SEA GAMES

The Bay
Clark & Subic Lifestyle, Leisure & Business
Volume 1 Issue 3
October - November
2005
SEA CAREERS
SEAPLANES
SEAPORT
SEABEES
SEA GAMES
PLUS: SPORTS / BUSINESS / HISTORY / CULTURE / ENVIRONMENT
WELCOME
Dear Readers,
The Philippines will host the 23rd South East Asian (SEA)
Games in November and December, 2005. In or near Clark
and Subic is where Philippine athletes will almost certainly
win armfuls of gold medals. The Bay tells you how.
The past two months of research and interview has allowed
us to explore the history of each sport and rub shoulders with
the highly motivated men and women who will be straining
muscle and brain to outperform and outwit athletes from
around the Region. The results have been extraordinarily
enlightening.
Although ostensibly in search of medals, team members have
surprised with their dedication in training and determination
to fly the Philippine flag high above all others. The sacrifices
already made, and those to come in the next eight weeks,
stand testament to a growing enthusiasm amongst Philippine
youth to take on the most talented sporting nations on Earth
and identify with an alternative currency: pride in improved
performance. However, the two youngest members of the
Kayak and Canoe team, Danny Fijnelas (16) and Jonard
Saren (17), recently returned from European competition, tell
it their way, “out of seven events we are determined to win
five gold and two silver”.
Starting with the front cover (the “sea” plane) we have taken
a little license with the “SEA” theme and used a broad brush
to color The Bay with some other apparently watery subjects
to create a compendium of the Clark and Subic, business and
lifestyle that will hopefully surprise and inform.
If you are intrigued and motivated by the content of this
issue then visit us here for the SEA Games and drop by to our
advertisers who can tell you better than we that this unique
area of the Philippines is second to none when it comes to
delivering golden opportunities.
Sincerely,
Martyn Willes, Editor
THE COVER
Mike O’Farrell, pilot, owner
operator of Subic Seaplane, Inc.
with his Cessna 180 float plane.
Photo by Kevin Hamdorf ©
EDITORIAL
Editor MARTYN WILLES
Photo Editor KEVIN HAMDORF
Tel # +63 47 252 7821 / 232 1332
Email: [email protected]
Advertising BERNADITH WILLES
Design & Layout
Hamdorf Photography & Design, Inc.
Roselyn Tuazon-Castillo
DECEMBER 2005 - JANUARY 2006
Women’s Business
THE BAY magazine is published
by DeBe Enterprise,
4474 Scarlet Street, Sun Valley
Subd., Parañaque City 1700,
Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone +63 2 823 0135
Facsimile +63 47 232 1332
Email: [email protected]
All Rights Reserved.
CONTENTS
Happy Halloween !!!
from Marlona Barbon
6 BUSINESS
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
By Bruce Curran
8 CAREERS
Safer Ships... Safer Seas
By Bob Couttie
10 CULTURAL
Subic Bay’s Museums
By Bob Couttie
14 ENVIRONMENT
The Sea Beneath
From an interview with Ma. Luisa Giron,
Ocean Discovery Aquarium
16 HISTORICAL
CB’s build at QB
By Tomas de Makati
18 DEVELOPMENT
Seaport: Minimum Impact Maximum Benefit
By Martyn Willes
20 RECREATION
Sea Defense: The San Quentin
From an interview with Johan de Sadeleir
22 SOUTH EAST ASIAN GAMES
A series of articles by Martyn Willes
31 THE BAY REGIONAL MAP
33 SUBIC BAY FREEPORT MAP
35 CLARK ECOZONE MAP
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information. With respect to
information contained herein, The Publisher makes no warranty, expressed or implied,
including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect
to advertisements. The Publisher assumes no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness,
or usefulness of any information disclosed herein and does not represent that use of such
information would not infringe on privately owned rights.
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2005
BUSINESS
SEAPLANES: The Zen of the
Philippine Egg
Words by Bruce Curran
The piercing beauty of the
tropical bay lay silent within the magic
of the islands. A black speck appeared
in the blueness of an otherwise empty
Philippine sky. The whining of a small
engine interrupted feelings of timelessness
and isolation. A fixed wing dipped to the
West and glided onto the glassy ocean
surface, as the seaplane arrived with
three passengers into the tranquillity of a
corralled hideaway.
7000 islands spread across a
watery archipelago are the ideal stomping
grounds for a fleet of seaplanes and one
would not be surprised to see them coming
and going throughout these islands. But
this is the Philippines: a country that
chooses its own unique ways to drift along
paths of existence that are mysteriously
unfathomable, well hidden within the black
6
holes of God’s vast
universe.
To
see
beyond agriculture
and a fisherman’s
dream
requires
a highly skilled
Top: Mike O’Farrell’s Cessna 180 float plane lying off Capones Island, north
of Subic Bay. Bottom: Emergency rescue of diver suffering from the Benz,
and
enormously
flown
from Boracay to the Subic Bay Recompression chamber for treatment.
dedicated
being
Photos by Kevin Hamdorf
to infiltrate the
simplicity steeped in complexity of this Those who have eaten that most famous of
tropical paradise, especially when it comes Philippine eggs, the balut (a 21-day old
to setting up a business. Blessed be the feathered bony embryo), will have some
man on a mission with a dream, limitless understanding of the difference when it
determination and a clear vision. The comes to an American-breakfast egg,
fatalism that washes through these lands sunny-side-up.
swept by typhoons, cut by earthquakes and
This brings us back to seaplanes,
regularly washed by flooding, is a tough or the virtual lack of them in these islands.
egg to crack. Everyone is put to the ultimate
In a hanger close to the water on
test when it comes to the Philippine egg. the southern shore of Subic Bay, sits the only
registered ‘true’ seaplane in Philippine
waters. ‘True’ in that it can only land
on water and not double up for earth
landings.
Mike O’Farrell, ex-US Navy,
has run his Cessna seaplane business,
“Subic Seaplane”, for six years: flying
passengers on trips to exotic resorts,
over the eeriness of Mount Pinatubo
and on convenience trips to Manila.
He has been involved in rescues for
those in peril from the sea: one diver,
suffering from the benz was flown to
the decompression facility in Subic from
far away; four divers, separated from
their dive boat, drifted overnight, right
through to the next afternoon, before
Mike spotted them, reported their GPS
position, and they were picked up
in rough seas by a rescue boat. Mike
regularly takes people to the beauty of
Pandan island (West Mindoro), Puerto
Galera, Busuanga (northern Palawan)
and, with a maximum four hour flying
time without refuelling, can whisk you
away as far as Puerto Princesa.
Taking a seaplane is a
perfect convenience when you realize
that a road and boat trip to Puerto
Galera from Subic Bay would take all
of seven hours, but a quick flip in the
seaplane will take but one hour. And,
at a hundred miles an hour, and only
a couple of thousand feet above the
earth, the passenger gets a spectacular
view of these tropical lands.
For a magical mystery
tour beyond imagination, take the
early morning flight to check out the
moonscape around the Pinatubo volcano
(the world’s largest explosion of the last
century, in 1991). If you ask, Mike will connect the wingtip
video recorder for a permanent record of perhaps the most
amazing moment in your
life so far.
There are only
a couple of amphibian
seaplanes (being at
home on water or land)
registered within the
Philippines and one right
now is far away making
its mark on the world
stage. Clark airfield
is the home range of
SEAIR (South East Asian
Airlines), one of the
most successful domestic
airlines, who own a
magnificent
Dornier
amphibian airplane: the
vintage 24ATT.
Conceived by
the German grandfather
of SEAIR Chairman, Iren
Dornier, this mammoth
plane has a wingspan
greater than a Boeing Top: Iren Dornier, pilot and Chairman of South East Asian
737-200. It is a true Airlines. Photo by Tim Fischer
beauty of the sky, looking Bottom: The Dornier 24ATT amphibian plane.
Photo courtesy of South East Asian Airlines.
not unlike like a gigantic
dragonfly as it powers its way through the airways of these islands with
its all-powerful row of three Pratt & Whitney turbo-prop engines.
Currently, and for the past year and a half, it has been out on
a global mission, promoting the Philippines as a tourist destination and
raising funds for the work of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund);
during the first leg of the journey (to December 2004) funds totalling
US$61,000 were raised.
The project, “Mission: Dream”, has been similarly mammoth,
with the plane being disassembled from a museum in Munich, brought to
Clark, and painstakingly restored before embarking on its epic roundthe-world journey, inspired by the original designer and manufacturer,
Iren’s grandfather, Claudius Dornier.
When the Dornier finally returns to the Philippine islands next
year, after its epic, two-year tour of the world, it will act as the exotic,
continued...
CAREERS
Safer ships.......
Safer Seas
Words by Bob Couttie
Photos by Kevin R. Hamdorf
Few people give a thought
to the importance of the international
shipping industry as it relates to the
economic development of the world.
For the most part it is an industry that
is out of sight and out of mind, unless
you happen to live close to a port.
Occasionally the industry
grabs our attention, but usually for
all the wrong reasons, such as the
grounding of an oil tanker.
The
shipping
industry
should regularly make the headlines
for its remarkable achievements:
approximately 95 percent of world
trade by weight and volume travels
by sea and it is difficult to imagine
any practical alternative. The volume of
seaborne trade is directly linked to the
growth of the world economy as a whole;
global trade is dependent on the world’s
merchant fleet, which currently numbers
more than 29,000 ships of more than
1000 gross registered tonnes.
Shipping is one of the most
environmentally sustainable means of
transport in the world today. It is less
damaging to the environment than other
modes of transport and subject to far
fewer capacity limitations. No other
means of transport comes close to the
energy efficiency of a merchant ship.
Today’s ships are marvels of
design, technical innovation and advanced
engineering. Of critical importance to
their operation are the men and women
that sail on them, for months at a time,
having responsibility for loading and
discharging cargoes, navigating safely
from port to port, ensuring that the ship
and all her systems function properly with very little external support once at
sea should things go wrong. So seafarers
need to be proficient in a diverse range of
skills to be self sufficient in all respects.
About 1.2 million seafarers,
comprising of 820,000 ratings and
400,000 officers, man the world’s
merchant fleet. 18.5 percent come from
the Philippines, making the crewing
industry the 4th largest earner of foreign
exchange revenue for the country.
It is not as easy today to become
crew as it was (say) when Magellan first
arrived in the Philippines – you can no
longer stand outside a dockside inn
and expect to be shanghaied into a
swashbuckling life at sea. Modern ships
need well trained and competent crews.
Across the world, numerous maritime
colleges and training centers of varying
standards provide education and training
for the world’s seafarers. Recognized
as one of the best, the International
Development and Environmental Shipping
School was established in Subic Bay 10
years ago, during which time 50,000
seafarers have gone through the various
training programs developed and run by
IDESS.
The first IDESS training center
established in the Philippines was opened
in Manila in 1991. By 1993 it was
apparent that a new and larger location,
free from the congestion of the city, was
required. Subic Bay was considered to
be the perfect location for the future
development.
A significant investment was
made in the construction of a new
purpose-built facility, equipped to the
highest standards that has become the
model which others in the region have
tried to emulate.
On Nabasan Pier IDESS
established the first fast rescue boat
training facility in the country, and the
Top Left: The first freefall launched life
boat training facility in Asia. Nabasan
Pier, Subic Bay Freeport.
Bottom: The Philippine’s only 3600 Full
Mission Bridge Simulator
Right: Search and Rescue exercise,
Subic Bay.
first
freefall
lifeboat facility
in Asia, as well
as a helicopter
underwater
escape trainor.
I t s
search
and
rescue resources
have often been
Downed helicopter underwater escape training - in the event of a ditching
called upon by
at sea during crew transfers to or from offshore oil & gas platforms.
SBMA over the
years, to which
the response has always been positive, learning resources to seafarers while
even in the most extreme weather on board ship. It made a further
conditions.
investment in Subic Bay establishing a
IDESS Maritime Centre is an ISO new company called IDESS Interactive
9001-2000 company, and has achieved Technologies Inc. Their innovative
recognition and accreditation from designs are attracting the attention
national and international government of major corporations in the shipping,
and private sector organisations around and oil and gas industries.
the globe.
With such facilities here, Subic
In step with the rapid evolution Bay is making a valuable contribution
of communication technologies, the to the global quest for safer shipping
organisation researched ways to extend and cleaner seas.
CULTURAL
...an impressive and
worthwhile effort to
keep the history of the
area alive...
SEA HISTORY:
Subic Bay’s Museums
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2005
Words by Bob Couttie
Photos by Kevin Hamdorf
Japanese Zeros suddenly roar
overhead; Olongapo is in flames torched by its residents as they flee the
invaders. Nearby, Aeta families hunt
and play as, steps away, a US airman
learns the forest skills that will save his
life in Vietnam. Just beyond is the 21st
century vision of the country’s premier
Freeport, built by 8,000 dedicated
volunteers after the departure of the
US Navy in 1992.
The Subic Bay Historical Centre,
10
situated just behind the Arts Center, is
not so much a museum as a travelogue
through time of an area that has
played an important role in the history
of the Philippines since the late 19th
century. It’s an excellent companion
to the Maritime Museum, part of the
Magellan’s Landing restaurant and
hotel complex, the pride and joy of its
colorful owner, Brian Homan.
The Historical Center, on
Aguinaldo Road, is a light and sound
Top: Maritime Museum founder, Mr. Brian Homan,
examines a Ming Dynasty cutlas recovered from an
offshore Vietnam wreck.
Right: The maritime museum at Vascos on
Magellan’s Landing, has a fascinatinating collection
of underwater artifacts, recovered in conjunction
with the National Museum of the Philippines.
museum. It’s a guided tour with
narration through eight themed
areas, with animatronics and actual
artifacts ranging from a re-creation
of the pre-Hispanic rain forest (where
fearsome Zambal headhunters took
the severed skulls of the nomadic
Aeta people to impress future
fathers-in-law) through to the
decision of the Spanish to establish
an arsenal in Subic and the bloody
Philippine American War. It features
(the Historical Center)
is an impressive and
worthwhile effort to
keep the history of
the area alive and
record it for future
generations.”
From 9 to 5,
Tuesday to Sunday,
for just 50 pesos for
adults or 40 pesos
for students, it takes
you on a fascinating
journey through the
past and provides
Top: A life size diorama of a Spanish era scene at the old Spanish
Gate, the original entrance to the Subic Bay Naval Station
a glimpse into the
Bottom: Subic Bay US Naval base’s founding personalities; President
exciting
Theodore Roosevelt (left) and Admiral George Dewey (right).
potential
The Subic Bay Historical Center.
for the
a reconstruction of a US Navy office,
future.
complete with early computers,
P r i v a t e
telephone switchboards, the tragedy
enterprise
allows
of the Oryoku Maru and the surrender
another piece of history
of the Japanese at the end of WW2.
to survive and be put to
It concludes with the departure of the
good use: The blackened, arches that
US navy in 1992 and the creation of
remain of the old Spanish-American
the Freeport.
coaling pier are now the physical
Subic Bay historian Lt. Cmdr.
backbone of the Maritime Museum at
Gerald R. Anderson, whose book,
Magellan’s Landing; it is the brainchild
Subic Bay: Magellan to Pinatubo, is
of Australian marine archaeologist
the recognized authority on the US
Brian Homan.
Navy base’s history comments: “It
Brian first arrived in the
Philippines in the late 1970s, but
became quickly disenchanted with
Manila. “A crazy Mexican called
‘Big Willie’ suggested I visit Puerto
Galera. Entering Muelle Bay was one
of the most memorable experiences
of my life . . . the other was my first
ship wreck discovery.”
On the day that Ninoy Aquino
was assassinated at Manila Airport,
in the sands beneath Muelle Bay
Brian chanced upon a Chinese, Ming
dynasty wreck loaded with beautiful
dragon jars.
“Removing sand from a 600
year old wreck and not knowing
what
lies
just a few
centimeters
to the left
or right is
a
heartstopping
...a collection of over
600 pieces of mainly
Sung and Ming dynasty
Chinese artifacts...
experience”, recalls Brian.
That discovery laid the
foundations of a collection of over
600 pieces of mainly Sung and Ming
dynasty Chinese artifacts, which
are now on display at the Maritime
Museum along with other exhibits.
Working closely with the
SEAPLANE .......
ten-seater seaplane delivering the wealthy to exotic
locations off Palawan or, perhaps, to join a luxury Banka
Safari.
If the most spectacular way to view the Philippine
archipelago is by air, the most impressive way to arrive
Visitors to Vasco’s Maritime Museum have included such personalities as the
late Fernando Poe Jr. and Eddie Garcia (right), being guided through the
museum by Vasco’s propreitor, Brian Homan and son Connar.
National Museum, Brian has explored Palawan,
Marinduque, Catanduanes and Sulu: “In those days if I
got a call from the museum, we were off.”
In 1993 Brian came to Subic Bay Freeport
aboard a replica Spanish galleon. Together with Jim
Robertson he established the first dive shop on the
newly opened Freeport, at what is now the ‘Scuba
Shack Beach Bar & Grill’ on Waterfront Road.
In March 2000 he began the process of
building a museum-restaurant-hotel complex at the
former coaling pier, putting the first exhibits on display
three months later. The name ‘Magellan’s Landing’ is in
recognition of the first Portuguese explorer to reach
the archipelago and the restaurant, ‘Vasco’s’, is named
after another explorer, Vasco de Gama, famous for
pioneering the route around Africa to India via the
Cape of Good Hope.
Currently the museum features two themed
exhibit spaces: one specializing in the southern islands
from the pre-Hispanic through Hispanic periods; and,
one covering more general eras, including fascinating
Japanese artifacts from WWII.
Backing the museum are facilities for treating
and cleaning artifacts and for replicating old Spanish
cannon. Replica canons, together with replica dragon
jars, are being used to create a nearby reef to provide
a dive location and habitat for rare fish, “One day
someone’s going to report a new Spanish wreck here”.
Entry to the museum is free although Brian
would be happy if you stopped for a pie and a pint
during your visit; chatting with Brian you may also hear
of Philippine history that goes back to the stone and
iron ages.
at any given beach is at the head a creamy white trail of
foam from the float wash of a seaplane.
In the future, I can imagine a journey bonded
by water and air, through the exquisite and unparalleled
beauty of these magnificent Philippine Islands; all of us
adventurers, tucked snugly into the Dornier’s on-board
bar, gurgling down a cold San Miguel or two and slurping
a couple of balut eggs that hold promises of unfulfilled
dreams . . . after all, each balut is the undisputed
Philippine aphrodisiac-par-excellence. The eggs will
serve to tantalise those of us who are fortunate enough
to take a peak from within the “love dome” -- the twoseater, glass-bubble observation area atop the Dornier’s
main fuselage.
Only the Philippines can bring it all on, thanks
to a seaplane or two, unleashed by the unfathomable
mysteries of a Philippine egg.
Top and bottom: The Dornier 24ATT amphibian plane in
its original late 1930’s configuration. Photos courtesy
of South East Asian Airlines
ENVIRONMENT
The Sea Beneath
From an interview with Ma. Luisa Giron, Ocean Discovery Aquarium
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2005
Photos by Kevin Hamdorf
Look out over any expanse of
water (a lake, river, bay or ocean) and it
is easy to see the glistening surface, with or
without waves, as a solid barrier that can
only be penetrated by a jumping salmon
or a breaching whale. Since the dawn of
time, fishermen have cast their lines and nets
onto this surface and miraculously, as the
line or net falls, some unseen creature from
the depths will be enticed or entrapped
such that a family can later sit and watch a
mouthwatering delicacy from another realm
cook over a crackling fire with the knowledge
that their stomachs will soon be full.
Such was the abundance of the
waterways and seas around the World
that scant consideration was given to
the interrelationships between the living
components of this under-surface realm and
its impact on the lives of those above . . .
We now know that we need to know more
if we are to continue to benefit from Mother
Nature’s bounty.
If anyone should be credited
with giving pleasure to the study of what
lies beneath it must be Jacque
Cousteau who, during the latter
part of the last century, almost
single handedly inspired what
has become a multimilliondollar industry centered on
scuba diving. Through his work,
and that of the enthusiasts that
Top: The Ocean Adventure
Discovery Aquarium.
Right: The pristine mangroves
at the mouth of the Boton River
provide
an important
breeding ground for Subic Bay’s
marine life.
14
followed, the World came to understand the
dazzling brilliance of the myriad of aquatic
organisms and life forms, and the importance
of maintaining the balance between them.
His documentaries brought dolphins and
whales into our
living rooms and
children learned
that the oceans
were in fact their
heritage.
And,
as they grew
to
adulthood,
some took on the
responsibility to
preserve it so that
something would be left to pass to their own
children.
Unfortunately, thanks to movies
like ‘Jaws’ (and National Geographic to
some extent), for some people the idea
of swimming has a fear factor second to
none. For those: Nature magazine recently
reported that the number of people killed
(excluding air/sea disaster victims) by these
fearsome predators (Great White sharks)
totals only seven individuals in the last
century. By comparison, in the seven-year
period to 1997 four times that number of
children were killed by TV sets falling on
them. In other words, watching ‘Jaws’ on TV
is far more dangerous than swimming in the
Pacific!
For those
who still can’t
bear the thought
of putting their
face under the
glistening surface
to see what lies
beneath there is
hope . . .
T h e
Ocean Discovery Aquarium, part of
Subic Bay’s Ocean Adventure complex, is
actually a series of aquariums that provide
an interactive experience for all ages. It
describes the flow of water from the land to
the sea and the different types of habitats
that are found along the way. Starting at
the terrestrial forest/watershed habitat,
continuing down to the land/sea interface
of the mangrove swamps, out past the
man-made wharf structures, then on to the
If we fail to preserve the
base of the food chain
then we can all expect to
be eating a lot of toyo
and rice
sandy sea grass beds at
the bottom of the bay
and finally along a rich
coral reef that slopes
off into the deep open
ocean. The entire system
is a living world where
even microorganisms and
sunlight are employed to
reprocess animal waste
and clean the water.
Each
habitat
along the discovery path
is unique and full of weird
and wonderful creatures
that make these particular
environments their home: Freshwater Stream,
Mangrove Swamp, Wharf Piling, Sea Grass
Beds, Coral Reef, Reef Slope and Rocky
Cave.
Through this experience it is
hoped that even more children will come to
understand the importance to Man of the
unfathomable diversity of God’s creation,
the interrelationship between ALL of the
inhabitants of the rivers, seas and oceans
and through direct involvement with their
protection they will have something to pass
on to generations to come.
The oceans of the world are the
foundation of the food chain upon which
all other living things, including Man, rely.
Understanding the importance, diversity
and the interrelation of its millions of living
components is essential to our own survival.
If we fail to preserve the base of the food
chain then we can all expect to be eating
a lot of toyo and rice, with
maybe only a drop of
kalamasi for variety.
If you want your
grandchildren to enjoy
oysters and mussels, lobster
and prawn, dorado and
salmon then you must
become informed. If you
are one of those who don’t
fancy pulling on a wetsuit
and flippers, loading up
with regulator and tank, and
swimming with your study
subjects then keep your feet
dry and visit the non-shark/
crocodile/ piranha/ giant squid/ prehistoric
monster/ Hollywood infested Ocean
Discovery Aquarium instead.
Top: A member of JEST (Jungle Environmental
Survival Training School), demonstrates a
traditional Aeta trap used to capture fresh water
shrimp, that thrive in the clear streams and rivers
of Subic Bay’s rainforest.
2005 - FREEPORT CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION SCHEDULE
September 14-October 14 - NOMINATION
PROCESS BEGINS:
Corporate members in good standing may
nominate their choice(s) for next year’s
Board.
October 14 – October 28 CANDIDATE
SELECTION
Those nominated are asked for their minimum 10 hours per month
voluntary commitment to serve on the Board. If willing, they will be
declared as official candidates in the voting process.
November 1 – November 18 . VOTING PROCESS BEGINS
Based on confirmed candidates who have verified they are willing
to serve. Ballots are forwarded to all Corporate members who are
asked to VOTE for the candidate(s) of their choice.
November 21 – November 25 – TABULATION
Votes are tabulated by the delegated Returning Officer and
scrutinized by the Elections Committee.
November 29 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS
Election Results with names of new Board members are announced.
December 2 –OFFICER SELECTION
Next year’s officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and
Corporate Secretary) are selected by the Board of Directors
and announced at the Christmas party.
January 2006 . the work continues..
HISTORICAL
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2005
QB
CB’s build at
Words By Tomas de Makati
Reportedly while piling
ice-cream atop his apple pie on
Christmas day 1941, Rear Admiral
Ben Moreell, Chief of the U.S. Navy’s
Bureau of Yards and Docks, mused
that the answer to his dilemma -the need to build advance bases in
a war zone while being prevented
from using civilian specialists
-- was to form a specialized
construction group within the
Navy; three days later he
penned a request to establish
a Construction Battalion. On
5th January 1942, Bureau
of
Navigation
Circular
Letter No. 1-42 approved
the request and RADM Ben
Moreell became the “Father
of the Seabees”.
First assignment – on
17 February 1942, 296
men of the rapidly formed
First Construction Battalion
arrived at the dramatically
picturesque, Pacific Island of
Bora Bora to construct its first airfieldon-a-reef and ship refueling station.
This detachment, being without
an official name at that time, was
named “Bobcat”, being the military
16
code name for the island. The name
“Seabees” (from the acronym C.B.,
”Construction Battalion”) was officially
bestowed on 5th March along with the
approval of the ‘fighting bee’ insignia.
Between World War II and the
Korean War the Seabees developed
techniques that allowed them to turn
and most of them were noticeably
older than regular fighting conscript
counterparts; most were apprenticed
civilian construction specialists and
engineers. With an average age of
37, the humor of the day warned,
“Be kind to a Seabee, he might be
your father”. But these men proudly
established a tradition: they
were ready and able to get the
job done, no matter where or
under what conditions.
As the Marines and
soldiers fought their way across
the Pacific and Europe, the
Seabees fought alongside, and
completed their construction
amidst the bullets and gore.
Often chanting “We Build,
We Fight”, the Seabees built
airstrips, bridges, hospitals,
roads and housing, warehousing
and fuel storage facilities;
quickly, as needed and where
“Pta. Cubu”
needed.
The
Seabees
almost any size of reef / island into a
performed their first key role in the
serviceable airstrip and ship support
Philippines when US forces invaded
facility in as little as 16 days.
Leyte and Samar in October 1944.
Seabee
recruits
were
Responsible not only for construction
selected for quality, not quantity
and repair of facilities on shore, their
purview encompassed the hundreds
of ships arriving in San Pedro Bay;
the Seabees managed the supply line
that unloaded thousands of tons of
war materials in a timely manner while
under constant aerial bombardment
from fighter planes, bombers and
kamikaze. By the time they left Samar
for the big push north, they had also
built a 3,000-bed hospital, an airstrip
and a Chapel-By-The-Sea at Guiuan
– the dedication at the Chapel read,
“Jointly constructed in honor of their
friendship and as a lasting gift to
the people of Guiuan” (regrettably
the Chapel was destroyed by killertyphoon Agnes in November 1984
and was not rebuilt).
It was during the Korean War,
the U.S. Navy recognized the need
for a strategic Naval Air Station in the
West Pacific. First choice: Subic Bay.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral
Arthur W. Radford pictured the air
station as the vital-link in the defense
of the West and Southwest Pacific. In
1951 he obtained approval to build,
by far the most impressive project
ever undertaken by the Seabees:
construction of Naval Air Station Cubi
Point.
At Cubi, Seabees cut a
mountain in half, blasted coral and
filled in a section of Subic Bay almost
a mile wide and nearly two miles
long. They moved the entire town of
Banicain and all of its residents three
miles east to Olongapo, to the area
now known as New Banicain. The three
thousand Seabees took nearly five
years and expended 20 million manhours to construct the air station and its
adjacent aircraft carrier pier, capable
of docking the Navy’s biggest aircraft
carriers. The movement of the coral
and fill required for the job - some 20
million cubic yards – was equal to the
task of building the Panama Canal.
Commissioned on July 25,
1956, President Ramon Magsaysay
attended the ceremony at NAS Cubi
Point. Admiral Arthur Radford himself
made the first landing on the Cubi
airstrip, giving rise to its original
name: Radford Field.
Other famous people have
been involved with the development
of NAS Cubi Point and Subic Bay Naval Station. For example: January 1958,
Lee Harvey Oswald (the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy) arrived,
attached to MACS-1, to set up a temporary radar tracking and control unit.
Throughout all of the wars, and in between, Seabees have also built
infrastructure for the local civilian populations. These works earned them the
deserved name of the “Navy’s Goodwill Ambassadors”.
Separately and together the U.S. Navy Seabees and their Philippine
Navy counterparts have undertaken a myriad of community development
projects around the Philippines. They have built schools, roads, hospitals and
clinics in an effort to bring some of the benefits of the 21st century to all corners
Top Left: Construction of the Cubi Point Naval Air Station, as viewed from the location of today’s Boton Wharf.
Bottom Left: Spanish era Map clearly marking “Pta. Cubu Point”; eventual site of the US Naval Air
StationCubi Air Station.
Above: A formation of de Haviland Sea Venom fighters, from the 1960 visit of the Royal Australian Navy
Aircraft Carrier, HMAS MELBOURNE, (docked at Leyte Pier at left) fly over the newly completed Cubi Point
Naval Air Station. Photos courtesy of the US Naval Archives.
of the country. To this day they cooperate in joint military exercises around the
country – most recently in 2004, in Nueva Ecija, where they have expanded
infrastructure to enable more rapid deployment of troops and rescue teams in
preparation for natural disasters.
More than sixty years on, the Seabees first project in Bora Bora and its
most impressive at Cubi Point are both still operational (although both are now
run by civilians) and stand as testimony to Moreell’s vision and the determination
of the hundreds of thousands who have proudly worn the fighting bee insignia.
On 1st August, 1966, The Philippine Navy planted the seeds of its own Seabee
unit when the Department of Public Works and Communications turned over
half of its dredge fleet to the Waterfront and Dredge Company of the Philippine
Navy. In 1973 President Marcos directed the activation of an additional engineer
construction battalion to support all the major services of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP). On 26 April 1980, in order to increase the operational
capability and effectiveness of the unit to respond to expanding functions and
tasks the Naval Construction Force was upgraded into the Naval Construction
Brigade – the PN Seabees.
SEA PORT:
MINIMUM
IMPACT
MAXIMUM BENEFIT
Words by Martyn Willes
Photos by Kevin R. Hamdorf
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2005
Remember the lyric, “I read
the news today oh boy, four thousand
holes in Blackburn, Lancashire” (from the
Beatles’ song, “Day In The Life”)? As a
relatively, innocent provincial teenager
I found it difficult to comprehend the
meaning, never having been to Blackburn
Nor having anyone to explain to me that
it originated from a British newspaper
headline. Through the years a, sometimes
strange, variety of images have floated
into view whenever the song swirls
around me in the dusty backwash of
a passing jeepney or, more recently,
thankfully, finds its way out of my in-car
entertainment system. But none of those
images was quite as expansive as the
18
middle of 2007, the storage areas, road infrastructure
and handling systems capable of processing up to
600,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot container Equivalent Units)
per year will be installed and ready for action. To put
this into perspective, the Subic Bay Freeport Port will
be approximately one third the capacity of the entire
Manila Port.
According to Robert
Feliciano SBMA Head of PMOFAPO (Project Management
Office - Foreign Assistance
Project Office) Department,
“when operational it will
have far reaching benefits
for industry, commerce and
individuals throughout Region
III and Metro Manila . . . the
most important of which is that
manufacturers in Zambales,
Pampanga, Tarlac and Bataan
will no longer need to transport
their goods through Manila Port”.
Now think about that for a moment: if you are unfortunate enough to
be in Manila around the time the truck ban is lifted everyday you will know that
for a hour or more the roads become overloaded. The capacity of Subic Bay
Freeport Port will enable it to take one truck per minute off Manila’s roads on
a 24/7 basis. That should lead to less congestion, less pollution, less operating
expense, less wear and tear on the shiny smooth North Luzon Expressway, less
hassle . . . provided the main road
artery feeding Subic Bay from Clark
and Tarlac is completed on time in
2007.
In parallel, and under a
private enterprise port development
project, some of these benefits will
start to be felt within this year. The
gargantuan Subic Fertilizer silos,
now dominating the skyline near the
airport, allow for the bulk handling
and repackaging of fertilizers for
the rice growing plains and plateaus
of central and northern Luzon.
The project is divided into
two phases, creating two adjacent
cargo-handling areas capable of
processing 300,000 TEUs per year.
The operator of the first phase will
That should lead to less
congestion, less pollution,
less operating expense,
less wear and tear on the
shiny smooth North Luzon
Expressway, less hassle . . .
vision of the seemingly thousands of holes
now being installed at Cubi Point, Subic
Bay.
Row upon row of enormous steel
tubes are being punched as deep as 60
meters into the ground to create the stable
foundation for one of the largest, single port
projects the country has ever undertaken.
The goal is to expand Subic Bay’s ship
handling capability to embrace the larger
primary container vessels up to 280 meters
long with a draft up to 13 meters.
Under a US$185 million loan
from the Japanese Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC) the long awaited Subic
Bay Freeport Port development is now
marching towards its objective: by the
continued next page
DEVELOPMENT
Top left: Birds eye view of the ongoing construction of the container
port development site at Cubi Point.
Bottom left: Steel foundation pilings for phase 1 & 2 of the container
piers.
Top right: Length of steel piling being barged into the construction site.
Bottom right: Surveying placement of foundation piles.
RECREATION
Sea Defense:
The San Quentin
C
hatting over a hearty
breakfast at Johan’s Adventure
and Wreck Dive Center, along
Baloy Beach adjacent to Barrio
Barretto, we discovered a veritable
treasure trove of information
about the San Quentin and all
of the other Spanish wrecks of
Subic Bay. This is Johan’s brief
introduction to the boat that was
deliberately sunk to create a sea
defense:
In 1572 Juan De Salcedo
arrived in Subic Bay to collect
tributes for the Spanish king,
Philip II. Upon his return home
to Spain, Salcedo reported to
the King his observation and
admiration for Subic’s deep
water, sheltered anchorage as a
militarily strategic location with a
“healthy environment”.
It was not until 1868
however, that the Spaniards
conducted a military expedition
to Subic Bay and rediscovered
Salcedo’s vision. In 1884 King
Alfonso II issued a Royal Decree
officially declaring Subic Bay as
a naval port; in 1885 the Spanish
From an Interview with Johan de Sadeleir
Photos courtesy of Johan’s Dive Shop
naval Commission started the
construction of an arsenal and ship
repair facility.
At the outbreak of the
Spanish-American war (1898) plans
where made to fortify Grande
Island, which sits at the mouth of
the bay. Four six inch guns where
shipped from Cavite to Grande
but where not installed because
the necessary masonry was out
of stock. To compensate for this
frustration, mines where laid and
the wooden cruiser Castilla was
towed to the northeast point of
Grande Island to protect the west,
deep-water entrance.
To block the shallower
entrance to the east, between
Grande and Chiquita islands, the
gunboat San Quentin and two old
merchant ships where scuttled,
effectively preventing passage
by all but the smallest of boats
and certainly nothing that could
threaten. However, before the
Subic Bay defenses could be tested,
Spain succumbed to the superior
American fire power at the Battle
of Manila Bay.
The San Quentin lays in
a shallow 16 meters of water,
visibility is mostly clear the whole
year round; on a good day up to
20 meters. Because she is nestled
between two reefs the site is
exciting and of great interest to
both reef and wreck divers.
What we know about the
wreck we have gathered from
pictures: she had sails and two huge
boilers and was about 80 meters
SEA PORT... from page19
long. She was built of steel and wood and, although
after more than a century all the wood has all but rotted
away, the steel spans, bow, stern and boilers are still
intact.
Marine life includes soft coral sponges, hydroids,
clownfish, catfish, angelfish, butterfly fish, spotted
sweetlips,
fusiliers, coral
trout,
big
puffer
fish,
blue spotted
lagoon rays
and
the
occasional
black and white striped snake, turtle and white tip reef
shark. Hard corals can also be found here in their entire
splendor after 107 years of growth.
The San Quentin is perhaps the best site in the
bay for underwater photographers and, when the sun is
shining on the wreck, even an amateur can take home a
picture to be proud of.
...even an amateur can
take home a picture to be
proud of.
Top left: Divers explore the 107 year old wreck of the “San Quentin” lying off
Grande Island at the head of Subic Bay.
Top right: A sister ship of the “San Quentin” illustrates the majesty of the original
vessel, which now lies sixteen meters below the waters of Subic Bay.
For dive inquiries: please contact Johan’s Dive Shop on Baloy Beach, Subic Bay.
Telephone # (047) 224 8915
most likely be the experienced ICTSI, who already
operate a smaller, existing facility in Subic Bay
as well as in Manila port. The operator of the
second phase is open at this stage but according to
**Feliciano** a number of local and international
terminal operators have expressed a strong
interest in the project because, “unlike Batangas
for example we will be providing all of the
main infrastructure components as well as all of
the container handling systems . . . so a terminal
operator can virtually walk in and start loading or
unloading a vessel the day the contract is signed”.
Progress usually comes at a cost . . .
frequently to the environment. Much planning
has taken place and much expense incurred to
ensure that this development of the port does not
significantly impact the unique ecosystems of the
bay and / or the rainforests behind; where there is
impact it should be as short term as possible.
Project
consultants
PACIFIC
CONSULTANTS, and the main contractor PENTA
OCEAN and SHIMIZU, TOA JOINT VENTURE,
have implemented numerous measures to ensure
environmental protection, perhaps the most
visible of which is the row of silt screens around
the reclamation area that prevent silt damage to
nearby corals and other indigenous marine life;
they even wash the rock used for reclamation
before it is placed in the water to minimize silting.
Additionally, the new facility will have its own selfcontained sewage treatment plant to ensure that
no additional pollution is added to the bay. The
Port will provide new “garbage skimmers” and
“oil skimmers” to tackle any accidental discharge
from cargo vessels and, these new boats will be
equipped with fire fighting capabilities, which
adds sorely needed extra capacity to the bay
area. To ensure transparency and environmental
compliance, external monitoring services perform
regular inspections of the development from
the ground level and using aerial surveys and
photography.
So next time you are finger-licking a BarB-Q at Gerry’s Grill or supping a cold San Miguel
beer over at Vasco’s or the Scuba Shack and you
see the silhouette of a Cessna airplane with floats
slide across your field of view and a cameraman
hanging out the open doorway, know this: you
are looking at Kevin Hamdorf aboard the Subic
Seaplane monitoring environmental compliance of
the contractor, building the most significant seaport
development this century that will impact the life,
income and health of virtually everyone living in
central and northern Luzon.
SAILING: “ANY YACHT OWNED BY
SPORTS
A GENTLEMAN”
(Historical research courtesy of
Malcolm McKeag, Chief Sailing Officer, Royal Thames YC)
Since the earliest times, Man has used boats to navigate
the seas and waterways of the world; from almost the beginning,
the use of a sail allowed him to harness the power of the wind
for greater speed and
distance.
Whilst one can
easily imagine the Vikings
racing each other across
North Sea in an effort
to be first to pillage the
ancient England villages,
sailing of yachts as a
competitive sport came
into existence in the
1600s, in Holland. King
Charles II of England is
recognized as bringing it
across the North Sea from where it continued across Ireland, to
North America and eventually to The Colonies. The first recorded
yacht race was organized at the behest of Charles II in 1662
on the River Thames, near London. The first recorded yacht club
was founded in Cork, Ireland (part of Britain in those days), in
1720. The Duke of Cumberland, brother of King George III,
is credited with sponsoring the first significant trophy race (the
Cumberland Cup) when, in July of 1775, he offered a silver cup
to the winner of a race on the River Thames. The first “open”
trophy competition was the Vauxhall Cup, sailed on the Thames
in 1786, where the notice of race stated, “for any yacht owned
by a gentleman”. The internationally recognized word “yacht”
derives from the Dutch word “jacht” meaning hunting or racing.
In 1851, the New York Yacht Club sailed the schooner
America across the Atlantic Ocean to compete against British
racing yachts under the enthusiastic gaze of Queen Victoria. The
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2005
The rules of the
sport of sailing are
relatively simple but
with a little guile they
can be used to great
advantage
22
Racing dinghies, Subic Bay. Photo by Kevin Hamdorf
race around the Isle of White in southern England was for the
solid silver ‘One Hundred Guinea Cup’, offered first by Her
Majesty in 1848. At the end of the race Queen Victoria is
reported to have asked for confirmation of the result; upon
hearing that America had won she requested to know who
came second, “Your Majesty there is no second” was the
reply. The victorious America team donated their trophy to
the New York YC where it became known as the America’s
Cup. The America’s Cup Race remains the longest running
international trophy competition of any sport anywhere in
the World.
In the Philippines, yacht racing has offered spectacle in
Manila Bay since January, 1927, when the Manila Yacht Club was
formed. Increasingly the sport is finding favor with a new generation
of Filipino youth who has discovered that you do not need to invest
in your own boat in order to be part of a winning team . . . all you
need is a cap, a pair of gloves and some sun-block.
Not just a sport for men: the current record holder for
sailing non-stop, round-the-world is Ms. Ellen MacArthur; the coach
of the Philippine Sailing Team is Ms. Medy Fidel. Women can easily
match the men as competitive sailors because to win is more about
agility, concentration and determination than muscle power.
It is a sport for all ages too. Children in grade school
can learn to sail in many places around the country: the Philippine
Sailing Association, located beside the Manila Yacht Club, has a
continued on page 24
LAWN
BOWLS
– A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
Some sports come and go but few have achieved
such global popularity over a period of more than 7,000
years as the simple yet absorbing game of Bowls (Lawn or
otherwise).
Artifacts found in ancient Egyptian tombs suggest
the currently recognized game had its origins defined
by the Pharaohs and (perhaps) Priests, as long ago as
5,000 BC. The Romans found the game somewhere
while conquering the Middle East and brought it to
Europe
where, in addition to teaching the barbarian hordes
the value of building straight roads, they brought along their bowls and
taught the subjugated the value of recreation. After the Empire collapsed
the Roman game underwent metamorphisms in rule, name and equipment,
to the point where one may find a genealogist useful in determining the
ancestry of any given derivative.
What is absolutely certain is that the oldest, recognized, stillin-existence, bowling green is located in Southampton, England, dating
back to 1299 AD.
Lawn bowls differs from most other games with balls in that
the bowls are not quite spherical. They feature a slightly flat side, which
causes them to roll in a predictable, parabolic arc (relative to the speed)
when rolled across a flat surface; this “bias”, or flatness, varies from bowl
set to bowl set. Combined with a selection of different approved weights,
the bowl set of choice on the day depends upon the length, moisture
content and crispness of the grass on the playing surface.
Bowls are frequently referred to a “woods”, being the material
of the original English bowls. The “wood” was an exceptional hardwood
from the British colonies in the Caribbean: Lignum Vitae – long life. No
longer: lignum vitae is now so scarce that investment would require a
Top & bottom: The Philippine South East Asian Games Lawn Bowl men and
women’s teams in practice at Angeles City. Photos by Kevin Hamdorf
mortgage; modern bowls are usually produced from man-made
materials.
The objective of the game is to roll the bowls with sufficient
power that they arrive at the end of their parabolic route as close as
possible to the “Jack” – a small white ball thrown to the opposite end
of the green at the commencement of each “end” of the game.
The game enjoyed such popularity in England that King
Henry III felt compelled to ban the game altogether because his
armies were more interested in playing than preparing for war.
King Henry VIII, an avid Lawn Bowler, reconfirmed the ban in 1541
for those not “well to do” and especially
for “artificers, laborers, apprentices,
husbandmen, servants or serving-men,
and other “low-born” people . . . except
at Christmas and only then in the presence
of their Masters”, because it had become
a focus for excessive gambling. He also
demanded that anyone who wished to
own a bowling green, pay him a fee of
£100 – an extraordinarily large sum in
those days – and even then it could only
be for private use. Shakespeare, in his
play Richard II, made mockery of the ban
but it stayed officially a law-of-the-land
for 300 years, until Queen Victoria finally
repealed it in 1845.
Further historic evidence of the
game’s intoxication, albeit anecdotal, shows
Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake
playing bowls on Plymouth Hoe, ignoring
requests from the Crown to urgently put to
sea to engage an armada of Spanish ships,
already visible in the English Channel, until
the game was finished. True or not, they
did go on to defeat the Spanish fleet and
Drake is reported to have paid a game bet to Raleigh.
Borrowing the best from the Scots, who had continued
to play the game throughout the 300-year ban in order to show
their disdain for the English Crown, the rules of the modern game
have existed since 1903 when the English Bowling Association was
established.
Despite its pedigree, Lawn Bowls is a young sport in Olympic
events and this will be the first time it has been played as part of the
South East Asian Games.
The Philippines features a very small but rapidly growing
Lawn Bowls group who have so far been very successful around
the Region. This is definitely a sport to watch if you want to see the
Philippines win gold; three, we are reliably informed. Catch all the
Lawn Bowls action at the Hidden Vale Sports Club near Clark Filed
in Angeles City.
SAILING...from page 22
long tradition of teaching youngsters,
many of whom go on to careers as
skippers and crew aboard some of the
fastest and most expensive racing yachts
in the World; at Puerto Galera, Taal Lake,
Subic Bay and Puerto Princesa, relatively
new yacht clubs offer sailing programs for
all ages.
In the SEA Games the boats used
-- Optimists, Lasers, 420s, 470s, Hobie
16s and windsurfers -- are sailed by one
or two crew. These are low cost racing
machines that require skill and knowledge
born of many hours of practice. “Learning
the ropes” is an expression that comes
from the sport and if you look inside a
modern racing boat you can easily see
why it is something to be learned (see
photo [position]).
Winning at sailing is not only
about sailing fast: it is about understanding
the rules; reading the prevailing wind
and sea conditions; and, anticipating your
opponent’s reaction to your maneuvers.
The rules of the sport of sailing are
relatively simple but with a little guile they
can be used to great advantage.
In past years the
Philippine Sailing Team has
performed well (with 207,749
miles (334,539km) of largely
accessible coastline and 405,870
sq miles (1,055,124 sq km) of
mostly clean water, it should do)
and brought home a selection of
gold, silver and bronze medals.
This year the team expects to
excel in the seasonally, foreverwindy Subic Bay where they have
been training since June.
Subic Bay is the perfect
spectator location for the SEA
Games sailing events because
almost all of the action will happen
within sight of the Boardwalk,
between Gerry’s Grill and the
Scuba Shack . . . sun, sea, sailing
and a surfeit of delicious food
and cool drinks, sufficient to tempt
a mermaid from the depths. Come
and support the Philippine Sailing
Team in Subic Bay.
FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY AND THE SPORT
During the course of collecting
information about each sport and the people
who play them we asked how tough it was to
train for an event like the SEA Games. One lady,
who is attempting to qualify for a place on the
sailing team, offered us a glimpse into the heart
she has put into helping her country win gold in
November. Since June she has given up her day
job and six days a week she rigorously adheres
to the following schedule:
5 am - jogging
7 am - weight training/ core strengthening
9 am - boat rigging/boat repair
10 am - 4 pm - sailing practice off Boardwalk area, near Alava Wharf
5 pm - derigging / boat repair
7 pm - swimming
8 pm - core strengthening/
stretching
Unlike their cosseted compatriots
playing professional sports such as basketball,
these sports men and women have toiled for
months with no reward except the possibility
of placing their hand atop their heart as the
Philippine flag is raised in triumph. They deserve
our active participation as spectators in honor of
their sacrifice and dedication.
Could Bowls Be The Original Recreation?
If one subscribes to Gavin Menzies’ extraordinary analysis in his book “1421: The Year China
Discovered The World” then one can immediately dismiss his findings in favor of the plainly obvious: that
the Egyptians discovered the World before anyone else knew that there was value in its discovery, which
explains why they omitted it from their recorded exploits.
The extraordinary evidence: ‘Ula Maika’ is a game played in the Polynesian, Sandwich Islands
(a.k.a. Hawaii) using elliptical stone balls, virtually identical to the biased bowls used in today’s Lawn
Bowls. The game was “discovered” when the first European explorers arrived and, noting that the Chinese
have as yet laid no claim to having invented this game, its origin must therefore be pre-Euro and preSino. Such analysis leaves only two credible possibilities: that the Polynesian Gods defined the game and
gave it to the Egyptian seafarers or, that the Egyptians gave it to the Polynesians – at the same time as
they gave archery and pyramids to civilizations in Central and South America.
The proof: According to one interpretation of the evidential research of the late Buckminster-Fuller,
the Polynesians were the originators of Man’s “civilized society” and were responsible for disseminating
all civilized behavioral characteristics that thinking wo/men aspire to today. Add to this the statement of
Ronalyn Greenlees, President of the Philippine Lawn Bowls Association, that the game is the “friendliest”
competitive game she has ever played, and the knowledge that throughout recorded history everyone
has eulogized the “friendliness” of the Polynesians. It can thus be safely concluded that the Polynesian
game of Ula Maika should be installed at the very top of the family tree of bowls as The Original
Recreation.
PETANQUE:
A GAME FOR EVERYONE,
EVERYWHERE
Produced by Hamdorf Photography & Design, Inc.
As the English
took their lawn bowls
and the Americans took
baseball to their respective
colonies, so the French took
one of the many derivatives of
“boule” (English = Balls): Petanque (pronounced
almost but not quite exactly like “pay-TONK”).
After the French departed Cambodia, Laos
and Vietnam, in the fallout of World War II,
the game of Petanque remained as a definitive
sports legacy in which these countries have
since excelled.
Having a common root with Lawn
Bowls in ancient Egypt, Petanque is one of
the simplest of games and can be played by
almost anyone on almost any non-manmade
surface. But, don’t be fooled by its casual
straightforwardness, the game employs levels
of skill that will surprise even the casual
observer and, to become a champion requires
determined practice and dedication, even
though physical strength and endurance are
not primary requirements.
I first played Petanque at Shek O
Beach on Hong Kong Island in 1992. It was
an international affair that
The Philippine Pentaque
team. Photos by Kevin
Hamdorf
gave reason for Filipinos, Hongkies, Danes,
Brits, French, Canadians and Spanish to get
together on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy a
Bar-B-Q and copious amounts Carlsberg. One
of the Canadians owned the Petanque set and
although we did not actually play strictly to
the rules, everyone (the youngest player was 8
and the oldest was 62) had the chance to win
a point or two.
Played with steel balls that are
launched from a downward facing palm,
the objective of the game is to throw or roll
your ball (“boule”) as close as possible to the
‘Jack’ (‘coche’, pronounced “cosh”) – a smaller
wooden ball thrown across the playing area
at the beginning of each game.
The three main differences of this
“game for everyone, everywhere” compared
to Lawn Bowls are that the playing surface
can be almost any material (e.g. sand,
gravel, grass or lahar), the balls are perfect
spheres and they can be thrown or rolled to
the objective (but always from the downward
facing palm).
If there is another difference it is
that, at the non-professional level, friendly
intimidation is acceptable with comments
and gestures intended to unsettle the player
becoming part of the “sport”.
The modern competitive game
derives from rules established in 1910 in the
town of La Ciotat, near Marseilles, France.
The 1910 rules modified the previously
popular game of “jeu provençal” insomuch
as a player was no longer required to take
two steps before releasing the boule, in fact
the Petanque player is required to have both
feet together on the ground when launching
the projectile. This rule change opened the
game to wheelchair bound players who now
compete at all levels of the sport.
In their first international competition
in 2004, the Philippine Petanque team finished
13th out of 24 countries . . . not bad for a
first time entry. Participation in the SEA Games
this year will be the first real opportunity to
demonstrate what can be achieved after a
year of solid practice. If I were a betting man
I would put money on one of each color medal
from this young and enthusiastic team as they
launch their boules at the Hidden Vale Sports
Club just outside Clark Filed in Angeles City.
SPORTS
FANCY A GOOD
WORKOUT? TRY A
TRIATHLON
Bottom: A cyclist training for the Triathlon.
Photos by Martyn Willes
New as an Olympic sport in the
2000 Sydney games, Triathlon combines the
aerobic exercise of swimming followed by a
lower body workout in the saddle and then
on foot.
Triathlon is not for the faith hearted.
With the official Olympic distances of 1500m
swimming followed by a 40km bike ride and
a 10km run, it requires months of stamina
training with attention to diet and health.
But, if you really enjoy it, you can upgrade
to the half-Ironman distances or even the full
Ironman: 1900m, 89.6km, 21km and, 3,800m,
179.2km, 42km respectively.
In the Philippines, triathlon events
were first organized during the mid-1980s
when a small group of homecoming college
graduates decided they would try to continue
the exercise régimes they had enjoyed while
studying abroad.
“In the first few events the transition
area consisted of a couple of clothesbaskets
through which you would have to rummage
to find your own stuff”, recalls Lito Cinco,
Promotions Manager for the Triathlon
Association of the Philippines (“TRAP”).
Today, events are staged around
the country throughout the year, and receive
a modest level of corporate sponsorship and
venue support.
Triathlon is really a sport for all
ages and sexes. TRAP organizes a series of
competitions known as “age group” events
where participants frequently start together
but someone can finish half way down the
field and still win in their age group. A recent
event at Clearwater in Clark, Pampanga, saw
youngsters and oldies competing shoulder
to shoulder with the fittest of the twenty and
thirty year olds.
The attraction of triathlon as a sport
is that it is relatively low cost. You could spend
up to Php 350,000 (US$ 6,000) for a top-ofthe-range competition bike and all the safety
gear if you want, but you really don’t need
to pay more than Php 25,000 (US$ 450) to
enjoy the competitive side of life.
If you want to win instead of just
enjoying the exercise then forget the price of
the bike -- the most important thing is to swim
fast. According to Philippine triathlete entry
at the SEAGames and national swimming
champion, Ani De Leon, “if you are a strong
swimmer you will be at the head of the field
as you come out of the water . . . from there
it is much easier to stay in a medal winning
position”.
This will be the first year that the
Triathlon is run as part of the SEA Games and
the Philippines has high hopes of success. And,
because this is the first time, winning gold for
the country will be so much sweeter.
continue next page
KAYAK: A MAN’S BOAT
Kayaks are a product of the ingenuity of the “Inuit”
-- the indigenous peoples of the Arctic regions of North
America and Greenland. The word “kayak” means “man’s
boat”, because the original craft were hand-made by the men
who were to use them.
Two things make a kayak different from other canoe
type craft: the waterproof ‘spray skirt’ that is fixed around
the cockpit and the paddler’s waist,
effecting a watertight seal; and,
the double-ended / bladed paddle.
The skirt was specifically designed to
keep water out of the kayak when
moving through rough water or if
momentarily capsized – in the frigid
Arctic Ocean a wet kayaker would die of hypothermia very
quickly; the double-ended paddle delivers maximum power
from each body movement, making the craft a perfect sporting
platform. Note: the spray skirt is frequently dispensed with in
flat-water competition.
Each Inuit boat was specifically proportioned exactly
to the owner’s size by the use of his forearm as a ‘measuring
stick’ when preparing whalebone or driftwood for the frame;
sealskin would then be stretched over the frame to create a
light, easily transportable vehicle for hunting. By contrast, a
21st century competition kayak, of fiberglass, carbon fiber or
Kevlar, will have been popped out of a one-size-fits-all mold.
This uniformity allows spectacular speeds and competition over
the standard 500-meter Olympic course.
Since being adopted for sport, kayaks have changed
in size, shape and performance as well as in the materials used.
Sports kayaks have been modified for use on flat water and open
ocean, lakes and rivers; on rivers they can be frequently seen
barreling down rapids and through cascading whitewater. As a
sport, kayaking is on a roll.
The Philippines kayaking team, training daily on the exit
waters of Laguna de Bay, near Taytay,
Rizal, includes some of the youngest
athletes in the SEA Games. Some are
still in High School and yet they have
already competed successfully in far
away Croatia and Hungary, where
they recently paddled into the semifinals before narrowly losing to Germany.
The Philippine team has competed in kayak and canoe
in the SEA Games since 1997; there best performance so far was
a bronze medal in Vietnam. But, in 2005, there is determination
in their voices and a fire in their eyes . . . a brace of gold or more
can be expected from the nation’s paddlers.
Five classes will race with flashing paddle blades along
the Malawaan River in Subic Bay: single, double and quadruple
kayaks; and, single and double canoes.
If a powerful physique turns you on then these athletes
will turn your head; to capture the rippling muscles and the speed,
power and rhythm of the kayak and canoe on camera then you
must follow this sport in Subic.
If a powerful physique turns
you on then these athletes will
turn your head
TRIATHLON...from page 26
Canoeing on Laguna Lake. Photo by Martyn Willes
The Philippine entries include an interior designer, a lifeguard, an accountant and a brace of students, some of whom will be training
in Australia in advance of the event. Their collective objective this year is to perform so well that their sport receives more commercial and
government assistance in the future, so that they can train with the best in the world.
The SEA Games Triathlon will offer fantastic views for spectators who will be able to get up close to athletes at the staging area
along Argonaught Highway, Subic Bay Freeport. Bring along your camera for great video and action shot opportunities.
27
ARCHERY: SHOOTING FOR GOLD
At the age of twelve I was given my first bow as a gift
from my uncle. It was a relatively short bow compared to the
long bows of Middle-ages Europe but it could send an arrow to
a target attached to a hay bale, more than one hundred meters
away . . . something my friends and I enjoyed doing throughout the lazy hot summer holidays of ‘67 and ’68. Two things
stopped me from continuing with the sport.
It was our habit to let fly our arrows at increasing distances from the target until we could no longer achieve the required “pull” on the bow. One Sunday afternoon in late August
1968 we had reached the limit of pull and the arrows were falling just short. I was determined to show my prowess and made
one last determined effort to hit the target. At the moment of re-
an burial tomb in the San Teodoro Cave, Sicily, dated around
11,000 BC – an arrowhead lodged in the body’s pelvis is
presumed to have been the cause of death; a second murder,
recently defrosted from a receding glacier in the Italian /
Austrian Alps, was found to date from 3,300 BC. By their fates
it can be seen that these two gentlemen obviously did not have
the right protection.
Achilles (Akhilleus), of Greek mythology, is perhaps
the most famous person killed by an arrow, albeit poisoned.
It came from Paris’s bow and pierced the former’s heel – the
only part of his body unprotected by divine armor afforded
by a dunking at birth by his Sea Nymph mother, Thetis, in
the River Styx (she had to hold on to some part of his body)
– when he was lured to the Temple of Apollo supposedly to
Left: Rochelle Anne Cabral, member of the Philippines Women’s Recurve
Bow Team, retrieve arrows with Gil Gabriel, member of the Men’s
Compound Bow Team. Bottom: Archer’s hone their shooting skills at the
Subic Bay Freeport, event site of the South East Asian Games. Photos by
Kevin Hamdorf
lease someone shouted, “Mind you
don’t hit farmer Pete” and the over
tensioned bow snapped in half.
Now it could be that farmer Pete,
who had chosen that moment to
collect the hay bales we were using to support our target, had (as
some in the village asserted) the
luck of the devil or, it could be that
I was too strong for my own good.
Whatever. The result was that my
Father refused to replace the bow,
claiming it to be too dangerous.
If I had been up to speed
on my history lessons then I could
have argued that King Henry I had
instituted a law in England that specifically absolved any archer
of murder if it happened while practicing archery, and therefore replacement of the bow should be considered my Father’s
noble duty. Alas, my Father’s decree caused trout fishing to take
over as our preferred holiday sport; I subsequently failed history at school.
Arrowheads (presumably attached to arrow shafts and
fired from bows) have been unearthed in Africa dating back to
before 25,000 BC; ancient arrowheads, shafts and bows have
been unearthed in almost every segment of the Globe.
Evidence of the first murder by archer was found in
meet his compensation-for-giving-up-the-war-against-the-Trojans bride, Polyxena. Interestingly, Apollo was only “severely
chastised” for allowing his temple to be used for such “cowardly behavior” . . . so maybe King Henry I was simply reinstating a precedent.
Sebastian, the commander of Praetorian Guards for
the Roman Emperor, Diocletian, was ordered to be “shot to
death with arrows”, in 288 AD, when he refused to denounce
his belief in Christianity. After the deed was done, he was
found by a friend to still be alive and was secretly nursed
back to health. He subsequently became the Patron Saint of
Archers when Diocletian, having learned his lesson with arrows, had Sebastian clubbed to death and thrown in a sewer.
Through to the 1600s in Europe, and the 1900s in
parts of Asia, arrows, delivered from a (long, short or cross)
bow became the deciding factor in many significant wars.
The oldest continuously held archery tournament,
known as the Ancient Scorton Arrow, was founded in Yorkshire, England, in 1673; and, about 1790 the Royal Toxophilite (Greek toxon, “bow”; philos, “loving”) Society was formed
to advance the sport. The Prince of Wales (later King George
IV), became the patron of this Society and set the Prince’s
Lengths of 100 yards (91 m), 80 yards (73 m), and 60 yards
(55 m).
Archery became an Olympic sport in 1904 but was
dropped after the 1920 games, not returning until 1972.
However, the world record for distance is much older than the
Olympics: in 1798 a 972-yard 2 and 2/3 inches longbow shot
was performed by Sultan Selim III and has yet to be surpassed.
The record for the most arrows shot in a 24-hour period is held
by the 17th-century Japanese archer, Wada Daihachi, who
fired 8,133 arrows down the 384’ Royal Hall.
The Philippine Archery Team has one of the most successful records of any Asian country. In Subic Bay, on the lawns
across from the Subic Bay Yacht Club and on nearby Remy
Field, watch out especially for the Philippine women, who have
been shooting gold medal performances around the Region
for the past five years.
Map Courtesy of Clark Development Corporation