Log IX - Artemis 1 (Choosing - Part 1)

After importing a boat myself, I realised that not many people had done it before. Most of the boaters will usually get an agent to do everything for them. In case you are one of those who like to do things yourself like what I did, you might find some of the information useful in the following blog posts.

Anyway the posts will be based purely on my single boat purchasing experience, I believe that there are better ways to do certain tasks, and if there is, please drop me a message so that I will know what to do for my next purchase. I shall start from the very beginning - picking a boat.

There are 2 main countries that I looked at when I was choosing my boat - Australia and USA. Of course there are many other places you can choose to look for your dream boat, but I narrowed down to these 2 countries because of the credibility. Unless you have too much cash and want to fly there and stay for a couple of weeks to settle the transaction, most of the communication will be done through emails or phone calls. So the credibility of the local broker you are dealing with is very important.

You will not want to transfer tens of thousands overseas to a country that is known for scams do you?


Australia has the geographical advantage over USA as it is much nearer to Singapore, hence the shipping will be cheaper. The power rating is also similar at 240V. But for USA, the voltage rating is 110V.

This is a typical US 110V wall socket.

Buying a boat from Australia looks like a more logical choice. However, there are many cases of boat owners in USA unable to finance their boat loans due to the economic downturn in the past decade. And I guess this is the reason why the average selling price of boat in the US is much lower as compared to Australia.

At the end of the day if you factored in the higher shipping costs from USA and the costs of installing a transformer to step down the shore power from 240V to 110V, you might find certain bargains in Australia better than US. But without knowing much on the shipping and transformer costs at that point of time when I was choosing the boat, it seemed obvious to me then that I should go for the cheaper boats in the states.

Next is the question of what type of boat you want. I shall not list the types of boat here as you can easily google the types of boat or yacht to get your answers. For me, I know what I want because I have been thinking of buying it since 6-7 years ago and it is only now then I put my first step forward. I was looking for a cabin cruiser with a small living area and designed for fishing.

These criteria narrowed down my search by a lot. FYI, the number of resale boats in USA is more than the number of boats registered in Singapore. So narrowing down your search criteria will save you a lot time. And finally I shortlisted to just 2 models of boat - Grady White Marlin 300 and Wellcraft Coastal 330.

Grady White Marlin 300

Wellcraft Coastal 330

Grady White is well known for making quality luxury fishing boat, so basically you cannot go wrong with this brand. As for Wellcraft, frankly speaking I was not aware of this brand until I started researching on fishing boats. It was shortlisted because I was attracted by the cabin design.

What is the cabin feature that attracted me? And which model did I choose eventually? They shall be revealed in my next post.

Land Log XI - Nongsa Point Marina Resort

This beautiful resort is just a 45 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. It is so near yet it has such different pace from the lifestyle here. Once you have reached the island, you will automatically enter a relaxed mode.

After the welcome drinks, you will be checked in to resort rooms which are spacious yet cozy, and they come with a balcony for you to laze around.

There is only one restaurant to dine in the resort and it is very comfortable. The local Indonesian menu is recommended over the others as the chefs are really good at preparing their own local food.

After lunch, you can check out how the fishing condition is at the resort jetty. There is a shuttle bus service for you to get around in the resort and also explore the neighbouring Turi Beach Resort.

The 220m long jetty out into the sea is a good place to try fishing.

There is a clean and well maintained shed at the end of the jetty - an excellent place to setup your home base and most importantly, there is a tap that supplies fresh water to the shed.

If you are quite lucky, you will be greeted with selar frenzies. This definitely is a potential good fishing spot because whenever there are bait fish, there are bound to be predatory fish around!

 

Seaweed can be abundant at times depending on the tide and current and once a while you may even find some surprises hiding in the bunches of seaweed.

It is worthwhile to setup your gear for big game fishing and if you are lucky you maybe able to have some fresh seafood for dinner. Or you can also choose the less challenging option of strolling back along the jetty to Turi Beach Resort and dine in one of the restaurants there.

The way back from the jetty to the resort can be a pleasure to walk. This makes the distance seem so much shorter. If you are in the mood for some raw fish, there is a Japanese restaurant to satisfy your cravings.

It can be very tough to get out of bed the next morning as this place is simply too relaxing and comfortable, it is a luxury to just let time slip by without doing anything.

Land Log X - Kelong

This is one of my favourite fishing grounds with countless fond memories. All the previous kelongs that I went to were all demolished. Luckily I still managed to find another one which is still relatively near to Singapore.

A mountainous island formed the backdrop of the kelong. You can arrange to take a short boat ride to go ashore the deserted island. The water that we used for bathing on the kelong was actually from the spring on top of the mountain. It is available for a limited period only as the spring water will dry up during the hot season.

I have learnt a lot on fishing at this place and it shall be the classroom for Captain Q Junior too.

Sometimes when he was in the mood, he would hold the rod longer.

And sometimes he would just enjoy feeding the fish with leftover dinner...

while grandpa tried to catch the hungry fishes in feeding frenzy.

Catching small fish on the kelong is easy. Once a while you may even find some giant monsters lurking around too. My reel got stripped clean a couple of times on the kelong and the setup that I used was not light. I find that there is a lot of joy in catching small fish for dinner too.

As the sun set, the kelong presented a different view which was as spectacular.

The experience of lazing on the chair with an ice cold beer while waiting for a big one to take your bait under the setting sun was priceless.

I hope they will not take away this kelong from me again or the famous 'kelong jump' will not be able to pass down the line. I will definitely enjoy fishing on the kelong for as much as I can while it still last...

Log VIII - Lake Chini

The definition of a captain is the person in command of a boat. The definition of a boat is a vessel for travelling over water. Question is: If you are in a command of a canoe - which is a vessel for travelling over water, are you considered a captain? Whatever the case, I shall put it inside my captain's log.

Lake Chini is Malaysia's second largest natural lake. One of the more famous tales about Lake Chini is the legend of a dragon as the guardian of an ancient lost city which lies in the lake.

We went there during the monsoon season. Though the water area was larger with the heavy rains, the water colour was milky brown because of all the soil  that was washed into the lake. There were many types of aquatic plants growing out of the water.

It was quite an experience to canoe in this kind of environment. It gave us the feeling that we were in some deep jungles. The plants were big and tall, and we had to paddle through narrow water paths with giant aquatic growths beside us. It seemed like we were back to the Jurassic age.

Sometimes the lake opened up to huge areas of vegetation growing on water.

Exploring Lake Chini by canoe was tiring but extremely exciting and rewarding as we were able to access areas that cannot be reached by boat due to narrow straits of water. It was a totally different kind of experience when you are gliding so near to the water surface in the wilderness.

Of course we tried fishing from the canoe but there were no actions at all. We also tried a few casts at the small wooden jetty where we launch our canoe but the lotus leaves kept getting in the way.

Our trip here is to find out whether Lake Chini is a good fishing ground. Though no fish was caught, we gained something else - a very unique experience in nature. And thanks to my co-captain who helped to navigate the canoe while I was taking all these shots.

Lastly, here's a gift to those who have trypophobia (密集恐惧症).

Land Log IX - Mandai

There are many hidden 'treasures' in Mandai. So one fine day, we decided to explore this place to see whether we can find a good fishing spot. I also needed footage for my video - the one that I had posted in my previous post.

The journey was not easy. It brought back memories to the days when I was still in the army.

The difference was, this time I was carrying my fishing rod instead of my rifle and lures instead of ammunition. We passed by a couple of lakes and tested our lures. There were a few strikes on our surface poppers but did not manage to get a hook up.

Diving lures were not suitable at certain places as there were lots of weeds especially at places like this.

Weather was hot and our water supply was running low. We decided to look for shady areas to fish instead of acting hero and fish under the scotching sun.

When we arrived at a shady spot, there were a couple of bright orange gourami playing around in the shade.

They show no interests on any of our lures. After a few more casts, a couple of surface strikes and misses, we decided to call it a day. Though we did not catch anything today, I had a few nice shots and footage of the area. The scenery was nice and indeed it is a treasure. Hope more natural places like this can remain untouch and not develope into another urban area.

Observation Epsilon - Pekan

The main agenda of going to Pekan this time is to take aerial footage for my video. The video title is 'The Meaning of Fishing'.

I can still remember when I first started fishing about 20 years ago, it was for the food. As I was only relying on my meagre pocket money and income from odd part time jobs, I would try to make every fishing trip worthwhile. I bought a set of fishing setup off the shelf of a supermarket and was thinking to myself, how many fish could I catch in order to write-off this 'startup costs'. The value of the fish caught was always weight against the money I spent on buying bait. At first I would keep a mental count of my expenditure but as time went by, I realised that it didn't matter to me whether the fish I caught could worth more than my bait anymore.

It was only after sometime that I decided to buy a proper fishing setup. Of course not to mention that I broke my first fishing rod when my line got stucked in some tree branches during casting. As usual, with a budget constraint, I chose a very cheap reel and rod. But at least this setup was much better than the one off a supermarket shelf. I had a small tackle box the size of my palm with six compartments, it was the one that came with the supermaket setup. It held all the fishing tackle I had at that time. For bulky items like a styrofoam float or sinkers, I would just put them in some recycled plastic bags together with my fishing reel when I travelled around to look for fishing spots. It was not surprising that I didn't make much progress in my fishing 'career' with these kind of tackle and limited knowledge.

The break through came when I was enlisted into National Service and maybe because of fate, I was posted to Brani Naval Base. If you asked anyone who had fished in BNB before, he will tell you that it is a fishing paradise. The fishing was simply fantastic! We did not require expensive baits like live prawns, and by the way, live prawns were a luxury to me during those days. I always envy those anglers I saw at the jetties using live prawns as bait while I was using some soft and squishy prawns that I dug out of my mom's freezer. In the base, I didn't even need to steal my mom's dinner ingredients anymore, there were plenty of chicken and night snacks in the cookhouse kitchen, and they worked like a charm. I would bring back enough fish for my family to cook for a whole week after every duty. There was one extraordinary night that 47 sea bass were landed! It was something that I would always remember. With conditions like these, duty nights were easy to pass and my army days ended in a blink of an eye.

Though with quite an experience in fishing paradise, my fishing knowledge was still limited. My knots were still not properly tied and many fish were lost due to this incompetency. After I came out of the navy, I went home empty handed for almost all my fishing trips. Even if there was something, it was catfish or some juvenile fish that was so small which couldn't even fill a cat's stomach. I could not get used to the pathetic catch I used to catch before I was enlisted in the navy anymore. It was really really demoralising and I was on the verge of giving it all up. But then I still could see other anglers catching fish. I kept questioning myself, why they were able to do it and I couldn't. During that period, it was also about the time when the internet became more widely available to people. I tried to search for all the information I could find on the internet, and I bought knot tying books too. It was then I realised that contrary to the common perspective that fishing is just about a rod and line, there was so much more into it.

The flood gates were open. The more I know about fishing, the more interested I was to test the newly learnt skills and techniques out. I also explored deeper into more remote potential fishing spots and discovered another side of this city country that I had not seen before. Though my catch did not improve instantly, in fact it remained sucked still most of the time, I was somehow happier and did not feel that demoralised anymore. Perhaps it was because I know that eventually one day I would be able to unlock the secret to fishing if I kept on persisting.

Along my fishing journey, I met a lot of friends and gurus, and I benefitted greatly from them. They had accumulated decades of fishing knowledge in their specialised field and were kind enough to impart their knowledge to me. My perception of fishing had totally changed too. Fish is not viewed as food anymore. They are my companion now. Though some of them may still sacrifice themselves as food for me and my family, I am and will always be grateful to what they have taught and given me.

The video will tell the rest of my story.

Land Log VIII - Bintan

Nirwana Resort at Bintan is one of the first few locations that I recce to conduct the Novice Angler Course. The selected location must have the following criteria:

1) Bait fish can be caught there.
2) Squid can be caught there.
3) There are some chances of catching a fish of reasonable size (>1kg).
4) Accommodation is available and comfortable.
5) Fishing area is well lit and safe.

Now let's see how many of the above does Nirwana Resort fulfill.

Early morning we took a long stroll from the resort to a jetty that is extended about 400m out into the sea.

The water condition looked good. As we approached the end of the jetty, we could see a huge mass of shadow underneath. At first I thought it was the clouds casting their shadows on the water surface but on closer look, they were bait fish! Millions of them!
(Item 1: Bait fish can be caught there. CHECKED)

The above is a specimen of the bait fish. However we did not know whether this is a good sign because if there were millions of them, does it mean it will take one millionth of a chance for a predator to take our baits?

Anyway we tried using them but there were no takes for the whole afternoon. So we called it a day and went back to the comfort of our room. The room was clean, air conditioning was cold, there was a mini fridge and the bed was simply... I felt like sleeping already even as I flashed back.
(Item 4: Accommodation is available and comfortable. CHECKED)

When night came, we went back to the jetty again to try our luck on squids. The jetty was guarded by a super huge K9. I think it was about the same height as me when it attempted to stand up and launched itself at me. Anyway I'm still alive now writing this blog, all thanks to the security guard that was trying very hard to calm the K9 down which by the way the dog's name is Maradona.
(Item 5: Fishing area is well lit and safe.)

We caught 3 and used 1 as bait. The squid bait was basically untouched throughout the whole night and we felt the bed calling for us again...
(Item 2: Squid can be caught there. CHECKED)

Next morning we went back very early even before the K9 ended his shift. This time it became much friendlier and that's when we knew that he was named after a great soccer player. We changed our fishing strategy. We brought the bait fish to where we felt the predators would be. After we caught our bait, we walked a distance away from the densely populated bait fish area and drop our lines down into the clear water. As I was just going to get some tackle from my bag, I heard the screaming sound from my reel! I turned my head and I could see that my rod was rocking violently and then pivoting on the handrail it was resting on. The next thing I know, it splashed into the water!

I was rooted to the ground when all these happened as they all happened too fast within a few seconds and my rod was gone. I rushed to the side of the handrail and watched my setup sank into the depths. The fish pulled the rod a couple of meters and it stopped. My setup had hit bottom and got stuck! I could still see a faded yellowish silhouette of my rod. Thinking that I may still have a chance to retrieve it back, I jumped into the sea, dived down towards the silhouette and yeah! I got back my setup back! The fish was gone though. Lesson learn, get a bright colour fishing rod so that you may still have the chance to see where it landed even if it sank into the sea. *just kidding
(Item 3: There are some chances of catching a fish of reasonable size (>1kg). CHECKED)

So it looks like this place fulfill all the aspects of a suitable fishing ground to conduct the Novice Angler's Course, BUT... everything here in this resort is so so expensive! I do not think this is sustainable. So let us look elsewhere...