Gone with the Wynns

An Unexpected Late-night Boarding in the Sulu Sea

Jason, Nikki and their crew member Joshua are heading for the island of Cebu in the Philippines, before travelling north to the HH Catamarans yard in Xiamen, across from Taiwan. This involves passages through a region known to be dangerous because it is frequented by pirates, smugglers and armed groups, never mind the strong currents that they will have to contend with.

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Publié le 26/09/2024

Par Gilles Ruffet

Numéro : 198

Parution : Nov. / Dec. 2024

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Who: Jason, Nikki and Joshua
Where: The Philippines
Multihull: HH40
Blog: gonewiththewynns.com

Curiosity and her crew are anchored in the province of Antique, on the island of Pana. In the middle of the night, Joshua was awoken by the glow of a flashlight and voices from an inflatable boat that appeared to be initiating a boarding maneuver on the starboard side. The small group was armed with assault rifles and dressed in what could have been coastguard uniforms, but it’s hard to be sure in the dark of night. Eventually they tell Joshua that they want to come on board, but he can’t quite work out whether they are genuine officials or, on the contrary, just pretending to be. It was only after many tense minutes, when they were ultimately presented with an official document, that the three crew members were finally able to relax: they were indeed Philippine coastguards boarding the boat. Nikki told them that they could have come to meet them during the day to avoid any misunderstanding, to which the officer replied that he had tried to contact them by radio... a quarter of an hour earlier, when everyone was fast asleep. The sudden panic felt by the trio as the inflatable approached is perfectly understandable, given that the Sulu Sea (located in the south-west of the Philippines) regularly witnesses acts of piracy and drug trafficking, particularly via recreational boats, which is why the controls and checks are so extensive. “They told us they were looking for contraband or people involved in illegal activities,” says Jason. Their meticulous inspection of the catamaran, complete with detailed questions, ended calmly and in good spirits, so much so that the coastguards even took the time to pose for a photo with Jason and Joshua before leaving the scene and letting them get back to sleep after their fright. “These guys are just doing their job, and it’s nice to see that they came over. They are really patrolling the area, and it makes me (oddly) feel safer.” Indeed, while the measures taken in recent years by the Philippines and its neighbors to tackle the security threat in the Sulu Sea have considerably improved sailing conditions in the area, the risk of piracy is still very real. It is therefore advisable to remain vigilant and to follow the instructions issued by the local maritime authorities

In the morning, after a night that wasn’t as calm and restful as expected, Curiosity was able to set sail again. “We didn’t plan this trip very well, everything is last minute,” says Jason, “We just based everything off the wind, and we’ve been figuring it out every day as we go along”. The initial plan was to round the island of Negros to the north in order to reach Cebu and the HH Catamarans yard for a few tweaks that would be necessary after the first few weeks of sailing with a new boat. However, strong currents awaited them on this route, so they finally decided to head south of Negros. While this new option added a further 50 miles, it would allow them to anchor safely if they so wished and, above all, to sail peacefully without having to worry about the problems of overheating engines and a propeller pitch issue that they are currently encountering, and which will be addressed once they arrive at the yard. “There are very few issues to deal with on the boat. The engines are the biggest priority, and I know it’s HH’s biggest priority too. But when you encounter currents such as those in this region, it really is the kind of scenario where you need to be able to count on your engines. And right now, we can’t, so I’m looking forward getting it sorted.”

Jason keeps himself regularly informed about how the currents are evolving in the area, as it’s this data that determines their sailing program, their departure and wake-up times, as well as the distance that they will be able to cover each day. They also have to take into account the many fishing nets that prevent them from sailing at night. Despite these constraints, they were still able to take advantage of good wind conditions, which allowed them to sail most of the way and put very little strain on their engines. After a stopover in Nabualo Bay to sample the local tuna, it was time to set sail again for Cebu and start planning the onshore activities for the next few weeks, as the catamaran would be immobilized for at least 14 days at the Xiamen boatyard.

To follow Jason and Nikki’s adventures, visit their blog, gonewiththewynns.com