BORACAY—Judes Echauz and his Centennial III hit it big with a brand new keel.
The 52-foot boat captained by Echauz finally bagged the overall title in an international race in the Standard Insurance Subic Bay to Boracay Race 2015 after several second-place finishes in the past.
Carrying the national colors, Centennial III wound up second in the fifth and final race of the Boracay Cup on Saturday but it was enough for the Filipino sailors to bring home the biggest prize.
“We used to finish second. But things suddenly changed when we replaced our keel,” said Echauz, president of the Philippine Sailing Association.
Centennial III ruled the first leg of the competition—the 210-nautical mile event from Subic to Boracay—before placing second behind Rey Ordeveza’s Karakoa Friday off the shores of this fabulous tourist destination in the Visayas.
“This is what we have worked hard for,” said Echauz, who also sits as board member of the Philippine Olympic Committee and deputy chef de mission of the Philippine delegation to this year’s Singapore Southeast Asian Games.
Jelik, skippered by Hong Kong’s Frank Pong and last year’s champion, won the Boracay Cup after dominating the inshore races of the weeklong meet organized by the Saturday Afternoon Gentlemen’s Sailing Club.
Echauz of Standard Insurance said it was Pong who suggested that they replace Centennial’s keel.
“This is the first time we had very good wind condition,” said Jun Avecilla, who co-chairs the organizing committee with former Malabon Rep. Ricky Sandoval.
The race this year was held in cooperation with Subic Bay Yacht Club, Lighthouse Marina Resort with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Department of Tourism, Philippine Coast Guard and municipality of Malay.