SUN, SEA, SAND & MY HOBIE
IN AN ARCHIPELAGO OF OVER 7,000 CHARMING islands, sailing is one the most exciting ways to explore the country.
This is exactly what sailors of the Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Federation (Phinsaf) has been doing for two decades now. Aboard the Hobie Cat, a 16-foot wind-powered twinhulled sailboat, they have conquered idyllic islands in the Philippine Hobie Challenge, the country’s longest-running international extreme sailing event.
Now on its 19th edition, the recent weeklong tournament kicked off in Donsol, Sorsogon, the country’s butanding or whale shark capital.
The race fleet and accompanying yacht cruisers made stops at Subic Beach in Matnog, Sorsogon; Balingingue Island in Pio V. Corpuz in Masbate; Carnasa Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu; Guintarcan Island in Sta. Fe, Cebu and concluded at the new Huni Resort in Sicogon Island in Carles, Iloilo, covering more than 200 nautical joy ride miles.
“The Philippine Hobie Challenge has been promoting eco-friendly sports tourism for almost two decades across the archipelago through sailing. It is a unique way of gathering sailing enthusiasts to sharpen their skills, make new friends from other countries, create environmental awareness, discover hidden islands and support the communities through outreach programs,” says PHC 19 chairman Ed Gallego.
During island stops, the sailors donated school supplies, sports equipment, water filtration system and a 150watt solar panel to a public school in Donsol, Sorsogon. The annual regatta is a unique blend of competitive but fun racing, sports tourism and social responsibility.
Because of the exceptional events it is running, Phinsaf was named Sports Association of the Year in first-ever Philippine Sports Tourism Awards in 2016, a joint program of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Department of Tourism, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and Selrahco Management.
Sports enthusiast, celebrity host and WWF Philippines ambassador Marc Nelson was on hand to talk about WWF’s “Ayoko Ng Plastik” campaign, a key advocacy of MDI, this year’s corporate sponsor.
The tandem of sailors Ray Cox of Australia and Heather Matthews of the US bested nine other teams to bag the overall championship, and also topped the first leg from Donsol to Subic Beach. The duo clocked 29:30:20 to narrowly edge the Australian couple of Keli and Arli Corlett by just 4 minutes. Aged 67, the Corletts – known as Team Not Dead Yet – have been sailing together for over 35 years and were Hobie Grand Master World Champions.
Rounding up the winning circle was Australian veteran Bruce Tardrew and Filipino Eric Tomacruz of Team Incubus, with a time of 29:49:07.