Tuesday 24 March, Busuanga Bay

Busuanga Bay on the west side of Busuanga island is a typhoon safe anchorage and a very spot to spend a few days. We came here to meet our friends Marguerite and Pete who had left their catamaran, 2XS, on a mooring ball while they took a trip home to Tasmania. We arrived two days before they did giving us time to explore.

Busuanga Bay is a resort destination in development. All the land around the bay is owned by a retired English architect. He has a magnificent house built on the cliff above the entrance and the wreck of a sea plane on the beach below and a resort at the head of the bay. He co-owns two other newly built resorts, one very exclusive and one stylish and one very warm and welcoming to us.

fly me away Captain

anchorage seen from one of the hotels

another beautiful sunset

If you took a meal at any of the restaurants the mooring ball fee was waived for that day. A good deal all around as we enjoyed good food, cold drinks, use of the swimming pool and free wi-fi. The trade off was a steep climb up the hill from the jetty, but the views were worth it.

Conveniently there's another Japanese wreck dive close to the mouth of the bay. The Okiwawa was a supply ship, 130m long and now lies upright at 20m to the deck. As we descended the shot line I looked around into the blue in the hope of another whale shark encounter. All I saw were huge barrel jellyfish drifting past in the current. The Okiwawa is a good dive, plenty of easy entry holds to explore and a good covering of soft and hard corals. On the day we dived visibility was between 10 and 15m. All in all an easy dive, easy to reach, easy to find and easy to navigate the site.

Pete and Marguerite returned that evening and we spent two wonderful evenings and days catching up. In the nature of the cruising life, this might be the last time we share a beer; 2XS is heading south to their home port of Hobart whilst Jackster continues her journey west.