We started the day again with the complimentary breakfast at Precious Garden Resort and Hotel. This time we also had them make us take-out bagged lunches consisting of club sandwiches, fruits, and snacks. We left there about 7:00am and stopped at the nearby Central Convenience (2C) store and loaded up on ice for the cooler before heading to Holiday Oceanview Marina.

We parked our Ford Ranger Truck right besides Indra again. Even though it was still early morning we noticed some activity at the marina seawall entrance. True to the word given by the Holiday Oceanview Marina management construction of the guard shack for the Philippine Army contingent assigned to the marina for security protection was underway.

We went aboard Indra and open all the windows and hatches to provide some air flow. Marilyn and Mary Ann had the task of continuing to go through all the stuff in the main cabin area. I opened up the floor board in front of the v-berth area. This area was full of old useless paint cans, varnish, rags, and other junk - this was all bagged up and carted off to the dumpster. This area had wire runs, depth and speed sensor, and a small holding tank in it - took many pictures.

The main wood beam that supports the mast was visible here and appeared to be still in acceptable shape. To the left of the wood beam is a plastic container that holds overflow fuel from the diesel heater; directly in front is the small holding tank.

After scrapping and cleaning the bottom of this area, the original permanent marking of the USCG COD numbers 600692 was clearly visible.

We checked all the thru hulls and sensors on the exterior of the hull. Mary Ann used a chisel to pop off little barnacles stiil attached to the hull.

Loosened the two bolts on the aft main zinc in an attempt to remove it - discovered the bolts were too long to be removed since they hit the rudder. This meant the rudder would need to be removed to change this zinc - this installation could not have been well thought out or designed - it would be changed.

Mary Ann hinted that she wanted to go swimming at the beach at Precious Garden Resort and Hotel, so we called it quits around 15:00pm and headed back to the hotel. At the beach area I found my spot to contemplate the day's activities, while Marilyn used her cell phone to capture some pictures and videos of Mary Ann swimming.

After the frolic in the water, Mary Ann took a shower in the hotel room and we had dinner again in the Precious Garden Resort restaurant. Back in the hotel room, I downloaded pictures and recharged the batteries on the cameras and cell phones. It was kinda strange, but it appeared we were probably the only guests staying at the hotel.

We started the day with the complimentary breakfast at Precious Garden Resort and Hotel. We left there about 7:00am and stopped at the nearby Central Convenience (2C) store and loaded up on ice for the cooler, drinks, and a few snacks before heading to Holiday Oceanview Marina.

We parked our Ford Ranger Truck right besides Indra as the marina office building still had many other vehicles parked in front, likely related to the kidnapping incident. A contingent of Philippine Army troops were still onsite providing extra security. The young Filipino Army guys were walking around the marina compound carrying their machine guns and responded nicely to our Visayan language Maayong Buntag (good morning) greeting. Most of the foreigner cruisers were no where to be seen; maybe still snoozing as it was just a little after 7:30am.

We went aboard Indra and open all the windows and hatches to provide some air flow as it was already warming up very fast. Marilyn and Mary Ann had the task of continuing to go through all the stuff in the main cabin area. I went forward to empty out and inventory all the stuff under the v-berth; plus inspect and take pictures of equipment and wiring.

The Lofrans Tigres Windlass control box was mounted in the v-berth rope locker on the starboard side. Discovered the large orange cables were most likely copper welding cables instead of the preferred tin coated marine rated cables; this was the case for almost all the wiring in this area as none of it was marine rated wiring. Took many pictures detailing every inch of the wire runs.

On the aft wall of the v-berth rope locker was a EVESCO EVS3000 model holding tank pump, similar to a Whale MK5 Universal pump. The hoses appeared hardened due to age and the clamps were corroded. Removed a cover board at the base of the rope locker revealing the keel of the boat below.

The area below the v-berth rope locker revealed a unsecured PVC tube that appeared to be a drain tube from the most forward compartment that was originally the chain locker. Lots of spider webs and debris in this area would need to cleaned out.

Checked on the progress in the main cabin and found Mary Ann very busy.

Marilyn had started removing some of the pictures and frames that covered most of the interior teak wood surfaces. They were attached with some type of sealant or adhesive and left behind a glob of residue - looks like we will need to sand and refinish all the interior teak wood surfaces.

Under the cabin starboard settee we opened a small hinged door and inside discovered a stash of Tanduay Rum. These were freely offered to the local Fiippino marina yard workers whom seemed quite happy to get rid of them for us. I took many pictures in this area as it contained what appeared to be the main grouping of wires running forward and aft.

Behind the cabin starboard settee aft cushion was another area of storage and sliding drawers. This would take a bit of time to go through and figure out what was worth keeping and what should be tossed. A large portion of the books ended up at the marina building cruisers communal bookshelf.

Under the port settee cushions was another storage area full of stuff to sort and inventory. All the food stuff was removed from the boat and given freely to the local Filipino marina yard workers. After emptying out the stuff discover the fill hoses for both the fuel and water tanks were located at the bottom of this area - many more pictures were taken.

Time had flown by and it was close to the start of the marina meeting about the kidnapping incident, so we headed up to the marina building. Here Marilyn met a few of her new friends.

Marilyn took a short cell phone video of the start of the marina meeting about the kidnapping incident that shows most of the foreigner cruisers in attendance. The meeting was held at lunch time with pizza, soda, and beer available.  I sat at a table with my laptop connected to the very slow WiFi internet connection to check on messages and mail items.

They briefed that the Philippine military and police forces were actively searching for the culprits and hostages. The Navy and Coast Guard had ships searching and blockading the southern exit from the Gulf of Davao.  The Army and police had established checkpoints throughout southern Mindanao and alerted all local municipalities. In essence, there was really no new information and despite an ongoing active search, no one really had any idea as to where the bad guys were or where they were headed.

They next outlined additional security changes to be implemented at the marina. The Philippine Army would become a permanent presence and they would began building a guard house structure on the outer corner of the marina seawall entrance where they would be stationed. Additional private security guards were to be hired with more active patrols within the compound. The compound perimeter would be enhanced with bard wire fencing. The Philippine Coast Guard would increase patrols around Samal Island/Davao Bay and be berthed within the marina on occasions.

They stated there would be a small disruption to marina work activities until a new manager and/or supervisor could be hired or designated to assume the role and responsibilities that were performed by Kjartan Sekkingstad, now in the hands of the kidnappers. They next opened the meeting for comments, questions, and suggestions from the cruisers. While a few suggestions had some merit, many of the comments/questions were derogatory and disrespectful of the marina management. Some inferred they should have implemented better security practices before this incident occurred, inferring partial blame on the local marina management for the incident. Others were very concerned if the marina fees were going to increase as a result of the proposed security changes. Many of the comments were pompous, arrogant, hurtful, self-centered, grand standing, and the worse ones came from a few individuals politically posturing solutions based on their past legend-in-their-own-mind military so-called experience. It was at this low point I signaled Marilyn and Mary Ann and we departed the meeting to do more constructive activities on Indra. A few of the cruisers were on the balcony drinking beers as we passed by and we overheard many boasting their combative prowess skills wishing they had been aware of the presence of the bad guys - claiming things would have turned out much different. Sadly, in reality, this same group of cruisers were most likely sleeping off their regular nightly drinking stupor when the incident occurred.

While the marina management was caught off guard and could have implemented more robust safeguards, not one foreigner cruiser took any responsibility for their own inadequacies and lack of individual security preparations. It is common place throughout the marina to see boats with wide open hatches or entryways, both day and night. Personal belongings and boat equipment are left out in the open and unsecured, even when these folks leave the marina. I have taken numerous pictures of all the boats present in the marina to scrutinize for potential ideas to use on our boat - not one boat had beefed up hatches or entryways to fend off a potential adverse boarding incident. Our boat Indra was also lacking in this area, but as a result of this incident we would make changes.

We returned to Indra and continued were we left off, sorting and tossing. We removed a drifter sail, an orange storm sail, and a Para-Tech sea anchor and packed them in the bed of the Ford Ranger truck - we would give them a detailed inspection and cleaning back in Cebu.

As we had made a complete mess of everything we packed all the remaining and loose items back where we found them, before calling it quits for the day.

We mounted our new EPIRB - read here.

We left Holiday Oceanview Marina about 18:00pm and returned to Precious Garden Resort and Hotel. We had dinner there as usual. I downloaded all the pictures to the computer and began reviewing them; charged all the camera batteries. Everyone seem a little worn out, maybe it was the intense heat and humidity, but all slept well that night.

We were up early and had the complimentary breakfast at Precious Garden Resort and Hotel. We left about 7:30am and stopped at the nearby Central Convenience (2C) store and loaded up on ice for the cooler, drinks, and a few snacks before heading to Holiday Oceanview Marina.

As we approached the entrance to Holiday Oceanview Marina it was very apparent something was going on. Instead of just the private security guard at the entrance, there were many Philippine Army troops at the gate carrying machine guns. We inquired as to what was happening and the private security guard only divulged that an "incident" had occurred and advised us to leave; he suggested we come back later in the week. I politely and very firmly stated our yacht Indra was in the marina and we were NOT leaving - he reluctantly let us into the marina compound after Marilyn talked with him in the local Visayan language.

As we drove down the hillside road and approached the marina office building we saw more Philippine Army troops and their trucks, police, and a host of other vehicles and people not normally at the marina. Instead of parking in front of the marina office building, we parked our Ford Ranger truck right in front of Indra. As we got out of the truck, I asked Marilyn to inquire at the marina office and find out what was going on. Mary Ann and I remained at the boat, climbed aboard, and opened all the hatches and port windows to air out the boat.

It was not very long before Marilyn returned and she appeared quite distressed. She nervously stated we needed to leave right NOW and return to Cebu, it was NOT SAFE here. She eventually calmed down enough to relay that last night after we had left to the hotel, a armed terrorist group invaded the marina and took four people hostage. Due to her emotional state she could not provide any specific details. I reassured her that due to the large military and police force presence here now, that we were probably in the safest place in the Philippines. I got her and Mary Ann some cold drinks out of the cooler and told them to stay aboard Indra while I attempted to get more information about what had happened.

I walk around the hard stands, the marina office building, and docks and had short conversations with quite a few of the Filipinos and foreigner cruisers present. It appears two security guards armed with 38 caliber revolvers were on duty and located at the main entrance gate guard shack when the incident occurred. Most of the foreigner cruisers knew very little about what happened, but were "now" very concerned for their own safety and security. Quite a few had been aboard their boats asleep and were totally unaware of what happened until after the terrorist group had departed. The estimated 10 armed kidnappers had come and left by two boats, using the marina seawall barrier as their landing and entry point. The estimated time of their entry into the marina was just after 11:00pm, about three hours after we had left for the hotel.

Discovered the folks that were kidnapped were Canadian John Ridsdel of catamaran Azizah de Niamkoko, Canadian Robert Hall and Filipina girlfriend Marites Flor of yacht Renova, and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad of yacht Wiskun. An American Steven Tripp and Japanese wife Kazuko Shibata-Tripp of yacht Outstripp had struggled with the kidnappers but jump overboard into the water off their boat to avoid being taken. We were only familiar with Kjartan as we had just met him the day prior. The military and police that I talked to stated that they were mobilized and conducting searches on land, sea, and air. The marina managers and owners present stated they were going to have a meeting with all boat residents tomorrow.

This incident was widely reported on and published in the news media:

Canadians kidnapped in the Philippines: Here’s what you need to know

Brazen abduction shakes up quiet, luxurious Philippines island

Samal resort owners urged: Boost security, let police in

I returned to Marilyn and Mary Ann aboard Indra and informed them of what little I had learned and the marina meeting scheduled for tomorrow. I let her know that due to the loss of Kjartan, the marina yard manager, the possibility of getting Indra moved to its planned permanent location on the hard stand was not likely to happen anytime soon - the marina Filipino work force were currently sitting idle in their boat hanger building as no one was around to supervise them and tell them what to do. We agreed to remain through the week and if Indra was unable to be moved, we would depart on the weekend. We considered ourselves very lucky that we had left the marina yesterday shortly before this attack had happened - someone upstairs was definitely watching over us.

Next I informed her of some of the "things" that just didn't add up about the kidnapping. Top of the list was how this group entered the marina, knew where to go, grab folks, and make their get away in less than 30 minutes. How it was very strange that the local security guards were not in the marina/boat compound area on a walk through inspection but at the furthest point away at the entrance on the main road - left the impression of an inside accomplice or excellent intel foresight on their walk through schedules. How no alarm was raised by any of the yachties present that heard something - some of these yachties are ex-military and should have been familiar with the first basic protocol of sounding an alert. Even after the kidnappers had left no general alarm was raised - two of the yachties I talked to that morning had just woken up and weren't even aware yet of what happened.

As to why Holiday Oceanview Marina with local armed security guards was chosen by the kidnappers instead of the 50-plus other island resorts without or minimal security guards bugged me. I naively believe they chose Holiday Oceanview Marina to make a political anti-government statement besides kidnapping for potential ransom rewards. Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III had just recently held a public ceremony at Holiday Oceanview Marina on 9 September 2015 to recognize the newly completed roadways and provide prestige to the Holiday Business Group efforts at building the Holiday Oceanview Marina and Resort complex and Rodrigo Duterte mayor of nearby Davao City was a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections - embarrassment of two political bigwigs and a large business consortium with one stone's throw.

Inside Indra we started going through the numerous drawers and cabinets deciding what stays and what gets tossed out.

I went forward into the v-berth and removed the numerous pillows and mattress. The v-berth storage area had wood lattice pieces to provide airflow to the mattress; they were removed along with the white plywood cover boards. The chain locker and a storage compartment filled mostly with ropes lay exposed - started inventorying the contents.

Both Marilyn and Mary Ann kinda enjoyed going through the many colorful books even though most had a very noticeably moldy smell - most books were removed and put in the HOV marina building bookshelf area for other cruisers to use.

Another let down for the day was discovered in the desk's map storage area, hidden between the maps, found an inspection report that revealed Indra had prior issues with deck and cabin rot. We found a receipt for some of the work done on these discrepancies but got the impression all the work was not accomplished yet.

We left Holiday Oceanview Marina about 17:00pm and returned to Precious Garden Resort and Hotel. Mary Ann had another cheese pizza, Marilyn had a pasta dish, and I had lasagna and tempura fried shrimps for dinner.  The days revelations and activities had dampened all of our preconceived enthusiasms about this trip.