When JoMag invited us to have a sailing session in Taal Yacht Club during our monthly mastermind meeting, we were all excited and immediately blocked off our schedule for it.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, what to bring, and what are the preparations needed for it.
It turned out to be an awesome bonding experience!
I would like to share with you my personal learnings during my first sailing experience with no less than Peter Capotosto as our guide…
Taal Lake Yacht Club is the “Sailing Mecca of the Philippines” as described by the Lonely Planet.
It is used as a starting point to sail around Taal Lake and as parking area for the sailboats of members.
They don’t have a restaurant, and there are no bed and breakfast facilities.
Their main source of income is the regular day tours to the mouth of Taal Volcano.
Tip: If you are going to Taal Volcano, you should hire the boat only from Taal Yacht Club or from Balai Isabel. Check out my earlier blog post about the Taal Crater Experience:
- Guide to Trekking Up to the Taal Volcano – world’s smallest volcano!
- Conquering the Taal Volcano Crater!
- Taal Volcano Crater Experience!
What’s nice about the club is that they allow and teach non-members to sail. You just have to sign a waiver each time you sail.
We sailed with the Hobie 21 Sport Cruiser, which is 21 feet long and with a 29-ft mast, atP4,200 rental/day.
(There’s no motor, so you only move when there is wind.)
Prepare to get wet! Bring extra clothes and adequate sun protection.
It can accommodate around 5 passengers, and kids are allowed to sail.
You can sit on the edges or in the middle with your own “bidet”.
We were privileged to have the owner of Taal Yatch Club, Peter Capotosto, as our Sailing 101 guide who entertained us with all his stories from start until the end of our sailing trip.
As soon as the sail catches the wind, you can feel how relaxing and liberating the entire experience is.
(There’s also an art to how one can spot the wind based on the direction and white caps of the waves.)
Tip: To complete your sailing outfit, bring your own life jacket, shades, cap and quick-dry clothes.
Thanks to JoMag, I also learned how to drive the sail by pushing and pulling the lever at the back.
Randy Manolo was very at home and just enjoying the sailing experience.
It was also the first sailing experience of Sir Larry.
I’m happy that Nelson Terrible, Balai Isabel owner, joined us and shared a lot of the stories behind the exciting developments in the Taal Volcano, Talisay Batangas Area.
We left Taal Yacht Club at 9.30am, landed and rested for a while in Balai Isabel around 10.10am and sailed back to Taal Yacht Club at around 11.00am.
(Note: It could take 8 hours to sail around Taal Lake.)
Peter entertained us all the way and shared that they have a policy of offering free sailing sessions to media to teach them how to sail on their own and write about the experience.
Also, he shared that the minimum age for kids who want to learn how to sail on their own is 12 yrs old.
Thanks to JoMag and Peter for an awesome sailing experience! I’m excited to learn sailing on my own. 🙂
Sailing lessons start at around P2000/student for a 5 hr. day session for a small group of 2 beginners using the Hobie 16.
(Note: It is best to learn sailing in Taal Lake, which is relatively cleaner than Manila Bay.)
Taal Lake Yacht Club
Website: www.tlyc.com
Facebook: Taal Lake Yacht Club
Hobie Group: Hobie Cat Aficionados of the Philippines
Contact: Peter Capotosto
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Full Disclosure: Our sailing trip was courtesy of our friend JoMag. 🙂
P.S. Tip: Have lunch at Balai Isabel and order the steamed fresh maliputo:
We were there last time for Taal Volcano and we were able to meet Peter. =)
Peter is great guy at TLYC! Our hobie is parked there too, and the staff has been really great (esp Sonia). It’s true that there are no facilities to sleep in but there’s nearby Walters where we usually stay. I’m glad you enjoyed your sailing experience in Taal Lake.
Btw, the “lever” is actually called a tiller. 🙂
The pics are great…
Hi. Is it possible for us to use some of your sailing photos in our website? we’re promoting tagaytay city and would like to include these so our readers would know what activities they can do in tagaytay. thanks!