BPI Private Wealth Signature Regatta Series 2024-25

by Guy Nowell 11 Mar 20:09 PDT 20-26 February 2025

The Boracay 200 and Boracay Cup Regatta is part of the second running of the 2024-25 BPI Series which opened in December 2023 with the BPI Corregidor Cup. Unfortunately, that event had hardly started before it was all over, with the proximate arrival of a typhoon which sent up the storm signals and cancelled everything after the opening day. (For the record, you really don't mess with typhoons in the Philippines; when the Coastguard tells you to 'tie up and go home' you don't argue).

Then there was the BPI Busuanga Cup in January - a 300nm coastal race from pretty Punta Fuego to beautiful Busuanga, followed by two days of islands' racing in the vicinity of Sangat and Chindonan islands, carefully avoiding the plethora of pearl farms in the area. The long race was a romp, and the first day's inshores were raceable - just - but breeze on the last day was rather less than co-operative.

And so to Boracay - a well-known fixture in the Philippines sailing calendar that once upon a time attracted enthusiastic visiting crews from Hong Kong with a 200-miler from Subic Bay to Boracay's famous White Beach, followed by four days of mixed islands and windward/leeward races always in minimum 20 kts of blustery easterlies. It's the classic and highly desirable combination of kick-ass sailing, t-shirts, warm water, and cold beer.

The long race from Subic, reaching south to Cape Santiago and beating up the Verde Passage before bearing away at Calapan for the Tablas Strait and, eventually, the Boracay finish. Ray Ordoveza's evergreen Karakoa - with an equally evergreen Steve Benjamin on board - started and finished first, crossing the line in front of the Sea Wind Resort at 11.59.19 to establish a new record under the BPI title. A smattering of finish-watchers at the Sea Wind found the combination of sunshine, the YB tracker, and very cold gin-and-tonic to be quite irresistible! Five boats arrived in daylight, with Jun Avecilla's Selma Star arriving at 20.00h, delighted to be finished in time for dinner. "We were fully expecting another night at sea," said Avecilla, "That was far and away our fastest Subic-Boracay trip, and we really enjoyed it."

All boats reported a fast reach (with minor pauses) down to Cape Santiago, with Romain Barberis's Outremer 52, Maelie, actually taking the lead on the water on the way to the Verde Passage, where some smart navigating on Karakoa let her slip through the notorious strong upwind section of the race with a minimum of tacks. Monchu Garcia, owner of Leopard 40, Cariño, said, "My boat doesn't go upwind. I don't know how many times we tacked in the Verde Passage, and I don't want to, but it was a lot." By contrast, Maelie was second boat on the finish line, crossing just two hours after Karakoa.

After escaping past Calapan, and finding continuous breeze all the way to Dumali, it was another port reach all the way past Concepcion at the north end of the Tablas Strait, Tablas itself, Carabao off the northern tip of Boracay, and so to the finish line off Sea Wind Resort.

In the aftermath of the 'Boracay Shut Down' in 2018, and Covid, the island is looking very good. Not quite as pristine as it was in the 1980s, but, hey, that was 40 years ago! Boracay is once again very much worth visiting, and the BPI Signature Yacht Race Series constitutes a very good reason to go there - if any reason were needed.

Only one boat, Pong Reyes' Shangri-La, didn't 'go all the way', retiring with gear damage into Papaya Cove. Cariño was last boat home. One crew discovered that the times recorded by Yellow Brick are intermittent, but the times recorded by the finish boat are absolute. (It even says on the YB app screen that 'Results are provisional - see event website for official results'). In this case it was a matter of seconds, which amounted to a place change, and objections were raised. YB is a handy way to see where boats are - which is in itself a safety feature, never mind practical entertainment - but it is not a timing system.

The Opening Party at Discovery Resort on the Saturday evening featured entertainment in the form of traditional Boracay drummers, and a stylish and delicious buffet dinner. Having all arrived quickly, crews were well-rested and very much up for a good time!

Sunday started off grey and blustery, and that's how it stayed. The course was a figure-8 around Carabao to port and then Boracay to starboard, finishing with a power run to the finish through the ferry boats and the bancas in the Caticlan Channel. 30nm, and no surprise when Karakoa was the first to reappear round Crocodile Island after just under 3 1/2 hours. This marked a return to the 'around the islands' races that were very much a feature of Boracay regattas in days gone by, and make an interesting, and often challenging, change from windward-leeward courses. Sabad (Bobby Benares) and Selma Star (Jun Avecilla) completed the podium.

Monday looked truly glorious. Brilliant blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and transparent turquoise water. Boracay often has a happy knack of looking just as it does in the brochure - and we can attest to it. Clearly a great day was in store, but. This was a case of "too much of a good thing - the wind. What looked positively idyllic on the beach was actually pretty gnarly in the start area where the Committee Boat, Lost in Asia, was anchored. 33kts too much, to be precise, and gusting 42. RO Peter Capotosto judged that to be a gust too far: what the sailmakers like to call "an industry day", and sent everyone home after waiting for an abatement which never came.

Tuesday: more of the same. Perfect on the beach, but further out it was blowing the barnacles off the bottom paint. AP on shore went up at breakfast time, and became AP over A at 13.00.

Wednesday: we really need some racing to get this regatta in the scoreboard. The breeze had indeed eased off a little, but the sky was grey and unpleasant. The plan was for two very short races in order to get through the programme before the Regatta Presentations at 13.00, and that's what happened. On a windward-leeward course length just a splash under 1nm, one sausage for the Cruising division, and two for the IRC racers, twice. A number of reefed mains in evidence, and a few wipe-outs, but - let off the leash - everyone went at it hammer and tongs, and the two races were completed in good order and on schedule.

And that was that. A good, long, race from Subic to Boracay that brought the whole fleet home in double quick time - under 36 hours - but whether Karakoa's 25 1/2 hours counts as a 'record' when others have done it faster in days gone by, but not under the BPI banner, must remain moot. Losing two days of inshore racing to weather that looked picture-perfect on from the beach but just packed too much of a punch beyond the reef was a shame. Buy hey, as the old saw says, "that's yacht racing." When it started to get gnarly, Jun Avecilla, never one to shy away from some rough water, posted," can we make this a race to the bar and have a pleasant and relaxing lay day? We came here to have fun, not break things." Good call, Jun.

There are many Hong Kong sailors who remember Boracay with delight. In 2013 most of the fleet was composed of Hong Kong boats; Antipodes and HiFi were among them. Some more international support for one of Asia's very best mixed-discipline regattas, conducted in one of Asia's very best destinations, is what is needed. Hands up, please the TP52s and the fast 40s. You've all heard about Boracay, now come and see for yourself!

Overall Results

IRC Racing 1. Karakoa 2. Sabad 3. Selma Star

Cruising 1. Allusive 2. Neptunus III 3. Despacito

Multihull 1. Cariño 2. Maelie

Next up: BPI Subic Regatta 26-30 March 2025, which completes the 4-event series. Watch this space, or go to signatureyachtraceseries.com