What To Do When Sailing For The Very First Time

Our fishing boat, IJ, sailed off for the very first time a couple of days after the New Year. The operator, Atan, actually wanted to sail right away after having the boat blessed and dedicated to the Lord. However, I was not able to give them the starting capital because our fund depository bank was closed during the Christmas day. Also, most of the fishing supplies stores were closed and they were unable to buy all the things they needed for their first trip.

Tuna fishing boat sailing off to Indonesia.

Ramil explained to me how things would go during the very first trip of the tuna fishing boat into the Indonesian waters. First, it should fish for tuna on their way to the Indonesian port. Once it docks at Betung, Indonesia, it must secure a "pas kecil" which means "a small entry pass" in English. This pass is very important for the fishing boat to be able to dock at Indonesia anytime it needs to.

Rolling The Boat Ashore

The boat construction concluded after 4 months...

Usop hammering some nails at the rear part of the boat.

Usop, our boat builder, once again impressed us with another masterpiece.

But, it still isn't totally complete. Usop's part was only to make the structure and to put all the wooden pieces together. It still lacked the engine, final coating of marine paint, ropes, and other peripheral equipment. So, it has to be transferred to Ladol, Alabel for the finishing touches.

Of course, we can't travel the boat by land and, since it cannot float by itself this time, it needs to pulled by another boat. But before that, our newly constructed boat first needs to be pushed on the shoreline.

First Visit To The Boatyard

It was not until mid-August that I was able to visit our boatyard in Barangay Lumatil, Maasim, Sarangani Province. Ramil and I drove off very early in the morning with our motorbikes. From our hometown, Polomolok, it took us almost one hour and thirty minutes to arrive at the area.

Motor ride. Photo Credits

From the national highway, we took a turn into a narrow and slippery path leading towards the shore. I saw very tall coconut trees in the area and a lot of goats running around. At a distance, there were small nipa huts that seemed to camouflage with the beauty of nature. We went straight ahead and I just followed Ramil wherever he went.