It's All Happenin': 2014

Mid typhoon, during its strongest gusts and torrential rain, I heard a loud CRACK! I ducked down and covered my head to protect myself from whipping ropes, pieces of bamboo, or other debris coming off our banka (a banka is a Filipino style boat much like an outrigger, but with bamboo supports on each side of the boat, constructed mainly of wood and long bamboo poles). I looked up to see that the storm had just ripped off half of the nylon tarp that covered the banka, of which was then tilting sideways in the water, being pulled by the broken tarp acting like a rogue sail. I crawled upwind on deck to avoid getting hit by debris while the horizontal rain pelted me in the face; I could barely see. I reached for my dive mask to aid visibility and watched as our captain Reynaldo ordered the crew to cut the rest of the tarp free using large kitchen knives, to minimize danger of flying debris and a capsizing boat. Not only did they manage to quickly slice free the plastic rope used to support the nylon tarp, but were able to haphazardly fix the heavy tarp to the boat, preventing it from floating away. I remember having flashbacks to the adventure documentary “180 Degrees South” when their sailboat traveling towards Southern Chile was trapped in a storm and its mast collapses in open seas. Refocusing on the present, I sat low and watched the crew cut down the second smaller tarp while they struggled to turn our craft upwind, and drop anchor. Our only option was to wait-out the tropical storm, left exposed, and hoping that the banka would avoid capsizing.

Co-Captain John Paul and Me

I thought to myself that all is OK so long as my mother and her sister remain below-deck, ‘safe’, protected from the gnarr happening above, but suddenly I saw my mother and aunt Susan climbing out into the storm! I yelled at them “WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET BACK UNDER!” They had not put on PFDs and looked clueless. I thought my mother had been suffering from claustrophobia, climbing out from below deck to get fresh air, but it turns out the captain ordered everybody on deck because in the event of capsizing, anybody below deck would be trapped in the hull. I shifted thought and yelled to them “WELL DON’T SIT THERE, COME TO ME!” bringing them to a more exposed, but upwind side of the banka, safe from flying debris. I asked our dive master for PFD’s as another crewmember was fetching them from below for everybody to use.

Huddled together on the bow like sitting ducks, anchored facing upwind, we were riding out the most intense tropical storm that I had ever experienced. Adventure is what I asked for when I landed in Coron (I literally told our local guide ‘I want to do something adventurous’) and it’s definitely what I got.

Now, I wish I could say that I was taken by surprise when all this started happening., but some clues should have forewarned us of such an event. It is currently the rainy season in the Philippines and these storms aren’t uncommon, in fact, about a year ago typhoon Yolanda ripped through this same island chain killing 20+ residents. The day before the storm, the Philippine Coastguard had paused commercial trips from happening due to rough conditions and limited visibility. The morning we set out, the visibility was slightly improved compared to the day before, but was obviously changing for the worse right after the coast guard approved our excursion. After our first dive of a sunken Japanese submarine hunter/gun boat is when things got spicy! The day after it all happened is when I realized how serious the typhoon really was; Two ferries had capsized during that same storm in the Palawan island region that we were diving and flooding had occurred in the majority of the Philippine islands.

When the winds decreased, we finished our last two dives in areas more protected and closer the town of Coron where we were staying. It was an enjoyable day and one to definitely remember. I hope to return and dive the larger historic wrecks that were originally planned and explore more of what this beautiful limestone island chain has to offer. But perhaps some day I can do more than just be a tourist and pursue my personal desires in the Philippines. Not only do Filipinos get the short-end-of-the-stick economically speaking (compared to the developed world), but they also lay victim to an aggressively changing climate, coupled with a mountain of environmental, health, political, and educational challenges to overcome. These challenges may seem like a reoccurring theme, reminding us of other island nations and vulnerable populations around the world. However it’s in every individual Filipino’s smile and kind heart that give me optimism about the future of the Philippines.

All photos courtesy of Trisha Hall