Advance Team (AT) Responds (8/14)

The 4-person AT crossing from Sabtang to Batan. Photo by Moira.

The AT reached Basco around 6pm. Near to Basco port they were puzzled by a morse code SOS signal created by a huge torchlight from the balcony of our base. Someone needed help at the base?

Amos thought it was some kind of late arrival joke. On the balcony, Joseph stood still waving his hand up and down the lights, marking the morse code routine from some training he received previously.

Once he saw the AT arriving, he sprinted down to the beach. 

"Kat and Bimo are safe on Sabtang. YK and 2 other kayakers activated a pick up. He had texted me his location. No news from the other 2 kayakers.", Joseph blurted out in quick succession.

Sensing urgency in his voice, the AT quickly brought up the kayaks and held their first meeting on the first round of coffee.

Amos and Joseph would activate CPT Delfin with his ITRANSA to pick up the 3 kayakers who were caught in the Itbayat current, while Chan would clarify my status by attempting radio contact. The remaining 2 AT will monitor the sat phone and responds to new information coming through.

By 6.30pm, 30 minutes after the AT arrived and another hot cup of coffee, the evac boat was being prepared for launch. The 8 person strong boat crew, who had been out doing Chirstmas drinking at a local joint, was rounded up and sent out to sea in their stupor state. They perched themselves nonchalantly around the boat, still merry with the festive drinks.

The ITRANSA motored out from Basco just after 6.45pm.

CPT Delfin, who has a basic GPS unit, consulted with Amos on the trio's exact GPS coordinates. 

"N20 27, E121 52, About 10km or 6 miles west of here", Amos shouted into CPT Delfin's ear.

It was almost an hour after their last known coordinates, they would have to look for lights in the vicinity. 

CPT Delfin, in his early 50s, is a seasoned captain in these waters. He had advised us on the currents and tidal conditions on our first day. 

'Tuklas', CPT Delfin thought when Amos told him the location. It was a well-known fishing ground but also known for its rough waters. 

'Tuklas' also means Discovery in Ivantan.

CPT Delfin told his steersman to take aim in the darkness and screwed up his engine. The ITRANSA was immediately battered by the huge waves. Amos and Joseph instinctively reached out to steady themselves. One of the crew defied logic by climbing up to the roof, and started operating a search light, unbuckled. 

The ITRANSA had to feel the waves in the darkness. Each time a huge wave approached, the steersman would pushed his engine to make sure the ITRANSA limbed over the crest, before easing back again for the slide. The search light illuminated the bursting sea spray when hardwood and waves collided in powerful contact.

Amos and Joseph had both hands and legs gripped to whatever they could handle. In front of the stoic rosy cheeks crew, they threw up involuntarily.

Meanwhile Chan rode pillion with a motorbike along the entire western coastline of Batan Island to try to get me on the radio. The motorbike zipped along the jagged cliff roads haphazardly. The road was one way depending on which vehicle was larger. At Mahatao, Ivana, Uyugan, on top of the Basco lighthouse, Chan was repeating the same transmission.

"Huey, do you copy?"

At Mahatao, Chan instructed the bike to head close to the shores. He repeated into his radio a few more times and intently scanned the sea for any signs of strobe or movement. The motorbike's bright headlight shone out to sea, illuminating endless water. In the distance he hoped the kayakers would be alright.

Somewhere around N20 27 E121 52, the trio of kayakers were hopping the ITRANSA would come soon. They were sure their text had gone through. But how long must they wait?