Ocean's Seven
House-sized waves, fickle sea swells, and rowdy guests.
What's life like for crew of WWF's premier research vessel in the Philippines?
by Gregg Yan
Dawn lights up the Sulu Sea, revealing a ship rocking on rolling waves. Coaxed to life by the warmth, the crew begins to stir. First to wake are the engines, whose deep growls massage the ship with powerful vibrations. Steam belches from the starboard or right side as the kitchen promises fresh breakfast. Orders are given and uniformed crewmen draw in the moored yawl or chase boat with rehearsed, expert precision.
For the crew of WWF-Philippines' premier research vessel, another workday is clocked in - 100 kilometers from the nearest island or Bundy clock. While many of the M/Y Navorca's sea tales have been recounted, the trials of her crew have remained largely untold. So what's life like for the crew behind WWF's sole floating office in the Philippines? Landlubbers, let's find out.
Sailing the Sulu Sea
Taking off from her predecessor M/Bca (motorized banca) Minerva, M/Y (motorized yacht) Navorca provides transportation services for WWF conservation initiatives in the Sulu Sea, particularly in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and nearby island municipality of Cagayancillo.
Painted panda black-and-white, its sturdy wood-and-fiberglass hull spans 80 feet and displaces 70 gross tonnes. Up to 12 passengers can be accommodated in bunk-beds, with two weeks' worth of fuel, water, and food onboard. The vessel was acquired in 2008 and through a partnership with the Grieg Shipping Group, Grieg Foundation, and WWF-Norway - was refitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communications equipment.
Led by WWF-Philippines Tubbataha Reefs Project Manager Marivel Dygico, seven souls keep the ship afloat - Domingo Magbanua, Geruel Magalona, Enriquito Diola Jr, Arnel Escubin, Jesus Gayoma, Darius Cayanan, and Ronald De Roa. The team has been called 'The Ocean's 7'.
Behind-the-scenes Heroes
"Without the efforts of our crewmen, WWF wouldn't be able to help conserve Tubbataha," reveals WWF Tubbataha Reefs Project Manager Marivel Dygico. "They are truly our behind-the-scenes heroes."
Right smack in the Sulu Sea lie the twin atolls of Tubbataha - one of the country's Great Reefs. Here, fish biomass breaches 200-tonnes per square kilometer. This is five times greater than the productivity of a typical healthy reef, enough to seed eastern Palawan and the adjoining Visayan sea with fish and invertebrate spawn.
Before it was declared a National Marine Park in 1988, Tubbataha's residents have long suffered from exploitation, with generations of fishermen
gathering not just fish, but turtles and bird eggs as well. Together with the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), WWF and the crew of the M/Y Navorca stand steady on the parapets of conservation.
"Consider that less than 5% of Philippine coral reefs are in excellent condition and that 40 million Filipinos rely on the sea for food or livelihood," asks Dygico. "Can we really afford to lose what remains to poachers? Not on our watch."
Night falls on the Sulu Sea after a hard day's work. With all guests fed and bedded down, with all lines secured and situation reports dispatched, the crew finally finds time to unwind. Some gather on the ship's port or left side to exchange sea tales, while Arnel and two others play puzzle games on a laptop near the head or bath area.
Halting at the ship's bow or nose, I gaze at the darkness, noticing a faint veil of stars dappling the Sulu Sea's undulating expanse of waves. "The sun, moon, and the never-ending stretches of ocean offer a unique kind of freedom on the high seas," says a smiling Kap, holding two-steaming mugs of coffee. "I wouldn't trade this for anything."
