5km Swim, MOWS No. 2 at Putrajaya Lake on 21 Apr 2019 and 1st Msian Open Water Swimming Championship

Heat was scorching at mid-day

Overall

It was a great day in the short history of Open Water Swimming for Malaysia.

 

Apart from it being Swimon's 2nd Leg of the Malaysian Open Water Series 2019, ASUM (Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia, responsible for governing Open Water Swimming in Malaysia) joined in to organize the First Open Water Swimming Championship of Malaysia.

 

It is good for the future of the Sport that ASUM and leading event organizer (Swimon) have so far been working very well together. The sport and the public will benefit from their close collaboration.

 

Open Water Swimming is  inherently risky to organize. There is the real risk of swimmers drowning, mother nature not cooperating on Race Day etc. There are no full rehearsals, everything has to work like clockwork on Race Day. The support team (event location, Marine Police, Medical, Lifeguards etc) behind the scenes is huge and everyone has to be dedicated, experienced and basically work for a token or no money.

 

It was heart warming to see many swimmers sacrificing their own Race and looking very smart in their red T shirts, volunteering (body marking, course referee, SUP, photography, registration, medical).  

 

Swimon is also developing a good name in the swimming world and many swimmers specifically travelled from Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Koh Samui, East Malaysia, Thailand etc to participate.

 

Long may the good progress of OWS in Malaysia continue.

 

 

Event location (Kompleks Sukan Air to Kelab Tasik Putrajaya)

Personally I  like swimming at Putrajaya Lake even though at first glance its blackness looks terrifying. The feel of the freshwater on the body I find to be quite o.k. unlike swimming in the sea where it feels quite sticky.

Beautiful morning at Putrajaya

Beautiful landmarks everywhere

Putrajaya is a beautiful modern location for swimmers, within easy reach from the homes of most participants. There are  many beautiful bridges and buildings all along the swim course. The comforts of the city are at the start / finish location, plus we get to sleep at home the night before.

Great work behind the scenes

The organizing crew are getting better and better as practice makes perfect.
Well done Anir, Sumai, Loges, Cherish, Julia, Azizul, Sham, Esmee, Ross Kass, Chew.

Part of the Organising Crew. Well done guys

Aquaputra Putrajaya and medical support were great.

Well done Aquaputrajaya

VIP treatment at the medical tent for old folks !!!

The VIPs from Putrajaya were also cheerful and supportive inspite of the scorching heat.
 

 

Many swimmers turned up to volunteer, thank you

I have never seen so may volunteers turn up to help with a swim event. They look very smart is their red T shirt. Open water swimming is still like a baby in Malaysia and the swimmers are the aunts and uncles, very happy to volunteer help for the baby's growth.

 

Amongst the many swimmers I saw volunteering were:

• Doctor Fauzi Othman, Philip, Ridzwan, all are 16km Perhentian finishers.
• Stephen Jestico, Advance Tan, Yoshi,
• From Penang, KL Tan and Chris Wee

Thank you all volunteers.

The actual swim

The Nationals
The "National Swimmers", Males then Females started off first. This was the first ever National (Malaysians only) OWS Championships. It was talent spotting time for the SEA Games (Men only) to be held at Subic Bay towards the end of 2019.

First wave - National Males

The focus was on youngsters with age groups divided into 14 - 15, 16 - 17, 18 - 19. The rest were "Open".

First person to thump the finish board. We all got to thump it

It should be noted, any swimmer behind by more than 15 mins from the winner in their respective category, would be categorized as "Over Time Limit". It was strictly implemented.

Unfortunately, three young Singaporean swimmers that took part in the MOWS, were faster than all Malaysian National swimmers. So a lot of work to put in for the SEA Games.

MOWS 5 km
After a briefing all the normal 5km swimmers (Males and Females) started in one wave.


My personal swim
I decided to do my own race and didn't follow the crowd. I did a quick recce of the route beforehand and decided to head for the middle of the first bridge. The other swimmers all swam towards the right of the course.

Good action pics by Fiz Said (thank you Sir)

Swimming in a pack makes one goes faster. So maybe I made a mistake here by swimming on my own.

The Lake conditions were the best I have encountered at Putrajaya. No sun, no wind, perfect conditions. I didn't stop for any drinks.

But I had no idea how I was doing and also I was trying a modification in my swim style.

Anyway I caught Adrianna right at the end but not a teenage boy who was just in front.

First time finished a swim by slapping the finish board, very exciting.

Finish medal



Lots of pebbles

Thank you Sir

 

 

Looking at the Results
Full results.

National (Malaysians only) OWS Championship.

Fastest Male was SEA Games 2017 Gold Medalist, Kevin Yeap in 1:06. Second fastest male was Rupert Tan (18 - 19 years) in 1:11. It has been reported in The Star, that Kevin Yeap was only participating to help promote the sport, he will not participate in the next SEA Games.

Kevin Yeap - thank you for your services to the Nation and OWS

Fastest female was Chelsea Ning Lee (14 - 15 years) in 1:18. Second fastest was Sea Games Bronze Medalist (Triathlon), Irene Chong in 1:20.

 

 

MOWS Sea Lion 5 km.

The two fastest Males in the MOWS finished in 1:04 and the fastest female in 1:05. All young swimmers from Singapore. All faster than retired Kevin Yeap.

The fastest Male and Female were from Singapore. Here with their Team Official, very cheerful VIPs and Meet Director

Female 40+. Well done Adriana, Lini



Very fast 40+ Male (from Hong Kong)

Female 50+. First and third from THAILAND

 

Personally
Personally, I feel I didn't do well compared to MOWS No. 1. I'm trying to understand the mistakes I made during MOWS No. 2. Longer distances I thought was my forte.
 

2nd 60+Age Group (1:41:51). Please be gentle with us, we both have health issues hee hee

Hee hee, I did even worse 6 days later at Labuan. Oh well. I swim to stay healthy.

Well done to all swimmers, organizing crew and volunteers.
Majulah sukan Open Water Swimming untuk Negara

Sofian
28 April 2019

 

 

 

Partial swim around Pulau Perhentian Besar and Kecil on 29 Mar 2019

Before the start with Mior (my housemate from forty years back), Amir  (was in the escort boat the whole way) and my wife

Background

The original plan was to try and swim around both Pulau Perhentian Besar and Kecil (25 km) in late March 2019. After all I have swam around Pulau Perhentian Besar (15.4 km) three times  (2016, 2017 and 2018), 25km around Pulau Redang  on 7 May 2018 and Koh Tao (21km) on 4 April 2018.

 

The drawback was I suffered during each of my swims around Pulau Perhentian Besar. The island is a tough swim. It's so hot and always very choppy on the side facing the South China Sea. So I knew doing both islands would be a tough ask, but what the heck.

 

My one swim around Pulau Redang went quite well. We selected a day with a low Tidal Coefficient and there was no wind that day. The water actually glistened almost the whole way. Over more than 100 open water swims I've done, Pulau Redang is the only place that has clearer waters than Perhentian.

 

I booked a very busy Amir from way back and we agreed on 29 March, a day with a low Tidal Coefficient. Amir loves going to Perhentian, he is able to check out new swim routes, do his preparatory work for the next Perhentian Race on 5 October 2019 and return to his kampong nearby.

 

I believe, I am the only person to have swam around Pulau Perhentian Besar three times, the only person to swim around Pulau Redang and only the second person to swim around Koh Tao.
 

 

The day before (28 March 2019) the actual swim

The boat ride from Besut Jetty to Perhentian was the roughest I have encountered so far. I realized I had not selected a good day for the swim and wondered whether it had to be called off.

 

We met with the boat boss on Perhentian Kecil. Its RM 5 per person for the boat ride from Perhentian Besar to Kecil. Perhentian Kecil actually has a mini town with a Police Station, Clinic, Mosque, Restaurants, Shops, Accommodation etc.

 

The boat boss advised the weather the past few days had been unstable. Rain and strong winds at various times. Someone had drowned at Long Beach and boats were actually not able to access  Long Beach.

All of this were very serious and I was quite down heartened.

Instead of our planned start at Barat Jetty, the Boat Boss was very receptive to the idea of starting at Bubbles Resort which is about 5.5 km after PIR. His perception was that this was the most choppy part and there should be less chop early in the morning. The Boat Boss also wanted the crew to work in two shifts due to the distance.

So we agreed to board the boat at Barat Jetty and start the swim from Bubbles Resort to get the most difficult bit over as quickly as possible. This would be roughly a 19km swim, in total.

 

The actual swim (29 Mar 2019)

"Its windy at the Jetty", Amir messaged me early in the morning. The dreaded words.

We boarded the escort boat from Barat Jetty at 7.45 a.m. On the way to Bubbles, I could see that the waves were absolutely crazy. The "4km corner" was especially rough. Two seas seems to be colliding. No way anyone could swim that, I thought.

Anyway we got to Bubbles Resort and started the swim at 8 a.m. Bubbles Resort is quite a cool place. It has its own beach, turtle sanctuary and is popular with divers and snorkelers.

The start at Bubbles Resort, lets do this

The first 2.5 hours
This was more choppy than my previous three swims around Perhentian Besar. Perhaps the most choppy I have encountered was the Hong Kong Clean Half Extreme Marathon Swim (15 km) on 7 Oct 2017. Hong Kong was a day with high Tidal Coefficient (Full Moon) and very windy. I was inexperienced and used a lot of energy to fight the strong surface waves that day and collapsed at the end.


Its actually quite scary swimming close to large rocks and seeing the waves crash against them

So I told myself, don't fight the waves, conserve energy. When one is swimming, the waves appear like mountains. When the waves go crashing against the rocks, its scary. I am always very mindful of the tragedy at the Port Dickson Triathlon in 2018 when two very experienced athletes lost their lives. It was full moon and very windy that day. The very strong surface waves threw me way off course at P.D. So I am very weary of strong surface waves.

I didn't want to be thrown against the rocks at Perhentian today. Amir kept a very close watch on the sea conditions around me. Thanks buddy.

Unfortunately even the tough looking skipper vomited very early on. The skipper and the support crew were replaced sometime during my swim, I wasn't even aware.

Finally after 2.5 hours of swimming through very choppy and dangerous waters, we reached Tanjung Basi, the northern most tip of Perhentian Besar. Normally for the 16km Round Island Race, we would turn left into sheltered waters  and head for the mosque on Perhentian Kecil.

Tanjung Basi after 2.5 hours

2.5 to 5 hours
I had to stay in the open South China Sea and head for the northern most tip of Perhentian Kecil. I could clearly sight the tip, but it was another 2.5 hours of swimming in choppy waters to reach that tip.

I seriously told Amir that I was going to stop at 4 hours. But 4 hours came and I told Amir "another 30 mins". Many "another 30 mins" came and went.

We reached the northern tip of Perhentian Kecil after 5 hours of swimming. Suddenly the water became completely flat and we came across a group of snorkelers. They were happy to see us and we were happy to see them, a happy moment for all of us during the swim.

5 to 7.5 hours

The western side of Perhentian Kecil is actually a nice place to swim

We proceeded to go along the western side of Perhentian Kecil. We have never swam this side before. The water is completely flat and nice. Its a very nice place to swim. Its very possible that Amir would organize some swims here. But I was very tired, disoriented and was just hanging in.

The end
Finally after 7.5 hours, feeling exhausted, disoriented, shoulders aching, I told Amir I was stopping.

We were in front of Alunan Resort (which seems to be a very nice place to stay). I didn't realise that the Perhentian Kecil Village and the Barat Jetty was just around the corner. In my confused state, I thought I had to now swim around Perhentian Besar again and just didn't want to do it.

Amir did his best to convince me to keep on swimming. He was very enthusiastic. "Sleep first, then start again. There is still time". But I was just so tired. Sorry buddy and that was it. Two minutes later, the boat went around the corner and I could see Barat Jetty, our targeted finish.


That's all I could do. 7.5 hours. Sorry

No regrets, I was very tired.

The Garmin stopped for very long periods. Checking against a back up watch on the boat, the actual distance swam might even be 17km. No worries

 

My Personal Tips for Long Distance Open Water Swimming in the tropics

1. Take a couple of sea sick pills before the swim. The pills work very well for many people I know, but I understand not for everyone.
2. Have a GPS watch on your wrist and another back up attached to the float or on the boat. Both watches should have their "keys locked".
3. Bring ice and a container, Perhentian is very hot.
4. Carbo Pro and bananas work very well, say every thirty minutes. The banana should be peeled by the crew.
5. Stay calm the whole way.
6. Taper. This was my mistake. Its no use having sore shoulders even before the swim starts.
7. Avoid windy days but its not possible to predict this.

 

Some Inside Info for the next Perhentian Race on 5 Oct 2019

 

Full race info is here. A few other things;

• Everything will be at Perhentian Island Resort (start, finish, briefing, awards, boat loading etc). PIR and Amir have established a very good working relationship which is very good for us swimmers.
• There will probably be a proper room for the race briefing. We will do the briefing better this year.
• Meeting the Crew and boat loading will be at the PIR Beach this year (not at Barat Jetty as in 2018). This will reduce a lot of stress if we can pull this off.
• I suspect the escort boats will not be punctual on race morning even though they only need to travel a short distance from Perhentian Kecil. We have to be patient with the local fishermen. At least swimmers don't have to find their own boats and crew like at some other events.
• We are trying for the escort boats to come pre loaded with ice, but they couldn't do it for me on 29 March, so I wouldn't count on them doing it for all participants on 5 Oct. The Barat Restaurant will have limited quantities of ice available at 7 a.m.
• The 2019 race is almost sold out. There are many good international swimmers coming. Amir is doing a good job.

 

Getting to Perhentian and places to stay

 

• There are many daily flights to KB from KLIA, KLIA2, Subang on MAS, Malindo, Air Asia etc
• If from Singapore, there is a direct flight on 4 Oct to Kota Baru on Flyscoot arriving KB at 1425 hours. Otherwise go through KL but go early.
• One can take Grab Car from KB airport to Besut Jetty. Fare is about RM69 and the journey is about 1 hour 15 to 30 mins.
• At Besut Jetty use the recommended boat company (Save / Safe Park) as they already have your name and there is a discount.
• Boat crossing is about 30 mins. Take anti sea sick pills if you want, they can be purchased at the Jetty.
• Malaysians need to pay RM3 Park fee. For other Nationals its RM 30.
• All activities are at Perhentian Island Resort. So its probably best to stay here. I often read that it has the best beach. It has a resident turtle. Teluk Pauh is a very nice bay.
• Up to now, I have always stayed at Barat Perhentian. The rooms are basic but the restaurant has a nice vibe.

Thank you

• Amir. For me, the most important person in Malaysia, for the many OWS events that he organizes. He was excellent as my support person.
• My wife.
• Mior Ramdzan, my friend from 40 years back who came all the way from Ipoh to support.
• All swimmers for your "likes" and encouragement on Swimon's and my Facebook page during the attempt.

To all swimmers, please try to come for the next Perhentian swim event on 5 October 2019. We are lucky to have this. The date is confirmed. Registration for the 16 km (almost full) is here. Registration for the 4km will be available later.

See you hopefully at Telok Pauh on 5 October 2019

My previous Reports : 2016, 2017 and 2018.

In the meantime, see you at Putrajaya on 21 Apr 2019 (5km) which will be MOWS No. 2 and ASUM's Malaysia Open Water Swimming Championships.

Sofian
5 April 2019