Sailboats Costing Less Than iPhones to Hold Championship Regatta

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Oz Goose Sailboat known in the Philippines as a sailboat that can be built for less than the price of an iPhone, of which, more than 50 have been built in the country will be holding the Oz Goose National Championships on November 3 and 4 at the Taal Lake Yacht Club in Talisay, Batangas.

Participants will be coming from as far as Cebu and Iloilo to participate in the regatta. As of press time 22 teams are confirmed to race Oz Geese in the two day event.

The popularity of the Oz Goose Sailboat came about through the efforts of the Philippine Home Boatbuilders Yacht Club (PHBYC) who have been seeking for ways to lower the barriers of entry to an activity well suited for the Philippine Islands; SAILING.

According to Roy Espiritu of PHBYC “Sailing has been perceived by Filipinos as an expensive and exclusive activity, when in fact, it doesn’t have to be. The Oz Goose sailboat fit perfectly in PHBYC’s grassroots sailing initiative, It is easy to build with locally available materials, it sails really well and is a great platform to learn how to sail. “ Mr. Espiritu said.

Boatbuilding materials sponsors Pioneer Adhesives, Polymer Products and Broadwater Marine who were tapped by PHBYC to help develop the Oz Goose fleet have pledged their support for the regatta. Batangas based corporate sponsor Lima Park Hotel will even be fielding teams to participate in the races, while Destileria Limtuaco, Globe MyBusiness, Isuzu Cavite are supporting the regatta as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.

The Oz Goose National Championships is expected to be one of the best attended one design class regatta the Philippines has ever seen. According to the boat’s designer, Batangas based, Michael Storer: “Racing sailboats is the best way to hone one’s skill as a sailor, we regularly race these boats in Taal Lake and several participants who only started sailing this year are excited to join the regatta either as crew or even as skippers.” Storer said.


About PHBYC

The Philippine Home Boatbuilders Yacht Club (PHBYC) is a local community of sailors, boaters and amateur and professional boatbuilders that help people get into boating and sailing economically through boatbuilding. Plans for building all kinds of boats are available online and the materials to build them are readily available locally. Established in 2006, PHBYC helps its members by giving advice on sourcing materials and boatbuilding techniques, all they ask in return is for people to pay forward what they’ve learned to help grow the fleet of homebuilt boats. Feel free to follow PHBYC’s facebook group page and theOpen Goose Sailing Boat Group.

The Oz Goose designed by Batangas based Michael Storer, the boat is known for ease to build and suitability as a sail training platform, here the sailboats are seen racing in Taal Lake. The Oz Goose sailboat will be having its national championships on 3-4 November in Talisay, Batangas

7 Dream Jobs for People Who Love to Travel

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Do you love the open road? Would your perfect job be something you could do from a beach in Mexico or the mountains of central Asia? Then you’ve got your work cut out for you, because not every job will allow you to live that way.

The good news is that things are changing. There are more jobs now than ever before. Largely, this is because it’s possible to work online. The gig economy – though it might not be great for job security – has been a real boon for those of us who love to travel.

So, what are the best jobs you can do on the road?


Work on a Cruise Ship

Totally different but still a great way to see the world. If you work on a cruise ship you’re automatically taken to new places to see new things. You can either stay on board for a long time to see the world and make some money, or you can just do several month stints.

Do note, a lot of cruise ship jobs don’t pay all that well. On the other hand, you do get room and board included and if you’re careful you can make sure you don’t actually spend a great deal of money as you move around. Then, when you’re ready to jump off in the port of your choice, you’ll have a nice bit squirreled away.

Check more about cruise work opportunities on Carnival.

Freelance Copywriting

I travel as I work. Have done for four years now. From different continents, countries and landscapes words have spilled from my finger tips to satisfy the needs of clients situated thousands of miles away.

The advantage of writing as you travel is that you don’t need much more than a laptop and a decent internet connection. This means you can travel light and go far. In this way, it’s better than – say – photography, which is of course a great activity while you travel but requires all sorts of expensive camera equipment which can break, be lost or can get stolen.

Do note, there is a glut of copywriters in the market right now. It can take a long time to climb the hierarchy to where you’re making decent bucks. This means that you’ll be on a budget as you go. At the same time, there is no better place to be on a budget than in cheap countries.

Such services as Canada-Writers and GetGoodGrade are always looking for new writers to hire!


Graphic Designer

Similar to the writing thing mentioned above, graphic design is a great way to make ends meet. If you know your way around the different photo and graphic software packages and have a portfolio to prove it, you can go see the world and make pretty pictures from all her corners.

Just like the writing thing outlined above, you can make good money this way. There is one slight drawback to being a graphic designer, though, and that’s that your files are a lot bigger. That can be a problem is some poor countries – as I’ve seen as friends have had to run from Wi-Fi spot to Wi-Fi spot in the hope of finding one where they can send in their assignment.

The best platforms for seeking graphic design jobs are Upwork and Freelancer.


Online Shop

It’s called drop shipping and if you’re good at sales, building websites and doing the necessary work, it can be a great way to make your money. Basically, what you do is you’re a middle man where you sell goods from wholesalers to people via the internet.

Do note that a lot of the courses offering you how to become a drop shipper are horrible scams. So, don’t get sucked in by those. Also, don’t be tricked by the words ‘passive income’. Sure, people may buy your products without you having to do anything, but in order to get them to come to your site is a lot of hard work.

Still, if you are good at marketing and know how to work the search engines, this is a great choice. Especially as sometimes you can take a week off while still making money.


Tour Guide

Speak a lot of language? Are you good with package tourists? Can you weave a great story? Then why not become a tour guide? You might think that you can only do this in cities you know, but the truth is that often the spiel is the same in many places.

So, if you take a few tours, read a few books and have a bit of experience, you can pretty much start up anywhere. Do it for a few months until you’re tired of the place and then move on again! You’ll not only get to see the world and share your experiences with lots of people, but you’ll learn far more about the places you go than almost anybody else you see out there.

If you are interested, check worldwide tour guide jobs opportunities on CruiseJobFinder.


Archeologist

Do you want to go on long treks toward far off places? Then why not become an archeologist? Okay, to be clear, archeology isn’t all Indiana Jones like adventures. You’ll also spend a lot of time in your office working away at papers, or reading dusty old books that you found in the library.

What’s more, archeology is something that will take you a long time to learn. If you’re okay with that, though, if you’ve a bit of an egg head as well as a travel bunny, then archeology might well be the thing for you. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get one of the biggest finds of the 21st century to your name!


Writing Editor

Being an editor is different than writing. You don’t get to flex your creative muscles as much but you do get a chance to work with a plethora of professional writers. Editors are in high demand, meaning that there is always an opening somewhere waiting to be filled.

You can opt for editing blog content for people who travel as well, work for a news outlet or something else entirely. Editors are in charge of making sure that the published content meets the high standards set by the core brand of the company.

If you would like to start a freelance editing career, contact online services such as TopAustraliaWriters or BestWritersCanada.


Tip of the Iceberg

The truth is, there are a huge amount of jobs out there that you can do while you travel. As long as you take lots of short-term contracts you’ll have lots of time left over to see the world. AS an extra bonus, those tend to pay better, so you’ll get the best of both worlds.

Of course, it helps to have some savings when you chose to work this way. You never know when there will be a work drought and you’ll have to pay for yourself for a while. But then, if you want to travel the world you’ll need to learn to be good with money anyway. So why not start there?

Good luck and good travels.

Smart Taps Bohol Youth for Disaster Preparedness

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Five years since the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Bohol, the events during that day are still fresh in the minds of the students who went through the ordeal.

“I was shaking because my grandmother was crying, and my cousin was shouting, ‘earthquake! earthquake!’” said 19-year-old medical technology student Geena Mae Hopida, recalling their family in panic.

The quake, whose epicenter was in Bohol, struck on Oct. 15, 2013, and jolted most of the Visayas and parts of Mindanao and Luzon. It was one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Philippines in recent years, causing injuries and loss of lives, and massive damage to property and infrastructure.

Amid the tremors, Hopida had the presence of mind to instruct others to “duck, cover and hold,” as she had learned during earthquake drills at school.

Grade 12 student Adrian Bucoy could hardly find words to describe the terror of feeling the ground trembling. “The rumbling from under the ground became louder and louder. My mother was calling me from the kitchen, but we couldn’t hear each other,” said Bucoy, now 18 years old.

A few weeks later, the province was hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan), one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record.

Hopida and Abucoy, who both study at Holy Name University in Tagbilaran City, were some of the participants of the TNT Tropang Ready disaster preparedness caravan organized at their campus by PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications.

Smart’s TNT Tropang Ready aims to train youths in disaster preparedness skills so that they can help their communities in times of calamities. Smart recently brought the caravan to HNU as part of the company’s nationwide learning series on disaster preparedness geared toward the youth.

“At Smart, we work hand in hand with our partners to promote the culture of preparedness within communities. We are tapping the youth for this program—Bohol students, specifically—because of their skills, their tech savvy and their first-hand experience of surviving a calamity,” said Ramon R. Isberto, PLDT and Smart public affairs head.

More than 1,000 students and school personnel were taught emergency preparedness lessons by representatives of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, and resource persons from Emergency Management Center.

The speakers discussed emergency risks and hazards and demonstrated the proper way to do the duck-cover-hold protection technique during earthquakes: duck, or drop to the floor; take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture (or against a wall); and hold on to the piece of furniture.

The speakers also shared the contents of a “Go Bag,” a survival kit containing a flashlight, bottle of water, mobile phone, garbage bag, T-shirt, flashlight battery, and other essentials that could last up to 72 hours.

Interactive booths, games, and other activities further illustrated preparedness, such as making a paracord bracelet, which doubles as an emergency rope and contains a whistle that can come in handy during emergencies.

“After this session with TNT Tropang Ready, we want our students to bring their learnings at home,” said Anne Mariquit Opus, HNU health and safety officer, adding that “Bohol is quite vulnerable.”

The provincial disaster risk reduction and management office cannot do everything, conceded its chief, Anthony Damalerio, as he underscored the importance of partnerships. “We’re happy that Smart is doing its part in helping disseminate information regarding disaster management here in Bohol,” he said.

Smart has been working with different schools nationwide to help families and individuals in high-risk areas prepare for emergencies and disasters. The TNT Tropang Ready program is the latest enhancement of Smart’s disaster preparedness initiative for communities launched in 2013.

The TNT Tropang Ready caravan is part of Smart’s #SafePH advocacy, which promotes preparedness through mobile solutions and on-ground activities to help communities mitigate disaster risks.

The program won in the Community Engagement category at the prestigious Golden World Awards this year. The GWA recognizes PR practices that meet international standards of excellence and is organized annually by the International Public Relations Association.

Louie Domingo (left) of Emergency Management Center demonstrates to the audience preparedness tips with the help of a Holy Name University student at the TNT Tropang Ready activity held at the campus in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

Holy Name University students list down the contents of a “Go Bag” or a survival kit at the TNT Tropang Ready disaster preparedness learning session held at their campus.

Representatives of Smart Communications join students and school personnel of Holy Name University for a photo after the TNT Tropang Ready disaster preparedness caravan held at their campus in Tagbilaran City.