#2: [06-Apr-06]

07-Nov-2005 --

This is my second confluence visit. I first visited 17°N 122°E because that confluence was handy just after I got my GPS.

A few days after that first confluence visit my wife and I met up in Manila, spent a week or so there, and then returned to Boracay Island where we live. Boracay Island is a popular tourism destination in the Philippines, more information about which can be seen at the Boracay Foundation website or at a number of other sites on the web. This 12°N 122°E confluence is located only eight km or so directly East of Boracay's Northeast corner. I would have visited this confluence first, except that I had no GPS until recently.

My wife arranged to hire the use of a boat for this confluence visit from a friend, Jun Oriendo. Jun, myself, and two boatmen departed from Boracay's main tourist beach on the Western side of the island at about 9:30AM. It took us just under two hours to reach the confluence, including a short stop at Boracay's Baling-Hai beach in an unsuccessful attempt to buy gasoline for the boat and another stop at Puka beach where we were able to buy some gas.

The weather looking West from Boracay when we departed looked beautiful, but when we rounded the Northern end of the island and headed East we saw that we were headed into hazy weather with a number of rain squalls to be seen in various directions. We pushed on to the confluence, going through one rain squall on the way. Arriving at the confluence at about 11:30AM, we motored through it East to West, then turned around and motored back through it West to East.

We probably came pretty close to a zero-zero on the confluence, but I discovered that things happen very fast while juggling a camera and a GPS in a wildly pitching boat. The closest aproach to the confluence which I was able to photo-document had us 42m off with a GPS positional error of 7m, so I have reported a visit to within 49m of the confluence.

Picture #1, a wide-area picture of the confluence, was taken as we approached it from the West with the camera looking due East. At the time I took the picture, the GPS was indicating that the confluence was 50m directly off the bow of the boat. Nothing is visible beyond the confluence area except water, and the closest land in that direction is the West coast of Marinduque Island about 130km to the East.

Picture #2, looks North through rain and haze which obscure a view of the Southern end of Tablas Island about 12km away. Picture #3 looks West after we had turned the boat around and passed through the confluence area a second time. The Northern part of Boracay Island can be seen in the distance. Picture #4 looks the South, and some bits of Panay Island about 10km Southwards can be seen can be seen through rain and haze.

Picture #5, of the GPS, was taken during our West to East run through the confluence area and shows the confluence as being 42m North of us. I have inset the best photo I have showing the GPS positional error, which is pretty blurry and reads plus or minus 7 meters.

Picture #6 shows the conflence visitors during the return trip. I took this photo while holding the camera at arms length looking towards the stern of the boat. Shown, left-to-right, are Julius, Marlon, Jun, and Bill. Jun's upraised hand is holding a fishing line with which he is trawling behind the boat.

Picture #7 shows a better view of the boat used to make the visit. This type of boat is very common in the Philippines, and is variously called a Paraw, a Banca, or a Pump Boat.

In the ocean, but with a view of land.