Moving on

A year has passed since I last joined the SIM Canoe team for training.

After some thought, I've decided not to paddle competitively anymore. There's too much committment invovled and I'd like to do other things during my holidays. Im also looking at getting a motorcycle so time will be spent getting the license and money needs to be earned to pay for a motorcycle and the lessons.

Akan Datang

It has long been obvious to most paddlers that kayaking can never accommodate large numbers. 20-40 paddlers in the water would present a logistic nightmare preparing the boats and be a safety hazard with paddlers drifting all over the place.

This is unlike in dragonboating where you can dump 20 kids into one boat and have one helmsman at the back. They take up less space compared to 20 kayaks when moving around and the helmsman has full control of the direction.

Enter the Bellboat. The Singapore Canoe Federation's answer to the dragonboat.

Source: http://www.riversaccess.org

The Bellboat is 9m long and 1.4m wide. Basically it is 2 canoes bolted together to form a catamaran. There is a steering oar at the back, dragonboat style.
Obvious advantage over the dragonboat would be storage as it can be dismantled and Im guessing the weight wise, it will be lighter.
Made of plastic too! Injection moulding shouldnt cost too much and it can come in fancy colours.

More information on the Bellboat can be found here.

Level 1 Coaching Course

Level 1 Coach Training Course (Recreational)
Date: 6th, 20th, 21st, 28th Feb 2010
Venue: Kallang Water Sports Centre (Singapore Canoe Federation)

Contact Lim Jun Ping, limjp@scf.org.sg for more details.

This is how we roll

Sun, sand, 'sea'. Love it.

Headed down to Kallang for some rolling practice and to catch up with Kevin.
Kevin had managed to do 2 consecutive hand rolls the week before and wanted to see if he could repeat the feat. Unfortunately, he was having an 'off' day. Almost managed one, but failed in the end.
Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to take some videos and photos.

Kevin rolling up

Relaxing...

Greenland style Storm Roll


Another Top Hat Roll video

3 Star Course 17/01/2010

3 Star Training Course
17th Jan 2010
Water-Venture (Pasir Ris)
$80

Course application must be made by 10th Jan
For more details, contact Water-Venture (Pasir Ris) at 65824796

Im back!

Relaxing

First kayak trip in 5 months. Was not able to paddle for such a long time because I was in Europe during autumn/winter.
Still able to paddle comfortably at a decent pace. 45Min was spent eating lunch, so the journey was actually completed in 4hrs 15min.
Companions have improved. Huanda was incredibly tired the last time we tried to complete round Ubin in 4hrs.

Huanda's new toy

Ziyang with his new paddle

Ziyang bought a new Bracsa Hurricane max paddle, the paddle has a very firm catch and feels almost like a wing paddle. He was winded as he was not used to such a strong catch. More initial fitness was required to use the paddle. When I used it, I felt like I could fly. The firm catch allowed more power to be applied and transferred to the stroke. Nice feeling, but might be tiring in longer distances.

Rest of the pics here