On to El Nido
Author: Shirlz
December, 2023
I waited in Coron for a few days of very strong NE winds before the weather improved and it seemed a good time to start moving south to El Nido. I decided to sail down the west coast of Culion before crossing to Linapacan as it looked like a more sheltered route than following the east coast.
The islands in the lee of Busuanga provide many beautiful, sheltered anchorages and I was a little reluctant to leave, but I had agreed to meet up with Tasman II at El Nido, so on we go. The plan was to make short daily hops along the islands and my first stop was at a small sandy beach on the south coast of Popotoan Island.
I found a well-sheltered spot in 9m of water over sand. Only problem was no cell phone reception, even from the top of the mast. But the weather seemed settled so next morning I set off again heading for Linapacan and had a pleasant downwind sail for 25nm to anchor for the night at a bay on the north west coast of the Island. The anchorages at Linapacan are often very deep and I was happy to find a spot in 10m over sand. It was a really dramatically beautiful place. Only problem here was that a big swell was rolling in, and of course, no internet. I was happy to leave again at first light.
Another day of gentle downwind sailing until I was approaching the northernmost tip of Palawan where the wind dropped to nearly nothing. I was hoping to reach the anchorage at Diapila Bay just around the point but it looked like I was going to need the engine to get in before dark. Oh dear, when I turned the ignition key, absolutely nothing happened. Now what was the problem? The battery selector switch had been malfunctioning and it was almost falling apart, so I suspected that it was the culprit. The Navik was holding us fairly well on track and I went below to see if I could do a quick repair job on the switch. It was tricky with the boat rolling badly and sweat stinging my eyes. Eventually, I gave up on repairing the selector switch and directly connected the starter battery cable to the starter motor/alternator cable. Still nothing. OK, forget motoring we would just manage with the sail. We made it into the lovely little bay as the sun was setting. A white beach and a few small houses with fishing bancas moored along the shore. Another lovely spot.
Early next morning I set off again in a comfortable NE F3. Smooth sailing. Who needs an engine anyway? It was only about 25 miles to Corong-corong where my friends were anchored and it looked like we would manage it easily. All went well until we rounded the northern point of Cadlao Island and found ourselves totally becalmed.
The tide was also against us and at one point we were moving slowly backwards. It was all I could do to try to keep clear of the dramatically sheer limestone cliffs. At last, at about 1300 a gentle breeze started to pick up and we could move again, but now it was directly on the nose. We tacked and tacked again. The anchorage was almost in sight and only about 5 nm away, but the best we could manage was half a knot and we were definitely not going to get there before dark. I checked the Navionics chart for a nearby place to stop and discovered that on the starboard tack I was heading directly for a promising spot at Pasandigan Cove on the south coast of Cadlao Island. I continued on that tack and finally managed to anchor there at 7pm in the pitch dark, relying entirely on the GPS, Garmin fish-finder and Navionics App. It was like playing a computer game. I ended up quite close in and anchored in 8m. After letting out 30m of chain, I found that we had fallen back over a fishing net which had been impossible to see in the dark. There wasn’t anything I could do about it and I just hoped it wouldn’t get tangled up with the prop. I removed the Navik paddle to get it out of the way. I hadn’t eaten all day and was just putting together a quick omelet when I heard someone shouting and sure enough, the fishermen had returned to pick up their nets. They were on a small banca with very bright lights and it was really, a rather magical scene. I explained my predicament and they were very understanding. One of the two men got in the water with fins and a mask and was easily able to free the line where it had caught on the rudder. There didn’t seem to be any fish about.
I had a good night’s sleep and set off again early in the morning. The wind was still very light and I had a painfully slow battle to get away from the anchorage under sail alone. I was forced to use the rudder, sweeping it from side to side, to help us creep away from the beach. It moved us slowly along at 0.35 knots according to the GPS. Six and a half hours later we had covered the 5 remaining miles to Corong-corong, tacking all the way. I dropped the anchor on the outer edge of the crowded bay in 20m.
Drinks on board Tasman II in the evening and next day they took me on a sightseeing walk to the town of El Nido with it’s trendy touristy shops and eateries. Some good delicatessens stocking hard to find items like real butter and cheese. The plan was to keep moving but I had to sort out the problem with starting the engine. Discussing it with Gary and Maurice left us all mystified. I meticulously checked all the connections and eventually to my slight embarrassment realized that it was simply a fuse that had blown. Easily fixed, but the selector switch was still non-functional. I tried to repair it but in the end fell back on the direct cable to cable solution. I will try to order a new switch online.
With the engine usable again it was time to do some exploring. We set off in company to an anchorage on the SE corner of Lagen Island, only about 6 miles away. An interesting approach between some sandbanks led to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We gathered on the beach for a BBQ that evening. There was an abandoned house ashore which must have once been a lovely place to stay, made of traditional materials, palm thatch roof, bamboo panels and beams and capiz shell windows. Also rather interesting was a derelict motor launch aground in the mangroves. My friends had done some foraging and discovered a rather rusted-up 3-way battery selector switch under a seat. It didn’t look too promising to me, but they thought it might be salvagable and would solve my switch problem.
Next day on again. The plan was to collect or buy some coconuts at a village across the bay. It was a downwind run to the anchorage and as I got closer it didn’t look like a very comfortable place to stop. I diverted to a more sheltered spot on the west coast of Lagen Island. The others joined me later for a swim and some exploring ashore. A good spot, except for the regular williwaws blasting the small bay. We spent one night there and then headed back to ‘civilization’ at Corong-corong.
Maurice had done a fantastic job of cleaning up the rusty switch and I was able to fit my battery cables to it quite easily. Problem solved!
I spent another day or two at the Corong-corong anchorage, getting a chance to wander around El Nido, which is just a short walk away. The water was low and I had to drag the dinghy a long way up the beach to get above the tide-line and find a place to secure it. It’s a busy tourist town awash with backpackers and sight-seers. Bancas compete for customers for island-hopping tours. But the shopping is good and there is an excellent fresh market very close to the anchorage. I stocked up with as much as I could carry and even indulged in a string of ‘solar’ LED christmas lights.
The next move was to a small fishing village going by the name of Liminangcong about 12 miles further south. I had a delightful sail there with a happy junk rig and the Navik performing well. My friends were waiting for me, and another boat, ‘Maria’, a big catamaran that does charters was also there. We went ashore for sundowners and were entertained by some children dancing and singing christmas carols. I would have quite liked to spend some more time in this very convenient and sheltered place, but now the plan was to move on down to Port Barton with some stops along the way. OK.
We all set off at 0830 next morning when the strong tidal current down the sound would be in our favour. The wind was quite strong and very variable. I found myself reefing and unreefing the sail pretty frequently. Once in open water I had a fast sail down to the next planned anchorage at White Island. A perfect place with lots of space to drop the anchor in 6m of clear water over white sand. Unfortunately, again no cell. I spent the next day enjoying this beautiful place. A very big turtle made a short appearance. Small fishing boats gave friendly waves as they passed. No sign of my friends. There must have been a change of plan and no way of communicating.
I decided to keep on going towards Port Barton which looked like an interesting town. An anchorage at Village Island might be a good place to stop. Once away from the steep hills of the coast I was able to pick up an internet signal. Ahh. Yes, there had been a change of plan and Tasman II was back in the shelter of Liminangcong. There was some concern about a weak typhoon passing over southern Palawan. Well, I had been happy at Liminangcong so I made an about turn and headed back there. But of course, now we were hard on the wind in choppy sea. If I was going to make it in before dark, we needed some help from the engine. It was a bit of a slog until we were able to turn into the sheltered waters of the Worcester Strait and Malampaya Sound. I was able to take a rest and let the autopilot do the work for a while. But ‘the show ain’t over till the fat lady…’ An ominously black cloud loomed directly overhead and dropped some truly torrential tropical rain, reducing visibility to zero and threatening to blow us ashore. I hastily dropped some sail and came up into wind to try to stop the rain going down the companion way. I didn’t have too long to wait before it passed on and we were soon able to carry on to the anchorage. Meanwhile the typhoon had fizzled out. So it goes.
Tags: Corong-corong, El Nido
December 26th, 2023 at 16:29
Wishing you a slightly belated Merry Christmas and everything of the best for 2024. I remain so impressed with your travels and how you handle repairs. quite amazing! Wishing you fair winds for 2024!