FINISH LINE CROSSED!!
Swee Chiow & Buzzy reached Pagudpud on 26 November 11am. They have covered 3,025km in 88 days and thus becoming the first team to kayak the entire Philippines from southern Mindanao to northern Luzon.
They would like to thank all friends and supporters who have prayed and encouraged them. Stay tuned for more reports…
Day 66. 4 Nov. Manila.
We finally touched down in Luzon, our final leg. From Bantangas to Manila, we went thru Typhoon Santi when we had to stop for a day at Punta Fuego. Club Punta Fuego sponsored our stay at the nice resort. The day after was sunny but there were huge swells caused by the typhoon.
Manila Bay is [...]
Day 57. 26 Oct. Sabang, Puerto Galera
We had to spend an additional day at Boracay looking for a pumpboat. Prices at Boracay are expensive. We finally managed to get a boat for P5,000.
The crossing to Caluya Island was a bit surrealistic. In that morning just before sunrise, the wind was blowing hard. I thought to myself, if it’s windy here at [...]
Day 49. 18 Oct. Boracay
Leaving the comfort of Shangri-La Mactan was hard. But we had the Habagat wind pushing us as we moved north along the east coast of Cebu. We crossed a short river canal at Bogo. At the narrowest point, it’s less than 5m across and our hulls were scapping the bottom. That saved us some 50km [...]
5 Oct.
We crossed Surigao Strait in excellent weather. We also had the honor to be escorted by Philippine Navy’s petrol gunboat PG389. The captain is Commander Luz Camacho, the first female Captain of a ship in the Navy. They did an excellent job.
The next 2 days saw us crossed 2 more open water of 25km and [...]
27 Sep. Surigao. Rest Day.
Typhoon Ondoy has caused 51 deaths and more than 20 missing in Manila area. It’s a national disaster. Ondoy means a little boy in Boholan.
Mindanao is feeling the effect too. The past 4 days have been very hard going. Struggling against the headwind is exhausting and being tossed about in the huge waves was no [...]
22 Sep. Lanuza.
While launching from Tandag, Buzzy capsized cause his spray cover wasn’t in place. The Tandag Port is a tricky place for kayaking. It’s a narrow gorge of less than 200m wide and waves just pounce from all sides. It’s like being in a washing machine. Buzzy lost his sunglasses, his second and last pair.
I was [...]
14-21 September 2009. Mati – Tandag.
Mayo Bay is a beautiful and quiet bay. Residents say there are 6 dugongs here and we were lucky to see one. It just popped its head out a few meters from my bow just to check me out and then disappeared. I also saw a sea turtle and dolphins. Catching these illusive animals on [...]
Day 9. Secion Davao-Mati
The media reception in Davao was a major success. Thanks to Governor Dominguez of Province Sarangani for arranging that. He has been of great help to the expedition. We kayaked to Samal Island and spent a wonderful evening at Sonni Mendoza’s nice resort called Hayahay, meaning refreshing. Sonni is another great friend of the exedition. [...]
Day 8. Dumalag Point – Davao
It was a short paddle of 15km to Davao. It’s nice to have the supporting friends on the water.
At Santa Ana Wharf, we landed for a short break. When I tried to leave shore after the break, a group of playful kids jumped onto the back of my kayak. They wouldn’t get off even when [...]