Photos by Star Sabroso
Regatta. The word has a majestic ring to it, having been first used in the 1650s to describe a race between gondolas in the Grand Canal of Venice in Italy. Indeed, the sight of all these colorful boats – with their sails unfurled during the 2016 Punta Fuego Regatta at the Peninsula de Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas – has a regal quality to it, especially for someone like this writer who has never witnessed a boat race before. Hosted by Club Punta Fuego last January 30 and 31, the event proved to be a celebration of winning stories and challenging experiences that help explain why sailors keep trying their mettle year after year.
“We are a sailing community,” avers Club Punta Fuego general manager Mikel Arriet Arruiz, explaining that Punta Fuego is perhaps the only Club in the Philippines that has not only a golf course but an international full-service marina as well. Now on its 14th year, the Punta Fuego regatta has become one of the most anticipated sailing events in the country today, with boats from various sizes such as Hobie Cats, multihulls, keelboats and dinghies participating.
According to international race officer and Punta Fuego race committee chair Jerry Rollin (“I run everything that has to do with water”), preparations for the race is a shared responsibility between participants and the organizers – from the equipment to buoys, anchors and chains – but the responsibility of keeping the participants safe ultimately falls on his shoulder.
Asked if there are pre-qualifications for one to join the boat race – like being a member of Club Punta Fuego for instance, Rollin laughs. “No pre-qualifications. You own a boat, you can come,” he says. “Sailing is looked upon as an elitist sport by many people,” he continues, “but it is only elitist in the sense that somebody has to have the money to own the boat.” The rest of the crew – even for a Hobie that requires two people to sail, could come from the nearby village. One doesn’t need money to crew, he reiterates. In fact, a big challenge especially for bigger boats, say one that requires a crew of 10, is finding skilled and competent men and women who can serve as crew.
In the Philippines, the best time for sailing is from November to April because of the winds, which is why the regatta has traditionally been held in November. However, in the last several years, there has been “no wind,” explains Rollin, which is why they have moved the date for the race to January. A highlight of the regatta is the 14-nautical-mile race to Fortune Island that lies approximately 14 kilometers off the coast of Nasugbu. In fact, the race to Fortune Island, which was originally scheduled on the first day (January 30), was moved to the second day because the winds were not strong enough, though they took the sailors to the wonderful azure blue waters of Loren Island, Twin Islands and Terrazas de Punta Fuego in Batangas.
The second day of the race was very eventful with the winds going a good 30 knots, and our group (which incudes our life photographer Star Sabroso, veteran watersports writer Barry Dawson and Fuego Hotels and Properties marketing and communications manager Ronie Marie Reyes with Ella Simo) followed the race participants a safe distance away.
As GM Mikel had warned us, the waves as we went closer to the island proved to be very challenging – with tactics and strategy coming into play. The experience certainly imbued us with newfound respect for the sailors especially those who competed in the Hobie 16 Masters Class. Manufactured in France by the Hobie Cat company, the boat has an asymmetrical banana-shaped hull with two sails called the mainsail and the jib, with two people skillfully manipulating the boat so it works with the wind, not against it, and go in the direction they want – whether to go zig or zag.
With the Hobie, there is an optimum weight and it is not so unusual to see bigger guy partnered with a more slightly built man (or woman!) to achieve that ideal weight, but balance is the key, not to mention the skill level and experience as well of the teammates in maneuvering to harness the force of the wind, pointing in a direction that would get them “as close to the wind as possible” to get that needed speed and change course as necessary without capsizing.
During the race, we saw a couple of Hobies that capsized, and it was rather fascinating – inspiring in fact – to see a pair trying to work together to bring the boat in an upright position. Aside from skill and teamwork, what was striking for us was the strength (one participant was using his partner’s chest as some sort of leverage to pull the sails up) and the heart displayed, the never-say-die attitude despite the huge waves that buffeted. And we should know, because we ourselves felt like race participants, drenched to our toes as “Manong Captain” navigated our motorized boat above the roiling waves.
“We can’t go near to help them,” Barry Dawson informs our group, “otherwise they get disqualified.” And so it was with great relief and jubilation (and applause, naturally) that we saw the capsized boat’s sails going upright after what looked to us as interminable minutes.
Filipinos have a natural aptitude for sailing, remarks Jerry Rollin. “As an international race officer, I go to Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc., and many of these boats all over Asia – practically in every port – are crewed by Filipinos who started out in Manila and Punta Fuego and eventually developed their skill, eventually finding a profession where they look after sail boats,” shares Rollin.
While it is not so farfetched to have a Filipino emerging as a world boat racing champion, Rollin believes much still needs to be done to increase the number of participants to the sport. “It’s like a pyramid. In order to raise the top, you have to have a broad base and widen the bottom. You can’t have 10 people taking part on a sport and expect one of them to become global champions,” he opines.
The last day saw David Wheeler’s Freewheeler dominating the Cruising Class, putting behind Floy and its skipper Jack Po, and Tony Ang’s Mee Mee. An intense race also took place for the Hobie 16 Masters Class, with the tandem of Michael Ngu and Boyet Magsanay winning 1st place, with Maria Vidoeira-Hagedorn and Joe Hagedorn taking second place and and Monchu Garcia and Diego Garcia placing 3rd.
A total of 10 boats maneuvered and worked their advantage through the water at the Hobie 16 Open Class category, but it was the National Team’s Joel Mejarito and Rubim Cruz Jr. who were in dominant form, winning all races that put them at the top, followed by Michael Ngu and Boyet Magsanay with 3rd placer Ridgely Balladares and Ricly Magsanay.
“Club Punta Fuego is very proud to have supported this year’s successful Punta Fuego Regatta, which featured both professional and amateur sailors in a first rate sailing destination, Punta Fuego Yacht Club,” remarked GM Mikel Arriet. It would have been a bigger race this year, but a pall of sadness hovered momentarily during the awarding ceremonies at the Punta Fuego Yacht Club when they recalled last year’s winner, British Robin Wyatt, who perished in October last year when he and his crew encountered a typhoon on the way to Subic from Hong Kong.
In any case, events like the Punta Fuego Regatta, plus the support from Club Punta Fuego, will hopefully bring us closer to that aspiration to see a Filipino emerging as a world class sailing champion as more regattas are held, and more participants take part in this challenging and exciting sport.
