Hobie Sailing On Taal Lake

Image Courtesy: Taal Lake Yacht Club

Is sailing a Hobie 16 your thing? If you want to get into sailing Hobie 16s then February 2013 is the best time to do it in the Philippines. Starting with the Philippine Hobie National Championships at the beginning of the month in Iloilo (open to anyone on the planet who knows how to sail a Hobie 16) and ending with the Philippine Hobie Challenge along the Zambales coast, starting from Candelaria, Zambales.

In case you did not now . . . a Hobie 16 is a fast sailing catamaran just 16 feet long. It is designed to be sailed by two people at extreme speeds (assuming the wind is favorable), although it is possible to sail it slowly as well. The spiritual home of Hobie 16 sailing in the Philippines is the Taal Lake Yacht Club, an hour South of Metro Manila on the shores of Taal

Competitive Sailing In Puerto Galera

Image Courtesy: Girlie Cervantes

For the first time in the club's history, the Puerto Galera Yacht Club will host a Chinese New Year sailing regatta with courses set across the Verde Island Passage. This new sailing event is designed to provide an alternative for both local and international yachtswo/men who would like to enjoy their vacation while sailing in the warm spring breezes along the Verde Island Passage, instead of in February's frigid waters around Hong Kong.

One of the challenges with gaining support from yacht and crews from outside the Philippines is the three to four day sail required to get here from Borneo, Taiwan or Hong Kong (longer from Singapore and Malaysia). In order to allow more sailors to join in the fun, local yacht owners are being encouraged to offer their boats for use during the Chinese New Year Regatta. This will be a first in the Philippines and, if it proves successful, will be repeated for other events in Puerto

Santa Ana Yacht Club burgee

Image courtesy Girlie Cervantes

It is not often that a new yacht club opens in Asia, even less often that one opens in the Philippines. The Santa Ana Yacht Club has this month announced its opening in the northeast corner of Luzon, in Santa Ana, Cagayan.

If you are a cruising yacht or power boat owner, and you have previously wondered where to tie–up in the North of the Philippines, the Santa Ana Yacht Club has the answer: tie–up in Cagayan. The facilities are a little bit limited at the moment but it is just a question of time before moorings, a clubhouse, restaurant and a bar will be finished to satisfy everyone’s needs. In the meantime an anchorage and partner beach resorts will more than

Ryan Binidel and Sam Chan (left) match racing Flying Fifteens in Subic Bay

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

Subic Bay, 12th April 2012 – The first two of five Flying Fifteen class sailing yachts were launched at Watercraft Venture today for exhibition match racing event between international sailing champions Sam Chan and Neil Pride. The Flying Fifteens were donated to SAGS (Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen Sailors) by the Hong Kong Flying Fifteens Association in order to encourage young sailors from around the country to embrace the spirit of yachting and, in particular, to prepare them for competition in the Flying Fifteen Worlds, to be held in Hong Kong, 24th October to 7th November, 2013.

According to Ricky Sandoval of Watercraft Venture, these donated boats will provide the foundation for a reinvigorated Philippine Flying Fifteen Association fleet, with more boats to be added as soon as sponsorship from government and industry can be

Engineers off to survey wind turbine site

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

During the month of March, PhilCarbon has had a team of engineers in the field (literally) surveying for sites for Mindoro’s first wind farm in Bulalacao. An estimated 20MW wind power capacity may be installed in 2014 if the famous Bulalacao breezes check out.

Twenty sites are being surveyed in Bulalacao from which three will be chosen for a eighteen month wind analysis. A anemometer will be installed at the three best sites and the analysis of the wind data will dictate how many wind turbines can potentially be installed. According to Bulalacao Mayor Villas, “the wind turbines will be one of two renewable energy resources for Bulalacao . . . we are also seeking funding for a small hydro electric plant in one upstream location

Philippine Windsurfing Championship, Puerto Galera

Image courtesy John Smart

Every year in February, Puerto Galera traditionally hosts the second leg of the Philippine Windsurfing Championships on the waters off Boquete Beach. In 2012 the event will be expanded into the Puerto Galera water sports festival, to include all manner of wind–powered and human–powered water sports.

In addition to the windsurfing championships there will be competitive kite–boarding, dinghy racing and paddle banka racing and potentially dragon boat racing. The goal is to make February the on–water eco–water sports tourism festival month in Puerto Galera and to provide a vacation–extension for windsurfers and kite–boarders who usually travel to Boracay for the Funboard Cup in January and then have nowhere els

Image courtesy John Smart

By Captain Pugwash

Following the Top of the Gulf Regatta, in Pattaya, Thailand, in April, a meeting was held that brought together the organizers of most of the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Circuit regattas. The regatta organizers were joined by members of the yachting press, race officers, media practitioners and other interested parties. The Philippines was represented by (international racing champion) Jun Avecilla and (international race officer) Jerry Rollin.

As outlined by the meeting convener, Mr Bill Gasson, the purpose of the forum was to discuss the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Circuit and ways to increase the number of boats that can be included in the AYGP Championship. Currently 13 boats are eligible but only two compete for the champi

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The Philippine Independence Day Regatta 2011 will be held in Subic Bay to celebrate the Philippines' declaration of independence from Spanish Rule on 12th June, 1898. The regatta will attract racing and cruising yachts from around the country for two days of sailing in one of the most notable of Philippine sailing venues.

The actual Act of the Declaration of Independence was read in public for the first time at the residence of General Emilio Aguinaldo - the self-proclaimed leader of the Filipino revolutionary forces - in Kawit, Cavite. The act of reading the Declaration consolidated the power base that he had amassed by virtue of removing other notable Filipino revolutionaries such as Andres Bonifacio – hailed by many as the true hero of the revolution – by accusing him of