Paddle Philippines complete 1st Circumnavigation of Cebu by Kayak

June 1 – 9, 2007 Cebu Philippines - The 1st Cebu Island Kayak Circumnavigation was conceived in Bohol, right after circumnavigating the island at the turn of the millennium. The plan however, was finally set sometime in December of 2006. It was set to be on the 20th of May 2007, but was soon moved to June 1, after schedules ran in conflict with some other concerns.
            There was not much physical preparations, as it was believed that the endeavor would be much more challenging and exciting if done by ear so to speak, things would be arranged as we go along. It was more a mental psyching up, a preparation that was deemed necessary considering the mind over body principle, since it was foreseen that the greatest obstacle was the “self”. The target was to paddle an average of 50 kilometers per day.
            On the 31st of May, 2007 the group composed  of the solo circumnavigator Dr. Theodore “Doyet” Dumaluan, fish-named “Mulmol”; support paddlers  Angelo “Pugo” Ibañez  fish-named “Bao” and Jonathan “Athan” Torre, fish-named “Bugaong”; ground support crew Gildardo “Manong” Oceña, fish-named “Tulingan” and Jhoel Cagas, fish-named “Lumod”, left for Tubigon Port on their way to Cebu. Fish names were given as call signs, since the group expected other paddlers joining in one or some of the legs in this adventure.
            Arriving Cebu at around 2:30 PM, the group was met by Bernard, himself a paddler and a good friend of Mulmol. We used Bernard’s truck to load the kayaks for a night’s rest at Dra. Epot’s residence in Opon. We camped on her spacious lawn for the night.
            Waking up at 3:00 AM, excitement mounted as we gathered our things and prepared for the first day of paddling. The practices of “Leave No Trace” was strictly observed, as this would become the guiding principle of this undertaking.
            Jump-off would be at the Kasamahan roro docking port in Opon, south of the old Mactan bridge; a place that was  scouted the night before. Once again Bernard came with his truck to transport the kayaks, Luther Magallano fish-named “Pako” joined the group. On the first day of the eventual quest, Mulmol would be on the solo kayak with the intention of being the first kayak circumnavigator of the island of Cebu. Acting as support paddlers would be Pako and Bao on the tandem, a kayak built for two. After an early oatmeal snack, the group left for Kasamahan.
            As an aid, a small (1.4m x 0.5m) irregular trapezoidal sail personally made by Mulmol was fitted in front of each paddler. The sails were placed high enough to allow for an unobstructed view of the direction of travel. The paddlers set out on their journey at 6:00 AM of June 1, their first rest stop would be Liloan.
            The ground crew composed of Tulingan, Lumod and alternate support paddler Bugaong, were on their way as soon as the circumnavigators approached the old Mactan Bridge. This group immediately proceeded to Liloan to find a suitable landing area, where they could prepare and have their breakfast.
            Through the help of the local police a suitable area was found at the back of Liloan Central School, a Bantay Dagat outpost. They were there to monitor illegal fishing and watch over a fish sanctuary. The officers were very accommodating and event lent the crew their cooking utensils and free use of their facilities including the comfort room.
            This chosen spot was approximately 15 kilometers by sea from the starting point and the paddlers were expected to negotiate the distance in 4 hours. However, since they were fresh and eager they arrived at around 8:30, an hour and a half better than expected; breakfast of chosilog was still cooking.
            Next stop was Danao, a city by the sea, another 15 kilometers from Liloan. In coordination with the police and the coastguard the land crew was allowed to standby and cook lunch at a point just across the police station, on the spacious walkway between the main provincial highway and the seawall.
            No sooner had the crew settled when the paddlers were sighted again thirty minutes earlier than expected. They arrived even before their lunch of  Fish Stew and leftover chorizo and eggs were ready.
            In the light of the paddlers’ current progress, it was agreed that they would try to surpass the projected 50 km/day of distance traveled. The agreed next stop would be somewhere in Carmen just before the town of Catmon.
            Leaving at around 1:30 PM, the paddlers reached the beach resort owned by RMC at Binongkalan, Catmon at around 3:30 PM, negotiating the 15 kilometer stretch in only 2 hours. The support crew had prepared snacks of corned beef sandwiches for the paddlers, who left within 15 minutes of the break.
            Finding a place to spend the night was a bit tricky as we needed some place where it was relatively safe to sleep and at the same time allow us to cook, and when possible have some amenities such as a bath and comfort room.
Stopping by Sogod market to purchase our evening and the following morning‘s provisions, the land support were told of only one resort Alegre Beach Club. The group tried to explain their way at Alegre, but unfortunately they could allow only a landing area. An executive assistant, however, was kind enough to give the group a referral to another not so known resort owned by a foreigner and managed by a local who might allow us to stay for the night.
Axel Albao of Sakaon Rest House and Beach Resort was very accommodating and allowed the crew docking space, cook, take our baths, use the comfort rooms and rest for the night complete with mattresses in a double gazebo overlooking the Bay of Sogod.
The only problem was that it was getting dark and the paddlers were not in yet. The creeping darkness did not allow us to signal or see the paddlers at a distance. Mulmol had to call us by cell phone to ascertain our location.
Axel in his kindness allowed us to turn-on all the lights at the area overlooking the sea, enabling our paddlers to be guided by the glow. They finally arrived at around 7:30 PM, to the relief of all.
That evening was the night of the full moon, and at the Gazebo, as each one laid down to rest in the open air we were treated to the most spectacular view of the moon lighting up Sogod bay, its reflections shimmering like a million fireflies, a fitting culmination for a hard days paddle.
We woke up early to Mulmol’s “wakey-wakey boys – we’re late” singsong gently rousing us and egging us to action. We agreed to do a 15 kilometer run, rest for a 15 minute breakfast and proceed on a longer stretch, so that we may be able to finish early with our quota of 50 Km. after carbo-loading on oatmeal, the paddlers were on their way. Pako had to leave the group, enabling Bugaong to paddle in tandem with Bao.
First stop was at Mabinita Beach Resort in Tabonan, Borbon, where we had our breakfast. As usual the paddlers arrived even before the land crew was able to finish cooking. After a brief rest the paddlers proceeded for the long stretch. Since the map indicated a rugged cliffy shoreline, we opted to establish visual contact at Salag Point, Salag, Tabogon, and lunch would be at Nailon Point in Bogo.
Salag Point proved to be a challenge to the ground support crew, as it was several kilometers away from the main road, with only feeder roads that serviced large earth movers and dump trucks  from a nearby quarry. Despite the difficulties, the ground crew were still able to make it to the designated visual point on time.
Nailon in Bogo was a breeze, as the ground crew easily found a place for the paddlers to rest and have lunch. It was at Nailon Beach Resort, we had to order from their restaurant to avoid a corkage on the food that we intended to prepare.
We were now at the Northwestern tip of Cebu more than a 100 kms from where we started. The intention was to reach the Northeastern tip and if possible to go beyond the said point at San Remegio. The paddlers were on their way shortly after lunch.
Visual stops were done  at Pulang-Bato Fish Port, just before the paddlers negotiated the canal dividing the Island of Daan Bantayan and the mainland of Cebu. Another visual point was at Hagnaya Wharf right after negotiating the canal. By this time we were already 115 Km by sea from Kasamahan in Opon. It was already 3:00 o’clock and we had to find a place for the night.
Mulmol wanted to paddle until 5 PM and we estimated that it would be past the point and along the coast of San Remegio that we would be looking for a suitable area. By 4 PM however, Mulmol called by phone that they would have to rest as they encountered stiff currents and were weary from the efforts. The suitable area we found was at Lingay Beach Resort owned by a certain Dr. Allan Ursal. The tide was low and most of the shoreline was either rocky or had a cliff. ###

Cebu circumnavigators with support crew