Voyage of the Balangays heads for China

MANILA, Philippines - After successfully sailing around the Philippine archipelago, the Voyage of the Balangays, the Filipino effort to operate ancient sailboats used by the Malayans as sea vessels to travel around the world, is all set to start on a very challenging journey to China with a goal of reaching Shanghai in October for the World Expo.

Art Valdez, leader of the Voyage of the Balangays, said their journey to China will be their group’s first taste of sailing in international waters.

“It will be our first time to go out in international waters. It will be a very big challenge for us,” Valdez told The STAR in an interview after a press conference on their new challenge at the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) executive office at the Columbia Tower in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

Valdez, a former DOTC undersecretary who handled the air, land road and maritime sectors, said the voyage to China will involve sailing through 14,000 kilometers of sea waters, an admittedly longer but safer way.

“Since safety of the voyage team will be of paramount importance, we will take a longer route that will take us to Malaysia, Vietnam and then China to avoid rough open seas,” Valdez said.

A faster route is the Balintang Channel between Batanes and Babuyan Islands going to Taiwan then to the China coast but this has been ruled out due to the very rough waters.

Since the voyage team wants to replicate the ancient sea voyages of the Malayans in the southeast Asian region, they are sailing without modern navigational tools and equipment.

“This effort is a replication of an ancient voyage done by our forefathers using Balangays. If we use modern navigational equipment, then it is not an ancient voyage,” Valdez said.

“We don’t have night sailing capabilities. We sailed through coastal areas and only during daytime,” Valdez added.

The goal of reaching Shanghai by October in time for the World Expo would be useless if their safety will be compromised, he said.

“We’ll play it by ear. Safety is paramount,” Valdez said.

“They (Malayan forefathers) journeyed with their families so they also opted for the safer route and we’ll also do the same,” Valdez said.

The group had just ended their Philippine journey last May with two Balangays, Diwata ng Lahi and Masawa Hong Butuan, successfully finishing for eight months a round the archipelago trip covering 2,500 kilometers.

The voyage started in Manila last Sept. 1, 2009 and ended last May 1, 2010 in Zamboanga City, posting 70 multi-port stopovers.