April.29.07
Sailing On Lake Taal – Talisay
Just like the knife cuts on both sides, Taal Lake can be enjoyed from two sides. The shore side is the most popular one. Every weekend droves of city-dwellers enjoy the lake Taal vistas. The most frequented places are the Tagaytay restaurants and coffeeshops that offer the amazing view of the lake and the islands. The lake side is less visited but nevertheless offers breathtaking views of the shoreline. Mount Makulot, Mount Makiling, Tagaytay Ridge and Volcano Island are best viewed from the lake. The views from the lake are amazing because the sunlight and water create a natural kaleidoscopic effect. Most first-time lake visitors are amazed by the sheer size of the lake. The lake appears to be a “small” lake from the ridge. But from the Talisay shore, the lake shows its true size (3rd largest lake in the Philippines). The vast lake area allows the monsoon winds to pick up speed. The steady winds and huge water surface create the perfect combination for sailing. Every weekend several sailing enthousiasts group together at the Taal Lake Yacht Club so they can enjoy their favorite activity: sailing on Taal Lake. Most sailors use the 16ft catamaran hobiecats. The more adventurous sailors sail their home-build boats. When Ben invited us to go sailing on his beautiful Korvus ketch we gladly accepted the invitation. The small ketch easily accomodates four adults so we decided to arrange sail intro. We had four novice sailors signup up for the sail intro. Ben would be arriving late at the yacht club so he gave us permission to prepare the Korvus and take it for a spin. John, Maria (John’s daughter), Michael, Martin and me left the yacht club around 3pm.
The strong winds and big sail area prevented us from rolling out the genoa. The main sail can not be reefed so the boat was cruising along. The first leg went smoothly but when I manoeuvered the boat to prepare for the jibe the rudder tiller broke. The tiller controls the rudder so there was no way the boat could be steered. I immediately started assembling an emergency steering gear. With a rope I tied the tiller to the rudder stock. This simple temporary construction allowed us to sail back. It was not easy steering with my belly on the deck and face looking at the stern but everybody helped out. We made it safely back to the yacht club where Ben was waiting. I informed Ben of the sad news that I broken the tiller of his ketch. Ben immediately took his tools out and repaired the tiller. At 4:30 pm Ben, Michael, Martin and me went sailing again on the lake. We stayed out till 6.30 pm. The sun had already set but the moon was almost in its full phase so we had enough light to guide us back to the yacht club.
Sailing on Taal lake is highly recommended. The yacht-club offers all-inclusive sail excursions. If you don’t know how to sail you can avail of the experienced instructors that will sail the boat for you. We also like to thank Ben for letting us sail his boat.
