MEMBERS of the Philippine Home Boatbuilders Yacht Club (PHBYC) see a wide horizon for Oz Goose sailboats.
PHBYC’s Roy Espiritu said the Oz Goose sailboat, an easy-to-build sailboat designed by Batangas-based Australian designer Michael Storer, is now gaining popularity.
An International collaboration of organizations involved in sailing and boatbuilding has brought about the popularity of the Oz Goose sailboat, Espiritu said.
“This initiative has helped dispel the myth that sailing is only for the rich, it has also made sailing affordable and user-friendly, and drawn more Filipinos to take up a hobby and sport that is virtually a perfect fit for the country’s archipelagic geography,” he added.
Espiritu quoted Peter Capotosto, commodore of the Taal Lake Yacht Club, as saying he has “come to believe that this boat could be what Philippine sailing has been waiting for, for half a century.”
“All the pieces fit, to create a boat with multisector demand, which will be produced and sailed, by a broad number of individuals, corporations and schools, with varied interests,” Capotosto, a longtime sailing enthusiast, said.
“The unique coming together of international and local boating experts and suppliers leading to the rising popularity of the Oz Goose class in the Philippines is unprecedented, and could be the hope for the future of dinghy sailing here,” Capotosto was quoted by Espiritu as saying.
He added that sailing clubs around the world are trying to emulate what the PHBYC, a local community of sailors, boaters and amateur and professional boat builders, has done to revive interest in small boat sailing.
“We still have a long way to go to get mainstream interest in small boat sailing in the Philippines, but PHBYC is making progress,” Storer was quoted by Espiritu as saying. “Schools have expressed their interest having sailing as a varsity sport and our maritime academies that produce sailors that know little about sailing are beginning to appreciate how small boat sailing and boat building can significantly add to the seamanship knowhow of their cadets.”
So far, over 50 Oz Goose sailboats have been built in the three island groups of the Philippines; built from scratch using downloadable boat plans, built to order from authorized builders, and most of them produced during PHBYC’s signature event, Family Boatbuilding Weekends (FBW), wherein families or groups assemble a boat from a prefabricated kit.
In three years the 12-year-old PHBYC has successfully organized three Oz Goose FBWs in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, making the Oz Goose the fastest-growing sailing fleet in the country, according to Espiritu. Events this year would culminate in the second Oz Goose National Championships in November, he added.
The Oz Goose is best sailed with one or two people onboard, making it a great platform to learn how to sail. Its shape gives it a lot of stability and is empty of water when righted from a capsize.
The Oz Goose is 4 meters long and made from a 5-millimeter or 6mm marine grade plywood, and lumber, assembled with epoxy. While the sails that move the boat can be made by the builder from materials like polytarp or tyvek. Professionally made Dacron sails can also be purchased locally from dealers.
Image credits: Roy Espiritu