BPI Busuanga Cup 2024 - a part of the BPI Signature Yacht Race Series
by Guy Nowell 8 Feb 2024 18:46 AEDT
27-28 January 2024
Poco Loco. BPI Busuanga Cup 2024. Doni Altura Memorial Inshore Races © Guy Nowell / BPI
After the trip down from Puerto Fuego, now it's the inshore racing.
Busuanga Bay is a lovely place. Coming from the north and west, it's a twisty route through a scatter of islands protecting the anchorage, and you'd probably rather do it with an electronic chart than on paper, so to speak. Marina del Sol is perched on a small headland, and has a distinctly rustic feel to it. There are swing moorings, a pier accessible at all states of the tide, a waterside (almost) pool and a restaurant under a thatched roof that serves an excellent chicken curry and properly cold beer. Welcome to the backways and byways of the Philippine archipelago.
The passage race was followed by two days of racing among the islands, the Doni Altura Memorial Inshore Races, where the RO's headache is to find a space sufficiently large for a course, and unencumbered by the endless rows of buoys that are the pearls farms - seemingly everywhere. The answer is the patch between Sangat, Chindonan and Busuanga itself, which provided glamour sailing conditions in the midst of some beautiful limestone scenery very reminiscent of Langkawi and elsewhere much like Port Shelter in Hong Kong, but on a very much bigger scale.
"The Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Foundation (PHINSAF) launched the Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race in 2017, with only three participating boats on the start line, and a finish line at South Cay in Busuanga, Palawan", recalls Tere Marcial, President and CEO of BPI Wealth. “We are happy to be supporting the BPI Busuanga Cup, by incorporating it into the four-event BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series, with the aim of reigniting the sailing spirit in the Philippines. I think the Philippine sailing community is on to something big, with the vision of positioning our nation as a major Asian sailing destination,” she noted. This year the BPI Busuanga Cup attracted 14 entries.
Ray Ordoveza and a well-practiced crew on Karakoa dominated the competition, taking Line Honours for the long race, and scoring a clean sheet of bullets for the inshore races. “What BPI has done is something that sailors only dreamed about a long time ago. I am sure that this Series will grow to be equal to the international events in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. I am sure that this will be very well known around the region. Thank you for adding prestige to our sport, and elevating sailing in the Philippines,” said Ordoveza after accepting the trophy.
The BPI Busuanga Cup 2024 was voted a huge success all round. “This is what Philippine sailing needs – a shot in the arm from a company that shares PHINSAF's vision of creating a great sailing culture in the Philippines - a country of more than 7,100 islands and with a rich sailing history - with the help of the race organizers through PHINSAF, Ocean Racing Club Philippines, and Subic Sailing,” noted Monchu Garcia, President of PHINSAF.
Winners, Punta Fuego to Busuanga Race
IRC Racing, Hurricane Hunter (Albert Altura)
Cruising, Isabelle (Allen Yokoto)
Ocean Multihull, Cariño (Monchu Garcia)
Winners Overall, inc Doni Altura Memorial Inshores
IRC Racing
1. Karakoa (Ray Ordoveza)
2. Belatrix (Jun Villanueva)
3. Hurricane Hunter (Albert Altura)
Cruising
1. Papaya (Renie Ticzon)
2. Isabelle (Allen Yokoto)
3. Despacito (Pablo Lobregat)
Ocean Multihull
1. Cariño (Monchu Garcia)
2. Poco Loco (David Sutton)
3. Tutu Tango (Roman Azana)
The BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series is now gearing up for the next two events: the Boracay 200 (22-27 February) and Subic Bay Regatta (2-5 April), hot on the heels of the famous Rolex China Sea Race.
For more information and future updates on the BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series, stay tuned to the official BPI Social Media pages.
Facebook Community: Signature Yacht Race Series
Instagram: @signatureyachtrace_series and @officialbpi
Website: signatureyachtraceseries.com