic said that the local boats have to go through so there must be a way. As we got closer spaces opened up and we finally anchored off Cabalagan Point in flat water sheltered from the wind.

Sunday October 26th (10º 25.6'N 122º 35'E)
Today we have a long sail - about 48 miles northwards through the Guimaras Channel to Canas Bay. To quote Stephen Davies/Elaine Morgan (authors of the pilot book we're using) "...note that winds funnel through this area and currents are strong". They weren't kidding!!  We were going northwards with the tide and the NE monsoon was funnelling through the channel against us so we had 30 - 35 knots of wind over the deck and a very short steep 2 - 3 metre swell against us. It was wet and uncomfortable for the 6 hours until the tide turned. We were quite relieved to get into the shelter of Canas Bay out of the wind and seas.
We anchored off the village of Bayang and before the anchor was even set some local teenagers had paddled a small banca out to say hello and have a good look at the boat.

Monday October 27th (11º 02'N 122º 56'E)
Went ashore to have a look round. It's a very poor village, nipa huts, one or two sarisari stalls and an early morning market. The girls had told us they ate mainly fish and rice and everyone went out fishing at one time or another. Most of them spoke some english and quite a few were planning to go to work overseas to support the families as soon as they were old enough. All the people were friendly and there was a constant stream of "Hey Joe, where you going" as we walked. Soon after we returned to the boat more teenagers came to visit and as one group left another arrived. By the end of the day almost all the teenagers in the village must have been on board at one time or another and without exception they were all polite, friendly and helpful.

Tuesday October 28th (11º 02'N 122º 56'E)
The bay was full of big fish traps and overnight they all had someone on the top raising and lowering the net at intervals. We watched in the early evening but they didn't seem to be catching very much. Most of the bancas going in and out were catching crabs to send to the markets in Iloilo.
We're heading a little further up the east coast of Panay today heading for Binanan Island in Ajuy Bay. The Guimaras Channel runs between Guimaras and Negros. Most of the west coast of Negros seems to be big cities so there is a lot of traffic and the water quality is very poor. The weather today is beautiful, the sun is shining and the NE monsoon seems to be set in for a while. We sail most of the way and anchor in what looks like a quiet spot on the SW tip of Binanan Island. It's a pretty anchorage with calm water and sheltered from the wind - perfect - until early evening when it turned out to be the M1 route between the villages inside the bay and their fishing grounds. There was non-stop banca traffic from early evening until daylight the next day. Just shows you can't have everything.

Wednesday October 29th (11º 09'N 123º 04'E)
Another beautiful day although maybe a little more cloud than the day before. We motored for a couple of hours since our route took us by winding passages through the islands with uncertain fluky winds. Once out in the open we sailed for Sicogan Island. The navtex message from Naha had identified a low pressure about 300 - 400 miles ENE which we needed to keep an eye on hence the slightly more overcast skies. The anchorage at Sicogon was a bit disappointing. We found a spot to anchor in but the holding was sand and coral and we weren't too comfortable with it. We'll set the depth and drag alarms tonight. The foreshore was mostly rocks and didn't look very inviting so we didn't go ashore. This part of the Philippines is much more heavily populated than Palawan. Every beach has a large village and at night there was an almost continuous line of lights across the channel from the fishing bancas.

Thursday October 30th (11º 27'N 124º 15'E)
The plan today was to head out to the Gigantes Islands off the NE tip of Panay but we decided instead to head for a sheltered anchorage a few miles away on the main island of Panay just off the town of Estancia until the low pressure system makes up it's mind about what it's going to do. The anchorage is just south of Loguingat Island in mud and sheltered from all sides except the SW so we should be well protected.

Friday October 31st (11º 27'N 123º 10'E)
The weatherfax and navtex told us the depression had developed into a tropical storm and was heading NW so would pass about 180 miles N sometime during the night. We decided to stay where we were for today and all being well leave the next morning. There were some very heavy rainstorms but no serious wind during the morning but in the afternoon the sky started to clear so we look set to leave in the morning.

Saturday November 1st (11º 27'N 123º 10'E)
This morning the storm is over Bolinao about 300 miles to the north so it won't affect us now. The weather is sunny with a light breeze from the south so we could sail all the way to the Gigantes islands. There are 2 largish islands and one or two small ones. We anchored between the two large islands sheltered from most winds. One of the things about sailing in areas where there are very few if any cruising yachts is that you tend to become a bit of a peep show. Usually this takes the form of the local bancas passing very close very slowly and sometimes calling to us and waving - no problem they're very friendly. At the Gigantes this happened but there was one banca who stopped his boat a couple of feet away and just stared for about half an hour then stood on top of his boat to try to see inside. We tried to talk to him but he didn't speak english and just smiled and nodded and eventually drove away.
Disaster!! the watermaker stopped running. Steve thinks there is a fault with the engine and spent a while trying to sort it out. Eventually he got it going again but he thinks there's a fault with it. The watermaker is invaluable because it means we don't have to worry about finding a source of drinking water and carrying it in cannisters back to the boat.

Sunday November 2nd (11º 36'N 123º 21'E)
The next destination is Boracay on the NW tip of Panay. It's about 86 miles so we decided to sail overnight to do it in one go. The only place to stop on the N coast of Panay was Port Barton and it didn't look too exciting. We left the Gigantes about mid-morning with sunshine, about 7 knots of wind from the north and a flat sea so we were making 3 - 5 knots. Very relaxing. During the night the wind got a bit light and fluky so we kept ourselves amused during our watches trying to get the boat to sail in the right direction and watching the pyrotechnics in the thunderclouds over the land.

Monday November 3rd (11º 55'N 122º 24'E - position at 0800 hours)
 By morning the wind had settled again at about 7 knots from the north . By then we were about 20 miles from Boracay so we put up the drifter and estimated that we would arrive aboutt midday - then the wind died, 0.0 knots showing on the wind speed indicator. We gave up and turned on the engine.
Boracay must have one of the most beautiful beaches in the world but each time we come there is more and more development and the bay has more and more banca traffic bringing people in and out. Where there used to be resorts with attractive nipa huts there are now big concrete hotels and more in the pipeline but it certainly makes a change from the isolated places we've been recently.

Tuesday November 4th (11º 57'N 121º 55'E)
We plan to stay here a day or two to provision and get laundry done, also to have a few meals out and maybe the odd beer in Nigi Nigi Nu Noos bar. It must still be a good time to get married in Korea because there are lots of Korean honeymooners here as well. We spent the day just walking around since we havn't been off the boat for a couple of weeks and we need the excercise. The market and shops in the village are reasonably well-stocked so we should be able to top up the basics.

Wednesday November 5th (11º 57'N 121º 55'E)
Very lazy day today, did a bit of shopping, wandered up into the town, walked up and down the beach a bit. There must be a local rule about leaving bancas on the beach here. The whole beach is clear and bancas are either pulled right up to the top of the beach or anchored off it.

Thursday November 6th (11º 57'N 121º 55'E)
We're getting fed up with rolling around in the wash from the bancas and the noise from the beach bars so we're going a few miles down the coast of Panay to a bay just by Burnanga Point until the weekend when we'll come back to watch the Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals in one of the beach bars. The wind is right behind and we have plenty of time so rather than having the main banging about we hoisted the gennaker and coasted along comfortably. There's a small village on the beach in the bay and it's not quite as pristine as Boracay's White Beach but it's a lot quieter. Around 4pm there's a frenzy of activity on the beach (that's a Philippine style laid-back frenzy) and about 20 fishing bancas were launched and headed up the coast to the North. Most came quite close to us and shouted friendly comments or just stared.

Friday November 7th (11º 51'N 121º 53'E)
Spent the day at the small bay doing not very much. Some of the children paddled out to have a close look at us. They just sat and stared. Either they were too shy or didn't have enough english to talk to us. The boys tried to jump into the dinghy but Steve had taken the floors out to clean out the sand that had been trampled into it when we left it on the beach at Boracay so they were told pretty firmly to keep out of it.

Saturday November 8th (11º 51'N 121º 53'E)
Motored the few miles back to Boracay to watch the Quarter Finals of the Rugby World Cup. When we got back we found two other cruising yachts anchored off the beach - the first ones we'd seen since we entered the Philippines back in May. One was a big catamaran called Supercat the other a 50' steel boat called Southerly Change. Went ashore to Nigi Nigi Nu Noos beach bar to watch the rugby where we met Australians Dennis and Barbara from Southerly Change who had also come to Boracay to watch the Rugby. Australia and New Zealand won their Quarter Finals.

Sunday November 9th (11º 57'N 121º 55'E)
Searched around the markets for dry goods ready to leave tomorrow. Away from the beach the market and shops have most of the stuff I need (maybe not smoked salmon, black olives and proper cheeses but we'll get by). The beach area is full of shops selling sarongs, beach dresses, shorts, etc. Back to Nigi Nigi Nu Noos this afternoon to watch the other two Quarter Finals. England and France won their respective Quarter Finals so the line-up for the Semis is Australia v New Zealand and England v France.

Monday November 10th (11º 57'N 121º 55'E)
We're going to look at and anchorage on the southern side of Carabao island first but if it's no good we'll go on to Santa Fe on the southern tip of Tablas Island. The wind is about 20 knots from the north so we're hard on the wind with one reef and a few rolls in the headsail. There's a big lumpy swell coming mostly from the north so there's a lot of water washing over the deck. As we approached Carabao island it was obviously not going to be any good. The swell was working round both sides of the island so any anchorage would be pretty uncomfortable. We went on towards Santa Fe. The waves had been washing down the lee side of the deck and Steve suddenly noticed that when we took the hoses from the raincatchers out of the deck fillers for the water tanks we had forgotten to put the caps back on. The filler on the starboard side was OK, there hadn't been any water over the deck on that side but sea water had been washing over the deck on the port side and into the tank. We measured the salinity in the contaminated tank and found it was about 5 times the acceptable level so we have one full good tank and one full contaminated tank although the water from the contaminated tank is still good for everything except drinking. We decided to drink from the good tank and use the water from the other tank like there was no tomorrow - unlimited showers. Once the contaminated tank is finished we can flush it out and refill from the watermaker.
Santa Fe was a pretty bay but the town looked a bit grubby and had a very loud karaoke bar.

Tuesday November 11th (12º 09'N 121º 59'E)
Only a short sail today. We're going 7 or 8 miles up the coast to Looc where we can fill up with diesel and buy fresh food. It's an excellent sail - sunshine, about 10 - 15 knots from the NE and flat water.Looc is a typhoon anchorage with good holding in not too deep water close to the pier so we anchor in the sheltered NE corner where we find our Australian friends on Southerly Change. Their plan had been to head up to Puerto Galera in time for the Semi Finals the following Saturday but their weather info has picked up a depression to the east which they're a bit concerned about.
We went and had a look round the town, it has quite a good vegetable market but not much in the way of meat or fish.

Wednesday November 12th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
There's a tropical depression forming out in the Pacific which should drift NW but we'll keep an eye on it in case it comes this way. We need about 150 litres of fuel to top up the tanks so that's four trips to the petrol station. Steve makes a start on that while I do a load of washing to use some of the contaminated water. I went to the market to look for fish and meat but all I could find was some small chickens so that had to do. We'd intended to snorkel over the Marine Park in the middle of the bay but the weather was a bit stormy and miserable so we decided not to.

Thursday November 13th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
The news on the storm to the east isn't good. It's forecast to come pretty much over the top of us by midday tomorrow with winds near the centre of 55 knots gusting 70 knots. By the following day when it reaches the South China Sea it's forecast to be a full-blown typhoon with 70 knot winds gusting 100 knots.
We move the boat away from the shore and set two anchors on the same chain one 50 ft in front of the other the theory being the second one holds the chain down allowing the first to bury itself deeply. The genoa and anything easily removed on deck goes downstairs, the main under it's cover is lashed down at half metre intervals along the length of the boom and around the mast.The awning comes off and the dinghy is taken on board and deflated. Everything downstairs is stowed away so it can't get thrown around the cabin. The anchor position is set on the instruments so we can monitor it for drag and the VHF is set to channel 68 so we can communicate with Southerly Change. There's not much more to do now but sit and wait.

Friday November 14th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
The wind started to build from the North just after midnight. By 4am the centre of the storm was about 150 miles due east travelling at 21 knots due west. Forecast winds near the centre are 55 knots gusting 70 knots. At the speed it's travelling it'll be closest around 10 or 11 this morning.The wind vectors on the chart indicated that we'd be getting mostly northerlies so we'd stayed tucked up into the NE corner of the bay. Other ships had come in and gone down to the southern end. I hope we're right. By 10am the maximum wind speed we'd registered was 37 knots from the NW and with no fetch the sea was flat. The weatherfax at 10:30 seemed to indicate that the winds near the centre had decreased to 30 knots gusting 50. At about 11am everything went quiet but it was a false alarm. Half an hour later the wind picked up again still from the NW and N and was blowing about 25 knots. The pressure was 1002 and dropping rapidly. By 2pm it had dropped to 992 and everything went quiet again - the wind dropped to nothing, the sky lightened a little. This time we were sure it was the eye of the storm. The quiet lasted for an hour and a half and the pressure stayed at 992. At 3:30 the other side of the storm hit us. The wind came in at 40 knots from the South, we swung round on the anchors and watched the instruments to see how far we would move before the anchors dug themselves in again. They exceeded our expectations and hardly moved at all. For the next hour it blew between 40 and 50 knots. There was a two mile fetch to the south of the bay so the swell built very quickly. We were bouncing and rolling with spray coming over the bow and the snubbing line on the anchor chain groaning with the strain. Everything held - by the evening the wind had dropped to 15 - 20 knots but there was a swell rolling through the harbour entrance  from the West so we rolled and everything crashed and banged for most of the night.

Saturday November 15th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
 The wind was still blowing at 15 - 20 knots this morning but from the East so the swell has settled a bit. The storm, now a full typhoon named Nepartek, is racing across the South China Sea towards Vietnam. This afternoon we plan to go to Odiongan (capital of Tablas) with Dennis and Barbara from Southerly Change to see if any of the hotels have satellite TV andare showing the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. The trip to Odiongan entailed an hours ride in a jeepney over a dirt road. At Odiongan we searched out the best (or only) hotel to see if they really had satellite TV. They had but only in their guest rooms. Next step was to see if they were receiving Star Sports - Yes was the answer so now we just have to negotiate a  room rate for two hours this afternoon and two hours tomorrow afternoon for the four of us - the girl we were speaking to didn't quite understand and looked somewhat confused. Steve and Dennis explained the problem to the manager who having finally understood that all we wanted was a television to watch the Australia New Zealand match quite happily negotiated a reasonable rate for the room. The last step was working out how to get back to Looc afterwards since the last jeepney left at 4pm. We got the hotel working on it and they sorted out a private jeepney for us. The hotel was happy, the jeepney driver was happy and when the Wallabies beat the Kiwis our Australian friends were ecstatic.

Sunday November 16th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
Flat calm this morning so a good time to put the genoa back on it's roller reefing gear and sort out the anchors. The back anchor (60lb CQR) came up fairly easily just needing a bit of a tug to get it out of the mud but the front anchor (20lb Fortress) was buried deep and stuck fast. It took about 10 -15 minutes to motor it out and when we brought it to the surface it still had about half a square metre of mud clinging to it. We're quite impressed with the Fortress as a second anchor. It comes apart and packs flat when not in use and only takes a few minutes to put together. It's made of aluminium so is very light for it's size and holding power so is easier to manhandle over the side when the main anchor is on the roller. It looks a bit like a Danforth with longer flukes and a longer crossbar. Once set it didn't move in the storm.
This afternoon was a repeat of yesterday only this time it was England v France. Everything went like clockwork only this time it we were the ones over the moon when England beat France 24 - 7. The new plan is now to head for Puerto Galera a bit earlier than planned in time to watch the final next Saturday.

Monday November 17th (12º 15'N 121º 59'E)
Left very early with a multitude of plans. If the wind was on the nose we would just go 20 miles up the coast to a bay near the North of Tablas, if Easterly then we would go to Bantan Island to the North of Tablas, if Northeasterly then it would be Maestre de Campo to the Northwest of Tablas. Maestro de Campo it was. We had one reef and were fairly hard on the wind but sunshine and a flat sea made for pretty good sailing. Our pilot recommended the bay off the main town Port Concepcion but we found it too deep for comfort - 18 metres minimum and thewater looked pretty grubby. We motored around the island to look at some of the other bays but everywhere seemed either too deep or coral and too shallow. Eventually we found a spot with a sand and rock bottom (we knew what it was because the water was clear enough to see it) in about 10 metres off a deserted beach sheltered from the NE. It seemed pretty good.

Tuesday 18th November (12º 54'N 121º 42'E)
Would you believe it! In the NE monsoon the wind is now blowing from the West so our sheltered corner is now a lee shore. It wasn't blowing hard so we waited until mid-afternoon to see if it would swing round to the NE but it just got stronger and funnelled around the headland so eventually we lifted the anchor and tried a Agbartang Bay to the SW that we hadn't been into yesterday which turned out to be good. 13 metres of water over what is probably a sand and rock bottom. The anchor seemed to be holding well and it was sheltered from everywhere except the South.

Wednesday 19th November (12º 54'N 121º 43'E)
It's a jobs day today. We cleaned out the forward head where the watermaker is, reseated all the screws in the hinges of the hatch covers where water had been seeping through, fitted the two way tap so that we can fill either tank with the watermaker and not just the forward one, stripped most of the lining out of the big deck locker forward where it had gone rotten, cleaned the rust spots off the pulpit and polished it in attempt to slow down the rust spots coming back. In the evening we were approached by a small banca with two people in it. They were telling us that we were their friends and they would like a remembrance from us of cigarette lighters or cigarettes or maybe a bottle of wine. Since we had none of these things they eventually left.

Thursday 20th November (12º 54'N 121º 43'E)
There's a low pressure system just to the east of the Philippines. We were planning to go to Puerto Galera tomorrow but decided to go today just in case. It's about 60 miles so we left at 4:30am which will give us about 13 hours to get there in daylight. There's plenty of wind but would you believe it was coming from NW which is exactly where we need to go. We'll motor into it for a while and hope it swings later. Unfortunately it dies altogether so we motor all the way to Puerto Galera and arrive about mid-afternoon. We meet up with Dennis and Barbara again from Southerly Change also Fitz and Trish from Columbus who had been in Romblon when Tropical Storm Nepartak was on it's way and had run for Puerto Galera since the anchorage at Romblon was not good for storms.

Friday 21st November (13º 30.5'N 121º 57'E)
The power is out in Puerto Galera and is likely to be for the next 4 days. We wanted to check on the emails but no power no computers. We eventually found an Internet Cafe with a generator who ran it for a few hours each day so were able to get a connection and check on the weather. Went to the Puerto Galera Yacht Club for their Friday night BBQ and found ourselves in a minority of two amongst about a dozen Australians trying to wind us up about the Rugby Final tomorrow. They'll be laughing on the other side of their faces after the match tomorrow.

Saturday 22nd November (13º 30.5'N 121º 57'E)
Didn't do too much today, just a bit of cleaning and tidying. I was hoping to find a laundry but the only likely looking one is closed probably because of the power failure. The guys from two other yachts anchored in here warned us that there was a new immigration official in Puerto Galera. He searched them out and tried to demand they paid fees of some sort despite their papers being perfectly in order. Neither of them paid him anything. He hasn't come to us yet but he'll get the same answer so guys from RHKYC on the next China Sea Race if you come to Puerto Galera be warned.
WASN'T IT A GREAT MATCH!! The Aussies in the bar were beside themselves until that last minute when Jonny got the drop goal that decided it. (We were quite excited too). It was so close it could have gone the other way so easily (Steve said it couldn't possibly have).

Sunday 23rd November to Tuesday 9th December (13º 30.5'N 121º 57'E)
We spent this time doing some essential jobs on the boat such as repainting the markings on the anchor chain. We paint a foot or so of chain every 25 feet alternating red and green with the last patch painted both red and green so that we know we're almost at the end of the chain. This allows us to put down the right amount of chain for the depth of water.
We also managed to fit in some diving at Cap'n Greggs Dive Shop on Sabang beach. We first dived there about 13 years ago and the same guy (Chuck) is still there. It's expanded a little but hasn't changed that much. Development on the beach as a whole has grown incredibly. There are dive shops and restaurants the whole length of the beach and for some way back into the land behind. Some of the dive sites we'd been to when we first came had been destroyed by cyanide and dynamite fishing but there were one or two more sites where wrecks had been deliberately laid down to attract the fish and coral.

Wednesday 10th December to Friday 12th December
Took the ferry from Puerto Galera to Batangas then the bus from Batangas to Manila. This takes about 5 or 6 hors. We spent the night in a hotel then went to the airport next morning to catch the flight for London. At the airport the flight we had been booked on didn't exist. We had been booked on Gulf Air stopping at Bahrain then London. We had been rebooked on a flight that went through Abu Dhabi then a second flight to Bahrain to catch the flight to London. The flights were all late but this meant our waiting around time was spread out more evenly between the various airports. We eventually landed in London around 0800 hours on Friday morning.