Between 2000 and 2020 the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group was active in the Sulu sea, abducting tourists, fishermen and freight ship crews to make demands for ransom. Two cruising yachts were also attacked during that time (2 German boats, one woman shot!), so cruisers have given the area a wide berth ever since. We were a bit nervous about crossing the Sulu Sea at first,… Continue reading »
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2026
20
Oct
W-side of Mindanao: Nunuyan Bay
Still just westerly winds, so we continued down the coast of Mindanao and did a stop-over in a bay that’s already in the Muslim area of Mindanao. As soon as we had dropped the anchor in the wide, pretty bay, two people in a canoe paddled out to us: Ahmed Esmali and his grandson came to tell us that we were welcome in their bay… Continue reading »
2026
18
Oct
W side of Mindanao: Taguilon Bay
Mindanao still has a bad reputation among sailors and most yachts avoid it as the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group used to operate there. Until about 10 years ago tourists as well as locals were kidnapped for ransom, shootings and violence was common. We initially planned to sail from Cebu straight over to Kudat (Borneo, Malaysia) to avoid this area and the Sulu sea, but then… Continue reading »
2026
01
Oct
Outrigger Canoes
Almost all boats in the Philippines have outriggers on both sides, from the smallest sailing canoe, to the big ferries and fishing vessels. The medium size that’s around in large numbers has inboard diesel engines (usually quite overpowered), so they sound like big tractors and look like angry spiders running over the water at high speed. We’ve been calling them “spiders” ever since we first… Continue reading »
2026
01
Oct
Squeak is back on duty
Five weeks after the surgery, life is almost back to normal on Pitufa. After keeping up a 24/7 vigil for such a long time, Christian and I can finally leave the cats alone again and go for a snorkel or a walk together. It has been a tough period in our lives with lots of worry and little sleep, but watching little Squeak bounce around… Continue reading »