Published by the Open Canoe Sailing Group

Stormy Ullswater And Serene Coniston (SteveR)

The observant amongst you may notice that the photo opposite, which shows new OCSG member PaulM, was not taken on either Ullswater or Coniston, but Windermere. This years Ullswater Expedition did not go ahead (a gust of Force 9 was recorded in the Lakes on the Saturday), but PaulM, Keith, Steve, Jeff, Ellen, DaveS, Jan and DaveP enjoyed an excellent day's sailing on Windermere on Sunday after the winds had blown through. Honourable mentions should also be made of John and Wally who travelled up to the Lakes, but decided not to hang around for the Sunday.

The Coniston meet featured more reasonable winds, with most participants sailing down to Peel Island. The return from Peel had more variable winds, so some paddled while some sailed, but everyone seemed to return back up the lake at a similar speed, regardless of their means of propulsion. Later in the day the wind got up to a perfect Force 3, and some very good sailing was had at the north end of the lake. Sunday dawned windless, so an impromptu training session was organised instead of the racing, but this was soon abandoned when the wind got up. So Sunday again featured cruising instead of racing (but I'm not going to editorialise!).

Islands Of El Nido (SheenaT)

The day I arrived in the Philippines, the mayor was assassinated in the town I was staying. In this magnificent archipelago of islands, I just happened to be in the middle of their general election. "How's it going?" I enquired. "Oh, only a hundred politicians have been killed this time," said a native in a surprisingly enthusiastic tone. Only a hundred. In the last election it had been 184 assassinations. Moreover, a super-typhoon, with winds of 150mph, had recently turned the region into a disaster zone leaving over 5000 dead.

Such tensions were soon left behind when I journeyed to surely the most beautiful location of all in the Philippines: the marine national park and islands of El Nido, in the north of the large island of Palawan . Much of the Philippines has suffered deforestation and coral blasting has wrecked the once-superb reefs, but at El Nido the habitats have been carefully protected and preserved.

Puerto Princessa is the capital of Palawan. I arrived at the airport there, to find just two other passengers waiting, and the airport was closed for lunch! Imagine that at Manchester or Heathrow airport! Our plane duly flew out northwards, and we arrived at El Nido's private airport. I had no problems with lost luggage: I unloaded my bags from a tiny hold just below the cockpit! Seating in

the airport lounge was in hammocks. We were transported in a jeepney (elongated jeep) to the awaiting "bangka" ferry, an outrigger boat. Ubiquitous throughout the Philippines and the Indo-Pacific, this style of fast and stable narrow-hulled craft has survived for millenia against the mighty waves of the Pacific.

Often now motorised, but sometimes still sailed or paddled, or a combination of the three, and, like the jeepneys, resplendently coloured.

Cradled by the outriggers, our ferry glided serenely across the bay. It was hard to imagine that in the typhoon season these waters would be a treacherous tempest. Our destination was Miniloc Island , with its jagged limestone karst cliffs rising from the crystal clear sea. On arrival, I made my base in a delightful cottage on stilts over the water.

The next day I was allocated a guide for a sailing trip on a Hobie cat, which, although highly developed as a sailing catamaran, still retains its canoe-like hulls and which we would need to paddle for some of our journey. Off we went, and briskly we reached between the neighbouring islands. The idyllically warm South China Sea spraying over us felt like an evening shower in a bath. We passed Turtle Island, which you are only allowed to land on if you are a turtle. We landed on Pangalusian Island for a barbecue lunch served on banana leaves. Beachcombing there, being a zoologist, I was in raptures over the huge range of shells,

particularly cone shells. Venomous in life, certain species can be fatal to man within a minute.

We continued our sail westwards, and landed at Lagen Island. Here we trekked into its miniature tropical jungle, with towering red-barked Dipterocarp trees. The bird-sounds were achingly beautiful - especially a White Sharma echoing over the hillside, and the raucous chant of a Palawan Hornbill.

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