Speedwell of Hong Kong

Puerto Princesa

Author: Shirlz

May 2023

Malanao Island had been a good place to wait out the strong NE wind that had been blowing for over a week, but my fresh food had all been used up and I was keen to get moving. The forecast was for a few days of light wind followed by some strong SW. It was time to leave. As a first step I decided to carefully make my way through the channel between the island and the mainland and anchor at the northern end for the night. It would save about 2 hours of the trip to Puerto Princesa.

The shallows were easy to see – mostly marked with fishing stakes. It was a rather bumpy anchorage and I was fairly grateful to get away at first light the next day.

As usual, there was very little wind in the early morning, but from 1100 it started up and I had a comfortable downwind sail for the last leg of my trip. If only it could have been like this all the way.

There were some big ships anchored in the approach to the harbour and a lot of outrigger fishing boats (bancas) and tourist boats about. I found a convenient place to anchor in the Fishing Port keeping a safe distance away from the many amazing local boats. Some of them quite enormous, looking almost like small floating villages. All with bamboo outriggers and mostly brightly painted. A crazy, colourful scene.

I had arrived on a Friday afternoon and the quarantine and customs offices would be closed. I hoisted my yellow Q flag and was happy to wait till they re-opened on Monday. I did try to contact them by phone but there was no response.

Finding a place to get ashore was a bit challenging as there are no floating docks or easy places to beach the dinghy. The shoreline has all been protected with a sloping concrete slab construction. Here and there are some steps, but nothing to tie the dinghy to. As I was puzzling how to manage things a helpful shopkeeper gave me a hand and steadied the dinghy so that I could get out and then let me tie the painter to a stick on the side of his kiosk.

I had been unable to contact either the Quarantine or Customs officials so I decided to first go to Immigration and try to sort something out. It was quite a long, hot walk to Robinson’s Mall where they have an office. I took a break at one point in an air-conditioned shop to get multiple photocopies made of all my documents. When I explained my situation to the Immigration people I was told that they could do nothing until I had been cleared by Quarantine, etc. I was given the exact address and took a ride in a tricycle to get there. The office was in a fairly obscure small building back in the port area and the staff of about 8 women were around a table having their lunch when I arrived. All very friendly and helpful but they insisted that someone would have to be taken out to my boat in order to inspect things before they could clear me. They have an official vehicle and as soon as the driver had finished his lunch I was driven down to the harbour with the woman who would have to be taken out to Speedwell. The customs official would also need to visit the boat. I explained that my dinghy was very small and I could only take one passenger at a time. It was decided that Quarantine should go first. Fortunately the weather was calm and I had no trouble rowing us out to where Speedwell was anchored.

I climbed aboard first, thinking I would be able to help the Quarantine lady get herself safely aboard. I had warned her not to step on the side of the dinghy – Oh dear! Suddenly she was suspended mid-air in that classic situation between mother-ship and tiny dinghy. I grabbed her and tried to haul her in but with a splash she landed in the water. Luckily there was no panic. She clung to the side of Speedwell and I tried again to help her up, succeeding only in doing something terrible to my back. I told her to hang on and went to fetch the rope ladder that I use to get aboard after a swim. Not the easiest thing to climb but thankfully she was fit and nimble and managed to clamber aboard. Her backpack with phone, papers, etc. was totally soaked, as was she, of course. I gave her a big dry towel and she stripped off and wrapped herself in it. We proceeded to do the paperwork. A cup of tea was offered, but she was happy just to have a glass of water and was even able to have a bit of a laugh about it all.

When all was completed she had to put her wet clothes back on and we went back to suggest to the Customs man that it might be better to get his paperwork done safely on shore. After some consultation this was agreed to and when all his forms had been filled in he very kindly drove me all the way back to Robinson’s Mall and the Immigration folk. Where at last I was officially cleared in for my first month in the Philippines.

I caught a ride on a jeepney back to the harbour and arrived to find that the tide had gone out and must have been a record low spring as the dinghy was now well and truly aground in thick, soft and sticky black mud. No choice but to slog through it nearly up to my knees and drag the dinghy to where it could float. The mud so sticky that it was sometimes difficult to lift a foot out for the next step. What a day! It also happened to be my 75^th birthday. Once safely back on Speedwell and most of the mud cleaned off, I celebrated with the bubbly that I’d picked up in the mall.

As time went by I perfected a technique for securing the dinghy to get ashore. The bancas have a high pointy prow which they butt up against the concrete slope making it easy for someone to leap ashore and secure the boat. I was usually able to stabilize myself with the aid of their outriggers or lines and there was always a helping hand on shore.

The town is busy with lots of shops and an enormous covered market on several levels selling everything from wonderful fresh fruit and veg to umbrellas, shoes, and just about everything imaginable. A far cry from the air-conditioned, antiseptic supermarket at the mall with its acres of junk food in brightly coloured plastic wrappers. The market is obviously a better place to shop, but I must confess that I enjoy a visit to the mall to cool off in the ac and treat myself to a decent cup of real coffee.

Each time I came ashore I would first get some exercise by strolling along the ‘Bay Walk’ which extends all the way from the Fishing Harbour to the main dock for big ships. The area was the site of an American seaplane base during WWII (see the photo). It comes alive in the evening when most people go out for a stroll and enjoy a drink or a meal at one of the many open restaurants that line the walk.

In town there is another awful reminder of the war. The Plaza Cuartel is the site of a gruesome atrocity where 150 American prisoners of war were burned to death by the Japanese.

The streets are jam-packed with cars, trucks, bikes, trikes and people. Crossing the road requires just steadily tracking across, trusting that the traffic will go around you. Best not to hesitate or show uncertainty. Dogs wander nonchalantly about and cats keep wisely to the cooler shadows. People are invariably friendly and helpful. The heat and humidity are punishing.

Out on the anchorage there is usually enough of a breeze to make things bearable although the water does not look clean enough to hazard a cooling swim. A few days ago a very strong squall came through and it seemed that my anchor might have dragged a few meters. Also, a new banca moved in and decided to anchor just a bit too uncomfortably close.

I decided it was time to explore other anchoring options. A decision made easier by the fact that a typhoon, now named ‘Betty’ was approaching the northern end of the Philippines and strong SW winds were forecast even as far south as Palawan. I thought that the Abucayan Inlet about 5nm away looked like a good option. Raising the anchor was hard work and when it came up I found that it was totally fouled with an enormous bundle of garbage – plastic bags, thick fishing line, electric cables, pieces of an old tarpaulin and more. I had to hack it all off with my trusty old bread-knife. At last we could start motoring out and it soon became obvious that the prop must be badly crusted up with marine growth as the best we could manage was a rather struggling 2 knots. We had definitely been in one place for too long.

It took nearly 3 hours to motor the 5 nm to the new anchorage tucked well into the inlet. A lovely sheltered spot, surrounded by mangroves and palm trees. We were the only boat there and the water was clean and clear. Next day, after having had a good look round (just to be sure that there were no crocs) I was happy to get in the water and clean the prop which badly needed it.

I think we will stay here for a few days and enjoy the peace and quiet before heading back to town where I will need to get my visa extended for the next 30 days.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 at 01:25 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.