Picture: First sunset at sea after leaving Kudat.

We did a lot of research and talked to many people about going north to the Philippines from Sabah state, Malaysia. There were reports of piracy near Palawan Island, the long island north of Borneo. A German couple was abducted from their boat in 2014. Later they were released after, according to Internet reports, US$ 5.6 million was paid by the German government. There is another, more recent, report about a couple being followed by a boat in the middle of the night while on their way from the Philippines to Kudat. They temporarily stopped a boat that was chasing them three times by firing their flare gun directly at them. And then, when the boat continued the pursuit, they unrolled a big roll of "float" rope behind their boat. The chase stopped when the rope appeared to get caught in the propeller of the pirate's boat. The couple got away. The Malaysian authorities assumed that the pirates were smugglers who were looking for more opportunities. By the way, we bought some float rope just in case. Those are the worst scenarios we read about.

Then, on the other hand, there are other reports indicating that piracy in the Philippines is a myth and there is nothing to worry about. According to some cruising notes, Puerto Princesa is the best port to use to check into the Philippines. It is half way up Palawan Island on the east coast. A man with a Philippino wife whom we met at Miri gave us some waypoints for "safe overnight anchorages" on the way to Puerto Princesa. They are "dayhop" anchorages because it is not safe to sail at night on account of extensive fishing activity and countless reefs. They are near coast guard stations, a bird sanctuary, and other government buildings, indicating that the area is not safe for overnight anchoring elsewhere. We also contemplated sailing further out to sea on the west coast; a route known as the Palawan Strait, used by regular shipping because it runs between all the reefs and islands, like the route inside the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Choosing the "right" route was a difficult decision but finally we decided on the Palawan Strait. Doing "dayhops" up the east coast and checking into Puerto Princesa would take too many days, so we headed directly up the west coast of Palawan to Subic Bay on the big island of Luzon. It is 30 nautical miles north of Manila and a designated typhoon shelter.

Early on the 15th April we left Kudat for Subic Bay to a good "send off" from Steve, Ann, Meg and Juliet (Meg and Juliet did yoga with me.) Right after we turned toward the open sea, we were sailing 30° into a strong wind and choppy waves at 6 to 7 knots, but at least we were sailing and not motoring. It seemed that "Shuang Yu" was leaning over 45° but it was probably a lot less. I had not felt seasick since the first day we left Singapore but now, on the first day of this trip, I felt nauseous again. I held back from vomiting most of the day until after dinner and after taking some seasick medicine, went to bed. I came on watch at 2:00 a.m. and felt fine throughout the night and the rest of the trip without medication. For most of the rest of the five-day trip we had both the wind and current against us so we motored constantly. Sometimes we were able to sail close to the wind but the boat would be heeling over a lot making it uncomfortable because we have to constantly brace ourselves. It is also annoying when I open the top kitchen cupboards and everything falls out. I have to shove everything in quickly and slam the doors.

The trip was not always unpleasant; there were some enjoyable moments at sea. For example, watching the colors of the sunsets and sunrises was incredibly beautiful with shades of gold, orange and red. It is always calming for me to look out over the deep blue water and watch the rise and fall of the waves. Even though the waves seem monotonous, they are forever changing, from almost glassy flat, to gently rolling, to large white caps on gigantic and steeply pitched rollers. I like the night sky filled with a myriad of stars twinkling like precious jewels. During this trip the crescent moon did not come up until just before the dawn twilight started to appear. Every time it rose, it startled me because I thought the yellow amber light was from an approaching vessel. Once I realized it was the moon, I relaxed and enjoyed its companionship. It is these snips of pleasurable moments that make these long sea journeys worthwhile. Oh yes, we had a "guest" who landed on our boat for an overnight stay; we could not tell the species but Ted thought it might be a lost swallow, way out at sea.

On the fourth day we ran the motor for seventeen hours. By evening there was only about a quarter of a tank of diesel left because we were hard against the wind and current and only traveling around 2 knots. Ted woke me up around one in the morning and told me that there was a loud noise in the engine and he wanted me to help identify where it came from. We had both sides the cover lifted, the dresser in the bedroom and the stairs in the kitchen area. We both identified the noise, which came from the alternator. Ted suspected it was the front bearing so without taking the entire alternator apart; he forced some grease into the bearing. Miraculously the noise stopped. We continued our journey and prayed that it would last until we could attend to it at port. Besides the bearings, the autopilot seemed to be not functioning well. It would not respond when we pressed the buttons to adjust the direction or switch from auto to manual. We had to keep pressing the buttons steadily for a few seconds before it would respond. Later Ted solved the issue of the autopilot by cleaning corrosion off the connections. Salt water is so hard on everything.

We arrived at the entrance to the Subic Bay after dark on the fifth day. There were small fishing boats everywhere. They were like silent jellyfish, swimming with slightly luminous bottoms. They use underwater lights to attract fish. We could not see them until we got close and they were everywhere! Besides dodging these ghostlike small craft, we had to look for red and green buoys to keep us in the deep part of the channel. They were difficult to see amongst all the other lights in the harbor. It was a bit nerve-wracking, made worse because I had a difficult time keeping my eyes open as it was during my usual sleep time. In despite of the obstacles, we finally found the calm anchorage at 14º49.07'N; 120º16.43'E in front what seemed like a resort with sounds of karaoke drifting from shore. Thank God this difficult journey was over.