The Round Ubin Kayak Race Part 1
Let me just start off from the moment we (myself and partner) got on the water in our K2 for the sake of keeping this short (it's not very sweet).
Ok here we go.
We got into our kayak. The water was fairly calm (I was expecting more) but then it was still early in the morning (about 9am) and the winds hadn't started blowing yet. We adjusted our seats a bit, then we were off for a short warm up close to shore.
A few minutes later, most of the competitors had already gotten onto the water and it became really crowded so stopped paddling. Some teammates came beside us and we started chatting about stuff.
Suddenly, a lot of our competitors (over a hundred) went towards the starting bouys (roughly 50 meters apart) and we followed. They left lots of backwash in their wake but the waves (which were still quite calm) pretty much covered them up.
At the starting bouy, I reminded my partner that we were probably the youngest pair in our division (sadly, open, even though we are only 13) so the chances of us winning were almost 0 but we still had to do our best and try not to be last.
Some guy in a speed boat started shouting something at the competitors but I couldn't hear very well because he was on the other end of the starting line. Some people started paddling off and we followed with a burst (one of those super-fast bursts which can own the seniors) but they called us back because the race hadn't started yet.
When all of us were behind the line, the guy really started the race despite most of us still facing the wrong direction. It didn't matter though, we caught up with them with another of those super-fast bursts.
At that moment, the winds kicked in from the left and we were being pushed to the right. The waves were roughening up slightly but we could still handle it (I mean in terms of balance).
Note: This was the part where we paddled from Pasir Ris to Pulau Ubin.
Around 30 meters from the coast of Pulau Ubin was another bouy. We were supposed to go to the left of the bouy and turn right.
However, with everyone wanting to turn as close to the bouy as possible, the place got really crowded and we had to slow down quite a lot. So much for the starting burst.
After turning, we were already quite far behind from the leaders, so we decided to just go at our regular pace for the rest of the 24km. To beat the boredom, we chatted about DotA and played "I Spy". It was fun, really. At that time, I actually felt that I would enjoy the race.
About 40 minutes later, we reached a white beacon, the second marker for the race. We assumed the worst of the waves were over, and were in very high spirits. But at that moment, a kayak capsized in front of us. Very demoralizing, really.
Warily, we continued.
Note: We heard that Chek Jawa had the roughest waves and we thought we had just passed it, but actually we had just entered it.
It seemed the waves came together with a colour change in the water, from brownish blue to a pristine, clear light blue. We were greeted with a very strong wave which tore my paddle out of my hands (I didn't expect such waves, and yes, they were that strong). So we back-paddled about 1 meter and I retrieved it.
We kept going on, with me getting increasingly stressed out. For one thing, the waves were making our kayak bob up and down (they were over a meter high without a passing ferry, which makes them even higher). But mainly, I was getting stressed out because our kayak sinking at an amazing rate from the water which was entering it (with every "bob", water entered). Despite there being a foot pump in the kayak, the ratio between the rate I was pumping out water and the rate the water was entering the kayak was about 1:10.
Note: Our kayaks are made to float even when full of water (but without anyone in it)
My partner was getting stressed out as well, but we could not avoid the inevitable. after paddling 1-2km in that dreadful place, my partner gave the order to "ABANDON SHIP!!!"
To Be Continued...
