Bonbonon
From CruisersWiki
Bonbonon
N 09deg 03 mn E 123 deg 06 mn
Click for larger view
Background
It is located in South East of Negros Islands - known as Bonbonon. The mouth of the river is very shallow, attempting to enter at high tide is a wise move. Once in the channel depth is 7 to 8 meters.
Submit details about the sailing/cruising in the area, etc.
Charts
Submit the chart details that are required for safe navigation.
Radio Nets
Also see Cruiser's Nets
Submit details of local radio Nets.
Keith and Marian (VK4FLE) - S/Y Tenacity 11. The Sulu Sea, we have found in the past, to be a conundrum of unpredictable strong currents ..running up to 3 -4 knots. As a rule of thumb the currents seem to run in a clockwise direction each time we have been there (October and May). Near the passes east of Balabac the sea is shallow and the currents run WNW. Once passed the Tabbatta reefs there is a deep sea valley and here the currents ran strongly SSW. We only noticed the effect of a tide as we closed Negros island.
The reef on the approach to Bonbonon is now buoyed with small white drums. Head to the shore till you can pass the first easternmost buoy to port and keep all but the last one to port on entering. The last buoy marks a sand bank and reef and you should pass this on your starboard side
Check-in facilities
Aug.'08. Keith and Marian (VK4FLE) - S/Y Tenacity 11. We went into Dumaguette a couple of days ago to clear. Peter is still there, his office is much more organised, everything is now on a computer ..but of course you still need 2 photocopies of your passport main page, with the photo and your boat registration papers. He charged us 1,000 pesos for the two of us...for 21 days. (46 -49 Peso's to the dollar, depending where you change and 36 pesos to the Australian Dollar). He informed us of the following future fees.
- Visa for a 38 day extension after the initial 21 days............................................P 2,020
- Visa for 2 months after the initial 59 days...........................................................P3,790
- Visa extension for the 5th and 6th month............................................................P1,820.
- After 6months you have to do the next extension through the immigration offices in Cebu City
- Visa extension for the 7th and 8th month..........................................................P3,230
- Visa extension for the 9th and 10th month........................................................P1,820
- Visa extension for the 11th and 12th month......................................................P2,130
After 12 months you have to leave the country, your boat can stay but not you.
Marinas & Yacht Clubs
Submit Marina details.
Anchorages
List details of all safe anchorages in the area.
Offshore Islands
List Islands
Routes/Passages To/From
Popular passages/routes, timing, etc.
Tourism & things to do ashore
List places of interest, tours, eateries, etc.
Fuel, Water, & Electricity
Laundry
Grocery Stores
Eateries
Motorbike & Car Rentals
Marine Stores & Facilities
Submit addresses and contact details of marine related businesses that are of interest to cruisers.
Repairs
Transportation
Transportation to mainland or other countries, etc.
References & Publications
Publications, Guides, etc.
Cruiser's Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forum Discussions
List links to discussion threads on the Cruiser Log Forum
External Links
Links to relevant websites.
Personal Notes
Personal experiences?
- Aug.'08. Keith and Marian (VK4FLE) - S/Y Tenacity 11. Bonbonon is full of yachts....but many are simply on moorings and the people are living ashore. The moorings are laid and run by Nicky who s the husband of Arlene, owner of the restaurant here. I don't know how often they are checked. We met the people on S/Y Silver Lining (Frenchman Gie and NZ wife) who sailed up from Papua New Guinea, S/Y Soularity (Jack and Laura from Texas) who sailed from Palau and of course Diane and Bill on the yacht Pillar. Diane and Bill arrived a week before we left 7 years ago and have stayed to set up a small school with computers and things for the local kids. They have been living ashore for a while. There is a local boat (bangka) run by a German man Peter, with his Filapina wife. There is another French couple...but I don't know his boat's name and of course Mark, re-building a boat he bought from the local Frenchman Eric... so not a lot of actual yachties. Bonbonon is much the same. There is no WIFI, there is a mobile tower for the SMART network and GLOBE network. Mobile phones cost 65 pesos for the SIM card and then you add values of 200P, 300P or 500P. International dialing using the networks is more expensive than Malaysia where it costs only 20sen per minute to phone overseas by mobile. Here it costs 25 pesos per minute. There is an internet cafe at the local town here (15 minute motorbike taxi ride away) but this is said to be expensive and slow. The internet cafe in Dumaguette that we tried when we checked in cost us 25pesos per hour but wasn't particularly fast. Dumaguette is one and a half hours away by motorbike and bus. Best to have Pactor and winlink/sailmail ...unfortunately we don't. I will investigate the use of a mobile phone to connect to the internet when I next go to Dumaguette and let you know..
- Dec'08. There are about 40 boats at anchor at the moment, most of them with no-one on board. Security is good as no theft has been reported according to yachties that have been hanging around for a few years. Paperwork is minimal, no port, no custom, only immigration. Initial visa is about US$20 for 3 weeks, a 2 months extension is in the region of US$70 and there is no limit how often it can be extended. By the way the anchorage is free, some moorings are available from time to time for about US$20 a month but one better dive on it. The holding is very good so a decent anchor, perhaps doubled up might be more reliable than a mooring.
.
