Philippine Hobie National Championship – TS 4

For team Tiger Gambas, the Philippine Hobie National Championships (counting as the fourth race of the ongoing Traveller Series) turned out to be the last sailing event for this season.

The crews of 19 registered boats, including three price-winning teams from Hong Kong and two crews from the Philippine National Sailing Team, looked forward to an event-packed sailing weekend at our known turf, Lake Taal.

Nobody was concerned about a lack of wind. The current North Easterly Amihan wind in the Philippines, also known as the trade winds, is blowing with all its might... and beyond! Day one of the two-day event saw a multitude of capsizes. At peak, as many as four boats were floating mast down at the same time! Approaching the windward mark from a different angle than most of the boats, we witnessed three boats capsizing in a sudden gust. They flipped like domino blocks as 25 invisible knots of wind speed swept over them.

It was not long before we encountered our first, second, and third capsize. To my surprise, I didn’t panic as I used to for the longest time. We fell, we swam, we climbed back onto the hull, and we right the boat. I even laughed when, grabbing the dolphin striker to prevent the boat from capsizing into the opposite direction, I was plugged out of the water like a feather. I guess 110 pounds don’t make much of a difference in these wind conditions.

After four exhausting races, we called it a day, licked our wounds, and retired early.

Day 2 greeted us with even more wind. Our unchanged battle cry was “mast up”! And we did... for the first 15 minutes of the first race. Approaching the windward mark a gust lifted our starboard hull. Higher and higher we went until finally the boat toppled. From my hiked out and fully extended position I had a two-meter drop ahead of me. My choice was hitting the mast, the boom, or falling onto the jib sheet. I think I hit all of the above, and with the biggest impact the port hull.

It’s interesting how hard it is to recall the details of a capsize. All I can remember is the sudden pain in my left wrist, the numbness of my fingers, seeing blood from an unknown source, and my words “I think I broke my arm”. I sure enough did. However, that didn’t matter much since we had to get our boat up and sail it back to shore. The wind didn’t show any mercy at all, threatening us to pitch pole on our downwind homecoming.

Several boats limped back to shore, dis-masted, with broken parts and pieces, and with shell-shocked crew. The regatta was cancelled after that race... our last race for at least eight weeks.

Yoga+

I never knew the soles of my feet could perspire as much as they did during tonight's 'hot yoga absolute' class at my friend's studio Yoga+! 90 minutes, 50 poses, 52 yogis, felt 100 degrees Celsius, and endless sweat!

This was my first trial on hot yoga. I enjoyed it a lot. The poses are slow, stretching every muscle and fiber in your body. Fortunate to have a flexible body I could focus on optimizing the poses. I felt exhausted but great afterwards!

The lesson learned for the future: skip body lotion in the morning! Once I started sweating, I turned into a slippery eel! No chances to lock my foot for a tree pose or grab my angles!

For some sweaty exercise in a brand new studio check out Yoga+, 11^th floor Fort Legend Tower, 3^rd Avenue, across St. Luke’s Hospital Global City!

I'll be back, Aisa!

P'Noy

Only 15 meters separated me from the Philippine President today. Mere 3 hours separated me from witnessing a bus bombing in the heart of Manila.

The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the corporate-led development organization I work with since 2006, celebrated its 40th anniversary today. A gala dinner was organized at the Dusit Hotel on the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenue, just a few hundred meters away from the bombsite at Buendia Avenue.

At 2pm, while the preparation for PBSP’s Gala event was in full progress, an 81mm mortar shell blew up in a bus along Buendia Avenue, killing five people and injuring many more.

President, Benigno S. Aquino III, was a keynote speaker at PBSP's evening event. “P’Noy”, short for President Noy, worked for PBSP after the assassination of his Father “Ninoy” Aquino at the Manila airport while returning from exile. That was in August 1983.

The widow Corazon Aquino was elected president after Ninoy’s death. It would have been her 78th birthday today. She passed away late 2009 just a few months before the elections, which made her son president of the Philippines. The country mourned in yellow. Yellow became the symbol to show opposition to Ferdinand Marco’s dictatorship, which peaked with Ninoy’s assassination.

Little did I know about the bombing incident when I approached Makati at around 3pm. The traffic along EDSA Boulevard was as bad as always, maybe a bit worse. The rumor spilled via text message and street vendors that a bus blew up earlier somewhere up the street.

The president delivered his speech with a 2.5 hour delay. Nobody minded the wait and I guess everybody would have understood him canceling his attendance! Instead, he visited the bombsite before standing by his speaking commitment. He went to the hospital to speak to the survivors off the incident after delivering his speech about the social and economic progress he envisions and will support during his administration. The spirit of the Aquino’s lives on.

Picture: Janina Wohlgemuth

2010 - 2011

2010 has been a good year! I turned 30 and survived! But, there have been other achievements I’m proud of. Achievements that are not necessarily related to the social or professional realms of my life. Very personal achievements driven purely by self-interest.

One is the birth of this blog. I love to write, I love to share stories. I wanted to blog for the longest time but struggling for time I never got around to do it. I finally took the time!

Another self-centered wish was a closer bond with my niece Selina. Turning five this March her little world grows at the speed of light! Her brain soaks up everything she sees, hears, and feels. I’m not around. I’m not part of the process, neither as influence nor as witness. I made it a point to see her at least once a week. We now have regular skype chats every Friday (which I try to block off in my calendar no matter what).

The next personal achievement was my Master’s Degree. One could say that a postgraduate degree falls into the realm of professional achievement. In my case, I disagree. I don’t even know if the degree is accepted in Germany or outside the Philippines. The certificate in my hand can’t give me a fraction of the satisfaction I experienced during the process of obtaining it. Yes, it was a struggle for discipline, time and motivation for most parts of it. The experience was invaluable, the self-awareness more intense than any meditation course or “self-discovery” trip to India.

My resolutions for 2011? Humble. I want to become confident in helming our Hobie Cat. I want to improve my Poi-skills (which comes with nourishing my friendships with my Zips family). I want to maintain and improve my Yoga practice. I want to start a second blog (this time more work related. Don’t worry, it won’t be boring!). I want to write more, professionally. And, last but not least, I want to use less swear words!