The Lighthouse Marina Resort is Subic Bay’s premier luxury hotel which features 34 modern and tastefully appointed suites, an all-day dining mecca, a three-tier bar and a host of leisure and relaxation facilities in a most superb location.
The Spooky Birds Halloween Event is the Lighthouse Marina Resort’s special way of reaching out to younger generations this 2011.
October 28 to the 1st of November was riddled with fun activities for the kids. Apart from the usual trick or treating, The Lighthouse hosted a magic show as well as face painting booths and game consoles like PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. The children could get different candies depending on which corner they are in. The hotel staff also joined in the fun by wearing special Spooky Birds Hats. During more quiet days, the afternoons were invigorated by Futsal Clinics and the evenings were reverberated by Fright Night Movies. It was truly a gratifying experience to see everyone full of joy and laughter – all in the spirit of this wonderful event.
The Spooky Birds Halloween special would not have been possible without the support of many people. We wish to express our gratitude to Ayala Land Premier, Royal Duty Free Shop, Saver’s Mall and Gershom Digital Photoworks. We would like to thank Blue Spoon Culinaire – The Finest Culinary School in Olongapo – for the exquisitely and delightfully made Spooky Birds cake display. We would like to give a special thanks to URC – Universal Robina Corporation – for Refresh Flavored Drinks, Wiggles, Pinoy Kendi, Berry Knots, Star Fruits, Dynamite Chews and XO Duets. Our deepest gratitude goes out to Juventus – School for the Gifted, Galileo Enrichment Learning Program and The Lighthouse Marina Resort. Thank you very much for making this day possible.
Earth as a home for animals was the theme of this year's Earth Day -- "Let's Go Wild!". It was the perfect time to learn more about local conservation, how we can all come together to lend a helping hand and appreciate the planet and the amazing wild life it supports.
The Lighthouse Marina Resort together with organizations who supports animal preservation (National Geographic Channel, Wildlife in Need Philippines, Ocean Adventure with Philippine Marina Mammal Stranding Network, Zoobic Safari, El Kabayo, and Subic Bay Ecology) all came together to encourage people to learn more about our world and the incredible animals that live here.
There were several exciting activities that happened that day. For the indoor activities we had yoga sessions, animal face painting and henna tattoo, Sea Lions Artworks display, a special film viewing of the Science of Great Migrations and animal workshops with the following topics: Living with Wildlife by Representative from WIN and How to Rescue a Dolphin or Whale by Representative from Ocean Adventure.
For the outdoor activities, guests had several booths where guests can have their photos taken with different animals, ride trained horses around the beach, and check out the equipment display used by PMMSN for rescuing dolphins and other marine mammals. Other activities includes: Trampoline show, Free Paddle Boarding by Island Surf Adventures, Free use of Kayaks and many more.
There was a fundraising dinner conducted by WIN in the evening with live band performance, fire dancers and drum-beaters. To cap the night a bonfire was lit to symbolize a great Earth Day Celebration as well as a commitment to treat animals with respect.
MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of environment advocates trooped in the country's coastlines and inland waterways today for the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day.
In Lanao del Norte, the Army’s 35 Infantry Battalion earlier spearheaded mangrove reforestation and shoreline cleanup in the coastal villages of the province where residents, local officials, and environment advocates joining the event.
In southern Leyte, the Philippine Coast Guard in Maasin City is currently conducting coastal clean-up along the shorelines of Ibarra village, while workers of the city government of Maasin are also conducting a clean-up drive at the back of the city hall grounds.
In Subic, more than 5,000 participants joined this year’s Subic Bay coastal cleanup set along the waterfront area of the famous freeport.
This year’s event is being locally organized by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) in collaboration with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians (IYFR), the Lighthouse Marina Resort, the City of Olongapo, and the International Ocean Conservancy.
The organizers initially expected about the same number of participants as last year’s but were pleasantly surprised that with one more week to go, more than 5,000 have already confirmed participation.
SBFCC President Danny Piano said, “This year’s event will be the biggest coastal cleanup yet in Subic Bay.”
“The International Coastal Cleanup provides the chance for everybody; rich and poor, young and old, regardless of religious affiliation, regardless of political leaning, to come together and take our roles on the frontline of one of the Philippines’ most preventable problem—garbage in our coastlines and waterways,” he added. – With Anthony Bayarong
The Lighthouse Marina Resort in Subic annually holds Oktoberfest with the theme SMB: Subic My Backyard -- Save My Bay. We hope for Subic Bay to be recognized as a short and hassle-free weekend destination for people in Manila, and at the same time, doing our part to save the environment.
In 2009, we celebrated Oktoberfest with some good Rastafarian music. Last year, we had the electrifying tunes of Rock and Roll. This year, we brought in those exhilarating, buoyant beats of Ska with the renowned Jeepney Joyride, Fingertrap and Earthlings. Oktoberfest has always been about the beers, great food, fun activities and excellent music.
To make this event more meaningful, we conducted a sunset beach cleanup together with the local Rotaractors under the supervision of the Rotary Club of Subic Bay and the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians. The cleanup started at 3pm followed by the beachfront party at 8pm. The Lighthouse Marina Resort has always been a front-runner in environmental activities in Subic. Apart from conducting major Coastal Cleanups, the resort has also participated in various environmental activities such as Earth Hour and Earth Day. Lighthouse is committed to operate in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner. We have launched our 'Going Green Program' this year which aims to reduce the use of plastic, conserve water, cut down energy consumption, improve waste management, promote health and wellness and most of all, educate our guests on different ways to help preserve our environment. We will always make an effort to incorporate our environmental advocacy in all our activities. To win this battle to change people's minds and hearts regarding the environment problems is a matter of lifting levels of awareness, and this is what we hope to achieve.
A portion of the proceeds for this event will be donated to the victims of Pedring and to NGOs dedicated on educating people on climate change. This event is sponsored by San Miguel Brewery Inc, Manila Bulletin, FOX International Channels, Subic.com, Subictimes.com, 99.5DWRT and 96.7K-lite.
Day 1: It was a hot and sultry night at the Welcoming Party hosted by the Lighthouse Marina resort on Wednesday night. No breeze from Mother Nature but much shooting of the breeze by the yachties gathered for the Skippers briefing and the cocktails. It didn’t bode well for the first race the next day. Wednesday had seen light airs all day and the forecast was not encouraging.
Before 9 am on Wednesday the AP flag was hanging from a pole in front of the boathouse. Race Officer Jerry Rollins held everything back until the air began to move and the AP came down at about 1015, giving the boats 45 minutes to get to the start off the Lighthouse. By the time they got there, the wind was filling in from the South West and stayed a very consistent 16 to 18 knots all day, with blazing sunshine, making the racing a blast. The IRC racing class got away at 1130 with Ffreefire leading from Mui-Mui and Subic Centennial. IRC 2 started 5 minutes later followed by the four boats in PY Cruising – all clean stars and no recalls.
Ffreefire lead round the windward mark but gave up the lead to Mui-Mui before the “Marina” buoy laid off Vasco’s. Mui-Mui took the class round “Kalaklan” and north to “Barretto” where Mui-Mui went left and Ffreefire went right. Ffreefire overstood the lay-line to #13 buoy by a degree or so, but Mui-Mui crossing in front of Ffreefire continued on and handed the lead back to Ffreefire who held it for the rest of the race, scorching home at 17 knots on the last reach to the finish at “Marina”. Sandoway and Selma Star C! Calibre is going head to head as it cross the Lighthouse Marina Resort. Selma Star is also composed of the Lighthouse Sailing Team.
The IRC1 start, five minutes after IRC racing, saw Race co-Chairman, Jun Avecilla’s Selma Star first across the line, by seconds, in front of Challenge, Vivaldi, Sandoway and Rags. Martin Tanco’s Challenge, was well recovered from the loss of his rudder in January and a confrontation between his keel and a rock in Boracay. He quickly blew Selma Star into the weeds and lead round the course to the finish in just under three hours. Sandoway, again chartered from Alan Burrell by Klaas Huisjers overtook Selma Star on the shy reach to “Kalaklan” and crossed the line one minute forty behind Challenge. Veteran Doni Altura in Vivaldi pushed Selma Star back into 4th place on the beat to #4 buoy. On corrected time, Challenge held her first place, Vivaldi was second and Sandoway stole 3rd from Selma Star by just 4 seconds. Alan Burrell’s Rags followed home only two minutes adrift.
PY Cruising saw twice as many boats on the water compared to last year, and this made the racing more interesting. Ray Wolfe, driving Serenity for skipper Ms. Jackie had listened to the well-meaning, but ribald advice about getting closer to the start line at the gun. He arrived at the line at full chat, but a minute early. Luckily the line was long enough to allow him to wait for the gun before arriving at the pin! All the boats started well within seconds, Rapparee XXX stormed off as usual. Rapparee and the Platu Luzviminda went right and Shibumi and Serenity went left. By the windward mark, Rapparee was leading the fleet and held the lead to the finish. The Platu, always competitively sailed was next with Shibumi stealing third from Serenity at the rounding. Serenity tried to blow through below the kite-less Shibumi on the reach to “Marina” but failed and then dropped back with a bare-headed kite drop.
The order stayed much the same with Shibumi dropping back on the down-wind legs (they had two regular crew and four hard working makee-learns, so no kite) but on the upwind legs and the reaches they pulled most of it back to give them third, 11 seconds behind Luzviminda, but with Serenity, last across the line taking first place by 10 minutes on corrected time. David McKenna mumbling about his handicap got line honours but no place.
A small awarding party was held at the Lighthouse Marina resort, with Ginebra San Miguel sponsoring the prizes of a bottle of Premium Gin for each boat on the podium.
It was a great day’s racing in perfect conditions and International Juror, Tom Sheppard did not have his holiday disturbed!
At the time of writing, 1030 on Thursday morning, the AP is still flying, but from the North East. The wind is expected to die and then fill in from the South West again. We shall see.
Day 2: It was a hot and sultry day out on the Bay. Ninety minutes into the racing the South Easterly wind softened and disappeared in a mess of eddies and indecision. The first windward leeward for the IRC Racing Class and IRC1, had fairly constant light airs, but shortly after the start of the second race, the wind played games, stranding PY boats and parking the second IRC1 race.
At the start of the IRC Racing class, two hours or so after the scheduled time, Ffreefire was away from Mui-Mui and Subic Centennial, but half way up the first leg Mui-Mui suffered a significant mast problem and retired from the day's racing. Ffreefire and Subic Centennial continued their lonely battle without incident keeping their relative positions to the finish and after handicap.
Race 3, saw major holes opening up with wind shifts of 10° – 30°, but the wind picked up to the top mark, only to die on the second windward leg. The race was shortened at the second top mark and Ffreefire crawled home ahead of Subic Centennial in the dying breeze giving enough away to let Subic Centennial take first place on handicap. Mui-Mui was not expected to recover in time so it looks as if Frank Pong will be sailing his "spare", Boracay, tomorrow. Rags team of Puerto Galera
In IRC1, Race 2, the order was Challenge, C! Calibre Selma Star, and Vivaldi across the start together, quickly followed by Vivaldi and Rags who took off to port with the leaders going to starboard. At the first windward mark, Klaas Huisjes in the chartered Sandoway took Selma Star. This wasn't enough for Sandoway to hold a podium slot on handicap giving it up to Vivaldi third, Selma Star second and Challenge first.
IRC1 Race 3 started in the dying wind and was shortened at the leeward mark, making it a single lap. Selma Star with Race Co-Chairman Ricky Sandoval helming pipped Challenge at the post with C! Calibre Selma Star firs, Challenge second and Sandoway third on handicap.
The single race for PY saw Rapparee XXX closely tagged by the ably sailed Platu Luzviminda, away as usual and Shibumi and Serenity close behind. Shibumi, flying her kite as a pole-less reacher could not keep up with the big kite of Serenity and saw the leading boats vanish into the distance as the wind died after the far mark at #12 buoy, finishing more an hour after. Fortunately for Shibumi, Luzviminda defied the sailing instructions and avoided the windward mark and retired, leaving Shibumi to claim a third place that they worked hard for but didn't expect!
Not the best day's racing in Subic Bay, but still a demanding race, requiring more patience than bravado.
We trust tomorrow will be more interesting.
Day 3: It was a warm and windy day out on Subic Bay. There was respite from the sun as the scattered clouds gave the sailors a break. Wind out of the east made a change and the constant 30° shifts made it difficult for Race Officer Jerry Rollin to set the windward mark without sending the fleet into a parked LNG tanker.
By popular request the race start had been pushed back to 1125, so the wind was already set in and the IRC Racing class got off only 5 minutes late - the result of a last minute windward mark adjustment.
Ffreefire was first across the line followed by Frank Pong in his 'other' boat, Boracay, and Judes Echauz' Subic Centennial seconds after. Subic Centennial was going like a train and half way up the beat was on port and level with Boracay on starboard. Centennial prepared for a big duck but Frank tacked away leaving the two boats neck and neck and arriving at the windward mark almost together. Boracay soon got into gear and powered away, passing Ffreefire before the next mark at "Barretto". The order didn't change to the finish line – 28 miles later, but the results on handicap inverted the order. Boracay's Line Honours gave her third, Ffreefire stayed in second place and Subic Centennial 25 minutes behind took first place by four and a half minutes on corrected time. Vivaldi team, owned by Mr. Doni Altura
Austen Chamberlain's Irving 37, Sorcerer, joined the fleet making it six boats in the IRC1 class. Challenge and Selma Star made it off the line first with Sorcerer and Rags bringing up the rear. Challenge kept the lead for the race to take first place on handicap as well. Vivaldi, finishing fourth took second place, and Sorcerer, finishing 17 minutes behind stole third place from Jun Avecilla's First 37.7 Selma Star by only 8 seconds. Rags retired.
PY Cruising class had a race that saw the boats scattered around the Bay but all finishing within a few minutes of each other. Jeremy Simpson's Warwick 42, Shibumi was first to start by a second or two from Rapparee XXX and Serenity, only to be closely nailed down by David McKenna stopping him from tacking away. When Shibumi tacked to cross in front of Serenity the starboard sheet blew off and she tacked back behind Rapparee who then lead the class to the mark at Barretto. Shibumi and the Platu, Luzviminda, followed the other two boats down to Barretto until the Platu got bored and left Shibumi floating in the fickle breezes of Kalaklan point.
Rapparee went very high on the run to #12 buoy and died sailing DDW to the mark. Shibumi, with a full crew at last blew past Serenity halfway down the leg and rounded only a minute behind Rapparee and Luzviminda. The wind held with 12 to 20 knots in the gusts and with 30° shifts. Luzviminda got to #9 buoy first and casually sailed inside it, to the rest of the fleets delight, only to recognize their mistake a minute later, do a u-turn and round it correctly, putting them back behind Rapparee who had gone right, towards the airport. Serenity went far left to the Lighthouse Marina Resort and the waterfront beach, and Shibumi went down the middle confidently tacking on all the wind shifts, only to watch all the boats converge ahead of them on the turning mark at "Marina". Their hopes for getting ahead again on the next kite run, were dashed when they saw that the course was shortened at "Marina" and it was all over. Rapparee took line honours followed by Luzviminda, Serenity and Shibumi. Corrected times gave Serenity their third consecutive win, Luzviminda second and Shibumi third.
Tomorrow is the last day and the forecast is anybody's guess. At this time of year, with the South West monsoon trying to push up and the dying Amihan trying to push down from the North east, anything can happen
Day 4: It was a fine and blustery day out on Subic Bay. High clouds and brilliant sunshine, with the wind seldom less than 12 knots promised another cracking day on the water. Race Officer Jerry Rollins placed the windward mark at two miles almost due East of the start and got IRC Racing class off on time at 1130 for the first of two windward-leewards. Boracay was away first followed by Subic Centennial and Ffreefire.
The story was the same for both race 5 and race 6. In the absence of any whoopsies, the disparity in boat sizes gave the inevitable result of Boracay first across the line in front of Ffreefire and the Sydney 46, Subic Centennial. However, the Reichel Pugh 76 had to be a country mile in front to beat the other two boats. In Race 5 the results were first Subic Centennial, second Ffreefire and Boracay third by seven minutes. However, in Race 6, for the first time in the regatta, Boracay pushed Sam Chan's TP52, Ffreefire back to third place on corrected time to take second by 55 seconds, and only 13 seconds behind Subic Centennial.
Results overall gave Frank Pong fourth and third place (how often could that happen?) with Mui-Mui and Boracay, Ffreefire second and Judes Echauz' Subic Centennial cleaning up again, with four firsts and a second. Ffreefire, owned by Sam Chan from Hong Kong, is the winner of the last Boracay Cup.
There was a little more excitement, for some, in IRC1, also sailing windward leewards. The wind was building a little and there were plenty of gusts of 20 knots and more. Again Subic Bay's 30° wind shifts kept tacticians on their toes. After the clean start Challenge took off to port and Sorcerer covered. At the top mark on the second rounding, Austen Chamberlain in Sorcerer didn't have enough spells in his magician's box to keep his kite together and it gave up the ghost – for good. Selma Star, helmed by co-Sponsor and co-Chairman Ric Sandoval was practicing her broaches and Chinese gybes, although she managed to keep all of her crew on board – not like in Boracay!
Veteran Doni Altura sailing his J35 Vivaldi wrestled with an unruly headsail at the top mark while being locked down by heavy traffic. It took two 360's to get out of the mess. The X452, Challenge, took line honours again, with another first place on handicap, followed by Sandoway and Vivaldi only 5 seconds behind - in spite of his delays. Rags moved up for the first time in the regatta, to fourth place - the combined 350 years of experience, shared between just five crew finally paying dividends!.
Race 6 saw Klaas Husijes in the Bashford 36, Sandoway, off the line first followed by C! Calibre Selma Star, Vivaldi, Sorcerer and Rags. Martin Tanco, in Challenge, with an armful of firsts chose to DNS. There were less incidents on the course but Sorcerer's tactician, Martyn Willes was laid out by a blow to the head by a UFO that looked a bit like a flying winch handle. He recovered quickly but Sorcerer's tactics didn't improve! Jun Avecilla helming Selma Star took first place followed by Vivaldi and Alan Burrell's Farr 36, Rags, on the podium at last.
Overall results saw Doni Altura's Vivaldi in third place C! Calibre Selma Star in second and Martin Tanco's Challenge cleaning up with four firsts and a second.
PY Cruising were spared the windward-leewards and sailed round the Bay again. David McKenna's Jeanneau 42 led the boats off, with the Platu Luzviminda and Jeremy Simpson's Shibumi seconds behind. Serenity's start was not as hot as usual. At the windward mark, the order was the same, but the boats were still sailing in close company. The kite leg down to Mayanga began to get more demanding as the gusts increased in frequency and strength causing Shibumi and the Platus to broach more than once. Luzviminda was laid all but flat by one gust. Joe Hagedorn joined the racing today, bravely sailing a Platu with only three up in very testing conditions.
All boats fought with their kites up the long reach to #12 buoy by Hanjin, but Rapparee XXX cleared the turn mark cleanly way ahead and wasn't seen again. The wind eased a little at the finish by "Marina" with JR Villena in the Platu beating Serenity and Shibumi over the line by less than two minutes.
After an unenthusiastic attempt to spoil International Juror, Tom Sheppard's holiday in Subic, there was a little bit of handicap shuffling leaving Rapparee at first, Shibumi second and Luzviminda third.
Overall Cruising class results placed the Warwick 42, Shibumi, third, JR Villena bravely holding on to second place in the little Platu and Garry Kingshott's Beneteau 42, Serenity, ably helmed by Ray Wolfe taking first place.
The Commodore's Cup, was presented by Ricky Sandoval to Judes Echauz and Subic Centennial at the Prizegiving in front of the Subic Bay Yacht Club. Thanks were given to the sponsors of the event and to Jerry Rollins and his crew for the excellent race management.
Subic Bay had served up four days of great racing with brilliant sunshine and flat, blue water, and with wind conditions that gave excitement and demanded attention.
For more information please visit: www.subicsailing.com or facebook/subicsailing
Day 1: It was a hot and sultry night at the Welcoming Party hosted by the Lighthouse Marina resort on Wednesday night. No breeze from Mother Nature but much shooting of the breeze by the yachties gathered for the Skippers briefing and the cocktails. It didn’t bode well for the first race the next day. Wednesday had seen light airs all day and the forecast was not encouraging.
Before 9 am on Wednesday the AP flag was hanging from a pole in front of the boathouse. Race Officer Jerry Rollins held everything back until the air began to move and the AP came down at about 1015, giving the boats 45 minutes to get to the start off the Lighthouse. By the time they got there, the wind was filling in from the South West and stayed a very consistent 16 to 18 knots all day, with blazing sunshine, making the racing a blast. The IRC racing class got away at 1130 with Ffreefire leading from Mui-Mui and Subic Centennial. IRC 2 started 5 minutes later followed by the four boats in PY Cruising – all clean stars and no recalls.
Ffreefire lead round the windward mark but gave up the lead to Mui-Mui before the “Marina” buoy laid off Vasco’s. Mui-Mui took the class round “Kalaklan” and north to “Barretto” where Mui-Mui went left and Ffreefire went right. Ffreefire overstood the lay-line to #13 buoy by a degree or so, but Mui-Mui crossing in front of Ffreefire continued on and handed the lead back to Ffreefire who held it for the rest of the race, scorching home at 17 knots on the last reach to the finish at “Marina”. Sandoway and Selma Star C! Calibre is going head to head as it cross the Lighthouse Marina Resort. Selma Star is also composed of the Lighthouse Sailing Team.
The IRC1 start, five minutes after IRC racing, saw Race co-Chairman, Jun Avecilla’s Selma Star first across the line, by seconds, in front of Challenge, Vivaldi, Sandoway and Rags. Martin Tanco’s Challenge, was well recovered from the loss of his rudder in January and a confrontation between his keel and a rock in Boracay. He quickly blew Selma Star into the weeds and lead round the course to the finish in just under three hours. Sandoway, again chartered from Alan Burrell by Klaas Huisjers overtook Selma Star on the shy reach to “Kalaklan” and crossed the line one minute forty behind Challenge. Veteran Doni Altura in Vivaldi pushed Selma Star back into 4th place on the beat to #4 buoy. On corrected time, Challenge held her first place, Vivaldi was second and Sandoway stole 3rd from Selma Star by just 4 seconds. Alan Burrell’s Rags followed home only two minutes adrift.
PY Cruising saw twice as many boats on the water compared to last year, and this made the racing more interesting. Ray Wolfe, driving Serenity for skipper Ms. Jackie had listened to the well-meaning, but ribald advice about getting closer to the start line at the gun. He arrived at the line at full chat, but a minute early. Luckily the line was long enough to allow him to wait for the gun before arriving at the pin! All the boats started well within seconds, Rapparee XXX stormed off as usual. Rapparee and the Platu Luzviminda went right and Shibumi and Serenity went left. By the windward mark, Rapparee was leading the fleet and held the lead to the finish. The Platu, always competitively sailed was next with Shibumi stealing third from Serenity at the rounding. Serenity tried to blow through below the kite-less Shibumi on the reach to “Marina” but failed and then dropped back with a bare-headed kite drop.
The order stayed much the same with Shibumi dropping back on the down-wind legs (they had two regular crew and four hard working makee-learns, so no kite) but on the upwind legs and the reaches they pulled most of it back to give them third, 11 seconds behind Luzviminda, but with Serenity, last across the line taking first place by 10 minutes on corrected time. David McKenna mumbling about his handicap got line honours but no place.
A small awarding party was held at the Lighthouse Marina resort, with Ginebra San Miguel sponsoring the prizes of a bottle of Premium Gin for each boat on the podium.
It was a great day’s racing in perfect conditions and International Juror, Tom Sheppard did not have his holiday disturbed!
At the time of writing, 1030 on Thursday morning, the AP is still flying, but from the North East. The wind is expected to die and then fill in from the South West again. We shall see.
Day 2: It was a hot and sultry day out on the Bay. Ninety minutes into the racing the South Easterly wind softened and disappeared in a mess of eddies and indecision. The first windward leeward for the IRC Racing Class and IRC1, had fairly constant light airs, but shortly after the start of the second race, the wind played games, stranding PY boats and parking the second IRC1 race.
At the start of the IRC Racing class, two hours or so after the scheduled time, Ffreefire was away from Mui-Mui and Subic Centennial, but half way up the first leg Mui-Mui suffered a significant mast problem and retired from the day's racing. Ffreefire and Subic Centennial continued their lonely battle without incident keeping their relative positions to the finish and after handicap.
Race 3, saw major holes opening up with wind shifts of 10° – 30°, but the wind picked up to the top mark, only to die on the second windward leg. The race was shortened at the second top mark and Ffreefire crawled home ahead of Subic Centennial in the dying breeze giving enough away to let Subic Centennial take first place on handicap. Mui-Mui was not expected to recover in time so it looks as if Frank Pong will be sailing his "spare", Boracay, tomorrow. Rags team of Puerto Galera
In IRC1, Race 2, the order was Challenge, C! Calibre Selma Star, and Vivaldi across the start together, quickly followed by Vivaldi and Rags who took off to port with the leaders going to starboard. At the first windward mark, Klaas Huisjes in the chartered Sandoway took Selma Star. This wasn't enough for Sandoway to hold a podium slot on handicap giving it up to Vivaldi third, Selma Star second and Challenge first.
IRC1 Race 3 started in the dying wind and was shortened at the leeward mark, making it a single lap. Selma Star with Race Co-Chairman Ricky Sandoval helming pipped Challenge at the post with C! Calibre Selma Star firs, Challenge second and Sandoway third on handicap.
The single race for PY saw Rapparee XXX closely tagged by the ably sailed Platu Luzviminda, away as usual and Shibumi and Serenity close behind. Shibumi, flying her kite as a pole-less reacher could not keep up with the big kite of Serenity and saw the leading boats vanish into the distance as the wind died after the far mark at #12 buoy, finishing more an hour after. Fortunately for Shibumi, Luzviminda defied the sailing instructions and avoided the windward mark and retired, leaving Shibumi to claim a third place that they worked hard for but didn't expect!
Not the best day's racing in Subic Bay, but still a demanding race, requiring more patience than bravado.
We trust tomorrow will be more interesting.
Day 3: It was a warm and windy day out on Subic Bay. There was respite from the sun as the scattered clouds gave the sailors a break. Wind out of the east made a change and the constant 30° shifts made it difficult for Race Officer Jerry Rollin to set the windward mark without sending the fleet into a parked LNG tanker.
By popular request the race start had been pushed back to 1125, so the wind was already set in and the IRC Racing class got off only 5 minutes late - the result of a last minute windward mark adjustment.
Ffreefire was first across the line followed by Frank Pong in his 'other' boat, Boracay, and Judes Echauz' Subic Centennial seconds after. Subic Centennial was going like a train and half way up the beat was on port and level with Boracay on starboard. Centennial prepared for a big duck but Frank tacked away leaving the two boats neck and neck and arriving at the windward mark almost together. Boracay soon got into gear and powered away, passing Ffreefire before the next mark at "Barretto". The order didn't change to the finish line – 28 miles later, but the results on handicap inverted the order. Boracay's Line Honours gave her third, Ffreefire stayed in second place and Subic Centennial 25 minutes behind took first place by four and a half minutes on corrected time. Vivaldi team, owned by Mr. Doni Altura
Austen Chamberlain's Irving 37, Sorcerer, joined the fleet making it six boats in the IRC1 class. Challenge and Selma Star made it off the line first with Sorcerer and Rags bringing up the rear. Challenge kept the lead for the race to take first place on handicap as well. Vivaldi, finishing fourth took second place, and Sorcerer, finishing 17 minutes behind stole third place from Jun Avecilla's First 37.7 Selma Star by only 8 seconds. Rags retired.
PY Cruising class had a race that saw the boats scattered around the Bay but all finishing within a few minutes of each other. Jeremy Simpson's Warwick 42, Shibumi was first to start by a second or two from Rapparee XXX and Serenity, only to be closely nailed down by David McKenna stopping him from tacking away. When Shibumi tacked to cross in front of Serenity the starboard sheet blew off and she tacked back behind Rapparee who then lead the class to the mark at Barretto. Shibumi and the Platu, Luzviminda, followed the other two boats down to Barretto until the Platu got bored and left Shibumi floating in the fickle breezes of Kalaklan point.
Rapparee went very high on the run to #12 buoy and died sailing DDW to the mark. Shibumi, with a full crew at last blew past Serenity halfway down the leg and rounded only a minute behind Rapparee and Luzviminda. The wind held with 12 to 20 knots in the gusts and with 30° shifts. Luzviminda got to #9 buoy first and casually sailed inside it, to the rest of the fleets delight, only to recognize their mistake a minute later, do a u-turn and round it correctly, putting them back behind Rapparee who had gone right, towards the airport. Serenity went far left to the Lighthouse Marina Resort and the waterfront beach, and Shibumi went down the middle confidently tacking on all the wind shifts, only to watch all the boats converge ahead of them on the turning mark at "Marina". Their hopes for getting ahead again on the next kite run, were dashed when they saw that the course was shortened at "Marina" and it was all over. Rapparee took line honours followed by Luzviminda, Serenity and Shibumi. Corrected times gave Serenity their third consecutive win, Luzviminda second and Shibumi third.
Tomorrow is the last day and the forecast is anybody's guess. At this time of year, with the South West monsoon trying to push up and the dying Amihan trying to push down from the North east, anything can happen
Day 4: It was a fine and blustery day out on Subic Bay. High clouds and brilliant sunshine, with the wind seldom less than 12 knots promised another cracking day on the water. Race Officer Jerry Rollins placed the windward mark at two miles almost due East of the start and got IRC Racing class off on time at 1130 for the first of two windward-leewards. Boracay was away first followed by Subic Centennial and Ffreefire.
The story was the same for both race 5 and race 6. In the absence of any whoopsies, the disparity in boat sizes gave the inevitable result of Boracay first across the line in front of Ffreefire and the Sydney 46, Subic Centennial. However, the Reichel Pugh 76 had to be a country mile in front to beat the other two boats. In Race 5 the results were first Subic Centennial, second Ffreefire and Boracay third by seven minutes. However, in Race 6, for the first time in the regatta, Boracay pushed Sam Chan's TP52, Ffreefire back to third place on corrected time to take second by 55 seconds, and only 13 seconds behind Subic Centennial.
Results overall gave Frank Pong fourth and third place (how often could that happen?) with Mui-Mui and Boracay, Ffreefire second and Judes Echauz' Subic Centennial cleaning up again, with four firsts and a second. Ffreefire, owned by Sam Chan from Hong Kong, is the winner of the last Boracay Cup.
There was a little more excitement, for some, in IRC1, also sailing windward leewards. The wind was building a little and there were plenty of gusts of 20 knots and more. Again Subic Bay's 30° wind shifts kept tacticians on their toes. After the clean start Challenge took off to port and Sorcerer covered. At the top mark on the second rounding, Austen Chamberlain in Sorcerer didn't have enough spells in his magician's box to keep his kite together and it gave up the ghost – for good. Selma Star, helmed by co-Sponsor and co-Chairman Ric Sandoval was practicing her broaches and Chinese gybes, although she managed to keep all of her crew on board – not like in Boracay!
Veteran Doni Altura sailing his J35 Vivaldi wrestled with an unruly headsail at the top mark while being locked down by heavy traffic. It took two 360's to get out of the mess. The X452, Challenge, took line honours again, with another first place on handicap, followed by Sandoway and Vivaldi only 5 seconds behind - in spite of his delays. Rags moved up for the first time in the regatta, to fourth place - the combined 350 years of experience, shared between just five crew finally paying dividends!.
Race 6 saw Klaas Husijes in the Bashford 36, Sandoway, off the line first followed by C! Calibre Selma Star, Vivaldi, Sorcerer and Rags. Martin Tanco, in Challenge, with an armful of firsts chose to DNS. There were less incidents on the course but Sorcerer's tactician, Martyn Willes was laid out by a blow to the head by a UFO that looked a bit like a flying winch handle. He recovered quickly but Sorcerer's tactics didn't improve! Jun Avecilla helming Selma Star took first place followed by Vivaldi and Alan Burrell's Farr 36, Rags, on the podium at last.
Overall results saw Doni Altura's Vivaldi in third place C! Calibre Selma Star in second and Martin Tanco's Challenge cleaning up with four firsts and a second.
PY Cruising were spared the windward-leewards and sailed round the Bay again. David McKenna's Jeanneau 42 led the boats off, with the Platu Luzviminda and Jeremy Simpson's Shibumi seconds behind. Serenity's start was not as hot as usual. At the windward mark, the order was the same, but the boats were still sailing in close company. The kite leg down to Mayanga began to get more demanding as the gusts increased in frequency and strength causing Shibumi and the Platus to broach more than once. Luzviminda was laid all but flat by one gust. Joe Hagedorn joined the racing today, bravely sailing a Platu with only three up in very testing conditions.
All boats fought with their kites up the long reach to #12 buoy by Hanjin, but Rapparee XXX cleared the turn mark cleanly way ahead and wasn't seen again. The wind eased a little at the finish by "Marina" with JR Villena in the Platu beating Serenity and Shibumi over the line by less than two minutes.
After an unenthusiastic attempt to spoil International Juror, Tom Sheppard's holiday in Subic, there was a little bit of handicap shuffling leaving Rapparee at first, Shibumi second and Luzviminda third.
Overall Cruising class results placed the Warwick 42, Shibumi, third, JR Villena bravely holding on to second place in the little Platu and Garry Kingshott's Beneteau 42, Serenity, ably helmed by Ray Wolfe taking first place.
The Commodore's Cup, was presented by Ricky Sandoval to Judes Echauz and Subic Centennial at the Prizegiving in front of the Subic Bay Yacht Club. Thanks were given to the sponsors of the event and to Jerry Rollins and his crew for the excellent race management.
Subic Bay had served up four days of great racing with brilliant sunshine and flat, blue water, and with wind conditions that gave excitement and demanded attention.
For more information please visit: www.subicsailing.com or facebook/subicsailing
SBMA Officials Benjamin Antonio III, SBMA Director Alfonso S.P. Siapno, SBMA Director Francis S. Garcia, SBMA Director John Phillip S. Chua Chiaco, SBMA Director Gerald Sam C. Del Rosario, SBMA Director Engr. Marcelino S. Sanqui, Deputy Administrator for Public Works and Technical Services Group Gary Fernandez, Project Development Chief Atty. Von F. Rodriguez, Manager of Legal Department Jennifer T. Guiang, Board Secretariat Karen Magno, Representative of Investment Department Josephine Mallari, Representative of Investment Department
Lighthouse Marina Resort Officials Jesus E. Avecilla Jr., President Maximiano Tan, Vice-President Zed Avecilla, Sales and Marketing Manager Marc Salvador Tan, Marketing Executive Dave Bayarong, Marketing Officer
Last October 22, 2011 at 3pm, the Lighthouse Marina Resort together with several SBMA officials boarded a cruising boat to visit a couple of coves in the area. The main objective of the tour was to have a different perspective of Subic Bay in the hopes of coming up with ideas and hopefully spot some opportunities along the horizon on how we can promote Subic Bay and increase tourism. We hope to excite the participants with some of the undiscovered parts of Zambales. The Lighthouse Marina Resort has always been a front-runner for environmental preservations. We want to show the beauty of nature with the hopes of people loving it enough to make a stand and protect it. Lighthouse Marina Resort is currently coordinating with SBMA Ecology in coming up with Ecotours that will not just help the environment and local community, but it will also educate people on how to respect and appreciate our natural habitats.
The first destination was Sampaloc Cove which was located approximately 6kms Southwest of Grande Island. Lighthouse has done several group tours in this area which is only 1.5hours travel time by sailboat unlike its neighboring coves like Silanguin and Nagsasa which can take at least 3 hours by sail. This cove is maintained by a non-governmental organization called Samahan ng mga Responsableng Magsasaka at Mangingisdang Pilipinas Inc. (SRMMPI) Zambales Chapter - Subic Area. Electricity is not available here nor there are road access. There is however a weak mobile signal unlike the coves further North. There are several nipa-huts of different sizes available for a minimal price as well as cooking and porter services. The people in this small fishing village are very friendly and enjoys entertaining visitors. Due to a very tight schedule, we were not able to go down to survey the beach area and headed to the next destination which was Silanguin Cove.
Silanguin Cove is said to be a military training facility and a testing ground for explosives. There is no electricity as well as mobile signal in this area. The shoreline is surrounded by lush pine trees similar to its neighboring coves (Nagsasa and Anawangin). Of the many coves in Zambales, Silanguin is considered one of the biggest and deepest. Towering cliffs of the cove, which is part of the nearby Cinco Picos mountain, provide refuge to sea merchants in times of violent waves from the South China Sea.
The cruise took around 2 hours. All the participants were then invited to dine at Sands Resto Grill to try out its new international menu.
The Lighthouse Marina together with hundreds of millions of concerned individuals around the world showed their support and concern for the environment by switching off our lights for one hour at exactly 8:30pm. The objective was to showcase what can be done through our combined efforts, to encourage leadership through behavioral change and to demonstrate the growing desire around the world to make those changes a reality.
The atmosphere during the Earth Hour was very intimate and relaxed. Everyone cheered as we did the countdown to the switch off. At exactly 8:30pm, all the exterior lights of the hotel were switched off including the 20-meter lighthouse tower. It is noteworthy to mention that the electricity that we were able to save for an hour was enough to power 25 small houses for a day. Lighthouse has always been working on ways to promote awareness for the environment. That evening, the hotel announced its Go Green Program, which included going into alternative, renewable and nonpolluting source of energy that is the sun. In fact, a few seconds after the switch off, Solar Powered lights provided by Banda Solar illuminated the whole event area. Solar power is just one of the many plans that Lighthouse will be implementing this year. Furthermore, the hotel will also dramatically reduce its plastic consumption thus reducing plastic waste. One of the goals of this program is to increase the level of awareness and encourage our guests to take action to save the environment. The hotel guests were treated with a special grill and pasta buffet and some unplugged entertainment such as fire dancers and musicians from Baguio and Manila.
Besides the Earth Hour Celebration, the Lighthouse had several other activities that weekend. There was an art exhibit that shows junks or trash converted to an art, a beach clean up, and a film viewing showing two documentary films about the environment ("The 11th Hour" and "Six Degrees that Could Change the World"). While it is true that our environment is in grave danger, what is more consequential is that the survival of the entire human race is in jeopardy. Our planet has all the time in the world to regenerate, and we don't. The Ecofest weekend was not just about the environment nor the planet. It was meant to encourage people to act now before its too late.
If human beings are the source of the problem, we can also be the foundation of the solution. We believe that our generation is capable of completely changing this world. During this critical period of human history, healing the damage of industrial civilization is the task of our generation. It was awe-inspiring to see a lot of children during the Earth Hour. This event was primarily for the welfare of the future generations. We will need to pass the torch one day, and these kids should continue what we have started. The event was ended by an invitation made by the General Manager of Subic Bay power provider, Subic Enerzone, to light up the sky lanterns as a symbol of our active participation in saving the environment and to fight climate change. Unfortunately it was too windy that night and only a few lanterns were able to fly. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time. Thank you to all who participated. We hope to see you again in the next Earth Hour. Please stay tuned as Lighthouse announces its plans for the upcoming Earth Day!
Thank you to our sponsors: Subic Enerzone, National Geographic Channel, Banda Solar, SBMA Ecology, Volvo, United Auctions, Bebsie's Chicken, Grand Pillar International, Tai Chi Massage, Nai Cha, Century 21 and Circuit 9 Car Rental.
Proceeds amounting to Php 10,000 will be donated to WWF.
The Lighthouse Marina together with hundreds of millions of concerned individuals around the world showed their support and concern for the environment by switching off our lights for one hour at exactly 8:30pm. The objective was to showcase what can be done through our combined efforts, to encourage leadership through behavioral change and to demonstrate the growing desire around the world to make those changes a reality.
The atmosphere during the Earth Hour was very intimate and relaxed. Everyone cheered as we did the countdown to the switch off. At exactly 8:30pm, all the exterior lights of the hotel were switched off including the 20-meter lighthouse tower. It is noteworthy to mention that the electricity that we were able to save for an hour was enough to power 25 small houses for a day. Lighthouse has always been working on ways to promote awareness for the environment. That evening, the hotel announced its Go Green Program, which included going into alternative, renewable and nonpolluting source of energy that is the sun. In fact, a few seconds after the switch off, Solar Powered lights provided by Banda Solar illuminated the whole event area. Solar power is just one of the many plans that Lighthouse will be implementing this year. Furthermore, the hotel will also dramatically reduce its plastic consumption thus reducing plastic waste. One of the goals of this program is to increase the level of awareness and encourage our guests to take action to save the environment. The hotel guests were treated with a special grill and pasta buffet and some unplugged entertainment such as fire dancers and musicians from Baguio and Manila.
Besides the Earth Hour Celebration, the Lighthouse had several other activities that weekend. There was an art exhibit that shows junks or trash converted to an art, a beach clean up, and a film viewing showing two documentary films about the environment ("The 11th Hour" and "Six Degrees that Could Change the World"). While it is true that our environment is in grave danger, what is more consequential is that the survival of the entire human race is in jeopardy. Our planet has all the time in the world to regenerate, and we don't. The Ecofest weekend was not just about the environment nor the planet. It was meant to encourage people to act now before its too late.
If human beings are the source of the problem, we can also be the foundation of the solution. We believe that our generation is capable of completely changing this world. During this critical period of human history, healing the damage of industrial civilization is the task of our generation. It was awe-inspiring to see a lot of children during the Earth Hour. This event was primarily for the welfare of the future generations. We will need to pass the torch one day, and these kids should continue what we have started. The event was ended by an invitation made by the General Manager of Subic Bay power provider, Subic Enerzone, to light up the sky lanterns as a symbol of our active participation in saving the environment and to fight climate change. Unfortunately it was too windy that night and only a few lanterns were able to fly. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time. Thank you to all who participated. We hope to see you again in the next Earth Hour. Please stay tuned as Lighthouse announces its plans for the upcoming Earth Day!
Thank you to our sponsors: Subic Enerzone, National Geographic Channel, Banda Solar, SBMA Ecology, Volvo, United Auctions, Bebsie's Chicken, Grand Pillar Interna
We bring together all the reasons you'll love to stay within our four walls, no less this rainy season. Check out our various in-room amenities and services like game console rental (PS3, Xbox360 & Wii), free use of board games (Pictionary, Taboo, Scrable, etc), free access to Lighthouse DVD Library, iPod station in all the rooms and fast LAN internet connection. Rainy Day Promo now available! For more information please call (047)252.5000!
Rainy Day Promo (Valid until September 30, 2011):
• 2 Nights Promo: Book 1 Night and Get 50% off on the 2nd Night • 2 Rooms Promo: Book 1 Room and get 50% off on the 2nd Room (not valid on Friday and Saturday) • 3 Rooms Promo: Book 2 rooms and get 1 room FREE (not valid on Friday and Saturday) • 3 Nights Promo: Book 2 Nights and get the 3rd night FREE
Other Privileges: • FREE access to DVD Library • FREE use of indoor games • 5% discount in hotel lobby shop • 20% discount on sunset cruise (Weather Permitting and based on availability) • 20% discount on massage services (Weather Permitting and based on availability) • 10% discount at Sands Resto • 10% discount at 720 London Music Bar
For comments and suggestions please call (047)252.5000 or email marketing@lighthousesubic.com
The Lighthouse Marina together with hundreds of millions of concerned individuals around the world showed their support and concern for the environment by switching off our lights for one hour at exactly 8:30pm. The objective was to showcase what can be done through our combined efforts, to encourage leadership through behavioral change and to demonstrate the growing desire around the world to make those changes a reality.
The atmosphere during the Earth Hour was very intimate and relaxed. Everyone cheered as we did the countdown to the switch off. At exactly 8:30pm, all the exterior lights of the hotel was switched off including the 20 meter lighthouse tower. It is noteworthy to mention that the electricity that we were able to save for that one hour switch off was enough to power 25 small houses for a day. Lighthouse has always been working on ways to promote awareness for the environment. That evening, the hotel announced its Go Green Program which included going into alternative, renewable and nonpolluting source of energy that is the sun. In fact, a few seconds after the switch off, Solar Powered lights provided by Banda Solar illuminated the whole event area. Solar power is just one of the many plans that Lighthouse will be implementing this year. Furthermore, the hotel will also dramatically reduce its plastic consumption thus reducing plastic waste. One of the goal of this program is to increase the level of awareness and encourage our guests to take action to save the environment. The hotel guests were treated with a special grill and pasta buffet and some unplugged entertainment such as fire dancers and musicians from Baguio and Manila.
Besides the Earth Hour Celebration, the Lighthouse had several other activities that weekend. There was an art exhibit that shows junks or trash converted to an art, a beach clean up, and a film viewing showing two documentary films about the environment ("The 11th Hour" and "Six Degrees that Could Change the World"). While it is true that our environment is in grave danger, what is more consequential is that the the survival of the entire human race is in jeopardy. Our planet has all the time in the world to regenerate, and we don't. The Ecofest weekend was not just about the environment nor the planet. It was meant to encourage people to act now before its too late.
If human beings are the source of the problem, we can also be the foundation of the solution. We believe that our generation is capable of completely changing this world. During this critical period of human history, healing the damage of industrial civilization is the task of our generation. It was awe-inspiring to see a lot of children during the Earth Hour. This event was primarily for the welfare of the future generations. We will need to pass the torch one day, and these kids should continue what we have started. The event was ended by an invitation made by the General Manager of Subic Bay power provider, Subic Enerzone, to light up the sky lanterns as a symbol of our active participation in saving the environment and to fight climate change. Unfortunately it was too windy that night and only a few lanterns were able to fly. Nevertheless, everyone had a great time. Thank you to all who participated. We hope to see you again in the next Earth Hour. Please stay tuned as Lighthouse announces its plans for the upcoming Earth Day!
Thank you to our sponsors: Subic Enerzone, National Geographic Channel, Banda Solar, SBMA Ecology, Volvo, United Auctions, Bebsie's Chicken, Grand Pillar International, Tai Chi Massage, Nai Cha, Century 21 and Circuit 9 Car Rental.
Proceeds amounting to Php 10,000 will be donated to WWF
Story and Video by: Zed Avecilla Photos by: Gershom Digital Photoworks
When the starting signal sounded at 11:00 this morning, 17 local and International yachts, in three classes created history when they set off on the inaugural 200 mile Subic to Boracay offshore race. Depending on the yachts size and speed, they are expected to take between 20 and 48 hours to reach Boracay. The course presents an interesting tactical challenge to navigators, as they can choose to pass either side of the very large Mindoro Island. The Eastern route up the Verde Island passage, is renowned for its wind against tide conditions and the often windless area around Dumali Point. The Western option will avoid these but Mindoro Island has a 2,500m high mountain range and this could provide a large wind shadow behind the island and windward conditions on the last stretch to Boracay.
Being the biggest boat in the fleet, Frank Pong's 75ft Reichel/Pugh Jelik II will be leading the charge and expected to set the inaugural race record, which could be under 17 hours if conditions suite. However having the biggest boat does not guarantee victory as three highly fancied TP 52's, Sam Chan's Ffreefire, Geoff Hill's Strewth and Tiffany Koo skippering Pong's Jelik V will be formidable opposition. The overall winner comes after handicaps are applied to the finish times, which gives well sailed smaller boats a chance. Ernesto Echauz's Sydney 46 Centennial knows a thing or two about this situation having come from behind on many occasions to triumph in the face of adversity.
Seven boats in the IRC Cruiser/Racer Class are closely matched in size and speed. Being a little bit bigger than the rest, Martin Tanco's X452 Challenge may have an advantage in the Line Honours stakes but has his work cut out in the overall Handicap Honours. Claudio Altura's J35 Vivaldi, Jesus Avecilla's Beneteau First 36.7 Selma Star, Harry Taylor's S&S 36 Irresistible and Ernst Schulze's Sydney 36 Sandoway are regulars on the Philippine racing scene and relish the chance of racing each other on a long passage race. Relative newcomers Bobby Benares Salona 37 Lethal Weapon and Austen Chamberlain's Irwin 37 Sorcerer can never be discounted as anything can happen and usually does in the tricky Philippine waters.
Three completely different yacht designs make up the PY Class. Having won many regattas in the past, David Mc Kenna's Sun Odyssey 42 and Philippine crew on Raparee XXX must start out as odds on favourite. Micheal Reauber's Celestial 49 China Rose has also been on the top step of the podium and looking to repeat the performance. On a smaller scale Goran Rudelius' Contessa 35 Slalom Blade are making their debut on long distance racing, which should not deter them from taking a pot shot at the bigger counterparts.
The two events are organized by SAGS (Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen Sailors) and supported by Subic Bay Yacht Club and the Lighthouse Marina under the auspices of the Philippine Sailing Association. The organizing committee is headed by its chairman, former congressman and Commodore Ricky Sandoval of the Subic Bay Yacht Club and president of Watercraft Ventures Inc., co-chairman Jun Avecilla, president of the Lighthouse Marina Resort; and renowned International Race Officer Jerry Rollin is in charge of race management. The Philippine Inter Island Sailing Foundation, which also organizes the Hobie Cat events will be providing the Race Management Team for both events.
The Subic Race is followed by the Boracay Cup - four days of Inshore Windward/leeward and long distance races scheduled from February 22-25. Gov. Carlito Marquez, Vice Gov. Billie Calizo and Cong. Joeben Miraflores of the Province of Aklan have extended their full support for the races and have donated the Perpetual Trophy for the first Subic to Boracay Race and Boracay Cup.
The Lighthouse Marina Resort shows its support on the fight against slaughtering of dolphins by having 2 of its façade walls painted with dolphins together with Mr. A.G. Saño, a long-time advocate for the conservation of marine mammals and has started a nationwide campaign to protest the killing of dolphins. Mr. Saño was assisted by hotel guests, passers-by, students, and hotel employees. Mr. Armand Arezza, SBMA Administrator, happens to be in the hotel when the group was about to start painting. After knowing the cause of the project, the Administrator announced his support and has instructed the group to also paint dolphins in his office. This will be the Subic Art Attack part two!
Painting 1 The painting has a heart in the middle. The text "Freedom" and "Dolphins" are situated around the heart. There are 11 dolphins in this painting.
*Did you know? There is a tear drop below the dolphin that is nearest the big red heart in the middle of the artwork. This teardrop was made accidentally from a drop of a fallen paint.
Painting 2 This painting has a whale shark in the middle. This represented the "Butanding" that was found inside the Subic Bay last September 28, 2010. There are 16 dolphins that surrounds the dotted large greenish mammal at the center of the artwork.
These are the photos taken by the participants of the On-the-Spot Photo Contest. The judges were representative of Lighthouse Marina Resort, Mr. Jo Avila, and a representative from Subictimes.com.
Photos by: David Bayarong, Subictimes.com Videos by: Zed Avecilla
Last September 25, Subic Bay was one of the many sites all over the world who celebrated the International Coastal Clean-up Day. The objective of this global campaign was to remove the trash and debris from waterways and beaches all over the world. It also focuses marine conservation awareness and education among different sectors of society, particularly coastal communities who directly benefit from marine resources. The long-term goal is to establish strategies for conservation, management and sustainable use of coastal resources.
Last year, in the Philippines alone, there were 75,000 total volunteers which was second to the United States. This is the first time that Subic Bay will participate and we were able to muster approximately 4,000 volunteers which were composed of business locators, local government units both in the Freeport and in Olongapo, NGO's, various civic groups, schools and many others.
People started gathering at the Lighthouse beachfront as early as 5am. The volunteers were advised on how to record the trash that were collected as well as other safety information. They were also briefed on where they will be posted among the 5 stations located along the 2kms waterfront beach. Each station was composed of a Lighthouse Employees, First Aid personnel from Red Cross/Subic Dispensary and volunteer students from Brent/Aura College to help with data gathering.
The Lighthouse together with Subictimes.com also hosted an On-the-Spot Photo Contest. There were around 40 participants who joined. Mr. Jo Avila, a renowned photographer, was tasked to post-process all the submitted photos which were then displayed at the Lighthouse Admiral Hall for everyone to see. (View Photos Here).
The Lighthouse also recognizes other environmental concern, thus we also invited several people to conduct a forum in the afternoon. The speakers were Ms. Corina Escudero founder of the Butanding Project who discussed the documentary "The Cove"; Atty. Lucille Sering, Climate Change Commissioner, who discussed Climate Change and its Opportunities; Ms. Liana Quinto, Representative of Wildlife in Need and President of AWBD, who discussed about Waste Management; and Ms. Amethya Dela Llana, head of SBMA Ecology Department who discussed about some projects that their department is doing like their Adopt-a-Clam program. It was a very emotional forum and you can see from their eyes the dedication as well as the hardships that these speakers are undertaking.
The Lighthouse Marina Resort will continue to be committed in preserving the environment. We would like to thank all those who have attended the cleanup as well as our sponsors. For comments or suggestions please email us at marketing@lighthousesubic.com.
