The Recalcitrant Corner

A stay at Vasco's Resort and Museum is not complete without an evening spent in the 'Recalcitrant's Corner' of Vasco's Restaurant, the closest experience I've come to feeling like a retired and vintage pirate. Between Brian 'the legend' Homan, his partner in crime Michael, and the usual suspects who frequent the long table in the back corner, I take it upon myself to unravel the scrambled soiree that is Brian's amazing lifetime of deep-sea discoveries, wreck diving, salvaging, and backyard engineering. As Lonely Planet (2009) warns, "don't try to match Brian (or the crew) drink for drink".....ever!

One evening with many more to come has left me with a mishmash of epic tales that I will not doubt piece together in due time:
-Brian attributes bashing a priest at the age of 13 with his eventually settlement in the Philippines, at the age of 17 he was stranded on an island for 3 weeks with nothing but a rifle and a spear gun, then bailed out of Long Bay gaol on his 18th birthday. Sailed into Puerto Galera on a Spanish Galleon in 1978, 3 months after the US Navy allegedly left, lost his nearest and dearest ship in a horrendous storm, turned another into my future living quarters and with only $500 to his name, salvaged a wrecked FedEx aeroplane, sunk it in front of what is now the Vasco's restaurant and used the money to build this remarkably unique Pirates of the Carribean-esque experience.

Many an Australian is brandished in history class with the disappearance of our then Prime Minister Harold Holt, out for a swim in 1967 and never came home. It is worth the trip to Subic just to ask Brian of his most probable theory on the mystery.... My telling you here could quite possibly lead to my own disappearance. And I do a lot of swimming!

Brian has had his experiences of salvaging his first wreck published in the March 2011 issue of Active Boating and Watersports magazine. The blue and white chinese pottery above is some of what was discovered in passage to a harbour on the northern coast of Mindoro.

Below, Brian explains the freaky coincidence behind salvaging nothing but blue painted, dragon-inspired Chinese pottery on his first wreck discovery in Mindoro.

Wreck diving may be at it's epitomy here in Subic, but the real story is Brian, and, beer by beer.... I am slowly uncovering the stories.