Bonbonon
Sadly we said goodbye to the excellent supermarkets and restaurants of San Jose- Antique, hauled the dinghy on deck this time and sailed out in the general direction of Negros. After a fairly good overnight sail we got across the channel between the islands, there wasn’t much wind at all and we drifted along at about 2 knots, very relaxing and comfortable. We picked up a mooring off a resort somewhere in the middle of the west side of Negros and rested for a day, snorkelled and slept, then set off again south down the coast. The weather on this side of the coast was calm, sheltered from the Amihan, and we got down south of Negros before losing the wind altogether. We bobbed around for ages before finally starting the engine and pointing in the direction of Bonbonon.
Unfortunately we hadn’t reckoned on being knocked flat by the Amihan, blowing 30 knots round the southern end of Negros, together with a strong contrary current. We soon gave up, and found an anchorage in the shelter of a bay just round the south west side, anchoring in complete darkness but luckily not hitting anything! We licked our wounds for a day, rested and set out the next morning before 6 am, when the Amihan hadn’t started and the sea was calm, the current also was with us. We were lucky to get into the shelter of the Bonbonon coast as the Amihan came up early; we saw the white caps and frothing sea only a few hundred metres away as we slid safely into the entrance to the anchorage.
Bonbonon is very well sheltered, peaceful and a long way from anything. There are 41 yachts here, but most have no-one living on them. We thought we might meet people we know, but there aren’t any yachts we recognize here, we will probably meet everyone on Sunday, at the buffet lunch at the yachties restaurant. Today it has started pouring with rain, so we are really glad to be in the harbour!