THE American band Styx captured in its 1977 hit perhaps the best rock song about the age-old art of sailing. But that song applies better to the Philippines—an archipelago of 7,641 islands, a coast longer than that of the United States, and formed through centuries of maritime heritage.
This rich legacy is, unfortunately, largely unappreciated as a recreation and a sport, which can bring back the glory days of sailing dating back to the arrival of the first recorded migrants in the islands aboard the legendary balangay boats in the 1200s.
Thanks to sailing aficionados, this ancient mode of transport is being revived using various sailboats—from the do-it-yourself Oz Goose to the yachts who cruise in the open seas. And since it is the so-called month of love, romantics should look at sailing as an out-of-the-box couple’s date that will surely earn you valuable brownie points.
Here are some places and events where you can get your feet wet, quite literally, in sailing. First, a passenger, and later, a sailor.
Taal Lake Yacht Club (TLYC)
Dubbed by the Lonely Planet as the country’s “sailing mecca” because of ideal winds the whole-year round, it is not as snobbish as it name sounds. Located at the Talisay town side of the placid lake, it is actually like a no-frills lakeshore resort, minus the trappings of the real “yacht club.”
Here, you can learn the ropes of the sport through the small Oz Goose wooden sailboat, which virtually, anybody can maneuver. If you’re up to the challenge, you can actually build or own one at a cost cheaper than the latest IPhone model. Along with the Philippine Homebuilders Yacht Club, Taal Lake Yacht Club has been holding Family Boatbuilding Weekends for the past few years to offer a more-than-the-usual getaway for people of all ages. Just this weekend, they conducted the boatbuilding activity, which will be the first for the year. The group also conducts clinics and regattas to give joiners their baptism of fire in competitive sailing.
TLYC is also the home of the Philippine Hobie Fleet, the country’s biggest assembly of Hobie Cat 16s, a sleek, twin-hull, fiberglass wind-powered boat, which has become standard aquasport equipment in many luxe resort hotels. This 16-foot-tall vessel is piloted by two persons, and would be an ideal romantic cruise for a couple.
Every second Sunday of the month, you will see these colorful boats slicing on the water in a friendly competition, and as preparation for major tournaments such as the Round Taal Volcano held in November, the Hobie Nationals and the Philippine Hobie Challenge which are both held usually in February, before the amihan winds die down.
The Challenge, now on its 18th staging, is regarded as the most extreme watersports adventure in the country as it takes on five days of sailing, hopping from one island to the next, across rough waters. Organized by the Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Federation (Phinsaf), it is an international regatta attended by veterans from Australia, the United States, and various countries in Asia and Europe. The event aims to take the spotlight on lesser-known coastal areas through corporate social responsibility programs.
This year’s Philippine Hobie Challenge unfolds in Coron and Busuanga towns in Palawan from March 11 to 17. Organizers call it a “rebooted” tourney, as the fleet almost got wiped out due to a sea mishap last year off the coasts of Occidental Mindoro. The hard-core aficionados that they are, they are raring to take to seas once again, living up to their maxim, “Life is short, sail fast.”
Subic Bay
Punctuated by naturally deep harbors, protected coves, lush underwater marine life and tropical rain forests, its history revolves in maritime exploration dating back to the pre-colonial period. Hence, it is safe to say that one has not been truly in Subic if he hasn’t explored its waters, which is steeped in rich maritime tradition.
This historic bay is the birthplace of the Saturday Afternoon Gentleman Sailors (SAGS) in 2003, an informal club of enthusiasts who would find any excuse to sail around Subic for bragging rights. More of a fellowship than a competition, the SAGS is instrumental in organizing the annual Standard Insurance Subic Bay to Boracay Race, the longest in the archipelago, which takes more than 24 hours of sailing in the West Philippine Sea.
To sail away on Febraury 23, the SBBR transforms into the Boracay Cup Regatta once it drops anchor on the popular beach island. But, for this year, the race will explore other equally challenging sea routes to comply with the required 240-nautical-mile voyage. Inshore races will run until March 2.
SAGS, now the Subic Sailing Club, also put in place the summer time Commodore’s Cup, which is part of the Asian Yachting Circuit. Set on April 2, it will gather veterans from prestigious tilts in Asia, such as the Rolex China Sea Race, Thailand’s King’s Cup and Malaysia’s Raja Muda Cup.
For this year’s Commodore’s Cup, the group plans to bring in the now-iconic balangay boat, which sailed across Southeast Asian waters to drum up interest in the Philippines’s maritime heritage and other issues on the marine environment.
In between the competitions, leisure cruises around Subic Bay are offered by The Lighthouse Marina Resort, a leading proponent of the sport in the free port. The nautical-themed boutique hotel offers sunset cruises with cocktails or dinner, as well as or even daylong expeditions to the charming coves in the Zambales coast, which are inaccessible by land.
Basic lessons on the “Flying 15s” tandem boat or the 36-footer Selma Star Beneteau can be given by the resort for guests who want to take their sailing experience to the next level.
Down south, you can check out Puerto Galera Yacht Club in Mindoro, Iloilo Sailing Club in Oton, and the Cebu Yacht Club for their sailing offerings.
Puerto Galera, which literally means “port of galleons,” is a cozy venue to learn the sport because of its protected coves where the Spanish merchant ships sought shelter in the 1800s.
Meanwhile, Iloilo Sailing Club makes use of the paraw, the signature indigenous outrigger sailboat of Panay.
Ancient navigators, who eventually became our colonizers, have conquered the country through our shimmering waters. It’s about time we Filipinos rediscover our charming chain of islands the way they did—by sailing.
And as Dennis De Young would say in his song, “Come sail away!”