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MANILA — The Municipality of Talisay, Batangas, all is set to host the largest one-design sailing regatta held in the Philippines this year.
On February 25-26, the event called the “Ala Eh! Oz Goose National Championships” will be held on Taal Lake, fronting the province’s most popular sailing club, the Taal Lake Yacht Club (TLYC).
One-design sailboat racing involves sailboats that are of the same design competing against each other in a series of races, ensuring that the competitors’ standings are purely because of skill and not the equipment.
The affordable Oz Goose sailboat attracts sailors across socio-economic groups, from beginner to advanced, sailors with or without disabilities, men, women, kids and from regions throughout the Philippines -all racing together. And it keeps on growing and spreading throughout the country.
In the upcoming Oz Goose Nationals, sailing clubs from around the country are fielding teams. These are the Puerto Galera Yacht Club from Mindoro, Subic Sailing from Zambales, and Albay Yacht Club from Legazpi. Competing against them are the TLYC-based regulars from Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas. Sailability Philippines, the Philippine Paralympic sailing team, will also be fielding several participants.
The Oz Goose sailboat was introduced in 2015 to the Philippines by boat building hobbyists of the Philippine Home Boatbuilders Yacht Club (PHBYC). It is designed as an easy to build sailboat using nothing more than marine plywood, lumber and locally sourced materials.
PHBYC Executive director Roy Espiritu is enthusiastic of the Oz Goose’s potential to bring recreational boating to the Philippines.
“The Oz Goose sailboat sails really well and makes for an ideal platform to teach people the essential skills involved in sailing, from weather awareness to basic physics,” Espiritu points out. “Racing sailboats is the best way to improve one’s skill as a sailor as you have a clear objective that you need to complete efficiently and have other sailors around you that you can learn from.”
Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas is optimistic of the regatta’s role in promoting the province as a water sports haven.
“Our province is becoming the Mecca for water sports enthusiasts from Metro Manila and Calabarzon, from canoe, kayak, and dragon boat paddlers, scuba and free divers and, of course, sailors on various forms of watercraft,” says Mandanas. “I was told that the participants will also be treated to the rich flavors of Batangas, and the regatta organizers have gone all out to embrace the Batangas theme, that’s why Ala eh! is in the event name.”
To date, more than 100 Oz Goose sailboats have been built all over the country.
“Recreational sailing is often mistaken to be a rich person’s sport, but with boats that are easily built from local materials like the Oz Goose, one can have a sailboat for less than the price of a Mountain bike, production kayak or paddle board,” Espiritu emphasizes. “In a country with more than 7,000 islands and great sailing weather all year round, sailing is the best way to enjoy the country.”
The Ala Eh! Oz Goose Nationals would not have happened without the generous support of sponsors such as the Batangas Tourism Office, Pioneer Adhesives, Bara-Ko Coffee, Lakan Heritage Liquors, and Broadwater Marine.
“It is great that the province’s tourism industry is recovering well despite the two disasters that came one after the other; first was the Taal Volcano eruption in 2020, then the Covid19 pandemic,” exclaims TLYC Commodore Peter Capotosto. “Corporate sponsorships allow organizers like us and PHBYC to go all out to make sure all the participants enjoy a great regatta, and in turn, they bring in more of their friends to enjoy sailing on Taal Lake.” (/)
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News Release