Charity Swim Tioman 2010

Apparently keeping this blog updated has become an annual affair now...fortunately I had this charity swim to write about this year :)

Here's the long story about the crazy 20km swim I completed in Tioman...from the day we departed from Singapore til we arrived back safely :)

On Fri, 29 Oct 130pm, we all gathered at Seletar airport for our flight to Tioman Island . At 2pm we were ushered through immigration to the waiting area for boarding…even though the boarding time on the boarding pass is stated as 235pm. Anyway, all of us went to the little air-conditioned hall to wait…it’s just a hall with nothing else there…with the plane sitting right outside…

I was chatting with Charles, one of the Aviva swimmers (Aviva is one of the main sponsors for the event, a few of their staff formed a relay team to swim in the event), when we saw the pilot starting up one of the propeller…and then…hmmm…it stopped at that one propeller??!! Are we flying with just one propeller? Soon we noticed the crew starting to gather around that propeller…uh oh…

Next we were told there’s some technical problem and they are sending a rescue plane over. Huh? Rescue plane? Ah…they actually mean a standby plane…so we were told a delay of 1.5 hr is expected while waiting for the plane to fly over from Subang airport…

As we were a bunch of hungry people by then…we were quick to find out how to get food in that deserted airport…apparently fast food delivery is the answer! So Canadian 2-for-1 pizza was our answer! We ordered 2 large pizza which arrived in less than 45mins…and 16 people finished them in seconds…one slice per person...haha..

Soon after we finished our pizza at abt 4pm…we found out the delay is until 5pm…and then 540pm…uh oh…some of us are still quite hungry…so Herbin, another Aviva swimmer, had the idea of ordering more food…this time we decided fast food would probably be faster…so McDonald’s it shall be! Alas…did u know that McDonald’s has safety rules for their delivery man…no delivery for rainy area! Although it was not raining at the airport yet…the clouds were very dark…sighz…

So next we called KFC…but delivery takes 1.5hrs…ahhhh…I guess one pizza is all we are supposed have before the buffet dinner at 7pm…

At about 5pm…the rain started to pour…uh oh…that can’t be helpful! Indeed it wasn’t…the plane had to hover around the air space for a while before getting clearance to land at abt 540pm…and then…at 615pm we finally were ready to take off…apparently we nearly did not get clearance to take off due to the weather and the airport was closing at 630pm!!

Phew…we really need to thank our lucky star for the chance to fly off on that day itself!!

When we arrived at Tioman...it was slightly after 7pm…the group of passengers who were supposed to take our plane out to KL were stranded and had to stay one more night…same goes for the pilot and air-stewardess who were caught totally unprepared! We are indeed very lucky that this whole delay did not affect our charity swim plans at all…we just needed to rush to the dinner table when we arrived instead of checking in first!! :):)

Dinner was wonderful…so many good stuff to choose…yummy!!

After dinner…we had a short briefing by Trevor (the founder of SAC and organizer of the whole event) and team...and all of us immediately when to our rooms. Janine, another Aviva swimmer, and I were in the same room. We took a shower, prepared our stuff for the swim…and immediately dozed off on the bed!

Next day, 30 Oct, is THE DAY…the day we attempt the crazy swim!! We woke up at 530am…had breakfast at 6am…then 7am we took a group picture and off we go to the jetty, split up into a few boats to go to the starting point…Mukut village jetty!

The sea was very choppy and it was very cold that morning as it poured the night before…how are we going to swim in such conditions? :/

As we were bouncing up and down, freezing on the boat…and I was wondering how it’s going to be like when we swim in such conditions…Peter, chairman of SAC and also my swimming partner for the swim, was identifying landmarks we can follow during the swim to give us an idea how far we were from the end point…cool…I have a great navigator swimming with me :)

Along the way, we reached out from the boat to feel the water and realized that the water was actually quite warm…so the moment we reached the jetty…we told the boatman we were jumping into the water while waiting for the other boats to arrive…it felt so much better in the water!

When everyone arrived, we got onto the jetty…had another photo taken…and at about 9am we jumped off the jetty…from there we waited for the boat that will be following us before we swam off. Carol, a swimming coach who has been participating in most (if not all) of the SAC charity swim, Peter and I were swimming in the same group while Novie, from SAC, is on our support boat. I initially tried swimming with my fins but later realized it was too heavy and slowing me down instead. So I switched to paddles instead…it was a lot better but Carol and Peter were still faster…haha…

For the first hour or so the tide felt like it’s against us even though the prediction is that it will be for us from 9am onwards…hmm…was the prediction correct? Fortunately after an hour or so, even though the water was still choppy, I could feel like I was swimming faster as the tide was pushing us forward. GREAT!

We had a break every 30 mins to ensure we were well hydrated…but each time we swim, Carol went much faster ahead, Peter followed but he slowed down every now and then for me to catch up…I’m really glad to have him as a partner, seeing him waiting up for me makes me determined to catch up faster each time I feel like slowing down!

Not too long later, we were told there’s a jellyfish alert...apparently Ben, our youngest and faster swimmer, got stung by a jellyfish…the tentacle was so long and transparent…he didn’t realize and swam into it…OUCH! He was immediately brought to the safety boat while the rest of us were warned to swim further away from shore…
The idea of someone getting stung just made the swim more “scary”…but we just went on :)

Soon while I was just feeling like the tide is going very well and I could swim forever in that condition…we hit the 10km mark…it felt so fast even though it was 3 hrs of swim! That was where some of the 10km swimmers, Terry, Donovan and George, joined us...

But somehow before they joined us, we ended up taking a break at the jetty and was served some really refreshing cranberry juice on a sun chair…wow…

After about 15mins of break, we went back into the water…so did Ben who was much better after taking an antihistamine and washing off the sting with vinegar…that’s real determination! Bravo to our young chap!

In the first part of this 2nd 10km, we could see corals and fishes just beneath us…in fact, Peter who was swimming right next to me then, saw a turtle which I somehow managed to miss :(

From there on it’s just Peter and me, as Carol moved to a faster group instead. Peter kept looking out for the landmarks while I just kept swimming towards him…haha…he’s my perfect moving landmark?

The next 5km was still not too bad…just kept swimming and swimming…and drinking and eating every 30 to 45mins…with Novie and William “serving” us initially…and suddenly they became David and Jennifer, my friends who came along as supporter and photographer…haha…Novie wasn’t feeling so good after so many kilometer floating up and down on the boat, and dehydrated from not being able to eat/drink well…so they got David, who could finish a plate of chicken rice on the boat, to take over instead!!

The last 5km felt like eternity…we kept swimming and swimming looking for that little island called Renggis that was just off the shore at the end point. When we finally saw that island, we realized it will still take us more than an hour to get to the finishing point! I was so tired, and with so much chaffing on the neck, chest, armpit and behind the knee, I really wanted to stop swimming…but watching Peter swimming ahead and slowing down watching me just kept me going and going!

When we finally saw the beach where our end point was, we immediately turned right heading straight for the beach even though the actual end point was still a few hundred meters away. We just got onto the beach and walked towards the end point! Apparently we looked like a pair of spies from the James Bond movie while walking along the beach…haha…a pair of very tired spies. Alas! we have finished…20km in all...in approximately 7 hrs…it was totally crazy!! But I think I might just do it again in the future!! :/

That night we had another round of wonderful buffet, a seafood bbq buffet…with squid, crabs, squid balls, some fish, satay, beef, lamb...and even corn in the cob…we all loved it!!

After dinner, everybody just went back and sleep.

The next morning, we saw a letter at our doorstep…the flight has been delayed again…instead of a 2pm flight, we had a 410pm flight…oh well…that just gives us more time to go snorkeling at Renggis Island…or for Janine, more time to run and have a massage! So after breakfast, which was very good, some variation from the day before…Tristan (another regular participant of the SAC charity swim), Carina (Tristan’s wife who’s also a pretty good swimmer but was only here to support Tristan and their son, Ben), Charles (another Aviva swimmer), Trevor, Peter and I swam to the island even though we were told that it was not allowed…the other tourists took a boat over. Peter swam from the resort while the rest of us swam from the jetty…the shortest point to the island…haha…we were not as hardworking as Peter. We swam around the island…admire the many fishes and beautiful corals…then we swam back to the beach…haha…apparently 20km of swim the day before wasn’t enough. We had to swim somemore…Peter the most!

Before going back to the room for a shower…Trevor, Peter, Charles and I had some fun at the resort pool which had icy cold water…so different from the seawater which was much warmer…haha…but the slide at the pool was really fun!

After a shower, we met at 130pm, went different ways for lunch…Trevor, Herbin and gang and I went out to this Chinese seafood restaurant just a few minutes taxi ride from the hotel. We had hokkien mee, chicken, fresh prawns, squid, curry fish slices and 2 vege…all for RM40 each inclusive of the taxi ride!! Great selection of dishes by Herbin and gang…Trevor and I just ate :p

Then all of us gathered at the lobby at 3pm and took a bus to the airport. Just outside the airport, somehow we had some issue with one of the shopkeeper we bought drinks from the day we arrive...but we finally managed to settled that and took off before 4pm.
The plane ride was very fast, we were busy enjoying the view from above and before we knew it…we arrived at Seletar airport at abt 430pm…that was the last ever Berjaya air flight to arrive at this airport as the next flight will depart from Changi airport. Another historical moment for us?

….and then it’s home sweet home!! Til the next charity swim…

Will post some photos when I get them from my "personal" photographer, David :) If I'm not too lazy :P