Exploration of the Reefs and Cultures of the Philippine Islands

After a few days in Davao, the Heraclitus reanchored at Samal, an island five miles away.  There the crew were devastated by the massive destruction of the reefs, diving on coral cemeteries overgrown with algae.  The coverage of live coral has been reduced to less than one percent - a disaster.  The fishermen there spend the entire day struggling to catch even a few small reef fish, mostly juvenile as witnessed in the market in Samal town.  Fortunately the exuberant Filippino fiestas, with cock fights and dancing, raised their spirits up.

While carrying out minor repairs in Davao and stocking up again for the next leg of the voyage, the crew learned that the rebels of the Sulu Sea, under the command of Abu Sayab, still held hostages on their island.  It is war in south Mindanao, with killings making headline news every day.  The shipís original plan had been to cross the Straits of Zamboanga, now in the heat of the fire.  Everyone warned the captain and the crew not to even think about it - so they changed their route.

The ship took the east side of Mindanao, fighting against head winds to anchor off San Jose island.  Despite the tide running in a favourable direction, they met 6 knot currents in the Surigau Strait where they were following in the footsteps of Magellan.

Entering the Bohol Sea, they were greeted by the highest concentration of cetaceans seen anywhere.  There were constant blows all around the ship and fins slicing the water.  Melon-headed whales, pilot whales, Fraser dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, spinners.  But why were they all heading away?

The clues were in the Navtex which was spitting out weather reports furiously of a typhoon passing 150 miles away to the north.  The wind started to pick up and they found shelter in a bay next to Duero on the island of Bohol.  Fortunately the Heraclitus only experienced the tail of the beast.

The next stop was at the island of Pamilacan, the home of a people that were still hunting whales a few years back.  They were now redirecting their skills as expert whale spotters towards tourism but unfortunately the business is too slow, as yet, to really feed the community.  Indeed the crew sighted sperm whales and dolphins in the area as well as bleached bones and dried fins on the islandís beach.  They recorded all their sightings.

Then a real diving marathon began on Snake Reef, aptly named after finding themselves surrounded by over 12 sea snakes, the most poisonous in the world, although very friendly and non-aggressive.  In Balicasag the hard coral coverage was exceptional thanks to the constant monitoring by the dive operators there - schools of barracuda, jacks and an impressive variety of corals and reef fish.  But the era of the big pelagic is over.  In Cabilao, an area once famous for its frequent sightings of hammerhead sharks, the diving is still spectacular but the fact remains that they havenít seen a single hammerhead in over four years now.

Always vigilant with the weather forecasts, the crew safely reached the harbor of Cebu - a frighteningly busy harbor, with huge cargo ships racing through tight channels.  The Heraclitus stocked up on fuel - having had the weather against them so consistently, the tanks were now empty.

The Filippinos are incredibly friendly and warm people but the threat of piracy is constant.  The eyes of the crew and the ship were wide open 24 hours a day.

They left Cebu, their minds full of colourful impressions and memories to carry across the Sulu Sea.  Finally they could switch off the main engine - the wind, an average of 25/30 knots, filled the sails.  They cruised at over 6 knots, the ship happy.  But once again there was a change in the planned route - they could not stop at Tubbataha Reef.  The waves were pushing hard onto the side of the atoll, rising to form huge swells which were too big to allow them to anchor there.  So it was full speed ahead and they reached Puerto Princessa in Palawan in record time after a perfect sailing voyage.  The crew by now were gathering more and more experience, learning to deal with the given circumstances.

After a few days in Puerto, the ship anchored in Honda Bay to carry out a science study.  The information collected will prove invaluable.  Although the diversity is exceptional, the reef there is under serious threat.  It is protected from bombing but now the danger lies in silting caused by the construction of a new road.

The Heraclitus remained in Honda Bay for two and a half weeks of intensive diving, recording the health and vitality of the reefs, then returned to Puerto to prepare for their trip to Tubbataha.  Abigail Alling and Mark van Thillo joined the crew for Christmas and this voyage to a spectacular reef.

Over 33,000 hectares of the Sulu Sea have been managed as a marine park since 1988 by the World Wildlife Fund.  It has become famous as a sanctuary for marine turtles which our crew witnessed on a dive with over one hundred of them.  Those dives donít come along often.   The females come to lay their eggs on the long sand beaches of the islands and atolls, nestling between the boobies and other sea birds that thrive in this protected area.  But despite the protection, there are still attacks of destructive fishing practices and evidence of coral bleaching too.

The crew of the Heraclitus celebrated Christmas with the Park Rangers, exchanging valuable information on the area.  These dedicated people live in a totally self-contained station, in many ways very similar to the life of the crew on board the Heraclitus.  They danced together under the stars of the Sulu Sea, 120 miles away from the nearest land and celebrated their shared love for the ocean.  Since this was ëoff-seasoní for the live-aboard dive operators, the Heraclitus was the only ship there.

Then they returned to Puerto to truly enter the new millennium with fireworks over the harbor at midnight.