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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

United Arab Emirates stint


Showing the Ras Al Khaimah, pictures taken while onboard the MV "Atlantic Bay" during the sea trial after long month of repair for completion of Special Survey Hull and Machinery in RAK Port, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.







Monday, September 13, 2010

Papua New Guinea (PNG) Stint

Hi, everybody...

After my long stint work in Sulpicio Lines almost a decade 1998-2008 I decided to grab opportunity to work overseas offered by my good friend, to handle ship operates in PNG under the Management of Fastcraft Marine Services Ltd., Cebu. I arrived in Rabaul, PNG on October 6, 2008 and after amost 2 weeks of waiting and staying in Rabaul (Hamamas) Hotel in Port of Rabaul I finally join onboard the ship on October 19, to familiarize the Officers and crew to the Safety Management System of Fastcraft Marine and to rectify other Non conformity noted in preparation for the ISM Initial Audit for issuance of definitive SMC by Bureau Veritas.
The ship is owned by Simberi Gold Company (SGC) an Australian firm sister company of Allied Gold Mining Australia bought this LCT "Lady Geradine" to transport equipments and supplies for mining site. The regular routes of "Lady Geraldine" is to load food supplies, equipments and materials for mine site use, the trading are Lae International wharf, Port of Lae, Morobe Province - Simberi Island, New Ireland Province- Port of Rabaul, Rabaul, East New Britain Province. During the 3 days of voyage from Lae - Simberi Island mostly we encountered a large group of Tuna Fish in every voyage. That's the reason why most of the officers and crew has their own fishing hook line which is tied at poop deck during daytime these fishing line (8) hook lines mostly catches Tuna, Macarel and Baracuda. While the voyage from Simberi Island - Rabaul port aside from catching fish we experience in Rabaul the downpour of ash that emitted from active volcano which reportedly erupted since 1994 to present. Rabaul is now looks like a Ghost town as to the daily ash fall the houses and road party buried in sand that emitted from active volcano .

Pictures depicting LCT "Lady Geraldine" while on voyage from Lae bound for Simberi Island..





Port of Rabaul showing the active volcano...


The Simberi Island New Ireland Province, PNG

























Picture showing the LCT "Lady Geraldine" whilst she lay afloat and secured alongside Lae International port, Lae Morobe Province. After the dry-docking in Cebu and series of repair and painting this the new color of LCT "Lady Geraldine" picture taken Feb 14, 2010.




Working in PNG lasted from October 2008-June 2009 thereafter my company give me another assignment in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. I join Fastcraft Marine -UAE to handle and Manage the vessel MV "Atlantic Bay'" on July 2009.

Until then...

Cheers..

Please click my name below thank,









Sunday, September 12, 2010

Panay Island where LORAN station located.


LORAN Station in Panay Island. LORAN was built in 1955 and it was turned over to Philippines Coast Guard in 1971, finally abandoned in 1991

good morning LORAN(5:40) station by the beach wharf

low tide (as seen fr loran) loran at dawn island hopping (loran)

Pictures depicts the remnants of LORAN Barack and the center the house where CO Robert J. Cardinal 1960-61 and Berne Jacobsen 1961-
barracks/hospital house of the CO stripped windows

The other part of Panay Isand


sparkling waves the lighthouse lowtide


on dock rock against the waves raging waves of the pacific



seawall diffraction/dispersion sunrise at the pacific

The Islet at adjacent areas of Panay Island

islet (loran) islet twinrock

lighthouse? rocks


Enjoy the view and you can visit in our place..

Cheers..







Friday, September 10, 2010

My Birth Place

Where is Bagamanoc...

The Timezone in Bagamanoc is Asia/Manila
Sunrise at 05:31 and Sunset at 17:47. It's light


Latitude. 13.9833333°, Longitude. 124.2666667°

Second-Order Administrative Division; a subdivision of a first-order administrative division.

Bagamanoc is a 5th class municipality in the province ofCatanduanes, Philippines. It has a population of 10,343 people in 1,879 households at present.

Geography

The municipality of Bagamanoc is located at the northeaster part of the province of Catanduanes directly facing the vast Pacific Ocean. Its total land are is 93.3 square kilometers, and is about 62.0 kilometers away from the capital town of Virac. Its location is somewhat disadvantageous in its quest for development because of its distance form the capital town and moist in particular it is open to the sea, whereby typhoon surge often wrought havoc to the shorelines particularly to the built-up areas during typhoons.

Bagamanoc is located between latitude 13*53’00” and longitude 124*11’00” to 124*23’00” to be exact. It is bounded on the eastern side by the Pacific Ocean, on the northwestern side by the municipality of Pandan, western side by the municipality of Caramoran, and on the south by the municipality of Panganiban.

Barangays

Bagamanoc is politically subdivided into 18 barangays.

BarangayPop. (2007)
Antipolo
785
Bacak
423
Bagatabao
710
Bugao
705
Cahan
254
Hinipaan
456
Magsaysay
616
Poblacion
779
Quigaray
306
BarangayPop. (2007)
Quezon (Pancayanan)
329
Sagrada
793
Salvacion (Panuto)
458
San Isidro
760
San Rafael (Mahantod)
458
San Vicente
845
Santa Mesa
268
Santa Teresa
585
Suchan
653

Topography

Almost 83% of the entire land area of the municipality are mountainous and hilly wherein 56% (43.65 square kilometers) of it is covered by thick forest and 44% or 34.30 square kilometers are planted with abaca, coconut, root crops and perennial trees. The lowland or plain area is about 17% of the total land are or 15.96 square kilometers which comprises the built-up areas, rice land, diversified agricultural lands and others. The mountainous area is located at the western part of the municipality and the hilly or rolling terrain lies eastward to the coastal areas, while the lowland or plain areas are situated along the coastal and river banks.

History

Bagamanoc Proper was yet nameless, unmarked by the footprints of men. On its sandy soil roamed numerous ferocious quadrupeds of all sizes and wild fowls. There yet stood a variety of big, tall century old trees interlaced with long, tapering some thorny vines brownish with age. Multicolored birds played, song mated laid their eggs on the branches and fed on their luscious fruits.

The crescent, bare grayish black shores you now see was yet less curved, where the low tide waves now lap at the shoreline, grow a row of thick of bush of green pandan shrubs unmolested by the clutches of the claws of the sea. Not far from this place, at what is known as Bagatabao, but more island of the swamp, Bagamanocnons now called Taraga, there was already a chicken raising settlement place from the inhospitable plateau of Panay Island (Catanduanes).

The settlement was bounded on the East and North by the sea, blocked by a swamp and a hostile hill on the South and pressed by the crocodile-infested mouth of what is now known as the Bagamanoc River on the West. Confined to a limited territory by natural forces, the settlement could hardly feed and shelter itself. Moreover, frequent raids by corsairs from Mindanao, Jolo or Borneo for slaves had a serious problem to their existence.

One day, a daring and adventurous young man from the tribe forced his way across the mouth of the river to look for rattan needed for the repair of his future bride’s family house. Going westward by the shoreline, he finally turned left for the business of venture but before he cut an uphill distance, he saw what appeared to be a chicken flying along just above the tallest leaves of pandan shrubs festooning the sea. Back in his tribe, he told the clan on what he saw of the beauty of the place, its abundance with food and building materials and the defense is offered from the pirate’s raid. But as the place has no name to say when referring to that “discovered land” every time anybody talk of the place, they would call it “BAGAMANOC” which means the place was like a “chicken” the very meaning of Bagamanoc.

To detect the coming of the Moro raids, the people erected a watchtower at where the sea laps at the shore nearest the present Municipal Hall. In spite of the tower, many Bagamanocnons still fell into the corsairs’ hand. When the Spaniards came, they found the place a thriving community. They converted the people into Christianity and made a settlement into a municipality under a governadorcillo. Under Spain, the town people constructed a concrete church and municipal hall of stones, limes, molasses and eggs. However, even under the Spaniard rule, Bagamanocnons did not fully submit to the Spanish dominion, although fully sold out to Christianity. During the revolution of 1898-1901, the Bagamanocnon relied their support to the Filipino Revolutionist. In fact, a bloody skirmish took place at Mapulang Labo, where the late Apolonio Cueva skillfully beheaded an American Officer mounted on a horse. When the Americans reorganized the municipal government, the town was reduced to a mere town of Viga, later of Payo, until Bagamanoc became a municipality again in 1950.

Bagamanoc is used to be called a small town of big people and properly so. She had produced a hundred of professionals scattered all over the archipelago who in their modest way are making a name for themselves and for their birth place. The country’s representative to the “Tokyo Olympic Games” in 1924. in the discus throwing event came from this town and the second Catanduanes congressman under an independent Philippines hails from here.As of lately and during the time where the American Bases are still here in the Philippines,Bagamanoc has also been the site of the LORAN ( Long Range Navigation Facilities ) Station primarily installed to protect the country from external threats, among others.

Economy

Agriculture Sector

The major crops in the municipality are food crops (rice, corn, root crops, vegetables and legumes) and cash crops (abaca and coconut). Large parcel of riceland are situated at barangays Quezon, Sta. Teresa, Antipolo and Bagatabao Magsaysay, and Bugao. Abaca and coconut plantation are found in all barangay, except barangays Poblacion, Sta. Mesa and Sta. Teresa.

The municipality is not identified as a key Livestock Development Area but there are areas in some barangays which are conducive to livestock raising particularly carabao and cattle. These are barangays San Isidro and Suchan. Livestock raising in the municipality are mostly backyard and as work animals.


Identified fishing development areas are the barangays of Quezon, Bagatabao, Quigaray and Suchan. Most of these fishponds are now for family subsistence and not for commercial production due to its physical state. Asides from the fishponds, large fishing ground abounds in the locality being a coastal area. These are the Bagamanoc Bay. Loroman, Late and Quigaray Cove.

Commerce and Trade Sector

The municipality does not have any big commercial establishment nor have much trade and commercial activities to speak of. Existing are about 96 locally registered and license commercial establishment throughout the municipality ranging from a small eatery to retail and wholesale stores. Most of the bigger stores are found at the municipal commercial strip or commercial business district.

Besides from the commercial strip, the municipality has the Municipal Public Market, which is strategically located near the slaughterhouse, Municipal Training Hall and the Bus and Jeepney Terminal.

Almost all the commercial consumers products are being bought at commercial establishments at Virac, which are brought home daily loaded on a passenger’s jeepney/bus or a cargo truck. Agricultural crops are sold directly to buying commercial establishment at Virac.

Tourism

There is no specific tourism activities in the municipality, although there are potential areas endowed with natural attributes and resources that are conducive to recreation, leisure and other wholesome experiences which can provide the purpose for visitors, excursionist and vacationist. Basically the locality is coastal, thus there sprawling beaches, lagoons, shoals, coves wherein one can frolics and do some fishing. There are also some river and falls where in anybody could have some picnic or excursion. There is also the former LORAN Station Buildings (US Coast Guard Station) located atop a hill and overlooking coastal strips of beaches and the Pacific Ocean.

Among those potential sites are the falls at Paday along Panuto and Maragkiw River at Bacak, Pantalan at Caningan River, Quezon and Cagnipa at Barangay San Vicente overlooking the sea and a nsilet. Included are the strip of beaches like Bugao-Pogtangan Beach, Late Beach and Cabusiw-Dayhagan Beaches along the blue seas and corals where in one can do swimming and scuba diving.

Industry

The municipality is an agricultural base community whereby necessary resources for agro-industrial undertakings are available. Abundant raw materials from the forest and other agricultural products could be utilized for a cottage or home industry. The vast seas could be tapped as source for raw materials for fish and marine processing business and other livelihood activities for the local fisher folks. Besides form the abundant raw materials, adequate labor force is readily available.

There are no established industry in the locality, what present are small scale rice mills, an off and on small home furniture, leather wear and nipa shingle making.

Climate

Like other municipalities of the eastern section of the province and province itself, the climate of the municipality is type II of the Coronas Classification for climatic zones, best described as having no distinct dry season with a very pronounced rainfall, usually heavy during the month from October to January.Typhoon is very much prevalent in this locality due to its geographical positioning fronting the Pacific Ocean.

Picture depict the river side along the road going to Bagamanoc. Taken from on top of a speeding bus on the way to Bagamanoc on the island of Catanduanes.

On the way to Bagamanoc


A river running throught the town of Minaili.

River in MiniiliOn the way to Miniili

I am inviting you to visit our town, on my next bog I will try my best to show the LORAN Station area and the Panay Island where beach, white sand large sea waves seen specially the month of November to January.

Unti next....

Cheers,

Raul Pelagio