Competitive sailing is back in the country with the recent success of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series. BPI—together with the Ocean Racing Club of the Philippines, Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Foundation and Subic Sailing Club—envisions to make the Philippines a “sailing mecca” in Asia, while promoting marine conservation and boosting local tourism.
By Edwin P. Galvez
Each of the four prestigious regattas in the first sailing season of the BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series—Corregidor, Busuanga, Boracay and Subic—could very well be the lead stars in an exhilarating episode of The Amazing Race.
Its main difference with the adventure reality show, however, is that these offshore and inshore sailing races held between November 2023 to April 2024 explored challenging waters on some of our country’s richest seas and picturesque shores.
“It was a very successful undertaking,” shared Maria Theresa “Tere” Marcial, president and CEO of BPI Wealth during the awarding program of the BPI Subic Regatta 2024, the fourth and final leg of the country’s ultimate sailing event.
“What’s great about it is that we put together different races—some are existing, some we revived—and engaged with the whole sailing community through the sailing organizations. And to make a meaningful impact, we put all these existing races in one series,” added Marcial, a skipper herself who trained under a Royal Yachting Association accredited school in Sydney, Australia.
BPI gathered 22 of the country’s best sailing teams for the four-leg competition that showcased their crews’ skill, tenacity and sportsmanship.
Each of the International Rating Certificate Class overall winners took home a custom art piece made by award-winning sculptor Michael Cacnio.
Karakoa, skippered by entrepreneur Ray Ordoveza, won both the BPI Corregidor Cup 2023 and BPI Busuanga Cup 2024. For the back-to-back feat, the team behind Karakoa also earned the coveted Doni Altura Perpetual Trophy.
Selma Star, skippered by seasoned sailor and businessman Jun Avecilla, clinched the 2024 BPI Boracay 200 Cup, while Ice 52 Belatrix, skippered by businessman Jun Villanueva, dominated the BPI Subic Regatta 2024.
BPI president Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco declared that the race series put the Philippines back on the competitive sailing map, saying our country should naturally be a destination for sailing as we are an archipelago and a popular tourism hub.
“We are on the map for our beautiful beaches and hospitality,” he said, “but we need to tell the world that we can offer more—the whole sailing experience where they race and where they stay.”
Limcaoco said BPI also made sure the race series received the proper support and publicity as it associates sailing and yacht racing with its premium brand, BPI Private Wealth, that empowers its clients to live a fulfilling life beyond expertly managing their investments.
“This is just the start. The vision is to get more Filipino and international crews to join [the race series] so it can be part of the international calendar,” he said.
The BPI regattas also sailed towards ocean conservation and sustainability in the course of the six-month campaign as BPI partnered with WWF Philippines to highlight the crucial need to conserve and protect our country’s marine resources while promoting the country’s breathtaking island destinations.
Marcial, who owns her yacht Isabelle, which also participated in the races, is a trustee of WWF Philippines. WWF produced informational content on sailing for healthier seas and participated in a series of sustainability talks organized by the Subic Sailing Club and Lighthouse Legacy Foundation.
“[Our partnership] expands the community of ocean conservationists. Sailors are our natural allies because they witness firsthand the beauty of our oceans, and when you see such beauty, you would want to protect it,” shared WWF executive director Katherine Custodio.
“The race series had been very exciting,” said principal race director and 35-year competitive sailing veteran Jerry Rollin, who acknowledged the commitment of BPI to build up sailing as a whole in the Philippines.
He said there is a need to generate the same commitment from local and foreign sailors early on, particularly those participating in the biennial China Sea Race where he expects to enlist between 25 percent to 30 percent of its entries.
Here are the schedules of the four key races for the second season of the country’s “ultimate sailing event”: BPI Corregidor Cup 2024, November 15-17; BPI Busuanga Cup 2025, January 9-12; BPI Boracay 200 2025, February 20-25; and BPI Subic Regatta 2025, March 27-30.
Interested in sailing? Visit https://signatureyachtraceseries.com for great contents on the BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series and follow Signature Yacht Race Series PH on YouTube and @signatureyachtrace_series on Instagram.
