Pansipit River Scouting Trip
Members of the PHBYC have always been asking if there is still a way from Taal lake to Balayan bay via the Pansipit river. Well, there was only one way to find out. To do the actual trip.
24 Feb was the decided date for this Pansipit River Expedition. and in preparation for this, I made a scouting trip two weeks prior to check out the conditions at the entrance of the river. I took a water trip while Rolly took a land route and scouted the bridges.
Left the Club Lake for San Nic at around 07:30. I left early to take advantage of the flat water in the early morning. and no I didn’t sail, propulsion was courtesy of my Tohatsu 2.5. 
The water was pretty calm all the way to the Laurel fish pens and after a little bit of fish cage dodging I was able to find a clear channel all the way to the south. 
and It was pretty much clear all the way to the southwestern tip of volcano island. after clearing the island, sea state was slightly choppier. and I had to take a more down wind course for a more pleasant ride. I had little idea where San Nicolas was so I headed for the biggest roof that I saw, since I knew that there was a market at the shores of San Nic. 
After around two hours of motoring, I landed at San Nicolas. it was 09:30. 
I used up pretty much most of my gas getting there and had to look for a place to get some more. This kid was nice enough to look after Ceol Beag while I was out looking for fuel.
I bought about 2.5 liters from the neighborhood gas store, just enough to fill my small jerry can.
I actually passed the entrance mouth on the way to san nic, so after a quick snack, I headed into the river. 
The river was very nice and serene, from this end anyways.
kinda looks like a scene from Apocalypse Now doesn’t it? 
The river is pretty shallow at some parts and best have a look out for grass that can foul your prop. I passed one road bridge and one foot bridge about 1 kilometer into the river. then I talked to one of the locals at the foot bridge and asked if the river is still passable all the way to the sea, and she said it was and in fact small banca’s make the trip all the time. there are just some parts at some times that get really shallow and you might have to tow your boat by foot. but those times are rare and it’s generally very passable. 
I wanted to continue on but the fuel I had was just enough to get me back to Club Lake. It was almost 11:00 and I wanted to get back since It was also Fiesta time in Talisay and I was getting hungry.
So I headed back, my butt was pretty sore from almost 3 hours of motoring so I stood up on the boat on the way out of the river, ala George Washington crossing the Potomac.
The lake calmed down a bit it was pretty much a straight course to volcano Island, then the wind picked up to around 15 knots after the island, and I was heading right into it. got lots of spray and I had to bail out water while motoring a few times. but I eventually got back to Club Lake at around 13:15. With only about 10 minutes worth of gas left inside my trusty little Tohatsu.
This was my route:
total distance covered for the scouting trip: around 45 kilometers
Rolly’s scouting trip also proved productive as he as able to spot some potential problem areas. like this one:
