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T<br />
he Taal Lake Yacht Club’s signature event is the<br />
Round Taal Volcano Regatta. Nowhere else in<br />
the world can you circumnavigate a volcano in a<br />
freshwater lake in a sailboat race. The RTV is an<br />
event small boat sailors anticipate and have been blocked<br />
off on their calendars. The RTV happens every third weekend<br />
of November, a weekend known for fresh Amihan breezes<br />
blowing between 12 and 20 knots. Veteran TLYC sailors term<br />
heavy breezes in this range as RTV weather.<br />
The weather forecast for 19 November was pretty much RTV<br />
weather, there was even a chance that the regatta might be<br />
postponed because of a weather system that was developing,<br />
that system fizzled out and the forecast for the weekend was<br />
14 to 25 knots. Still well within the range that the home<br />
buildable Oz Goose sailing dinghy can handle.<br />
For this year’s RTV it was decided by race management to<br />
split the two active fleets of the club, The Oz Goose fleet<br />
and the Hobie 16 fleet, and the Goose racing fleet was to<br />
be divided further between racers and cruisers. The split<br />
was done for safety purposes, the speed disparity between<br />
Hobies and Geese is so significant that monitoring the whole<br />
fleet will place a huge burden on the safety crew. The Cruiser<br />
class is for sailors who have less experience in racing but are<br />
interested in participating in a well-known regatta like the<br />
RTV. The cruiser course is closer to shore where the wind<br />
and waves can be less troublesome. The Goose part of the<br />
RTV was to happen on 19 November and the Hobie 16 RTV<br />
was to happen the following Sunday, the 26th. As usual, the<br />
Governor’s cup is the long race at the RTV regatta, in-shore<br />
races are included in the RTV series to determine the regatta<br />
champion.<br />
A total of 12 skippers participated in this year’s RTV regatta<br />
Goose class, four of whom were doing it for the first<br />
time. With the weather being on the high side of a fresh<br />
breeze, race management decided to forego the volcano<br />
circumnavigation course and went with an around Bubuin<br />
island course instead, while a cruising course was set up for<br />
cruisers in the fleet.<br />
Not having the circumnavigation course was welcomed by<br />
the racers as they knew it would take them less than three<br />
hours to complete the long race, compared to at least double<br />
that if they were to do a full RTV. Eleven skippers registered<br />
Words by ROY ESPIRITU<br />
Photographs as Credited<br />
l l Volcano<br />
a <strong>2023</strong><br />
43
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