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| Before the start with Mior (my housemate from forty years back), Amir (was in the escort boat the whole way) and my wife |
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
No regrets, I was very tired.
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.
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| 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.
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| Its actually quite scary swimming close to large rocks and seeing the waves crash against them |
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.
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| Tanjung Basi after 2.5 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
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| The western side of Perhentian Kecil is actually a nice place to swim |
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.
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| That's all I could do. 7.5 hours. Sorry |
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| 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
- 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.
- 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".
- Bring ice and a container, Perhentian is very hot.
- Carbo Pro and bananas work very well, say every thirty minutes. The banana should be peeled by the crew.
- Stay calm the whole way.
- Taper. This was my mistake. Its no use having sore shoulders even before the swim starts.
- 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.
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| 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
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