Recreational kayaking is somewhat governed in Singapore by the Singapore Canoe Federation (for safety or whether it’s yet another form to make money, you decide), starting with the most basic – the 1 star, which simply allows you to rent a close top kayak but not go very far. The way it see it, the 1 star is merely a stepping stone for the 2 star, pretty “useless” by itself (non certified peeps can rent open top kayaks). The 2 star is the one which allows kayakers to pedal past the “barrier” and take part in cross-channel expeditions.
With that in mind, though I’m not really into the sport, I decided to obtain the certification anyway as the course fee is pretty affordable – about the price of a PS4 game. I mean, better be able to do something when I wanna do something than be limited about options right? LOL ~
The 2 star course held @ Water Venture Pasir Ris spanned over 3 days – 2 Sats, 1 Sun.
Day 1 was pretty relaxed (compared to the other 2 days). We had refreshers of the strokes we learned during our 1 star course, and were taught a few new techniques.
Day 2 was more techniques and a paddle over to Pulau Ubin, where we had lunch in our kayak, floating on the water in the mangrove swamp – it’s a wonder that I didn’t get seasick haha. It was exhausting though, crossing the channel, facing the waves and current outside of the lagoon, and paddling that far (>4km). So tiring it was that I pretty much took a 4hr nap once I got home, followed by a 3hr sleep with a break in between for showering & spending some time with my partner. 0 game time, despite fully intending to roll my 1st Seasonal toon for D3.
Munching on a homemade sandwich (made by my partner) while drifting
Day 3 included yet another kayaking expedition of about 6km after doing a kayak to swimmer rescue & Eskimo bow rescue in the “training area”. The group decided that we should return to Ubin again, but this time all the way to Ubin jetty, where we stopped and had a proper lunch at one of the coffee shops. Salted fish fried rice, sambal kangkong, oyster omelette… yum!
Raft up for a group shot!
Anyway, don’t get me wrong when I mentioned that I’m really into kayaking. I LOVE kayaking. It’s awesome. I just have too many things on my already overflowing platter (i.e. gaming, running, hiking… etc.) to make it a priority. I’d be satisfied to do like 3-4 expeditions each year, and yep, despite the sunburn, insect bites and lack of gaming hours, am totally glad that I spent those 3 days on the course.
Onward to the expeditions!! \(^_^)/
Simple Complexity 