Yachts are luxury items. Yachts for sale inthe Philippines can average some 2 to 6 million Pesos; and those are the more affordable ones. Yachts are even known to be a status symbol for wealth. But in Tambobo Bay, in Siaton, Negros Occidental, life lived in yachts has become a culture of humility married to fundamental interaction with both man and nature.

The Tambobo Bay has been a sanctuary for foreigners for more than 10 years ago. In the still waters of the bay, they would dock their yachts, catamarans, and canoes and stay for a scenic and cultural vacation. Some of them never leave and instead stay for good. But whether as a transient or a resident of the town, they are all commonly known as Yachties by the locals.

This Yachties culture has been so deeply acculturated into the life of the locals in Siaton that they have made the vacationing Yachties one of the primary source of livelihood, catering to the Yachties holiday or retreat needs has become a central theme for their businesses. Some Yachties who fell in love not only with the place but most especially with its people even asked for locals’ hand in marriage and eventually settled down in Tambobo’s bossom.

The serenity of the bay is far emphasized by its still waters and the colorful life that thrives underneath and around it. Tambobo Bay is nestled in between The Cuernos de Negros mountain ranges and Mt. Talinis, two brilliant spectacles in themselves.

One notable person who has lived this culture first hand is Diane Pool, and her husband, Bill have been living the Yachtie life since 2000. They have been a common name in the local scene then, and in due course have become part of the village’s life as a family and friend. Diane initiated a English Learning program in 2000. What began as a weekend affair to teach and assist children in studying has now become the Bright Lights Community Learning initiative, a supplementary school to aid in the education of children.

Since the death of her husband in 2009, Diane had the chance to go back to her homeland in the United States. She has recently returned to the small town by the bay saying how Tambobo and it’s people has become her home.

Although the namesake Yachtie has its more urban and someone superficial implications, note that yachts, as the home Yachties made it to be, have become a symbol of escape from the city life, a symbol of unity with nature and the necessitation of human fraternity and charity.