Out Of Cebu On A Fastcraft, Again
Three days of normal life (silhig laba hayhay palansa) in Cebu over. Let's get moving!
I was going to Tacloban as my base of operations (aba me ganun na? yez meron na!) Whereas, my first order of business was to be in Palo, so I proceeded directly there.
Ayos ba ang language ko? Aheheheh, puro like that ang mga naririnig at nakikita ko lateley sa aking mga nakakasabay maglakbay. Napapagaya na me! Nakakahawa e!
Gusto ko yung "I proceeded directly there" - na ang ibig sabihin actually is: doon ako bumaba sa V-Hire na sinakyan ko mula sa Ormoc, karay-karay ang mga kargada ko!
Okay sige serious na, let's start from the very beginning...
At 7:15AM, I was at the 2GO Terminal for my 8AM trip. I think this is still Pier 4. I last used Supercat 01DEC13 Ormoc to Cebu. All I can remember now is Oceanjet Pier 1.
Note to you and to me, I arrived at this port at 7:15AM - for my 8AM trip. Remember this? I already learned my lesson hahaha! That, I think, is even still early, but keri na!
I still had time for piktyur-piktyur at the non-public "outside" of the building. Oh ha!
Passengers do not normally have access to this portion unless it is boarding time.
How was I able to roam this place before passenger boarding? Aw, I used "charm"!
No one is allowed in this area. During boarding, everyone follows a single line, piling fast to the craft. You won't normally have a chance to be here for such a clean shot!
But I got out there anyway (I used charm nga eh)! The guard just called me back into the waiting lounge when it was time for boarding! I thanked him for the great views.
Awesome early morning view of Mactan channel. The land mass across is Cordova.
Anyway..,
While boarding, I caught sight of a full frontal view of this fastcraft (not our boat).
I was informed by those crews in white overalls, that it goes to Bohol later, after us.
Ours was St. Sealthiel. And here is a view of my fellow passengers while boarding.
Oist, I'm not familiar with this saintly name, especially that I'm a delinquent Catholic.
As always, I do not let such things pass without further investigation hahaha! Is that or was that a true or real name of a saint? So I researched, and now I know. Do you?
This is an example of what I have been saying all along - the "educational benefit" of traveling. If I was just home nothing would have triggered me to ask who he is/was!
Akala ko talaga pa-cute lang yan ng Aboitiz 2Go. Meron pala totoong St. Salthiel!
He is one of The Seven Archangels - known to be angels who serve God directly. Eh si St. Michael lang ang naririnig ko eh! Sori na po! 7 pala sila. Minsan daw 8 pa nga!
Sige later, siyasatin pa more!
New learning. Basta, before I boarded, I took this pic. Ito ang body ni St. Sealthiel!
There were not many passengers on this trip. Maybe because this was a Thursday.
Probably too because yesterday was a holiday - if there were students and workers going home, they'd have done so yesterday, May 1 = Labor Day, or even Tuesday pa.
Well, it somehow gave me more freedom to move around and ogle at things on this ship without many people gazing at me or I accidentally getting them into my shots!
Here's an example: I went up to the open deck and took these two shots of the area:
That's all of it up there. Just a few people. Pero konti na nga lang ang tao, someone caught me shooting pa. She watched me the whole time. I waved and smiled at her!
Ngumiti at kumaway din naman sya. Can you see her? Basta andyan sya hehe!
Anyway, seated before departure, I saw this edge of the pier that I stood-at earlier.
That is the 'off-limits' area, that a guard so generously allowed me to explore earlier.
Pushback at 8AM sharp. At 0801H, St. Salthiel already faced north and started off.
Oy, I only realized now, the actual boarding points are 'pontoon barges' (blue & white) spanning at just about the length those fast crafts, that attach to them on the sides.
Nifty, I guess. No need for a long concrete pier like it is at Pier 1.
And so off we went - very slowly at first. I even heard a teenager say hinaya ba. Oh, I wanted to inform them about speed limits. But the better of me said: sa blog nalang!
How did I know that? Well, years ago, I was like that youngster - impatient, restless, and wanted everything at lightning speed. So I asked why the fastcraft was so slow.
And I was then gladly informed by my seafaring friend Bitong about that rule, which is really more of a maritime courtesy requirement than anything. Orderliness at sea.
How does that work? Ah, it has something to do with a boat's 'wake'. The faster one goes, the bigger the waves created in its wake, that may disrupt or ruin many things.
Eksampols? Ay, loading and unloading of boats docked at the piers becomes more difficult. Or, buildings and houses by the shores will be constantly battered by waves.
That's why maritime authorities order that all boats go slow in certain areas.
Well, there's a wonderful after-effect of that law, that legislators probably didn't even think of. The port and surrounding areas become easier to view - for us passengers!
O di ba nice for everyone?!
Boats can only go above the 8 knots rule when out in the open seas. Which, they do!
Which is fine lang with us passengers, because we can still take pictures and videos of just about everything when a boat is already at cruising speed. Everybody happy!
Aw! Speaking of videos... for a change, I tried shooting short video clips on this trip. On my point and shoot camera, and on my tablet. Sumubok lang, nauuso eh heheh!
I'll show some of them here later.
I was going to Tacloban as my base of operations (aba me ganun na? yez meron na!) Whereas, my first order of business was to be in Palo, so I proceeded directly there.
Ayos ba ang language ko? Aheheheh, puro like that ang mga naririnig at nakikita ko lateley sa aking mga nakakasabay maglakbay. Napapagaya na me! Nakakahawa e!
Gusto ko yung "I proceeded directly there" - na ang ibig sabihin actually is: doon ako bumaba sa V-Hire na sinakyan ko mula sa Ormoc, karay-karay ang mga kargada ko!
Okay sige serious na, let's start from the very beginning...
At 7:15AM, I was at the 2GO Terminal for my 8AM trip. I think this is still Pier 4. I last used Supercat 01DEC13 Ormoc to Cebu. All I can remember now is Oceanjet Pier 1.
Note to you and to me, I arrived at this port at 7:15AM - for my 8AM trip. Remember this? I already learned my lesson hahaha! That, I think, is even still early, but keri na!
I still had time for piktyur-piktyur at the non-public "outside" of the building. Oh ha!
Passengers do not normally have access to this portion unless it is boarding time.
How was I able to roam this place before passenger boarding? Aw, I used "charm"!
No one is allowed in this area. During boarding, everyone follows a single line, piling fast to the craft. You won't normally have a chance to be here for such a clean shot!
Awesome early morning view of Mactan channel. The land mass across is Cordova.
Anyway..,
While boarding, I caught sight of a full frontal view of this fastcraft (not our boat).
Ours was St. Sealthiel. And here is a view of my fellow passengers while boarding.
Oist, I'm not familiar with this saintly name, especially that I'm a delinquent Catholic.
This is an example of what I have been saying all along - the "educational benefit" of traveling. If I was just home nothing would have triggered me to ask who he is/was!
Akala ko talaga pa-cute lang yan ng Aboitiz 2Go. Meron pala totoong St. Salthiel!
He is one of The Seven Archangels - known to be angels who serve God directly. Eh si St. Michael lang ang naririnig ko eh! Sori na po! 7 pala sila. Minsan daw 8 pa nga!
Sige later, siyasatin pa more!
New learning. Basta, before I boarded, I took this pic. Ito ang body ni St. Sealthiel!
There were not many passengers on this trip. Maybe because this was a Thursday.
Well, it somehow gave me more freedom to move around and ogle at things on this ship without many people gazing at me or I accidentally getting them into my shots!
Here's an example: I went up to the open deck and took these two shots of the area:
Ngumiti at kumaway din naman sya. Can you see her? Basta andyan sya hehe!
Anyway, seated before departure, I saw this edge of the pier that I stood-at earlier.
Pushback at 8AM sharp. At 0801H, St. Salthiel already faced north and started off.
Nifty, I guess. No need for a long concrete pier like it is at Pier 1.
And so off we went - very slowly at first. I even heard a teenager say hinaya ba. Oh, I wanted to inform them about speed limits. But the better of me said: sa blog nalang!
Mactan Channel Harbor Speed Limit
Yes there is such a thing, and it is at Maximum 8 knots, which means 14.816 km/h, rounded to 15 kph - for all types of vessels entering, leaving or traversing the channel.How did I know that? Well, years ago, I was like that youngster - impatient, restless, and wanted everything at lightning speed. So I asked why the fastcraft was so slow.
And I was then gladly informed by my seafaring friend Bitong about that rule, which is really more of a maritime courtesy requirement than anything. Orderliness at sea.
How does that work? Ah, it has something to do with a boat's 'wake'. The faster one goes, the bigger the waves created in its wake, that may disrupt or ruin many things.
Eksampols? Ay, loading and unloading of boats docked at the piers becomes more difficult. Or, buildings and houses by the shores will be constantly battered by waves.
That's why maritime authorities order that all boats go slow in certain areas.
Well, there's a wonderful after-effect of that law, that legislators probably didn't even think of. The port and surrounding areas become easier to view - for us passengers!
O di ba nice for everyone?!
Boats can only go above the 8 knots rule when out in the open seas. Which, they do!
Aw! Speaking of videos... for a change, I tried shooting short video clips on this trip. On my point and shoot camera, and on my tablet. Sumubok lang, nauuso eh heheh!
#CebuTravel #TravelPhilippines #2GOTravel
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