All Souls Regatta Puerto Galera 2010
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Image courtesy Martyn Willes
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The All Souls Regatta 2010 in Puerto Galera will be the largest All Souls Regatta yet organized, the news that the Philippine Hobie 16 fleet (from Taal Lake Yacht Club) will be joining the racing & cruising keelboats and multihulls is a guarantee of extra color and fun during this legendary sailing event.
The All Souls Regatta was first held in Puerto Galera, in 2004. It was specifically designed to be the first sailing regatta of each Philippine racing season. The Philippine racing season starts with the arrival of the drier northeast monsoon in October and runs until the following May, when the wetter southwest monsoon blows in . . . competitive sailing still continues throughout the year around the Philippines but the southwest monsoon weather keeps some of the less hardy sailors at home.
The concept of the All Souls Regatta was to give all boat owners, from all of the country’s yacht clubs, a competitive event to start the season where they could shake out the cobwebs and let their hair down with maximum fun and minimum protest. Every year sailors and boats from Subic Bay, Manila, Puerto Galera, Cebu and Palawan come to join in the fun; on alternate years the sailors from Taal Lake Yacht Club bring their Hobie 16s for a parallel series of races, following the same courses as the keelboats and cruising multihulls.
What makes the All Souls Regatta more fun is that the races are run in a common-finish format instead of the usual common-start. This means that all the boats arrive back at the yacht club at around the same time with the winner already known, which means that the party can start in earnest, with the banter focused on berating the handicapper instead of filling the air with negative waves of miscalculated expectation. Of course the berating requires a thick-skinned-handicapper but Puerto Galera seems to be able to find one, every year, almost without fail.
The All Souls Regatta is known internationally as the Asia’s friendliest regatta and sailors travel from across the Seven Seas to Puerto Galera for the camaraderie and the fun parties as much as for the sailing itself. Many come to the regatta without a boat upon which to sail – the yacht club can always find a boat that needs an extra able crew member.
Finally, the All Souls Regatta is a special place for action sports photography. Whether from aboard a boat or from along the beaches, sailing yachts are always a fascinating subject for pixel gurus. If along the beaches then billowing spinnakers can be captured best near Sabang and Lalaguna beaches while on-deck action is usually best observed from Luca’s Pizzeria on Talipanan Beach.
Whatever your interest in the sport of sailing don’t miss out on the parties every evening at the Puerto Galera Yacht Club and near environs.
The All Souls Regatta 2010 will take place from 30th October to 1st November. If you want to sail then be at the yacht club for the skippers’ briefing every morning at around 08:30hrs (8.30am).
GetWet Tip: book your resort early for the All Souls Regatta 2010; don’t know where to stay in Puerto Galera? use the link below.
Links:
Where To Stay in Puerto Galera
Contact information: All Souls Regatta 2010 Puerto Galera
The nearest webcam to the Puerto Galera Yacht Club is Puerto Galera Webcam, Muelle Bay