The Calamian Group,

an Unscheduled Stop
By Mark Blasky

W
e had always planned to As Coron is easily linked to Manila and enjoy some sightseeing once
stop for an overnight stay by air, it allowed Pauline to make the bowsprit was fixed.
in Coron Town, Busuanga her scheduled trip back to Singapore
but never for an extended while I flew to Manila to purchase The Calamian archipelago which
stay. Due to timing and the rather items I needed to make repairs. belongs to the Palawan district
rough ride up, we decided to time The people here were quick to offers what many tourists want - nice
our arrival with New Year’s Eve. befriend us and after a hard day’s beaches, clear water, good diving,
Tired from the trip and after a work on the bowsprit each day I places to party, reasonably priced
quick dinner ashore we headed would head towards the resort resorts, cheap beer and good food.
back to the boat planning to sleep to enjoy a nice meal, a few cold The islands also offer another non
through the turn of the New Year San Miguels and some relaxation. natural attraction. Due to the very
only to be awakened by a nice I was amazed to see the traffic well protected anchorages and
firework display. flowing through the resort which good hiding places, the Japanese
acted as the main hub for the support fleet was hiding out here
We had our doubts about rushing divers and tourists travelling to the in September of 1944. On 24
through this place but as we had various islands. Talking with many September a surprise attack by
a schedule to keep we stuck to I became fascinated with the tales some Hell Diver bombers from a US
our plan. As we sailed in, we saw of their exploits and experiences. carrier sitting in Leyte Gulf sank over
fantastic protected bays, beautiful We decided to slow the pace down nine vessels. This dramatic raid left
islands and terrain. Although there
was a typhoon hiding hole just
around the corner from the town,
we decided to anchor in front of
town and enjoy civilization for a
couple of days before moving on.
The winds were still howling and
the weather reports didn’t look
too favorable but in the protection
behind all of the islands we were
lulled into a false sense of security
and headed out on schedule. As
it turned out, we were bashed
by a ver y miserable head-on
sea. After six hours, some cross
trees holding the pulpit onto the
bowsprit gave way. It tore away
from the remaining trees, breaking
some stainless braces and twisting
screws in the process. We decided
it was too dangerous to continue
with the pulpit unsecured so we
headed back to Coron.
At the highest point of the
area, overlooking the tow
n and the bay.

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The local boats atmosphere to the experience. Wearing
behind more than nine large wrecks for divers
to explore. In a typical diving day, one can do
three dives with a different wreck each time.
And because the wrecks are large and varied
enough, one can dive the same wreck two or
three times and experience something new
each time. I dove the Irako Maru, the Olympia
Maru and the Tamakaze gunboat. The Irako is
the deepest of the local wrecks at 40 metres
and was my first Nitrox dive. One of the most
bizarre sites was a machine room which still
has a lathe and drill press pretty much intact.
The Olympia was my favorite of the wrecks as
there were so many ins and outs and marine life.
The last dive is a gunboat - story has it that the
crew was trying to get to shore and scuttled it.
It certainly is close to shore with the bow in 3
metres of water and the stern in 19 metres. It
makes a nice shallow dive to aid the nitrogen
to degas out of your system after a long day.
If wreck diving is not your cup of tea there
are several coral areas to dive. There is a lake
Sunset over the bay.
which is the only place in the world
where there is warm fresh water on
the top (29°C) and warmer salt water
(37°C) a few metres down. This unique
dive offers good visibility of the fairly
sheer limestone walls that had eroded
to eerie formations. Besides the sudden
temperature changes as you go through
the reverse thermoclines, the optics
that play through the different density
layers of the haloclines add a surreal
your dive gear as you climb up and then
down several steps to the lake’s edge is
a bit of a chore, but the dive is worth
it. There is a large barracuda living in the lake
which we missed but we spotted a fairly large
black grouper hiding in the rocks.
On Calauit Island, there is a wild game reserve
offering an African Safari type theme. Another
of the islands has an old Spanish influenced
settlement. At the highest point of the area
lies a large cross overlooking the town and
the bay. Other than the 700 step climb to the
top, the walk up is very pleasant and offers
spectacular views of the surrounding bays and
town. The cross is lit up at night and offers a
perfect reference point when the wind pipes up
in the night and you need to do a quick visual
inspection to make sure you are not dragging.
After having repaired Sari Timur and enjoyed
some great diving and sight seeing, we are sad
to leave but we are certainly glad we made this
unscheduled stop!
Coron Town
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