Subic Bay To Boracay Race & Boracay Cup 2011
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Image courtesy Jeremy Simpson
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Under the auspices of the Philippine Sailing Association, the Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing group (“SAGS”) plus the Subic Bay Yacht Club & the Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel, will organize a yacht race from Subic Bay Freeport to the world-famous, white sand beach resort paradise of Boracay Beach.
The 205-mile race is different from anything that has gone before insomuch as the yachts will have a choice of courses to get to Boracay Beach. The traditional route to Boracay from northern Luzon is: South along the Batangas coast, through the Verde Island Passage past Puerto Galera and then along the East coast of Mindoro Island before (frequently) surfing down the Tablas Strait to Boracay. This year the race organizers are offering the option of taking the route along the West coast of Mindoro Island – a 30-mile longer route that avoids the sometimes mast-breaking Verde Island Passage and the infamous “hole” off Dumali Point.
Which route will be chosen? One veteran of previous races from Luzon to Boracay summed it up this way, “if the breeze is moderate or strong northerly the West of Mindoro is a no-brainer but if it is light easterly then it’s pot-luck and the East coast will likely be favored and we will all enjoy a few hours sleep at Dumali Point”.
Yachts from Hong Kong, such as Frank Pong’s Jelik, have already signed-up for the Subic Bay to Boracay Race, as well as most of the Philippine sailing yachts equipped for long-distance racing. The fastest yachts will likely complete the race in 20 hours while the slowest will take up to two days, depending on the available wind. The reward for their efforts will be the warm, sparkling waters off Boracay and a classic Boracay Beach party.
Some local yachts started their preparations last weekend for the Subic Bay to Boracay Race with the 100-mile race from Subic Bay to Fortune Island and back. They were able to test their tactics for the first leg of the course to Boracay and learn how to master the fluky winds that swirl around the Bataan mountain ranges. This part of the course may prove pivotal to determining the winner in the final outcome to Boracay. If the Fortune Island race was a predictor, then the winning yacht in Boracay could well be Austen Chamberlain’s Irwin 37, Sorcerer – she won convincingly in both the Subic Bay Performance Handicap and pseudo-IRC categories after deftly navigating the quickest route through the multiple wind shadows.
The Subic Bay Boracay Race starts with a welcome party at the Lighthouse Marina Resort Hotel, in Subic Bay Freeport, on 18th February, with the race start on the morning of the 19th; yachts will arrive off Boracay Beach during the 20th and 21st February.
You will be able to track the progress of at least one yacht throughout the race via the GPS tracking device known as Spot. Sorcerer will have this unique little gadget attached to her hull and it will transmit a signal to waiting satellites every few minutes; Sorcerer’s position will be recorded & displayed on the Internet within seconds.
Links:
The Subic Sailing website
The Lighthouse Marina Resort webcam
The Boracay Beach webcam
The Philippine Sailing Association website