Iloilo Paraw Regatta struggles with fewer sailors, eyes grassroots youth

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Participation in the Paraw Regatta Festival’s main sailing race has continued to decline, prompting organizers to push grassroots recruitment by tapping schools in Iloilo City and the province to help preserve the centuries-old sailing tradition.

Robert Somosa, chair of this year’s Paraw Regatta sailing events, said the dwindling number of participants reflects a broader reality: traditional paraw boats are no longer widely used for fishing.

“It is already a reality that there are fewer people who use paraw for fishing. Traditional fisherfolk who usually compose our festival have already transitioned to pumpboats for convenience and more efficient means for livelihood for fishing,” he said in a press conference on Feb. 5.

Economic constraints have also discouraged participation, Somosa said, citing the high cost of building a paraw, which ranges from PHP 60,000 to PHP 100,000 and is often used only once a year.

“That will just be used for one day in a contest and kept for the whole year; there is no return on investment for the boat, and that is why it would not be surprising that our numbers are dwindling. I am sure that the numbers will no longer increase,” he added.

The Paraw Regatta Festival is an annual sailing event in Iloilo City that celebrates the traditional Visayan double-outrigger sailboat called the paraw.

Held every third weekend of February in the Arevalo district, it began in 1973 and has been promoted by organizers as Asia’s oldest traditional craft race and the Philippines’ largest sailing competition.

The highlight of the festival is a sailboat race of more than 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) across the Iloilo Strait between Iloilo and Guimaras Island.

Somosa said the number of participating boats is expected to stabilize at around 30 to 35, reflecting the limited number of seaworthy paraws capable of competing.

To sustain the festival, Somosa said organizers are returning to grassroots development by involving schools, particularly through structured training workshops for high school students.

“We need to develop awareness and love for paraw sailing among the youth. If we continue to rely on the barangay level, there are no longer enough followers because this is a highly technical skill,” he said.

Somosa said letters have been sent to several schools, and the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University has committed to field participants from its high school campuses in Molo and Arevalo.

The workshops aim to train at least 10 teams, with the goal of having them compete in the school category in next year’s regatta.

SHORTER SAILING ROUTE

Somosa said this year’s main sailing route has been shortened to about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) to avoid affecting the transport of goods and passengers to and from Guimaras, since the half-day race creates a no-sail zone along the route.

“To avoid hampering routes to Jordan and Buenavista, we adjusted the course, and this will now be our permanent sailing route,” he said.

The revised route will start in Anhawan in Oton, go to Calaparan, the Iloilo Fishing Port Complex, Ortiz, Bondulan Point and Marker 5 in Sinapsapan, Jordan, before returning to the finish line at Tatoy’s Manokan.

To further ensure safety, Somosa said the race will start earlier this year.

“For this year, as a sort of our adjustment in the sailing time, we will start early in our program at 7 a.m. so that we can already take off at 8 a.m. for our paraw,” he said.

Somosa said international sailing rules will be strictly enforced this year, including automatic disqualification for boats that hit race markers.

“This year, we will strictly enforce the rules. We will hold an orientation and meeting with participants a day before the race to brief them on the implementation of international rules, including the prohibition against hitting race markers. Once a marker is hit, the participant is automatically disqualified.

“I hope it won’t be difficult for them. What’s important is that they are thoroughly briefed on the rules, since these are international standards,” he said.