After our complimentary breakfast at Precious Garden of Samal Hotel & Restaurant we explored the area around the hotel. It had a fish pond, gardens, basketball courts, and a beach resort area - it was a shame we did not allocate time to enjoy this place.
Terry Sargent picked us up at around 0800 at Precious Garden of Samal Hotel & Restaurant to take us to Indra - he advised us to skip the hotel's bag lunches as he had different plans for us for lunch.
At Indra, I continued the interior inspections and took hundreds more pictures. Mary Ann had other priorities, changed into a swim suit, and went swimming under the supervision of Marilyn.
While observing Mary Ann swimming, Marilyn met a nice lady named Glenda Bernaez and chatted about her boat life experiences and adventures for quite some time. Glenda was with the yacht Helena captained by Eddy Huybs, right down the pier from Indra.
In the head, a manual Lavac toilet was installed. The head was missing its door - it was not found aboard. Spent time tracing all the hoses and determined the toilet was designed as a toilet direct overboard flush system. The contents of the sink and shower were captured in a holding tank and then pumped overboard. A direct pump overboard of the toilet contents is not a practical installation as there are a lot of areas designated as no discharge zones - this type of installation was not environmentally sound and could have legal implications. The intake and discharge thru hulls were located under the sink cabinet and both had plastic Philmac seacocks installed. Both seacocks had single versus double hose clamps, both did not have a anti-syphon loop installed, both had clamps with corrosion present. The discharge thru hull had excessive gray sealant around its base giving the appearance that a leak had previously existed.
There were three fire extinguishers aboard; one located in the head, the hanging locker, and the quarter berth area. All three were old and not serviceable; one was extremely rusted while the other two were missing safety pins and seals.
The emergency beacon aboard (EPIRB) was not serviceable as its battery had expired March 2010 nearly five years past. All the other safety equipment aboard Indra was either not serviceable and/or date expired.
The front of the V berth was missing the door for the forward compartment - it was not located aboard. The cushions and floor boards on the V berth were removed revealing another area with lots of stuff stored - sails, rope, etc., with the chain occupying the forward section of three storage sections. Found the windlass control box and toilet pump body in this area. More wire issues were observed. Everything was return back to its location.
We discovered Terry Sargent has a regimented social routine and usually has Sunday lunch at the Bahay Kubo Restaurant and Bar on Samal Island operated by a Swiss couple, Jacqueline and Alphonse Laurent. He usually invites along fellow cruisers at the HOV marina and uses his Ford Ranger pickup truck to ferry interested parties back and forth. He extended the invitation to us and we graciously accepted his offer. Around noon that day, we gathered our belongings, closed up and said goodbyes to Indra, and joined Terry and Rose for the drive south and across to the middle eastern side of Samal Island where the restaurant was located.
Here we met Mike and Gay Lewis of yacht Expeditus, who were also outfitting their yacht at HOV marina - they had lots of experiences and advice to share. Just like the previous night cruiser potluck/barbecue, most in attendance had wine - strange - what was this infatuation with wine and boating? As the pictures below illustrate, the atmosphere, the food, and yes the wine was enjoyed.
Bahay Kubo Restaurant Participants - Top left - Mike Lewis and Mary. Top middle - Marilyn and Gay Lewis. Top right - Mary and Rose. Middle right - Damagnar and her friend. Middle right - Joe and Marilyn. Bottom right - Terry and Alphonse.
With lunch finished and the bill settled (3,900 pesos US $78.00), Terry returned us to the Precious Garden of Samal Hotel & Restaurant where we picked up our luggage and settled the hotel bill (4,700 pesos US $94.00). He then drove us to the Davao airport and dropped us off with barely an hour left before departure time. We expressed our deepest thanks to Terry for all he had provided to make the visit to Indra so much more than just a boat inspection. We said our goodbyes and scurried off to make our departure check-in time.
The flight out of Davao was 2 ½ hours behind schedule due to “excess air traffic” in Manila. After arriving at Mactan airport in Cebu, we loaded our bags in our Suzuki multi-cab truck, paid the 450 peso (US $9.00) parking fee, and headed south to our house in Naga City. The traffic through Cebu City was heavy as usual and it took us over two hours to get home - this is two hours to travel about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).
Marilyn's sister was happy to see us back. The house, chickens, and pigs were all fine. Mary Ann was straight off to bed as she had school in the morning. Marilyn paid her sister 2,500 pesos (US $50.00) for watching the house and she departed the next morning to return to her home.
The trip and visit to Indra seemed to have passed so quickly. But what a trip and positive experience it was.
I had not decided on whether to purchase Indra as a review of the hundreds of pictures taken would take some time - Marilyn and Mary Ann had already decided in favor of buying her.
The review of pictures, research, and estimate of repairs and refit costs was the next task to be performed to aide in the decision to purchase or not.
