Motoryacht Isla

21/07/2024

The crew of Motoryacht Isla. From left:
Jhon Lester Fetizanan, deckhand
Engr. Nesty Evangelista, Chief Engineer (temporary)
Capt. Rixon Bagot, captain of Motoryacht Sirocco, on board Isla
Rex Palma, First Mate
Capt. Rey Rodriguez, Master

Film photo by Apa Ongpin, Sunday, 7 July 2024.

06/04/2023

Noontime on Manila Bay.

13/03/2023

The photo in this article is a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, framed in the windows of Motoryacht Isla. Was this image taken by Jes Aznar?
She carried a New York Times team to Scarborough Shoal, where this and other Chinese vessels threatened her and hailed her on the radio, demanding that she leave the area.
Scarborough Shoal is claimed by the Philippines, was marked as Philippine territory in the Murillo Velarde map of 1734, and is an outlying barangay of Masinloc, Zambales.

If the plan materializes, it will be the first time the Philippines has joined multilateral maritime patrols in the South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing.

08/02/2022

We are pleased to convey BlueNomads.Org Hydrography Philippines to an underwater survey, offshore Luzon. These lovely photos by Pablosquiza - Photography

22/05/2021

Morning at the Folk Arts Theater quay, before the habagat wind picks up.

19/05/2021

16/05/2021

Quiet moment at the dock today.

26/04/2021

23/04/2021

Now that the quarantine is easing, we have started making trips again. These are our Manila rates until the end of the month.

25/03/2021

Pivot. Such a buzz word, but this is Isla literally pivoting. She arrived this afternoon in Manila. Because of the lockdown, so many people had to cancel their Batangas summer plans. So we said, let's bring summer to the... um, Sumerians? Whatever. Motoryacht Isla is now in Manila, at Gallo Yacht Charters, for a limited time only. How limited? You never know with these lockdowns. But hey, it's outdoor drinking and dining, with physical distancing. Book now!

12/03/2021

27/10/2020

Our fuel injectors arrived from New Zealand almost two weeks ago, but were just delivered yesterday. They spent triple the time clearing customs than they did actually getting from one country to another— no thanks to the incompetence of DHL Philippines. We also spent roughly 3x the shipping costs on taxes and fees. At least they’re back.

20/10/2020

Motoryacht Isla is registered! Her Official Number is PH00-000061, which by total coincidence, corresponds to the year she was launched, 1961. Now to get her licensed for commercial use.

11/09/2020

This one is current, and will stay up until we produce a new one.

10/09/2020

This is how we marketed Isla 10 years ago. Note that some of the contacts are no longer valid. But it still tells the story of the boat, what she is and what she can do.

22/07/2020

After nearly nine months' drydock, and an overhaul and calibration of the fuel injection system, it took a lot of adjustment to get the motor running smoothly. Finally, it sounds right.

21/07/2020

A much better running sound for the Gardner 8L3. This is the second restart after post-pandemic recommissioning, 21 July 2020. This engine will turn sixty years old in April 2021.

02/10/2019

Generally, I take pictures of M/Y Isla for record-keeping purposes. Today, she arrived from Puerto Galera to go into drydock in Navotas, as well as tow M/Y Scruples to Navotas. It was such a strange morning, with the fog of last night's Star City fire still blanketing Malate, so record-keeping turned into a photo essay.

08/07/2019

Motoryacht Isla needs to go into drydock soon. I visited the Nautilus 2 yard with a friend, for another boat. This yard is for the big steel, we will likely go up in the older, smaller yard, Nautilus 1. This will be our seventh drydock with Nautilus in 19 years, but Isla used to drydock with them even before we owned her.

30/06/2019

In case you missed it, the Maritime Industry Authority has finally published the rules for private boat (and yacht) registration. There are four basic requirements: the application form, your ID, proof that you own the boat, a sketch of the boat, and photos of the boat. Here are the photos we will use for Isla's registration.

04/02/2019

We needed to get the speedboat up into its trailer and on land. It was just about 5 pm, the yard was about to close. I took this video to show her classic lines.

04/02/2019

A classic Haines Hunter V19R from Australia, as yet unnamed. Any suggestions?

13/12/2017

This hair-raising video shows an almost daily ritual involving great danger. The people involved do not seem unduly concerned. What we'd like to point out here is the design lesson, an amazing interplay between stability and buoyancy. These monohulls are indigenous to Batanes, and similar to the indigenous Taiwanese boats. An outrigger bangka wouldn't last ten seconds in such conditions.

10/12/2017

We came in 5th out of 6 boats today, but our overall standing for 2017 is 2nd out of 11 boats!