3rd Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race

by Jun Villanueva 9 Apr 2019 05:56 BST

Approaching the finish line. Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race 2019 © David Sutton

Best Busuanga silverware. Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race 2019 © David Sutton

Handing out the goodies. Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race 2019 © David Sutton

In an event dominated by unexpected and changing wind conditions, Captain Napoleon, sailing two-handed, mastered the conditions to win the Cruising Class with an elapsed time of 32h 16m 13s.

The 3rd Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race attracted its largest fleet so far with 17 sailing yachts and two motor yachts representing Manila, Punta Fuego, Puerto Galera and Subic Bay Yacht Clubs, for the 135nm race. This unique race allows boats to choose their own start time to benefit from their navigators best estimate of the wind conditions. The start line was opened at 0600 on Friday morning and by 0945 all boats had started. An additional benefit of the variable start time is for boats to all arrive at approximately the same time for a beach lunch on beautiful South Cay Island managed by the Busuanga Bay Lodge Resort. As usual BBL provided a sumptuous meal and ‘cooool’ drinks.

At the Welcome Dinner hosted by Club Punta Fuego in the newly renovated San Diego restaurant, the participants received an important briefing from PRO Jerry Rollin. Strategies and past experiences were discussed in a lively and friendly atmosphere of fellowship. Early the next morning David Wheeler’s Freewheeler, a competitively raced Cape Carib 33, was first boat across the start line. As the remainder of the fleet started over the next few hours, the wind gods decided to play tricks with shifting wind conditions. The early starters benefited from a pleasant 6kts northeasterly, rising to 15kts as they crossed the Calavite Passage between Golo Island and Mindoro, and fading again as they entered the wind shadow of Mindoro Island. The Passage is a stretch of water well known for merciless winds and steep waves which many sailors dread.

The later starters struggled to reach Calavite, and crossed the passage in abnormally light wind conditions. As the sun set, the wind slowly picked up from the north providing a steady breeze for those that charted a more westerly course and by midnight the shifting “Nortada” allowed boats to make good progress southwards towards Calauit Island, famous for its safari park full of African animals.

Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race 2019 - photo © unknown

The Committee Boat, Lost in Asia, owned by Peter Baird of Broadwater Marine, provided Race Officer Jerry Rollin with a stable platform for the start, transportation to the finish and safety cover. By 0630 on Saturday the finishing line was established at South Cay for the first arrival - the early bird Freewheeler, who finished at 0740 closely followed 10 minutes later by Columbus owned by John Quirk (PGYC).

The early finishing times were made possible for the Cruising Class who can take the option to transfer to the Cruising/Motoring class if they want to. Their motoring times are multiplied by 1.5 to achieve an expanded total elapsed time. This gives the slower cruising boats a chance of joining the beach party on South Cay.

This year the Ocean Multihull Class increased to eight boats, of which seven were Lagoons varying from 42 to 62 feet. However, the sole Leopard 40 Cariño of Monchu Garcia triumphed, winning the class with an elapsed time of 34h 27m 31s. It must be said that most of the Lagoons retired to the rally fleet, perhaps in haste to join the beach party! Strategy and perseverance are the essential elements in any long-distance race such as this, and these were certainly the qualities shown by Selma Star’s crew, lead by Jun Avecilla, to win the elite IRC Class for the second year in a row, Besting other elite racers Sabad (Bobby Benares), Bellatrix (Jun Villanueva), Isabelle (Tere Marcial) and Hurricane Hunter (Albert Alba).

By late Saturday afternoon it was time to tear ourselves away from the pristine beach of South Cay and make our way through the lines of pearl farms for the short cruise to Puerto Del Sol Bay for the awards party hosted by Busuanga Bay Lodge. As usual there were many stories to be told - of ferocious wind shifts, numerous dolphins sightings, and even the sighting of a humpback whale to spice up the sailing stories.