If there is one most successful and humble Boholano seafarer, it is Capt. Enriquito “Ricboy” Yecpot Cahatol.
Lila, a small town in Bohol known as a home for adventurers, has produced at least five ship captains over the years. However, Ricboy stands out as the only one to reach the peak of the maritime profession—not just in Lila, but across the entire province of Bohol, and possibly one of the few in the country.
The seventh of 13 siblings, Ricboy was born to a teacher father, Cirilo Caga-anan Cahatol, and a housewife mother, Lucrecia Yecpot Cahatol. Like many children in the coastal town, Ricboy had to help support the family. He fished in the mornings and made hollow blocks on weekends to save for school allowances. “Life was difficult—we had to plant bananas and coconuts. I went through all of that,” he shared.
His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but he thought it is a long way and with many siblings behind him, he needed a job that could help the family and his future. He ended taking up Nautical or Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation, following his older brother Cirilo, also a ship captain.
Despite hardly meeting their needs, his father was determined to send Ricboy to the Cebu Polytechnic Institute, then the best school for aspiring seafarers.
Ricboy began his career as an inter-island apprentice before moving to an international line. At that time, seafarers earned as little as $300 a month, often coming home with only $200 after remittances.
Knowing the difficulty in the life of a seaman, Ricboy was determined to go up the ranks in the profession. Ricboy made sure he would pass the 4 board exams every time he took them in Cebu. The Philippine Regulatory Commission used to conduct the exams three times a year in different locations. Ricboy recalled of exam leakage being peddled to board takers, but with not enough budget he just had to study hard on his own. In all of those exams, Ricboy did not forget to drop by at Sto. Nino de Cebu church to ask for help.
He became the youngest Chief Mate at age of 25 at the Maersk Line. Ricboy pursued and passed the Master license at the age of 31. Sensing the discrimination against Asians by the European flag carriers, he shifted to the Japanese-owned line. There, and at 33 years old, he was able to actualize his license as a ship captain. But he had to downgrade himself from manning a ship from 58,000 gross weight tonnage to 1,110 GWT, aside from agreeing to a pay cut.
Ever practical, Ricboy did not mind steering smaller boats, which just looked like a yacht compared to his previous vessels, saying, “Unsaon man ng dakung simbahan kung sakristan ka lang, dire na lang ta sa kapilya kay ikaw man ang pari.” (It is better to run a chapel as the priest than to have a church where you’re only the sacristan.)
The small vessels used for the inland waters in Japan made him developed very helpful navigating skills. The Japanese line also turned out to be a financially rewarding route because ship captains of 10,000 GWT and below vessels are allowed to berth and unberth on their own with additional fee of $1,000 per route and he was doing this route ten times in a month. As such, he was able to earn and save more.
He persevered in this line for six years before going back to the Capesize Bulk Carrier that usually have 9 cargo holds.
Overall, he manned 15 big vessels over a period of 15 years before becoming a harbor pilot in the Philippines.
LIFE AT SEA
The phrase “kayod marino” (hard worker) aptly describes the hardships of a seafarer’s life. Aside from battling towering 15-meter waves, they face homesickness and other challenges working with diverse nationalities.
Ricboy recounted moments of rough seas where other ships that were once in view disappeared entirely from sight. On calmer seas, navigating icy waters posed its own challenges.
With fewer training resources at that time, Ricboy relied on manuals, wisdom from older captains, and self-study to develop his skills.
Navigating the Bermuda Triangle was particularly nerve-wracking. Although the triangle’s powers may have waned, Ricboy remains cautious, opting to sail along its edges rather than through its center.
The pirates in Somali waters were another challenge. Before entering Somali territory, Ricboy would gather his crew, advising them to call their families to pray for their safety.
Ricboy is married to his beautiful wife, Desideria “Desiree” Namoc, who also hails from Lila. He would call her to pray at a specific time and date that they are navigating in the pirate sea. Desiree is a strong woman with a strong faith in God. She has been Ricboy’s real anchor.
Three times he encountered fighting and maneuvering against the pirates in Somalia. On one occasion, pirates tried boarding their ship, but they managed to outmaneuver them. Pirates also jammed signals, preventing distress calls to nearby U.S. military ships. He recalled a terrified crew member urinating in his pants out of fear.
There were also instances that he would just play cool and steer the ship slow to the amusement of his crew because every hour they spend in the pirate territory means additional payment for the job risks they had to endure.
There were times also when piracy was so rampant that he had to hire marshals to accompany them onboard. Hiring those marshals entails $47,000 for a four-man team escort over a four-day voyage.
Strangely, there were no pirate encounters when they had marshals onboard. This made him wondered why the pirates only come when they had no escorts at all.
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
When internet was not yet in fashion, Ricboy said that communication with families and loved ones was very hard, and a contract could last over a year, unlike now when contracts have been limited to a maximum of nine months.
Sometimes, their letters arrived in ports where they just left off. Some sailors returned home to find their girlfriends already married to someone else.
Nowadays, communication is very much accessible with all vessels equipped with Wi-Fi that all crew members can access to. In areas where there are no signal, Ricboy intentionally navigates near the islands to get some signal to the delight of his crew.
Having different nationalities onboard is also a big challenge. Of course, he loves an all-Filipino crew vessel, but he also welcomes a diverse crew. There were times when trouble among his crew erupted and he had to come to resolve the issue.
In these cases or even in areas of conflict like the Somalia, Ricboy said he would always don his uniform as ship captain. This is to send a strong message that he is the authority. Pirates typically spare captains, making negotiations easier if captured.
“It is easier to negotiate when I am wearing my uniform,” he said.
Just like the uniform, a captain’s chair plays a significant role for seafarers. The captain’s chair symbolizes authority onboard, it represents the captain and his presence even if he is not around. That’s why Ricboy never allows crew members to sit on it, even when vacant, to maintain respect. He once tied it down facing backward to discourage anyone from sitting on it.
He also constantly monitors his crew and knew who are doing their job properly.
The navigating room now is a lot different from before. There was not a chair in the navigating room then, and the seafarer in charge had to stand up for the entire four-hour duty. But, now there are already two chairs in the room.
Ricboy sees the wisdom of having no chair in the navigating room to ensure that the one in charge is always on an alert mode. If ever, he falls asleep, he would always wake up because one cannot sleep standing up for long. This is also a very good safety precaution, ensuring that no collision or untoward incident will happen.
Ricboy also regularly conducts meeting with his crew to assess their temperament, calculate how to instill discipline, and how to manage their anxieties.
He also offered financial help when needed, and encouraged displaying family photos in cabins to lift weary spirits.
CAPABILITY
According to Ricboy, Filipino seafarers are among the best in the world. “The Greeks, we can beat them, the Singaporeans, we are a lot better,” said Ricboy.
“The British, they memorize the books but we Filipinos have the skills,” he said. He was particularly proud of the Filipino skills in celestial navigation. Filipino sailors can map and chart out their location with precision. Other foreign navigators are amazed at this Filipino skill.
Ricboy recalled the uneasiness of his former British captain for having a 25-year old Filipino Chief Mate. But this feeling was not only unique to his British captain as Ricboy himself wondered at times if it was really happening. He himself was unbelieving of his rank at that age.
Nowadays, technology and safety measures have also been strengthened. There are port state control and flag state control that would ensure the sea worthiness of ocean going vessels.
The Boholano captain is also a bit wary of relying on technology too much, he still is the old seaman who makes sure that the ballast water cannot overflow or else it will explode. He combines new technology with his old navigating skills.
What he laments are the excessive training requirements for modern Filipino seamen, believing one round of training should suffice for practicing mariners.
There was a time when some seamen did not really graduate from a formal nautical course, some were even ex-convicts. All one needed then was a passport, a seaman’s book, and a fire fighting certificate.
But the qualification to become an official has also been eased up. Unlike before when you have to pass four board exams, it has come down to two, just like the international standards.
Ricboy also lamented the lack of genuine representation for seafarers. The party lists that claim to be representing them are not real sailors. The harbor pilots’ association, which is represented by real seamen, tried to put up a party list, but never made it.
FULL-FLEDGED
After 15 years of manning 15 capesize bulk carriers, Ricboy called it quits and chartered a new path as a harbor pilot becoming a member of the elite ship captains’ circle – United Harbor Pilots’ Association of the Philippines. This is a more relaxed job where he would pilot ships for at least two weeks a month and off for the remaining days. He has enough time to go on vacation with his wife, shuttling between Bohol and Manila or overseas.
Little did he expect to have his own manning company when he co-founded Hammer Maritime Inc. with a Korean partner, further cementing his legacy.
This makes him a full-fledged seafarer, having achieved the peak of the profession.
Others are content at being a port captain, but Ricboy does not say never. He would always encourage his nephews to take the board exams to move up the command chain. To encourage them, he would tell them that one reason he worked hard to pass the exams was he cannot allow himself to be at the receiving end of his official’s temper.
Despite his wealth, Ricboy does not show off and never brags about his achievements. Instead, he said humility works all the time.
As a young seafarer, he did not mind being reprimanded and doing the errands. “Do not get mad if you get scolded because that is the natural flow, what is unnatural is if you are the one scolding us,” he would tell his crew.
Accepting a pay cut is sometimes necessary. When he transferred to a smaller shipping agency, it was a strategic move because he knew it would pay off in the long run. “I had to swallow my pride,” he said.
DETERMINATION
Asked how he was able to do it, Ricboy said the secret is a combination of “determination, hard work, and prayer.”
Ricboy said that even the most determined person must learn to accept failure. He remembered the arduous path when he applied for a harbor pilot. “As long as you don’t give up, it is not total failure,” he said.
When he applied to become a harbor pilot, the tide was against him. He had no big godfathers to back him up. All he had was a good credential.
Of the 12 applicants for harbor pilot position, only three were selected and Ricboy was among them — the only Boholano. The harbor pilot association is a circle of an elite group of ship captains. They earn as much as ship captains, but with less stress and plenty of rest days.
When challenges overwhelmed him, Ricboy turned to prayer.
He realized that when things became so difficult that he felt like crying, it was a sign that he was close to overcoming the challenge. He explained that in his toughest situations, he would surrender everything to God.
“In the worst moments, I would just look at the stars and leave it to the heavens.” And when he did, he knew he had already won.
Steering the world’s largest vessels and cruise lines were some of his biggest accomplishments. But the highlight of his career was when he piloted the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. The US aircraft carrier arrived in Mariveles, Bataan and he piloted it to Manila. It was escorted by a US submarine and two US navy ships on each side. It was a wow moment for Ricboy.
WHAT’S NEXT?
So, what’s next to conquer? A boat of his own, perhaps? An elective public post?”
Running for public office in our small town thrilled him, but the thought of having to fight corruption made him shiver. Having been used to “kayod marino” and making it on his own, a public run feels daunting for now.
However, even without politics, Ricboy is known for his generosity. Together with his wife, the couple never misses an opportunity to share and give back to the community.
Whatever is the challenge, Ricboy is ready for it.
