Taking a back seat

Check out the view!

The 2nd wave of Water-Venture's Reservoir Discovery Series ended last weekend with the final leg being held at Kallang.

Getting recertified in CPR AED

There have been quite a number of cases where athletes participating in sporting events and NSFs participating in route marches experience sudden cardiac arrest.
Both young and old fell victim to sudden cardiac arrest, even those that seemed to be fit. Just goes to show, that you should be prepared.

As a coach meeting people of various fitness levels and age in the courses or activities I conduct. So...

Its a good skill to have, especially when all Water-Venture outlets are equipped with an AED. Doesn't hurt to be prepared.

Project Blue WaVe - Third Wave Event Report

After waiting for quite a long time, I finally got to participate in the Third Wave of Project Blue WaVe at Jurong Lake last Sunday! Had to get up really bright and early to report at 7am!

It was a hazy day with the PSI hitting 104 by the time the event ended!

  The slipway all decked out in Project Blue WaVe posters

 Kian Seng talking about marine conservation on behalf of Waterways Watch Society

National Registry of Coaches Renewal!

Back in 2010, I registered myself with the Singapore Sports Council's National Registry of Coaches (NROC). Unfortunately, I got busy with my job and let the membership expire in 2013.

Thankfully, I managed to clock enough coaching practice and coaching education hours to get a renewal.

And.. here it is! Had to clock an extra 20+ hours to get the renewal approved.

I feel that this is a good thing for sports in Singapore. Coaches are made to stay current and keep practicing for a minimum of 30 hours. 15 hours for the coaching practice and another 15 hours for the coaching education.
This system is similar to some industries. I believe the medical practitioners and registered safety officers have a similar system too, albeit a little more regulated.

Project Blue WaVe

A blue movement by PA Water-Venture to engage all stakeholders in building & maintaining a clean & blue water landscap.

Instead of its annual coastal cleanup, Water-Venture is including an educational element to solve the issue instead of reducing the symptoms.

Project Blue WaVe will be rolled out in 3 waves at various locations with a different theme for each location.  Interconnection, Ownership and Sustainability will be the 3 themes guiding the running of each wave and you can find out more on their facebook page: Project Blue WaVe

 

Head on to http://one.pa.gov.sg to register. It's free!
Simply search for "project blue wave" in activities using the search bar.

I will be participating in the Third Wave at Water-Venture Jurong Lake on 19 October. See you there!

Reservoir Discovery Series 2014 Kallang - Event Report

Had a blast at the final leg of Water-Venture's Reservoir Discovery Series in Kallang. I wasn't the lead paddler for that trip and mainly stayed back to help paddlers out.

I was left behind right from the start to help out the late comers while an old school instructor led the group. Not too sure if the participants were ok with him, but I feel that there really is no need to run these kind of events like a military operation.

Anyway, after I guided the late comers to the main group the first thing I did was some wildlife rescue!
Noticed a bird trying to fly, but the poor thing kept getting yanked down as there was a bit of string tangled round its beak. Luckily, I had a scissors in my PFD and was able to cut it free. Look at it, the poor bird looks so traumatised.

Shortly after, more wildlife was spotted under the Merdeka Bridge. An owl!

The group was actually quite capable and cleared the 10km distance really fast. Spoke to some of the participants and they commented that it was more interesting to paddle here.

And.. I agree! Check out the view.

 Happy faces from the participants.

And of course, PA had to promote its newest outlet Passion Waves at Tanjong Rhu by having a stopover at its pontoon. This new outlet is set to replace the existing Kallang outlet under the Nicoll Highway when the it reopens at the end of 2014.

Pontoon launches should lead to some interesting candid snapshots if people capsize. :p

All in all, I had a great time being a part of the Reservoir Discovery Series. I realised that I have come to prefer this sort of events over the standard 1 Star coaching courses.

Just a small time paddler in Jurong Lake

 

Just came back from a kayaking try-out session at Water-Venture Jurong Lake. The great thing about these sort of events is that it is that there is basically no committment involved. I show up, do a quick brief and it is pretty much just babysitting for the rest of the session.
Free and easy.

Back to Pandan Reservoir

Went back to Pandan Reservoir at 14A Penjuru Road after an absence of a couple of years. Really hot weather, thankfully it was windy. Pandan Reservoir is under the care of the Singapore Canoe Federation. However, they have outsourced the running of the place to X-Current.

It is a reservoir, but due to the openess of the area, it is very windy and there are waves big enough to do some light surfing. Not really condusive for beginners to learn since the water is choppy.

 It's a pontoon launch only area which may be intimidating for newbies. The main pontoon area is well maintained and in very good condition, however, the extension is pretty unstable and is not in really great condition.

 There's a nice urban view and lots of open space. It isn't really cramped and crowded because the folks there are mainly canoe polo players who practice in the confined area. One good thing about the place is that there's free parking. However, those folks using public transport may find it inconvenient to reach the place.

Personally, I won't mind coming here for leisure paddling but it's because I have my own transport and I am confident with the windy and choppy conditions.

Reservoir Discovery Series 2014 - Kallang

After an enjoyable day of paddling for the 1st leg in the PA Water-Venture's Reservoir Discovery Series at Jurong Lake, I just confirmed my participation in another leg of PA Water-Venture's Reservoir Discovery Series at Kallang!

Check out my write up "Water-Venture Kallang Walkabout" if you've never been there.

Those who are driving may wish to park their cars at the Kampong Bugis carpark across the river. You just have to cross a small bridge and walk a little to reach Water-Venture Kallang.



Noticed a blog with a write up on the Jurong Lake leg of the RDS 2014 as well on A Winsome Life and saw a pic of myself :) It's not often that I get my picture taken while paddling.

A test of patience.

Took over a batch of kids doing 1 star on Saturday that really tested my patience. Never enjoyable to teach some kids. These kids are usually uninterested in the activity and forced to attend the course as part of the school curriculum or to get some badge for their CCA.
This time, myself and another coach identified the weaker students and I tried my best to clear those that were able to.
I ended up with a group that consisted of a boy so scared of leaving shore, he would just sit in the kayak. He turned out just fine and was just a needy kid who wanted attention on him all the time. Sometimes, it really annoys me as a coach not to be able to engage all participants.

At least it was a nice sunny day and I learnt something from a fellow coach who is now an OBS instructor. Did some research and it turned out to be The Learning Zone Model.

The Learning Zone Model from Kenneth Chan

Also got to take this photo.

Do you know what drowning looks like?

Most people's idea of what drowning looks like would be what they saw on tv or at the movies. A person shouting for help, hands over their heads trying to get someone's attention.
In actual fact, drowning is pretty much silent. The person would be too busy gasping for air to shout and too busy using their hands to keep their head above the water to flail them in the air.

Check out this news report from Fox 9 in the US.
INVESTIGATORS: Drowning is silent - KMSP-TV
KMSP-TV

Although kayakers have to wear PFDs while kayaking in Singapore, I have always believed that you should know how to swim if you're going to be involved in watersports.

Water-Venture Reservoir Discovery Series: Jurong Lake

I had the good fortune to be involved in the 1st leg of Water-Venture's Reservoir Discovery Series. It was a simple 5km kayaking trip around Jurong Lake, Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden.
One good thing about this event is that its a simple and short trip at only 5km. Best part was that permissions was granted by PUB to allow paddlers to enter the Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden, places usually out of bounds to avoid the risk of paddlers being flushed out by the tidal gates when PUB needs to reduce the water level.

 

The day started off pretty gloomy with heavy rains early in the morning. The event was delayed by 30 minutes, starting at 10am instead of 9.30pm.
The organisers were a little worried when only less than half of the registrants showed up at around 9am, but we ended with quite a good turn out.

1st long distance paddle for 2014!

Went on a paddling trip with the Dunman High ODAC. 17 kayaks launched off from Changi beach at 8.30am.
One of the kids did not turn up and I ended up paddling a double kayak alone.

 My kayak, which consisted of spare lifevests, spare paddles, canned drinks and fruits.

World Water Day 2014 at Water-Venture Jurong Lake

Played my part at World Water Day 2014 by helping out at Water-Venture Jurong Lake. Wayang for DPM Tharman and free kayaking try-outs. This year, the minister actually walked all the way into the launch area to see the kayaking.

Had to wake up ridiculously early and report by 7am. Unfortunately, I overslept and only reached at 7.30. But this is what I saw upon arrival.

Awesome right? One of the perks of getting up early.

The place was packed in the morning and it was pretty hectic, but it soon slowed down after 11am. Mostly just sat around and helped people launch and recover the kayaks.

Full album here.

Kayaking trips with Water-Venture (Pasir Ris) in 2014

This is great for paddlers who want to clock some journeys for their 3 Star Kayaking Award. Round ubin is a great day trip for moderately fit paddlers. $30 may be a bit pricey since it would usually only cost half that to rent a kayak for a whole day and paddle round Pulau Ubin on your own.
However, you are paying for a powerboat escort for these trips.

Great for first timers to get a feel for the route before setting off on their own in future.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/WaterVenture

Kayaking Orientation for Hapag-Lloyd at Jurong Lake

According to the club's records, I haven't been to Jurong Lake/Chinese Gardens since 2011! My my... How time flies.

Spent some time with a really nice group of people from Hapag-Llyod today. Quite pleasantly suprised to see the ladies interested in the activity were not too worried about getting a tan or lifting the heavy boats.