Sailing in the Philippines

[SV Windrush II]

Hello all,

We will be sailing to the South Pacific at the end of 2014 and will be cruising the Philippines mostly and possibly Indonesia. We will be sailing our 48' LOD Rosborough Schooner that has a 6ft draft full keel.

My wife is from the Philippines and I have lived there for several years myself, but have never sailed in the area.

1. I would like to network with sailors in the area.

2. What kind of navigation advice can you share sailing through the islands?

3. How is the safety/theft situation? (Obviously the Sulu Sea off Mindanao is a place to stay away from)

4. what are the popular Cruiser hangouts/ Anchorages?

5. Is there any specific equipment you would suggest?

Any other info you can give me would be great! please just be experienced in the area. Keep in mind I already know the culture and challenges on land, just sailing in the Philippines I have not done. Thanks in advance

Rob L

[delmarrey]

Hi Rob,
Welcome aboard!

You might want to join a group thread we have >> Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Boats & Sailing in The Philippines

A few of us are on the same page as you, myself included. My boat's sitting in SF now get ready for the leg west next Nov.

I can tell you that most anchorages are fairly shallow so watch your charts.

Joining the a PI yacht club will help out too.

And the watermaker will most likely be my prized possession other then the charts.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Hi Rob,
Welcome aboard!

You might want to join a group thread we have >> Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Boats & Sailing in The Philippines

A few of us are on the same page as you, myself included. My boat's sitting in SF now get ready for the leg west next Nov.

I can tell you that most anchorages are fairly shallow so watch your charts.

Joining the a PI yacht club will help out too.

And the watermaker will most likely be my prized possession other then the charts.

Thanks for the info delmarrey. I will check out the other thread. Yeah my big keel is a little concern of mine. looks like we will be going at about the same time.
I also checked out your blog, nice hi perf yacht you have. Mine is a heavy beast, but can handle most any weather.
Rob

[delmarrey]

My draft is 7' 3" so I have to be very cautious, but the keel is mounted well.

The other site hasn't had much activity for a while but once you joint it'll email you of activity.

Did the bagyo Haiyan/Yolanda affect any family? Mine was up north on Luzon so they missed it this year.

[mikereed100]

Rob,

I found the electronic charts I had were very inadequate for the Philippines. A friend gave me a copy of a set of charts that the owner of "Bewitched" has put together for use on a laptop. A saint if ever there was one, these are archived charts available to download from NOAA that he has geo-referenced. I found these old charts extremely accurate and invaluable for picking our way through the reefs and islands. Most were from the '30's, some from the turn of the century. I got a kick out of the 50 cent price that was stamped in the corners of some. They are hand-drawn and very beautifull as well. Once you are in the Philippines you should be able to track down a set. If you run into the man hisself, please forward my undying gratitude.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

Rob,

I found the electronic charts I had were very inadequate for the Philippines. A friend gave me a copy of a set of charts that the owner of "Bewitched" has put together for use on a laptop. A saint if ever there was one, these are archived charts available to download from NOAA that he has geo-referenced. I found these old charts extremely accurate and invaluable for picking our way through the reefs and islands. Most were from the '30's, some from the turn of the century. I got a kick out of the 50 cent price that was stamped in the corners of some. They are hand-drawn and very beautifull as well. Once you are in the Philippines you should be able to track down a set. If you run into the man hisself, please forward my undying gratitude.

I have a set of Garmin electronic charts, which I was hoping to use. Which ones did you have?

[pbmaise]

Philippines
Kayak paddles. Lots and lots of kayak paddles. Never attempt a dinghy unless you plan to be in a yacht club AND plan to take it out of the water every day. A dinghy hanging on davots in sight of poor fishermen is asking for trouble.

See my tips on Cebu immigration on noonsite. I managed to get an immigration official reach into his wallet and give back the bribe he demanded after I complained.

Pollution is high in urban areas and shipyards.

Could get interesting if you still plan on kids after coming here.

Indonesia
Plan on 3 to 4 day to check in and 3 to 4 day to check out. Plan on about $100 USD per immigration official. Sometimes you can get by with a carton of cigs and bottle. Sometimes 4 to 5 officials come. Plan ahead. UNLESS you join a rally.

Prep your boat for typhoon. 23 hit Philippines this year.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

My draft is 7' 3" so I have to be very cautious, but the keel is mounted well.

The other site hasn't had much activity for a while but once you joint it'll email you of activity.

Did the bagyo Haiyan/Yolanda affect any family? Mine was up north on Luzon so they missed it this year.

Fortunately all my family live in the north so out of the path of Yolanda, but I had some friends that went through it and survived but lost their houses. They have pretty crazy stories, said it was like a huge tornado. They were hanging on to the frame of their house to keep from being sucked out from the vacuum pressure.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

I have a set of Garmin electronic charts, which I was hoping to use. Which ones did you have?

I was using CM 93 on OpenCPN, which of course are pirated, (brief pause while I hang my head) so maybe you get what you pay for. Friends using CMAP had better luck, but still used "Bewiched's" charts.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

I was using CM 93 on OpenCPN, which of course are pirated, (brief pause while I hang my head) so maybe you get what you pay for. Friends using CMAP had better luck, but still used "Bewiched's" charts.

Not sure if they are the same charts that Bewitched has, but I downloaded all the charts off the NOAA site for the Philippines and the Pacific. Its about 100 gig worth. I also loaded the program to use them on my laptop. they look like old copied charts

[mikereed100]

Yes, those are the ones. They are old but amazingly accurate. Used them to navigate out of Apo Reef at 0200. Not something I would want to repeat, but the chart was right on.

[mikereed100]

One thing I just remembered, don't check in/out or extend your visa at Manila. You will be treated the same as a ship and charged accordingly. I don't remember the exact breakdown, but with quarantine, immigration and customs it was over $300 for the two of us to check in, whereas friends who checked into Puerto Princesa paid much less.

[delmarrey]

Has anyone checked in at Cebu, Tagbilaran, Lanang or Samal Isand?

[Kestrahl]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

One thing I just remembered, don't check in/out or extend your visa at Manila. You will be treated the same as a ship and charged accordingly. I don't remember the exact breakdown, but with quarantine, immigration and customs it was over $300 for the two of us to check in, whereas friends who checked into Puerto Princesa paid much less.

PP seems to be one of the few places that don't try and get extra money out of you. Bewitched is moored there, the owners name is Ross and he lives in HK. We cruised through with Cm93 Ed 3 charts 2012 and it was out in some areas but overall pretty good. There are a set of google earth charts floating around if you ask other cruisers upon arrival.

We never had any problems with security or leaving our dinghy when going ashore. If it needs moving the fisherman normally move it for you. We only had a 2.5hp outboard on it.

[SV Windrush II]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

PP seems to be one of the few places that don't try and get extra money out of you. Bewitched is moored there, the owners name is Ross and he lives in HK. We cruised through with Cm93 Ed 3 charts 2012 and it was out in some areas but overall pretty good. There are a set of google earth charts floating around if you ask other cruisers upon arrival.

We never had any problems with security or leaving our dinghy when going ashore. If it needs moving the fisherman normally move it for you. We only had a 2.5hp outboard on it.

Good news about PP, We have a good friend there who used to have a large sailboat. so it will be one of our places to drop anchor.
Another question, after registering our boat, is it a one time deal? Or is there a time limit? Our schooner is also USCG documented.