My rowboat arrived home
As I eluded in my previous blog post, once I knew that I would not be allowed anywhere near the coast of China had I launched from Currimao, it became clear that I had to let go of my prior ambitions. That was a hard pill to swallow having nurtured the human powered adventurer in me over the past two decades. I had to learn to be happy with what I had accomplished so far and to find a way to reinvent myself yet again to take on the next decade.
The kindness and the friendships that I was offered in the Philippines during the time that I spent there looking for a way to advance my journey, were my consolation. When I shared my decision, my friend Mimi Saidan worked her magic to find me a suitable truck to transport my rowboat from Currimao to Navotas on the Manila waterfront. Frabelle Shipyard there was expecting me to help with the logistics.
Friendly sendoff
On March 27th, Mimi Saidan and her husband Billy Breisch chased us south on their motorcycle from Currimao until the border of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. This is the same spot where they had greeted me earlier when I arrived by bicycle at the end of January.
The delivery from Currimao to Navotas went without a problem. We arrived at day break, a few hours before the Frabelle Shipyard would open. The engineers were expecting us, they cleared a path to back the truck into the yard to within reach of their mobile crane. By midday, the rowboat came off the truck. The same four truck tires which were under my rowboat during the transport now supported her on the ground.
I had to arrange for the rowboat to be shipped from Navotas to Tacoma in the USA where we would receive the same. The shipping company had to assign a 40-ft container for us to stuff the rowboat, however the pandemic related bottlenecks worldwide delayed that assignment. I waited for three weeks hoping to be present when the rowboat got in the container but in the end, I had to fly home trusting that it would get done in my absence.
Long Time Supporter
Sir Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. has been a friend and a strong supporter of my journeys since 2008.
During those three weeks, Frabelle Fishing Corporation hosted me in their guest suite on the top floor of their headquarters also in Navotas City. This was within walking distance to the Frabelle Shipyard where we had delivered my rowboat. The crew built a custom metal cradle to carry my rowboat, we picked her up by crane one last time and I left her on the cradle for stuffing in a 40-ft container pending shipping schedules.
I am grateful to have found kind and lasting support in the Frabelle family of companies. Our story began when their fishing fleet assisted me on the high seas north of Papua New Guinea in May 2008, later returning me to the same location after typhoon season in January 2009 so that I could continue my circumnavigation journey. Sir Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr, their general manager, was gracious in offering his support and friendship since that first encounter 15 years ago!
Frabelle Shipyard to the rescue
Frabelle Shipyard engineers took the dimensions and the design concept for the cradle then tasked their crew to build a sturdy one to carry my rowboat.
Cradle fit perfectly
Once loaded on her custom cradle, my rowboat could be moved around easily simply with a forklift without the need for a crane.
Storage at Frabelle Shipyard
We covered the rowboat with some tarp to keep away dust and paint, as ship hulls in the surrounding area received a good helping of sand blasting and spray paint.
During the time that I was waiting for the container, it was wonderful to have Doug Woodring of Ocean Recovery Alliance visit the Philippines. Before he continued on to Legazpi, we gathered in Manila with Allen Silvano, legislative staff to Senator JV and Fernand Imperial, Commodore of Albay Yacht Club. Senator JV had become a partner in our campaign to find solutions to plastic pollution in the Philippines.
Allen Silvano - legislative staff to Senator JV, Doug Woodring, me and Fernand Imperial. Note the bags made from repurposed or recycled materials that Doug brought, which can be used by beach or trail walkers to gather plastic that they encounter.
My friends in Legazpi who were keen on the clean up efforts of Macabalo River and of their waterfront, received Doug Woodring then arranged a meeting with Grex Lagman, the Governor of Albay Province together with the directors of Albay Yacht Club. Our goal has been to find ways to address plastic pollution reaching the Albay Gulf.
Honorable Grex Lagman, the Governor of Albay Province received Doug Woodring and the directors of Albay Yacht Club.
One of the concepts that Ocean Recovery Alliance was promoting is the Harvest Plastic program already deployed in Cambodia and Indonesia, showing that jurisdictions can change the way they recover plastic at the source with the right societal levers, motivations and excitement. Using the plastic collection bags provided, the communities would gather clean, uncontaminated feedstock, right from the households, which is what most of the world wants for use as recycled content, as that lowers the cleaning and sorting costs. In the case of Albay Gulf, once the program is in place, a dedicated barge would make scheduled stops along a predetermined route to service island communities and to collect the sorted bags of plastic.
18th Guinness certificate
On May 2, my 18th Guinness World Record certificate arrived. It had taken them a while to process my claim as “the first person to row across the Pacific Ocean from North America to Asia.”
Shipping finally initiated on July 13
It took an eternity for the shipping company to release a 40-ft container to load my rowboat afer I left the Phillippines mid-April.
On July 13, my rowboat was finally stuffed in its container before shipment to Tacoma could take place.
During the last week of September, while I was out of the country, my friend Dean Burke, an avid stand up paddleboarder, also the President and CEO of Travel Tacoma, received my rowboat from the shipping company and towed her to our place. The rowboat is now safely stored in her shed next to our home.
Travel Tacoma – Mt. Rainier Tourism and Sports is the official destination marketing organization [DMO] for Tacoma and Pierce County in the state of Washington, executing initiatives that deliver tourism to Pierce County.
Home at last!