By Connor Rae, crew
After our time at sea, and our impromptu diesel run, the crew were all eager for some time with solid ground beneath our feet. To make it to Surigao City, we had to time the approach with a tidal channel. We rocketed in and hit a speed of over 10 knots! The scenery around the channel was beautiful, picture perfect white sandy beaches, clear blue water and coconut trees as far as the eye could see. However fate would play us one more curve ball before we could enjoy this. During the rough crossing the anchor chain had became rather tangled and as we arrived at our anchoring spot and the first round of officials from The Philippines boarded us, the anchor would not run out. I dutifully watched from the helm as my fellow crewmates became increasingly covered in mud and anchor rust as they used their minds and bodies to unstick the chain. Finally, with a time limit given to us before we needed to be at immigration looming over our heads, they were successful and the chain ran out to much celebration.
Our next job was to pass through immigration and customs. We parked our skiff Nemo at the coast guard station and proceeded to be escorted to the Immigration Office. This was just a small drive away. The officials had organized a bus for us and as we left the port and enter the city proper we were met with a concoction of smells and sounds. After being on Neptun for so long this was a shock to our systems. The smell of cooking meat, smoke, fish, the sound of the traffic on the crowded streets and people everywhere. The immigration office was in a mall on the other side of town. Perhaps malls around the world have settled on an optimal design as it felt as familiar as any mall I had seen before.
The crew waited outside as Captain Meg went in to do the official paperwork. In the foyer of the mall in front of the offices was a pop up massage shop, and it was too tempting for some of the crew! After we had all had our passports stamped (unfortunately some of the massages had to be cut short) and had been cleared we were then off to the bank to withdraw cash. Then it was to Customs where we were not allowed to play cards as we waited, and last was the port authority to pay for anchoring. Finally we were taken to a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Neptun was framed by the windows like a painting. Here we had our first meal off the boat in over a week. It was much like eating after camping for a long time, where the food doesn’t have to be fantastic for it to taste fantastic. After food, drink, and merry revelry, we returned to Neptun excited for the days ahead.
As we had arrived in port we were now on what we called “island time”. This meant the crew were divided into two. One watch would be off one day and then on the next. We would also have to stand anchor watches. This was to ensure the boat did not drag anchor and to deter would-be thieves. Our initial jobs were to clean and return the ship to ship-shape. During the crossing, cleaning had been somewhat neglected so it was wonderful to see the shine come back. There were also a number of things that had broken that had to be fixed or replaced. We had also eaten through all of our fresh food and would need to provision before we headed off again.
Our off-watch time was spent exploring the city, eating the food (some of the crew had discovered quite a liking to a local fruit called mangosteens). We did have some trouble getting our provisions through the port security and back on to the boat, however perseverance and a smile can get you a long way.
After almost running out of diesel on the way over we would also be refilling. This would involve docking Neptun at the port. Now Neptun is a fantastic vessel, however, “maneuverable” would not be a word I would use to describe her. We braced the yards hard to port so we would have plenty of space on the starboard side. We prepped the mooring lines. Nemo was also fitted with a tyre so she could be used as an improvised tug boat. Thank goodness the new outboard engine on Nemo is overpowered. After a few false starts, Meg and Rhodri steered the boat into the port as Taylor and Alex used Nemo as a tug. The rest of the crew were in charge of the mooring lines. Working together as a crew we were able to bring her in and dock successfully.
After our time in Surigao City we headed to Padre Burgos. This was a small town a days motoring away. We left Surigao at 3pm and arrived at midnight. We awoke the next morning in paradise, a beautiful beach awaited us and we could see turtles and jelly fish in the water. The first watch went ashore and discovered the dive resort was owned by a lovely German gentleman and his Filipino wife, Gunter and Alona. Over the next 4 days the crew was able to go scuba diving, visit waterfalls, explore the town and go snorkeling with whale sharks. Swimming with the whale sharks was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
After our time in Padre Burgos the boat was to head off again to the island of Bohol. We left early to give us time to hoist up the anchor. On that morning, the wind was in our favor and we were able to sail off the anchor without needing to use the engine. The winds stayed light, but in the right direction, so we were able to set some sails and enjoy a lovely day sail. The boat arrived at the town of Guindulman, a small town where again we got island time to go exploring.
After Guindulman, our next stop was the town of Laoy. At the mouth of the Laboc river, Laoy was settled by the Spanish in Colonial times. This meant that there were many old buildings, including a beautiful old Colonial Catholic Church. Laoy was also the town where we were able to go and visit the Tarsiers. Tarsier monkeys are the smallest primates in the world and are also incredibly cute. When viewing them we had to stay quiet to allow them to sleep, as they are nocturnal.
The next stop on our journey was Tagbilaran, the capital city of the province of Bohol. Our plan in Tagbilaran was to collect our new freezer and washing machine, both of which we had managed to kill in the crossing, and pick up our ships cook. The appliance store was located near the port of Tagbilaran, so if we were able to moor, this would make collection easier. However, much to our annoyance the port did not allowed us to moor or anchor within port limits, forcing us to go further around to what was labeled on our maps a public fishing dock.
Here we went ashore and found that the fishing port was also the headquarters for a division of the Philippines special forces. However, these military men where very friendly and were always keen for a chat. While in Tagbilaran we also had time to go to Panglao. This is a very touristy place with resorts restaurants and dive centers. It was here where three of our crew mates decided to book a hotel and stay ashore for a night. With little fuss we did manage to remove the old freezer and washing machine and installed the new ones, Nemo continues to impress me with the variety of the loads she takes. We were also warned that another cyclone would be incoming. We had been having some problems with the spot we had anchored and had dragged anchor on the second day, so as soon as the storm hit we again began to drag. This resulted in a 3am wake up call where we had to hoist the anchor in the wind and rain. Once the anchor was hoisted, the sky was still dark so we steamed around until morning before heading to the sheltered side of the bay to find a new anchorage. However with the current pushing us and inaccurate charts, we abandoned that idea and it was decided to ride out the storm by drifting. Once the storm passed and we could pick up our marooned crew, we could then begin our journey to our next planned stops, at Santiago in Islas Camotes and Malapascua Island.
