The Sabtang Triangle (3/14)

Our Expedition Route Chart showing E-points, tidal information, and islands. Sabtang Triangle's location is in orange. 

Click to enlarge. Bimo made this wonderful map. Each of us carried 7 different maps and charts for the expedition.

From the air en route to landing at Basco airport, the SEAIR plane passes above the southern Batanes islands of Sabtang, Ibujos, and Deguey. At the window seat, one can clearly see on the northern side of Sabtang Island, even from the air, a constant churning of whitecaps on an otherwise flat surface of the sea at that vantage seat. The local boatmen knew about this patch of wild water and avoided it, especially during this period of the northeast monsoon.

"The waves can get up to 5 or 6 meters. If we steered our boats in, they slide back on the waves. Too rough.", CPT Delfin said.

Dave named this patch The Sabtang Triangle, since it was a place with giant waves, no comms, no cellphone signals, and possibly shipwrecks!

At 5.01pm, I decided to call off "Finding Bimo" before we got drifted further. There was 15mins of daylight left. I needed to update the AT our status. We were already out of radio range. I got out the local cellphone - no signal. And I got out the SG cellphone, and managed to get a weak GSM signal, so I hastily typed Chan a message: "Me n Moira heading Sabt. News frm Bumo?"

Chan was to receive this message almost 5 hours later at 9.46pm.

Once the message was sent, I felt more relieved that the AT would know we are OK and our plans. I looked up the GPS and it showed a reading of 5.75km towards E9, our cave camp, with a steady drift of 5km/hr southwest. I decided to head towards it.

"Bimo! Bimo!", I tried one last time to raise Bimo on the radio.

"Moira, keep close. I need your help to bail water out of my kayak. We are going for Sabtang. Are you OK for it?", I stated out my intentions.

"Yes, I will follow you!", she was almost unfazed.

I took an aim at Sabtang lighthouse and paddled forward. 

"Need to bail!", I shouted after just a few minutes of paddle. My kayak was swamped in the huge waves. I look over the shoulders to see why she was taking so long to come to me (just a few seconds late actually..). The waves were now certainly over 3 meters high and her kayak was tossed all over. She better aim and flew beside me accurately otherwise she will crashed us both.

Moira came alongside to stabilize my kayak as I frantically bail out the water; and we were off again.

"Need to bail!", I shouted in just another few minutes, and we repeated the raft-up for bailing.

Suddenly, I saw a yellow light downwind towards the open sea. Could it be Bimo?

"Bimo!", I shouted into the radio.

The light was close and staring directly at us. I knew both of them had lost their strobes on the first night of surf landing. Could it be Bimo using his headlamp or torch for night kayaking?

"See the light? It could be Bimo. Let's paddle towards it.", I pulled alongside Moira's kayak.

"But Bimo is not using this type of light.", Moira's calm voice is still the same!

"Even if it is not them, a fishing boat also good for us!", I pushed away and started paddling down with the current. If it was really them...we can't let go of this chance.

The light was staring at us the whole time, unmoving and un-flickering. Waves around us obscured it now and then, but it was there. The light lulled and comforted, beckoning us further and further away from land.