ABW Dec 2019 -1

All Souls ‘
Regatta
2019
O
ne of the year’s most popular regattas, the Royal
Cargo All Souls Regatta, was held at the Puerto
Galera Yacht Club at the beginning of November.
The All Souls Regatta is also one of the largest
yachting event in the Philippines. It was held from November
1st to November 3rd to coincide with All Souls Day which,
because of the non-working holiday, usually results in a
three-day weekend. The regatta also marks the unofficial
launch of the tourist season in Puerto Galera. A further
benefit of holding the regatta at this time of the year is the
Halloween party hosted by the yacht club on the Saturday
evening when grown men and women relive their childhood
in an atmosphere of fun, frivolity and good natured banter
after an exciting day of racing.
Yachts competing in the All Souls Regatta are divided into
classes depending on the number of boats of a specific type
entered in the event. For keelboats this means that there are
classes for IRC, Racing Cruising and Multi-Hulls, while the
multihulls compete in either the Cruising Multihull or One
Design/Beach Catamaran class. International racing teams
compete alongside novice crews and visiting cruising yachts.
Everyone is encouraged to enter into the spirit of sailing and
to share their yachts with as many visitors who front up for
the Skipper’s Briefing.
The Royal Cargo All Souls Regatta is organized under the
Racing Rules of Sailing using the Puerto Galera Yardstick
(PGY) handicap system, which rates actual performance
above the sometimes arcane theoretical dimensional criteria
which is more commonly used in yachting. This regatta is
based on the ‘pursuit race format’, which means that each
yacht has a different starting time based upon its PGY
(Story continues on page 12)