For Taiwanese sailor Andy Kuo Lee, the 2019 purchase of Our Rose, a 44-foot (13-metre) sailing catamaran, was a dream come true. Having taken early retirement from his career as an actuary, Lee and his wife, Jennifer Chen, were looking for adventure. They found it living aboard their new boat, spending four years cruising through Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
They enjoyed being afloat in the azure waters of Southeast Asia, anchored in quiet bays and being immersed in the culture of the shores they visited. “We love the liveaboard lifestyle,” Chen says. In 2023, they decided to sail Our Rose home to Taiwan, stopping in Puerto Galera, in the Philippines, to make repairs and improvements to their boat.
When the work was done, Lee set out to sea together with an experienced Dutch sailor named Jeroen Elout. Chen was in Taiwan, awaiting their arrival. The crew stopped in San Fernando, on the island of Luzon, to “clear out” of the Philippines – obtain the clearance papers needed at the next port of call.
On October 30, they set off for the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, a voyage of about 650 nautical miles (1,200km) across the Luzon Strait. These waters can become dangerous as strong currents mix with winds coming off the open Pacific Ocean to create steep, tall waves. The forecast called for freshening winds, but nothing the boat and crew had not seen before, so they carried on.
However, as they sailed out of the protective lee of Luzon Island they were surprised.