Monday 5th January 
Arrived back in Manila around midday after an uneventful flight. We have Steve's Mum Betty with us for 3 weeks to give her a taste of our cruising lifestyle. We are staying in the City State Tower Hotel because the SiKat bus/ferry service to Puerto Galera leaves from here. We go to the chart agent again (NAMRIA, 421 Barraca St, San Nicolas, Binondo,Manila. Tel. (02) 241-3494 to 96) to buy charts of Leyte, Samar, Southern Cebu and Negros which is where we intend to cruise from February to April.

Tuesday 6th January
We have a day in hand before returning to Puerto Galera so we use it to buy one or two items of hardware and food that we can't buy in our intended cruising area. We also had time do some sightseeing at Fort Santiago and Intramuros. Fort Santiago was where the Philippine national hero José Rizal was imprisoned and executed by the Spanish in 1896 for inciting revolution. Intramuros is the old Spanish town which has been restored as a tourist area including Manila Cathedral, a restored Spanish house called Casa Manila and some colourful street markets.

Wednesday 7th January
The Sikat bus leaves at 8:00 am so we have to be up early to breakfast and check out of the hotel. The bus trip to Batangas took only 2 hours - quite good compared to the 4 hours it took coming the other way. We found the usual chaos at Batangas with porters milling about vying for business. We had 4 quite heavy bags mostly full of food items from the UK that are unavailable in the Philippines and spare parts for the boat so we employed a porter with a trolley to get the luggage to the boat. The boat ride to Puerto Galera was fairly calm and took around an hour. The Puerto Galera Yacht Club service boat was waiting at the dock so we were able to get aboard straightaway.
   Everything looked fine on board but there were a few hiccups. Because of a broken exhaust manifold on the generator we had been charging the batteries with the main engine for a few days before leaving in December. We had managed to charge the house batteries but not much charge had gone into the engine battery and it was now flat. Normally we would channel power from the generator into the engine battery to start it but before we could do that Steve had to repair the generator. Once that was done we could charge the batteries and get the fridge going. The next problem was the outboard. We found the thrust bearing had worn out and we would have to go back to Manila to get another one. The last problem was that the gas cylinder to run the cooker had run out. Jason (the boat boy) said there was nowhere in Puerto Galera to refill it but thought there might be somewhere in Calapan an hour and a half away by jeepney. Jason volunteered to take the cylinder to Calapan to try to get it refilled.

Thursday 8th January (13° 30.3'N 120° 57.2'E)
Steve left at 5:30 am to get the 6:00 am ferry to Batangas then a bus back to Manila. Jason came at 8:45 am to collect the gas cylinder to take to Calipan. About 11:30 am one of the other boat boys came over to tell us that Jason had sent a message to say they couldn't refill the gas cylinder in Calipan only in Batangas, half an hour later Steve called to say he'd found the shop with no problem but they didn't have the part. It was expected to arrive in a day or two so could he go back later to collect it. Not too successful a day so far.

Friday 9th January (13° 30.3'N 120° 57.2'E)
Today we'll forget the problems and be tourists and show Betty the nicest beach in the area. We get the jeepney to Talipanan, most of the road is now concrete but the last kilometre or so is still dirt track. The trip takes about half an hour and the jeepney drops us about 5 minutes walk from the beach. The plan is to walk to the very end of the beach to have lunch at Luka's Italian restaurant and maybe have a swim beforehand. The sea is fairly rough and there's quite a cool wind blowing so we swap the swim for a paddle round the rocks. Steve picked up a stinking cold in the UK so he stayed at the restaurant. Lunch was excellent as usual and worth the wait. It had taken a little longer than we had expected so we headed straight back to the road to catch the last jeepney back at 3:00 pm. At around 3:30 pm a jeepney loaded with rice turned up. We weren't sure if it was the regular jeepney or not but since he was going back to Puerto Galera we jumped on.
   Today is Friday so we went to the yacht club for the Friday evening BBQ. As usual it was well attended and gave us the opportunity to meet up with friends made on our previous visit.

Saturday 10th January (13° 30.3'N 120° 57.2'E)
Well the parts for the outboard hadn't arrived so it saves Steve another trip to Manila. He thinks he can cobble it together for the time being and pick up the parts when he takes Betty back to Manila on the 24th for the flight back to the UK. The gas cylinder we'll try to get filled when we reach Cebu. So far each cylinder has averaged 3 months so as long as we get to Cebu by the beginning of April we should be OK. Did the usual shop to stock up for the trip down the coast. The next place we can provision will probably be San José on the southern tip of Mindanao so that's probably about a week away. We made good use of the deli on the front at Puerto Galera managing to buy good quality frozen meat, bacon, ham, garlic sausage, cheeses, butter and bread. Once that's gone it's back to basic stuff until we get to Cebu.

Sunday 11th January (13° 30.3'N 120° 57.2'E)
We have about 40 miles to sail today so we leave around 6:30 am. We expect about 20 - 25 knots of wind from the east which makes the passage down the Verde Channel to Cape Calavite pretty much a dead run. We put 1 reef in the main and roll out the jib to about a no. 3 and head off west down the channel. The expected 20 - 25 knots apparent materialised and more. At one time we had 30 knots over the deck and making 8 knots through the water. The seas were not too big so we had a comfortable and somewhat exhilarating sail. As we turned the corner to the anchorage under Cape Calavite the wind switched off completely leaving us rolling around in a swell looking at the wind blowing furiously about 1/2 mile offshore. We motored into the anchorage in a flat calm and anchored in about 5 metres of calm clear water. The water was so inviting that we all went in for a swim including Betty.
   We had a problem with the motor when we tried to start it. We found it would only start if the generator was running pumping extra charge into the engine battery. It's a big job to investigate so we'll have to leave it until  we're stopped somewhere calm for a day or so.

Monday 12th January (13° 25'N 120° 18.8'E)
The trip today is about 20 miles or so  down the west coast of Mindanao to Mamburao. We start with about 25 knots on the beam and race over a flat sea at about 8 knots. The wind slowly decreases until by about midday it disappeared altogether so we had to motor into the anchorage. It was quite open but in the north easterly monsoon the western side of Mindoro is very calm and the winds are mainly shore breezes so by late afternoon there's hardly a ripple on the water. One or two bancas approached with curious but friendly people on board and one circled us a number of times before asking "why are we there" and "is our engine inoperable". We assured them we were fine and just wanted to stop overnight.

Tuesday 13th January (13° 13.2'N 120° 35'E)
Another 20 miles or so today to Pandan Island. The NE monsoon blows in the morning then dies away to nothing for an hour or so before the shore breeze comes in from the other direction starting at around 4 - 5 knots and building to about 10 knots. We reached Pandan Island in the early afternoon and picked up their mooring buoy which has no been re-laid after being washed away in a big storm in June last year. Steve spent 1/2 an hour or so doing a temporary fix on the outboard motor so we could get ashore. The only thing on Pandan Island is the Pandan Island Resort. This is a very low key friendly and eco-friendly resort run by Dominic and Dennis who I think are French. There are a dozen or so huts on the beach, a comfortable bar, an excellent restaurant and a dive shop. There is no fresh water on the island so every drop of potable water has to be brought in by banca from the nearby town of Sablayon. Understandably showers are seawater with a bucket of fresh water for the final rinse. The reef is in excellent condition and it's possible to snorkel just off the beach where you can see all the usual reef fish and the occasional turtle. When we anchor off a resort we usually have dinner in their restaurant and a few drinks at the bar. It would seem very wrong to use their mooring and not put some money back into the resort and it's nice to meet a few new people and have dinner cooked for you.

Wednesday 14th January (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
Lyn went diving this morning just off the north side of the island. We saw some beautiful coral including at least 2 fan corals some 10 - 15 feet across, many reef fish and at least two turtles. Steve still has a blocked nose and blocked sinuses so won't be able to dive for a while yet. Steve had been investigating the engine problem during the morning but hadn't managed to solve it. It seems to be a problem either with the starter motor or with the wiring to it but getting to the starter motor is almost impossible. The engine is set low in the boat and the engine box housing is too close to allow easy access underneath to get to the starter motor. In the afternoon we set about removing a part of the engine to reach the starter motor and run some diagnostic tests. It was a rotten task, even after being able to get to the motor the tests were inconclusive. We had already decided it couldn't have burnt out because it was almost new. Having achieved almost nothing we set about putting the engine back together and spent ages trying to reach hoses and nuts. We decided to ask the resort if there was a local mechanic who was any good who could come the next day. They organised someone to come out first thing in the morning.

Thursday 15th January (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
The mechanic turned up at about 10:00 am and immediately got stuck into the engine. He decided the problem was with the starter motor and removed it to check it out. It was burnt out. We carry a spare so he fitted that but had problems with the wiring. He seemed to be good with the mechanical side but not so good with the electrical side. Since we could now start the engine and were able to stop it albeit somewhat unconventionally Steve told the mechanic he would finish the wiring himself " you mean you know how to do it?"  was the incredulous reply. The mechanic took the old starter motor ashore to repair it and promised to return it the next day.
   In the meantime to keep out of the way Betty and I went snorkeling just off the beach. Since Betty is 82 I thought she did pretty well to snorkel over the coral. We then went for a walk across the island to a spot called Wild Lagoon. It was pretty but not very wild. Steve didn't want to leave the mechanics on their own on the boat but he thought he might need the dinghy so I had to take Betty and the bag ashore in the dinghy, take the dinghy back to Carillon then swim ashore myself. I'm sure the exercise is good for me.

Friday 16th January (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
We had to stay here again today to pick up the starter motor so decided to take the banca across to Sablayan to have a look and maybe do some provisioning. The main town is a little way up a river and the trip from Pandan across to the mainland and up the river took about 20 - 30 minutes. I'd expected a small town with maybe a rudimentary market but to our surprise it turned out to be a relatively large town with an excellent market and a reasonable selection of other shops. We stocked up for about 5 days or so by which time we will have got to Boracay. There's no need for us to go into San Jose now which we know is a big town. When we got back to the ferry the mechanic had left the starter motor with the office for us to collect. We took a few tourist photos and then returned to the boat. Unfortunately I left my favourite sunglasses on the banca while taking photos. We called the office to ask them to bring them over next time the banca came across but they claimed they couldn't find them.

Saturday 17th January (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
We have about 40 miles to go today to a spot just south of San Jose. We'll need plenty of time to investigate 2 or 3 anchorages to find a sheltered one so we leave at around 7:00 am. We had to motor for a while until the shore breeze came in then had about 6 - 10 knots from the SW. The spot recommended by the cruising guide looked a bit exposed so we motored up and down the Ilin Strait for a while searching out the best spot. We eventually stopped on the east side of the channel and anchored in about 3 1/2 metres in mud. The whole area was quite shallow but once the shore breeze had died down was very calm with just a very slight swell from the south. Just after we had gone to bed the anchor alarms started sounding and the depth gauge registered 0.0m. We checked the FLS and that told us we still had 1 metre under the keel so I suppose a fish must have swum under the other one, stirred the mud up a bit and confused it.

Sunday 18th January (12° 14.8'N 121° 06.5'E)
We're rounding the southern tip of Mindoro today and have a strong suspicion that we might find rather more wind and waves than we have for the last week. We're slightly concerned that Betty may find it a little unnerving. Once we got offshore a little way the wind settled at about 25 knots apparent but on the nose so we were crashing into the waves a bit and throwing water over the bow. Betty was OK but she didn't like it very much. We had to beat all the way round to the bay we intended to anchor in and had a fabulous sail in glorious sunshine. All the way across the bay we had about 20 knots apparent and could see white caps pretty much everywhere. We just hoped the east side of the bay would be as sheltered as we expected. We needn't have worried. As we got close to the shore the waves died to nothing and the wind dropped to about 7 - 8 knots. We motored around for a while looking for somewhere shallow enough and not too close to the many fish traps scattered around the area. Eventually found a spot just off a beach with a couple of huts on it.

Monday 19th January (12° 17.7'N 120° 22.2'E)
We'll stay here today so that Betty can get over yesterday's sail. Steve checked out the wiring for the starter motor and decided that stopping the mechanic doing it was the right decision. The wiring the mechanic had done was a bit of a botch up which was already failing so with the trusty manual/wiring diagram in one hand and the spanner in the other he put it all to rights and we can now both stop and start the engine from the control panel. I spent the day giving the boat a good clean through since we hadn't got round to doing it since returning from the UK. We even got Betty cleaning the cockpit cushions so Carillon is now spic and span.

Tuesday 20th January (12° 17.7'N 120° 22.2'E)
Another quiet day here. We decided to reset the anchor this morning because we thought it may be fouled round some rocks. As it turned out it came up quite easily. As we were doing it we had a visit from one of the local people who stopped for a chat. It seems he was once a merchant sailor and was familiar with the port close to our home in the UK but returned home to help care for his parents. He told us it was the duty of the eldest son to care for his parents. Steve installed a new part for the radio while I got the web page up to date ready for uploading onto the Internet when we reach Boracay.

Wednesday 21st January(12° 17.7'N 120° 22.2'E)
Well, what a glorious sail! The course to Boracay was roughly southeast and we had about 20 knots of wind from north northeast. We were creaming over the waves at hull speed under blue skies and sunshine. OK the seas weren't quite flat - about a 1 - 2 metre swell but on the beam so no crashing through them and throwing water all over the deck. We arrived at just after 1:00 pm and found what we thought was an ideal anchorage just off the beach. We weren't sure why nothing else was anchored there but we didn't worry too much about it. About an hour later we found out why - a launch came alongside and said through a loudhailer "You are not allowed to anchor here, you must anchor further down the beach where the other boats are" which was a shame really because we were right opposite the hotel we would be staying in for the next few days. We dutifully upped anchor and moved down the beach and found a gap between the anchored bancas. It actually turned out to be quieter since the passenger bancas were not roaring back and forth all around us. We plan now to stay in a hotel here for a few days then Steve will take Betty back to Manila. A week later we will be accompanying the Philippine Hobie Challenge race from Boracay to Busuanga.

Thursday 22nd January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Since the anchorage at Boracay is a bit rolly we had decided to stay at a resort for Betty's last few days with us. We had booked ourselves into the Villa D'Oro which had comparatively reasonably priced air-con rooms (approx US$40 per night peak season rate). The rooms are individual nipa huts with the usual little balcony in front. The restaurant was buffet style Mongolian BBQ. We're not too keen on buffets so instead of using the hotel restaurant we found other places to eat along the beach.
During the afternoon we went to watch an International Wind-Surfing and Kite-Boarding competition on the other side of the island. The winds were around 20 knots blowing straight on to the beach so the wind surfers were beam reaching up and down the beach at breathtaking speeds. It was good to bump into Hamish McNichol and Marcus from our Hong Kong days who were taking part.

Friday 23rd January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Spent the morning checking out the boat and stocking up on non-perishables. The anchorage is quite windy at the moment so with only the 'fridge running the wind generator and solar panels are easily keeping the batteries topped up so no need to run the generator.

Saturday 24th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Betty flies back to the UK today so she and Steve caught the 7:00 am ferry to Caticlan where they picked up the 8:30 am SeaAir flight to Manila Domestic Airport. From there it's a taxi ride to the International Airport for Betty to catch the 2:00 pm Gulf Air flight to Heathrow via Abu Dhabi. While in Manila Steve finally managed to get the replacement thrust bearing for the outboard motor. Just as well as it had almost failed completely. He also brought back 8kg of bread flour and a white rose - who said romance is dead.
In the meantime I'd been buying fresh fruit and veg. We plan to sail to Looc tomorrow to have a quiet few days before returning here at the end of the week for the Philippine Hobie Challenge.

Sunday 25th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Well the plan to go to Looc went by the board. A surge in the monsoon came through late yesterday afternoon and even in the sheltered anchorage we have 20 - 25 knots of wind so sailing a northeasterly course into the NE monsoon has seriously lost it's appeal. Added to that Steve still hasn't managed to shake off the cold he picked up in the UK. It's affected his sinuses so he's feeling pretty rotten and headachey. He decided to spend the day sleeping and resting to try to shake it off.

Monday 26th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Well the wind is still howling and Steve is still feeling rotten so we'll stay where we are and hope a bit of rest will cure the cold.

Tuesday 27th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Much the same as yesterday - Steve's cold is finally improving but he's still not 100%. We'll probably just stay here now until the Hobies arrive at the weekend.

Wednesday 28th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
The weather's looking better but it's a bit late to sail away for a few days so we'll stock up with a few non-perishables (like Gin, Rum, Coke etc) instead. On our way back to the dinghy and who should we bump into but Steily, Deborah and Dave who've arrived a few days early for the Hobie Challenge. What a great surprise. We arranged to meet in a suitable bar in the evening to have a chat and catch up on all the news.

Thursday 29th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Some of the support boats were due to arrive today and hopefully some of the Hobies. Steily, Deborah and Dave were keen to put their boats together with plenty of time to fix any problems. The Hobies arrive as a set of parts and have to be assembled on the beach.

Friday 30th January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
More competitors are arriving and all the boats are here so people are spending time making sure everything is OK with their boats and are just enjoying being in Boracay.

Saturday 31st January (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
The last of the competitors arrive today. Most seem to be staying in a hotel called Le Soleil which is the base for the Philippine Hobie Challenge while it's in Boracay. We had been anchored at the other end of the beach but decided to move to a spot closer to the action. As we went ashore an old friend in the process of putting his boat together greeted us with "Hi, nice to see you. Have you got a power drill on board I could borrow?" What are friends for if not to help out so we duly went and fetched our power drill. Later at the hotel all the competitors had to register and then scrutineer each other to ensure all boats had all the safety equipment and new how to use it. Amongst other things each boat had to have a VHF radio,  a GPS and a towing line. A flare and emergency strobe light were provided in their race packs. The support boats included a 70 ft motor launch (the "Heather Louise"), a 70 ft motor catamaran ("Superfun"), 3 small speedboats known as Birthday Cake, Cupcake and Fat Goon (Fat Goon means The Judge in Cantonese and used to belong to the Hong Kong Hobie Club), 2 large bancas for transporting the field kitchen and luggage and 3 yachts (Cavalier, Merchano and Carillon).

Sunday 1st February (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Today there are 2 inshore races to get the competitors warmed up. We volunteered to help out on one of the rescue boats which turned out to be the wettest one of the three and was used to lay marks and chase after problems. In the first race one of the Hobies capsized and the crew were unable to right it. One of the hulls was damaged and was taking in water so it was impossible to get it upright. The boat carrying the press photographers was called in to help them and it took the rest of that race and the whole of the next one to remove the mast and sails and tow it upside down to the shore. The winds were quite strong so the rest of the fleet had a good afternoons racing. We managed to get our anchor stuck after marking the end of the start line and had to hail a dive boat and ask them very nicely if they would go down and free it for us.

Monday 2nd February (11° 58'N 121° 54.9'E)
Philippine Hobie Challenge - Boracay to Sibay Island - 35 miles
We lifted the anchor just before the start so that we could position ourselves level with the line to watch the start. Winds were about 16 - 18 knots so it was a fast start. The Hobie course went up to Sibolan Island further north then back to Sibay Island. Since they go much faster than we do we went direct to Sibay expecting them to pass in front of us as we approached the island. The seas were quite steep and the winds up to about 22 knots. The Hobies started at about 8:00am and were starting to finish by about 2:00pm. We discovered our VHF signal was pretty strong (the aerial is at the top of the mast which is 65 ft above the deck) so we were able to relay messages and instructions from the other support vessels.

Tuesday 3rd February (11° 49.8'N 121° 29.6'E)
Philippine Hobie Challenge - Sibay Island to Pamalican Island - 65 miles
The start was at 8:00 again but we needed to be about halfway down the course by the time the Hobies went past so we left at 6:00am. The original plan was to have a boat at a particular position and the Hobies would have to check in by radio or sail close by but trying to keep a yacht on station in 20 knots of wind and 2 metre seas wasn't practical so that plan was abandoned. The next plan was to have the 3 yachts with one sailing directly down the rhumb line and the other two a mile or so each side so that the hobies could check in with any one of them on the way past. That worked quite well - they started coming past as we were about two thirds of the way along the course but it turned out they'd been told it wasn't compulsory to check in with us so all we could do was count the ones we could see and make sure they were all accounted for by someone. Well we didn't lose anyone so it worked. The resort at Pamalican Island is a very exclusive resort called Amanpulo. They greeted us with ice cold towels and oranges which was great since it was still pretty hot by the time we got there. We had the choice of eating either from the Hobie field kitchen or in the resort's restaurant. It's a beautiful island in the middle of nowhere, each beach cottage is secluded and guests are allotted their own golf cart to get around. An ideal resort to really get away from it all although at US$800 per night minimum it's quite expensive.

Wednesday 3rd February (11° 21.1'N 120° 43.3'E)
Philippine Hobie Challenge - Pamalican Island - Malacapuya Island - 45 miles
Same system as yesterday - we left at 6:00 to get halfway down the track by the time the Hobies caught us up. The winds were 20 knots or so and the seas 2 - 3 metres. We were sailing on a broad reach so were travelling quite fast. We had to put a reef in the main and roll in the headsail a bit but it was a great sail for us - I'm glad I wasn't on a Hobie it looked like really hard work. Because we were travelling so fast the first boats didn't get to us until we were about three quarters of the way there. As they started appearing over the horizon we could count 24. We just hoped Heather Louise had the last three in sight as her job was to motor behind the last boats and ensure no-one got left behind. By mid to late afternoon the last boats were on the beach. We met the owner of the island who was a very pleasant person. He told us he had owned the island for many years and had put a great deal of effort into planting trees and conserving what was there. It seems that if no-one is caring for the island the local people would come in and cut down the trees to sell them for wood, take the sand from the beach to sell and generally decimate the island. This island though was a pearl. It had soft yellow sand beaches on all sides, fruit trees planted all over the island, clear water with fish and coral and was reasonably sheltered from severe weather.

Thursday 4th February (11° 47.2'N 120° 06.7'E)
Philippine Hobie Challenge - Malacapuya Island - Calauit - 35 miles
Today the wind is very light and the seas very flat. We set off after the Hobies have started and motor slowly after them. They're travelling agonisingly slowly and in 2 or three hours have only gone a few miles. Sangat Island Resort is at the north end of the channel so the unanimous decision is to motor to Sangat and sit on the beach with a cold beer and lunch and watch them drift gently towards us. When we got to the beach we found the race officer and Fat Goon already there because Fat Goon had broken down and the mechanic was trying to get it going again. We also found Tequila Mike from the Club Paradise Resort and David Robinson of Fragrant Harbour magazine who had come down specially to take photos of the event. Unfortunately, as always seems to happen when David turns up with his camera, the wind had died to almost nothing. By the time we had finished lunch the last boats had passed so we went back to Carillon to catch up with them. By 4:00 pm they still had about 15 miles to go and still had no wind. We wanted to go into Calauit before dark because there are reefs around the entrance  so we went ahead leaving the small rescue boats to accompany the fleet. The race was shortened because the wind died away completely but it was well after dark before all the boats were found and towed in. Even Steve took our small dinghy out into the open sea to tow a boat in. I think for the competitors that was the hardest day.

Friday 5th February (12° 16.2'N 119° 53'E)
Philippine Hobie Challenge - Calauit - Club Paradise - 23 miles
Conditions are much the same as yesterday. We left after the Hobies but they were not sailing very quickly and  even motoring at minimum speed we still passed them all fairly quickly. One boat unfortunately got stuck on the reef but eventually managed to get off without any damage. We were close to Club Paradise by mid-afternoon and were lucky enough to spot some Pilot Whales surfacing close to us.
 By late afternoon most boats were still only halfway along the course so as it was getting dark the race was abandoned and boats rounded up for towing. One rescue boat arrived towing 10 boats, another radioed in to say they had 14 so that still left 3. Tony Bradley and one of his boat boys from Heather Louise set off in their dinghy and Steve and I took the Club Paradise trimaran to go and look for them. Superfun then called to say they had 2 in tow so that left 1. As we headed for where we thought they were we saw a light shining on a sail and were relieved to find that Tony had already found the last boat. By the time everyone got to Club Paradise having camped on beaches for a week they were really looking forward to fresh water showers and comfortable beds.

Saturday 6th February (12° 11.49'N 120° 05.91'E)
Today should have been the last inshore races for the Hobie fleet but again there was no wind so the races were abandoned. We had a quiet relaxing day and were delighted to find some old friends from Hong Kong had arrived at Maricaban in their yacht Villa G.
At the prizegiving in the evening it was no surprise to find that the Australian team of Andrew Keegan, Aaron Worral and Sean had swept the board apart from the daily prize for Friday which was won by Tony Stearns and Janet McCullough.

Sunday 7th February to Saturday 14th February (12° 11.49'N 120° 05.91'E)
We had planned to take a week or so away from the boat to visit our friends Joep and Mylene who live in northern Luzon and to see the rice terraces at Banaue and the hanging coffins at Sagada. Joep was busy until the 14th so we decided to have a very lazy and relaxing week at Maricaban and leave on Sunday 15th. We caught up on a few jobs that needed doing. Steve installed a second pump on the watermaker so that we could increase the amount we make if necessary and give us a backup pump should the first one fail for any reason. He also managed to scrub most of the weed and barnacles from the bottom of the boat but it's close to needing re-antifouling. We're hoping to get that done at Kudat later in the year.
We took Carillon over to Club Paradise for a day to dive on the reef there. We decided it was a very safe dive so just went down with our own equipment. We've seen more interesting coral but it was a very easy dive. Steve found that he didn't have quite enough weight to keep down easily so when we go to Manila we have to buy more dive weights. Club Paradise is on an island a couple of miles north of Port Caltom. It has soft yellow sand beaches, diving and watersports facilities and the same welcoming friendly staff as Maricaban. The two resorts Club Paradise and Maricaban Bay Marina Resort are owned by the same people and are both beautiful places. Our favourite is Maricaban Bay. It's very quiet, the cottages look very pleasant although we haven't actually stayed in them, the beach is also soft yellow sand and the pool is very attractive but it's biggest asset is the charming, friendly and helpful staff. For a quiet time away from the noise, hassle and pollution of a big city it would be perfect.

Sunday 15th February (12° 11.49'N 120° 05.91'E)
We had an early start this morning since the flight to Manila left around 8:30. The flight path goes directly over Apo Reef and from the air the reef can be seen very clearly. In Manila we stayed at the Lotus garden Hotel which was OK, nicer than the City State Tower where we stayed last time. We spoke to the travel agent in the hotel about getting the visas extended and were told to come back first thing in the morning.

Monday 16th February
In the morning the hotel travel agent was full of excuses as to why it was difficult and how expensive it was so we gave up on her and went to talk to Gina who was an agent we'd dealt with before for buying airline tickets. Gina was great, visas no problem but in Manila it takes 3 days so we agreed to leave the passports with her while we went to Banaue. She will also sort out air tickets back to Busuanga. We've dealt with Gina a few times and she has always been very helpful, very efficient and trusting enough to confirm flights for us on the basis that we will pay her when we get to Manila. If you need a good travel agent in Manila it's worth contacting Gina. Her details are on the Links page. We checked out the dive shop next door and decided to buy a few bits on our way back through Manila. We spent the afternoon looking around Chinatown but it was very shabby with nothing worth buying of any quality.

Tuesday 17th February
We took a bus from Manila to Solano to visit old friends Joep and Mylene. It left around 10:30 - the traffic was gridlocked until we got just outside Manila then it cleared. The bus was Victory Liner and quite comfortable although the trip took 8 hours. Every now and then the driver slowed down to pick up hawkers selling snacks and drinks to bus passengers in return free packets of whatever they were selling. In Solano we stayed at the Governors Garden Hotel which was quite attractive in a shabby sort of way.

Wednesday 18th February
We met up with Joep first thing in the morning . He was going to take a day or two off from his business to take us up to Banaue. Banaue was a bit disappointing so Joep decided he could spare an extra day and drive us on to Sagada. It was an unmade road with a steep drop on one side and traces of landslides on the other. At intervals along the way workmen were busy filling the holes with rocks but it was a neverending job. We arrived at Sagada around 3:30 and stayed at the Olah Binan Hotel. It was a bit sparse but fairly attractive although the shower was a dead loss. Sagada is a very attractive place unlike anywhere else we've seen in the Philippines. It reminded us very much of Nepal both in the landscape and the people. It's claim to fame is the hanging coffins. In years gone by the dead were not buried in the ground but the coffins were hung from the cliff faces or piled up in caves.

Thursday 19th February
We went walking through the rice terraces this morning to see a waterfall. Most of the hillsides are cut into terraces to grow rice or sometimes cabbages potatoes and other vegetables. The waterfall was fairly small so we walked further through the terraces until we reached a road. Each tiny field has a built up edge to hold the water so it's possible to walk along the edges of the terraces. Later we went to see the caves where the coffins were piled up. There was no apparent reverence, the coffins were just piled up in an enormous heap just inside the cave mouth but the caves themselves are regarded as sacred places.
We found a good place to eat later called the Yogurt House. It's speciality is homemade yogurt - most unusual in the Philippines since they don't normally eat much dairy products.

Friday 20th February
Joep drove us back to Banaue then had to return to Solano. We booked into the Banaue Hotel which was quite comfortable and had hot showers. The town was very scruffy and the terraces here fallen into disuse and very disappointing - I hope Batad is better.

Saturday 21st February
Today we will go to Batad and stay there overnight so we pack a small bag each and leave the rest at the hotel. Nobody seemed to know what time the jeepney left so we went down to the town to ask the drivers - even they were vague. The jeepneys leave when they're full so it could be 12:00 or 1:00 or not at all - it's now 9:30. Just then we were approached by a couple of other tourists looking for extras to fill up a jeepney for a special trip leaving about 10:00. That solved that problem. The jeepney takes you as far as the top of the ridge over Batad then it's a 40 minute walk down a steep muddy track but the terraces here are quite amazing. The village of Batad sits at the bottom of a bowl in the mountains and the slopes all around are cut into terraces and are currently being planted with rice seedlings. We stayed at 'Rita's Inn and Restaurant' about halfway up the mountainside. It was basic but clean. We walked through the terraces in the afternoon. Each field is up to 15 feet above the next level down so going from one level to the next is quite tricky especially after it's been raining.

Sunday 22nd February
We had decided to leave Batad by walking on to a village called Bangaan rather than returning the way we came. The path was a bit confusing at first. We missed the main path to start with and ended up climbing through the rice terraces to get back up to it. Once we found it there was no problem, in most places the path was at least a foot wide and stones or lumps of wood had been jammed into the gaps where the path had slipped down the mountainside. We arrived in Bangaan about 12:30 just in time to see the last jeepney to Banaue for the day disappearing down the road. We stopped at the 'Family Inn' at Bangaan to decide what to do. We could either stay at the Family Inn overnight in an 'ethnic' room with an outside loo and cold shower or we could hire a local tricycle to get us back to Banaue. After our 3 hour walk in the hot sun we are dusty and sweaty and decide to go for the tricycle ride with the hot shower at the end of it. The road was unmade, flooded in parts and partly washed away, filled in here and there with large chunks of rock so not the most comfortable trip we've ever had but it served it's purpose.

Monday 23rd February
We picked up a jeepney for Solano around 9:30. A fairly uneventful trip except that the driver decided he didn't have enough passengers to go all the way to Solano so stopped about 10 miles away where we had to get another jeepney. We checked into the same hotel as before which was just as shabby and the staff just as ineffectual but it'll do for one night. We contacted Gina who had arranged the visa extensions and booked us flights back to Busuanga Wednesday morning. The afternoon flight was full so we'll have to do our Manila shopping when we get back tomorrow afternoon. Joep and Mylene have to drive to Manila tomorrow to pick up stock for their business so we can go with them.

Tuesday 24th February
We leave around 8:30, Joep has a better route than the one the bus takes with less traffic so the trip takes 6 hours instead of 8. We check back into the Lotus Garden then go to see Gina to collect the passports and air tickets. All done with no fuss and no problems. Next we visit the dive shop to buy new snorkels - I've had mine since 1985 so it's probably time I had a new one - also a new mask and some dive weights to complete our equipment enabling us to dive off Carillon if we wanted to. Next it's the supermarket for a selection of cheeses, a few veg and some cold meats to keep us going until we get to the market at Sabayang.

Wednesday 25th February
We catch the flight in plenty of time and Ronnie Maricaban is at Busuanga Airport to meet us. The trip back to Maricaban takes about 40 minutes in a jeepney then 10 - 15 minutes in the Club Paradise/Maricaban trimaran. We get Carillon ready to leave in the morning and have dinner in the resort. There are still no guests. It's a shame such a lovely place isn't used more, it's hard to see how they can keep going if business doesn't improve.

Thursday 26th February (12° 11.49'N 120° 05.91'E)
We are going to Pandan Island today. It's 55 miles so we leave at 6:00 to give us plenty of time in case the winds are unfavourable but for once the wind gods are smiling at us and we have 10 - 15 knots on the beam almost the whole way and arrive at Pandan in plenty of time to see our way round the reefs. The main reason for going back to Pandan is to go diving with them to Apo Reef so we go ashore to arrange it. There's a trip going tomorrow but it's already full up so we arrange to go 2 days later and to dive around the island the next day.

Friday 27th February (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
When we arrived yesterday the mooring was free so we picked it up but Dominic had told us his big banca would be returning today and would need it so late in the morning we dropped the mooring and prepared to anchor. Just as we were doing so a strong wind came straight off the land pushing white water in front of it. We set the anchor but the wind was still increasing. By the time we were due to go ashore for the dive it was 25 - 27 knots and showed no signs of decreasing so we decided to play it safe and stay on board in case the wind increased enough to start dragging our anchor. We were anchored in sand in about 8 metres but not very far out was a drop off to 25 metres. We went ashore and found our Apo Reef trip had been brought forward to the next day.

Saturday 28th February (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
The weather is calm so the Apo trip is on. We take our dive stuff ashore and load it onto the banca ready to leave soon after 7:00. There are 5 of us diving altogether - the two of us, Rudolf and Bettina from Germany and Ephraim from France. It takes about 2 hours to get there so after about an hour and a half the light house on Apo Island can be clearly seen on the horizon. There is a bit off a swell so we are going to dive on the reef around the island rather than the main reef. We kit up then go into the water and drop down to about 20 metres. We just drift gently along the wall with the current accompanied by a large school of Fusiliers (fish). The visibility is good and we can see easily 20 metres or so. Then we spot a large shape swimming towards us along the reef. The divemaster dropped back and the 5 of us huddled together and tried to look menacing and not good to eat. What we were seeing was a 2 metre Hammerhead shark which swam to within 5 metres or so, had a good look then and went on his way. It was quite a thrilling if not unnerving experience. The afternoon dive was quite tame after that, just reef fish and coral.

Sunday 29th February (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
Went across to Sablayan in the dinghy to buy fruit and veg. Steve picked up 2 gas regulators and a length of tubing. We have problems filling our gas cylinders because there are not many filling stations around. The local system is to swap an empty cylinder for a full one but we have special cylinders which we need to refill not to swap. so the plan is to take the insides out of the regulators to make use of the screw fittings then at least half fill our tank by our connecting a full local tank to it and allowing the pressure between the two tanks to equalise. We've yet to see how well it works.
Snorkelled over the reef and sea grass in the afternoon and were lucky enough to spot one of the local turtles grazing on the sea grass about 5 metres below us. It was about a metre from one end to the other and seemed fairly unperturbed by us just having an occasional look then going back to grazing. Every now and then it swam lazily to the surface for a gulp of air then went back down. When we returned to Carillon just as we were climbing on board we spotted a banded krait seasnake curled up on top of the rudder - but just a little one.

Monday 1st March (12° 51.4'N 120° 45.3'E)
Left very early this morning to go to the southern tip of Mindoro for an overnight stop. Winds were a bit up and down so we arrived in the dark We dropped anchor in Sogod Cove on Ilin Island in about 9 metres. It seemed to hold. The wind died away to nothing but there was an uncomfortable swell from the NW which rolled us around a bit during the night.

Tuesday 2nd March (12° 14'.331N 120° 01'.999'E)
Looked out this morning to find we were only a few metres from a fish trap. The bottom was quite rocky and a better anchorage would have been a little further out in sand. We could see the bottom quite clearly and could see that the anchor chain was wrapped around a rock but managed to manoeuvre the boat to untangle it. We were heading for Santa Fe at the southern tip of Tablas. At first the wind was blowing from the right direction then it started heading us so we decided to head for the bay on the NW tip of Panay which we were now heading at. It was very enjoyable sailing  but about halfway across the channel the wind died altogether. We were about equidistant from Santa Fe and NW Panay so we tossed a coin then motored for Santa Fe. It was dark by the time we got there and the entrance to the bay was full of tiny bancas who only switched a light on if they thought we were close enough to run them down. The bay was very calm but the karaoke bar was just as noisy as it was last time we were here.

Wednesday 3rd March (12° 09.455'N 121° 59.303'E)
Had enough of early mornings and late finishes for a day or two so we'll just go round the corner to Cabahan Island on the SE side of Tablas where there looks to be a sheltered bay. We started sailing but the wind died again so we motored. The bay is delightful - one of the nicest anchorages we've been in. The entrance is between two reefs but not too difficult to see. Once past the reefs you can swing round to the right  and tuck in behind the island in about 6 metres of water in sand. It's protected from every direction except south. The islands have sandy beaches and the mainland is mangroves. The people in the bancas call 'Hello' and 'welcome'. Most of the bancas are paddled or sailed not motored and there's no constant sound of tricycles or karaoke bars on shore.

Thursday 4th March (12° 08.741'N 122° 01.745'E)
We'll head for Romblon today but outside the bay the wind is blowing from the NE which is where Romblon is so we decide to head for Cebu instead. An hour later the wind has headed us again and is now from the E straight from Cebu so back to the original plan and head N for Romblon. Would you believe we're headed again and are now beating towards Romblon. About 2:00 we give up and motorsail to make sure we reach Romblon before dark. We arrive about 5:00. The harbour is quite small and quite deep. We anchor close to the shore in about 17 metres.

Friday 5th March (12° 34.941'N 122° 16.235'E)
We seem to be anchored at the poor end of town and numerous children squat on the sea wall and shout to us. The harbour is so deep that you have to anchor very close inshore so we seem to be very close to the wall. Steve has a fax he needs to receive so he goes ashore to try to find somewhere that can receive it meanwhile since there is an Internet connection available onshore I spend the morning writing the web site update ready to upload it this afternoon. Steve comes back very frustrated - yes there is a fax (only one in the whole of Romblon) but it doesn't seem to work. We later discover that the phone company has a monopoly and any call not routed through them has to go through an operator in Manila so our overseas fax doesn't stand a chance. Next option is for our sender to scan it and email it. That works better but it still takes an hour to download. When I try to update the website first of all only the disk drive connected to the proprietor's machine works so we have to copy my files through their Intranet onto the machine I'm using - that seems to take forever - then the connection is so slow I can just about upload the text but for the photos it simply times out so I have to leave the site half updated and hope to put it right at the next place.
We have a look round the market and pick up a few veg but the people are not as friendly as in other places. We decide to eat in town for a change but even that was not very good. All in all neither of us felt comfortable with the place - it was good to go there to see it but we probably won't go back.

Saturday 6th March (12° 34.941'N 122° 16.235'E)
This morning we went ashore very early to go the market and buy fish for dinner. We plan to leave as soon as we get back to the boat to sail overnight to Malapascua just North of Cebu. We leave around 8:30 and motor around the south of Romblon where we can set the sails. The wind is quite strong so we put one reef in and roll up the headsail to a No. 3 size. We pass fairly close to Sibuyan Island and have to motor through it's lee but after that it's standard NE monsoon and we can sail all the way. The weather's a bit unsettled and there are odd squalls coming through at about 20 knots apparent so I've lost count of the number of times we took the reef out only to have to put it back in again an hour or two later. We did our usual watch system where I go down to get some sleep around 9 or 10pm then Steve wakes me at 12 and I'm on watch until 4am. Tonight is a full moon so we can see the fishing boats fairly clearly. Steve takes over again at 4am and I get up around 7 or 8am. Steve usually sleeps a few more hours in the middle of the day when we use this system.

Sunday 7th March (11° 22'N 124° 00'E)
At dawn we can see Malapascua but the wind has headed us so it's now a dead beat. It's quite nice sailing and we're not in a rush. We anchor at about 10:30 on the W side of the island. The south side looks a bit exposed and we can see the swell rolling across it. The reason for coming to Malapascua is to dive with the thresher sharks which we are told can be seen at a nearby shoal. We go ashore to talk to the dive shops and decide which one to go with. They are all the same price so in the end we went with a shop called Bubble 07 which is managed by Trevor and Andrea from UK and New Zealand respectively. They told us there were not so many sharks around at the moment so we may or may not see them. The dives go at 5:30am so we have to be at the dive shop by 5:15am. When we got back to the boat the wind had shifted to now the west side was exposed and rolling and the south side much quieter so we moved. It's very shallow on the south side so we had to moor a long way out.

Monday 8th March (11° 20'N 124° 06'E)
At 4:30 this morning there was a bump and a slight shudder. We must be anchored over the only patch of sand with a raised rock for miles so we move the boat out a bit further and a bit deeper by which time we need to go ashore for the dive. We leave the beach around 6am for the dive site. Also on the trip are 7 Americans with lots of expensive cameras who have come solely to see the sharks - hope we're lucky. We weren't lucky, we swam around for 40 minutes or so but no sharks. The visibility was not very good so they may have been there but too far away to see. We dived again later in the morning off the NW of the island, there was quite a lot of soft coral but very few fish. There is no hard coral in the area, it has all been destroyed by dynamite fishing. No more habitat so no more fish. We decide to have another try at seeing the sharks tomorrow but if we still don't see any we'll give up and move on. The anchorage off the south was very rolly and exposed in the afternoon so we move back to the west side. The island is lovely. There are resorts on the south side but it's nowhere near as commercial as Boracay. There are no tourist shops on Malapascua apart from a few T-shirts maybe in some of the resorts. The beach is quite nice but there is an effluent problem here and there which will ruin it as a resort if it's not dealt with soon.

Tuesday 9th March(11° 20.359'N 124° 06.139'E)
Up again at 5:00, there are 2 boats going this morning and we are in the second one so again we don't leave the b