Sometime in the late nineties, EENT Doctor, Doyet Dumaluan, was looking for a way of appreciating the emerald beauty of his home waters of Bohol in the Philippines. Doyet knew that places such as Panglao Island and the Bohol strait had a lot to offer in showing off the province’s beauty. Paddling seemed an economical and ecologically sound means of doing this, and sea kayaking seemed to be a perfect fit.

Not knowing anything about kayaks, Doyet started collecting and studying kayak designs and plans and together with his brother Junie, made their first kayaks in 1997 out of epoxy resin, fiberglass and plywood. This was how “Bugsai Sea Kayaks” started. By the end of that year, several seaworthy solo and tandem(two person) touring kayaks with Junie and Doyet onboard were cruising the Tagbilaran Strait.

They were then soon joined by other outdoor enthusiasts who were eager to try on this new tool for adventure; going in and out of estuaries, coves, mangroves and island hopping sorties within the Bohol Marine Triangle.

As the interest grew, this motley group called themselves the “Bohol Paddlers”. This loose group of weekend adventurers wanting to share the thrill and the feeling of freedom on board these flimsy but sea worthy kayaks organized activities to invite more people to experience the outdoors, and to bring them to places along the coasts and rivers, not ordinarily accessible by any other means. 

At the turn of the millennium, a team of paddlers composed of Doyet, Junie and Chris “McGyver” Cal did a leisurely circumnavigation of Bohol. With long rests, and moonlight paddles, it took all of eight days for them to accomplish the feat. It was during one of these long rests, that a yearly island conquest was conceived, Since then Doyet, and other Bohol paddlers have completed circumnavigations of Cebu, Siquijor, and Negros and another, this time faster circumnavigation of Bohol in 2010.

After more than ten years of building and customizing kayaks, Junie, now Bugsai’s chief builder and designer added a new product to Bugsai’s product line; the Freedom open cockpit kayak, for those preferring an open configuration. Bugsai also partnered with fellow boat builder Roy Espiritu to bring Bugsai kayaks to kayakers outside of Bohol and the Visayas and launched the official Bugsai Kayaks website where you are reading this now.