Tuesday 22 July 2014

Hunkering Down

It was not our intention to be in the Philippines during the typhoon season, it just ended up that way. At the beginning of the season the typhoons historically track more west and north, so that the Philippines is generally skirted and does not receive the full brunt of the typhoons damaging winds and pelting rain. As the season wears on, they tend to track more direct west from the Guam area and the Philippine eastern islands take the full brunt of the tropical force before the storm has crossed enough land to de-power. Having experienced the enhanced monsoon winds from distant typhoon Neoguri/ Florita at Boracay (Cat 5 - 130kt winds), we had now sat out typhoon Rammasun/ Glenda at Port Carmen (Cat 4 - 120 kt winds) and were watching as typhoon Matmo/ Henry blasted north and west of the Philippines. The El Nino year can see a rise in the development of tropical storms or typhoons in this part of the world, as the cyclic warm wind and warm surface water travelling west across the Pacific Ocean builds forming a circular moving motion with the Coriolis effect to culminate in one hell of an exciting* time to be in the region and travelling on a boat. We watch as the systems develop and build, we watch three or four weather forecast systems each day and see what the latest predictions are and whether the speed/ direction/ intensity of the systems are changing for the worse. Every day's decisions are based on those predictions and information about sheltered anchorages could the wind spin around the dial and come from a different direction as the systems move on.

*bloody scary

Grib file showing the wind and rain prediction - the darker the ticks the stronger the wind, the dark grey
patches indicate rain. This swirling pattern is typhoon Matmo/ Henry, just north and east of the Philippines
(the small green box is where we are located)
We intend to leave Surigao to make the 600nm eastward journey to Palau, crossing the Philippine trench, where the water depth plummets from 200m to 5000m. This is likely to be a point where there are strong currents, choppy and sloppy seas and we will be doing it all keeping a close eye on the tropical weather systems and whether we have to make an abrupt southward turn to get to safety.

But right now we are hunkering down as the strong wind systems blow through every day and some squally rains fall. So, what to do? It's not all sunsets and cocktails, I mean it mostly is, but somedays we have to do... chores, bread making, mould cleaning, food stock review and rotation, catching rain, clothes washing. This anchorage has a ground hog day feeling about it. The town ashore has a good fresh food market and some super tasty restaurants dishing up some chicken stews and fried chicken delights (certainly a Philippine favourite). But we don't need to get fresh food everyday. Our friends on SV Shah and SV Shanghaied abandoned us 3 days ago in search of new places and nice water for snorkelling. We had been spending most mornings luxuriating aboard Shah-bucks, enjoying some western style coffees and talking all thing politics and sailing. 

One day was taken up as we endured the epic journey to Cebu city from Port Carmen. Thankfully the sailmaker - Marlon from Hyde Sails, came to the boat to collect our shredded sail, and we caught the 1.5hr long car trip in with him to the Mactan Island tax-free industrial zone to inspect our sail and decide on its future. We had spent the previous two days desperately trying to dry it in the constant drizzle, without it getting ripped up in the rigging when the 20kt gusts blew through. We also had nowhere to lay it out, so the sail loft was going to be perfect. We arrived and walked up to the third floor of the enormous sail factory. A level dedicated to spinnakers and mainsails, a level dedicated to lasers and dingys sails and a level for canvas and shade work. If we have to draw a positive from exploding the spinnaker, it would be that we did it 30nm from one of South East Asia's prominent sail lofts with skilled expertise, modern technology and machinery (and guys who could fit us in at the last minute!). The loft was located in a special tax free zone that enables the businesses to import materials and export products free of Philippine tax and they also have a 7 year income tax exemption period. Such a significant bonus for any business. Though it does seem that a lot of manufacturing is undertaken here and the cheap labour is the driver for international production.

Hugh and Marlon inspecting the various pieces of the sail
(in the background are the huge laser cutters for racing sails)
Thankfully the guys decided that the spinnaker could live again and set to work patching and resewing the seams that had burst. Hugh showed the sail guys the rope burn the spinnaker sock had done to his hand as he had let it go just as the full 35kt wind impact hit him and started to lift him from the deck of the boat, they were very impressed! The might of the wind in a huge sail is very impressive, we were lucky nothing else broke (including Hugh)!

We left the sail loft and were overwhelmed by the amount of construction and activity going on in Cebu city. Guarded high grade condominium developments being erected right next to small shanty villages, isolated shiny malls plotted along a dusty highway with expanses of fields between the next development and guys with woks full of scalding hot oil deep frying anything you want to snack on (chicken wings, hotdogs, strange pink balls of something). Certainly a city of dichotomies, on the one hand lunch in a small bambo hut of fried chicken for 50 cents or buying a new ipad for $1000 next door. It was obvious that there was a great gap between the rich and the poor in this city. But as a result of the development, the city was a dusty, noisy and congested place. 

Our taxi driver took us to the old Fort San Pedro, which apparently has had many uses including as a prison and zoo, but now has some tasteful gardens and interesting photo gallery depicting some of the last 120 years of Philippine society. Momentously, it was here that the Spanish lowered their flag and left in 1898 to leave behind the country as they reluctantly handed it to the USA. We made the short walk inland to the Basillica Del Santo Nino (church housing the famous Philippine statue of baby Jesus - Holy Child of Cebu), where thousands of devoted Philippine Catholics flock to get a chance to see the statue (which is housed in a glass box). The church has a huge outdoor auditorium where the annual Santo de Nino festival kicks off its services on 21 April. The emotion of the people at the church was quite something, and to witness the fascination of a ceramic relic that was purported to have arrived here on Magellan's ship in 1521. Conveniently located next door to the church is the Magellan Cross, a huge timber cross which is said to house some remnants of the cross that the famous navigator and evangelist erected just before he was slain by the chief of Mactan Island, before he was able to garner full Cebu support for a Catholic Philippines (he tried to use the age-old negotiation technique of shooting the locals).

All this touristing had developed in Hugh a hunger and Maccas across the road was the winner. The appropriately named 'Magellan Macdonalds' was sporting all the latest in Macdonalds interior fitouts and I believe that that is truly what Magellan would have wanted upon his discovery and attempted colonisation of the country before his unfortunate (and unsuccessful) negotiation with Chief Lapu-Lapu. 

A quick wander around one of the malls and we were ready to make the long journey back to the boat. 2 hours in a very full bus, complete with a bloke and his fighting cock (they LOVE fighting roosters here), all we were missing was the pet goat to accompany us. We made it back to the boat and collapsed after a busy day of checking out Cebu city. Now to look at the weather prediction and see where we should hunker down next.

22/7/2014


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