Speedwell of Hong Kong

Exploring Honda Bay

Author: Shirlz

September 2023

I had grown comfortable with my routine of busy restocking trips to the market while anchored at the Fish Port in Puerto Princesa, and quiet solitary retreats to the Abucayan Inlet. Further north the too frequent typhoons were not an encouragement. It was becoming just a bit too easy. Time to move on. But those typhoons.. September is supposed to be the worst month.

Honda Bay, just a short distance north of Puerto Princesa might still be a safe enough place to explore. My previous visit there had been cut short by the problem I had had with my internet connection which is what I depend on for getting a weather forecast and typhoon warnings. Maybe I’m being over-cautious, but typhoons/cyclones/hurricanes are definitely best avoided. Especially by a little old lady on a little old boat.

After a final shopping spree and another 2-month visa renewal I had a gentle downwind sail most of the way to Fondeado Island towards the far end of Honda Bay. The wind died completely as I turned in towards the island and I had to get the engine started. And then, as I was contemplating exactly where I should anchor, a strong squall came through blasting the anchorage from the west.  Oh dear. I still had the sail up and thought it might be better to try a different anchorage with more protection from that direction. I tried heading further into the bay but now we were struggling to make progress against the strong wind and heavy chop, trying to avoid unknown obstacles, and simultaneously trying to plot a new course. It wasn’t working.

I turned back to Fondeado where two local fishing boats were already anchored and reasoned that if they were happy there it was probably not such a bad option. It was at the bottom of the tide and the sand banks and coral surrounding the island were easy to see. I dropped the anchor in 15m and let out 50m of chain. I would have preferred to let out more but the chain had become twisted up in the chain locker and jammed in the hawespipe.  Later, when things had calmed down, I had to untie the rope holding the chain at the bitter end in the locker and untwist the mess. Just another detail to remember to check now and then!

Towards sundown the wind eased off and it was a pleasant evening. Sitting in the cockpit enjoying a G&T I was amazed to see thousands of big bats (flying foxes?) leaving the island on a nighttime foraging trip. They passed quite close overhead and I could hear their high-pitched sonar squeaks.

I had a peaceful night, but by lunchtime next day the wind was howling again. I let out all of my chain and turned on the GPS anchor drag warning. The strong wind didn’t last for more than an hour before calming to a more relaxing 20-odd knots. The forecast for tomorrow looks much better. Here’s hoping.

The next day the weather stayed frustratingly the same: very little wind at night then increasing to 15 to 20 knots with intermittent ferocious squalls. The anchorage was not very sheltered from the west which was where the strongest winds and waves were coming from. I was not enjoying myself.

29 August

I raised the anchor early in the morning before the wind had started and motored to what appeared to be a better anchorage between two small islands and some reefy bits. It really didn’t seem much better when the wind picked up at about 11 o’clock. A terrifying squall came through and miraculously my anchor held.

This wasn’t going well. I regretted leaving the beautifully safe anchorage at the Abucayan Inlet. Maybe tomorow will be better. In any case I decided that I’d move back to the possibly better protection of the anchorage I’d tried on my previous abortive visit to Honda Bay. Surely it would be more protected as it faced into the West.

30th August

It was heavy work getting 60m of chain up against the wind but at last we were able to motor across the bay and anchored in 10m in Tapul Bay. It seemed pretty good and I was relieved to be in a more sheltered spot. Still very windy with adiabatic squalls coming fairly regularly. I tried setting up my sun awning but had to take it down again fairly quickly as there was just too much wind. The forecast doesn’t look very encouraging and this seems to be the pattern for the rest of the week. I’m starting to think seriously about investing in an electric anchor windlass.

As it was too windy for my big sun awning and rain-catcher I attached the small awning that I use when sailing and i’ts quite pleasant to sit under in the cockpit.

1st September

After a second squally day at Tapul Bay I motored another 4 nm back towards Puerto Princesa to anchor in Mangrove Inlet which was totally protected from the west and surrounded by reefs. The wind still blowing strongly every afternoon but the water is flatter and it’s much more pleasant. The inlet seems oddly deserted with many ramshackle unused fish traps in the shallows and only the occasional small fishing boat. I’m happy to just relax here for a few days with plenty to read and my normal never-ending job list. The internet access is good.

A few days later the wind shifted more to the south and the anchorage was becoming a bit rolly. I moved over to anchor in the lee of Canon Island about 4nm away. It was a very comfortable spot in about 6m. The island is covered in mangroves and seemed to be deserted. A small fishing boat was working the shallows at one end. A partly submerged ruined house on the shore.

But supplies were running low. I could see the small town of Honda Bay only about 1.5nm away on the Palawan coast. The weather was favourable so I motored across one morning and anchored close to the jetty in 2.7m. It was low tide so should be fine. What a treat to be anchored in shallow water for a change.

No sooner was the anchor down, than a Coast Guard launch arrived. All very friendly and happy to take photos. I showed them my papers and they warned me that an army/police exercise was about to take place but it was fine for me to stay where I was. Sure enough, soon two very high-powered inflatables were racing around the bay, each  manned by about 10 serious-looking uniformed individuals. Just an exercise. 

When things had calmed down a bit later, I rowed ashore to do some shopping. There is a really convenient floating dock catering for the tourist bancas which do island-hopping trips. It made a great place to leave the dinghy.

I enjoyed my walk along the single road, with small shops and foodstalls on both sides. At the far end of the road there is a garage with diesel. Plenty of trikes and jeepneys running to Puerto Princesa about 20 minutes away by road. Excellent

The next day the weather was perfect and I moved across to Cowrie Island where there is a resort and a lovely beach. It was a weekday and there were very few visitors. I anchored away from the resort area and got the kayak inflated. It was a wonderful break from the rather nasty weather we had been having. Did some work on cleaning the propeller which was starting to sprout a fine crop of barnacles.

When the weekend rolled around so did the tourists. I was a long way from where they were being dropped off for the day, but the bancas came around to anchor quite near to me to wait for the return trip.  All was fine until a really bad squall came through on Sunday afternoon and much confusion reigned.

By 5 o’clock all had gone home. The sky still looked rather ominous and I decided to move to a more secure anchorage and motored back to Mangrove Inlet which has virtually all round protection and is especially good for winds from the N and NW which is where the strongest squalls seem to be coming from.
When the wind drops it’s absolutely beautiful with clear water for swimming and I’ve had a chance to work on cleaning the hull. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 12th, 2023 at 00:26 and is filed under Cruising, Palawan, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.