For a sport that heavily depends on one’s personal capability & preference to doing things, it’s very difficult to be specific on the guidelines. However there are certain profound techniques that can be adapted to improve your sailing. The tips laid down below are a few of the many essentials skills and tricks that have been long practiced by the professionals then passed down to others from time to time.
Enjoy the ride –
Why Balok? I really love Balok, I love her like a baby, none of the these issues really matters to me. I get used & live with it. But let’s look at a few issues about Balok that some people may have not noticed or just plain ignore it.
Geography – During NE monsoon season, the bay is protected by the long headland (named Tanjong Gelang). As result the wind is gusty, inconsistent and not blowing at its full potential. For wave lovers out there the waves too are smaller than it should have been. This is the same reason that why, when you sailed far enough from the beach, you’d feel sudden hike in wind strength & density, not to mention bigger swells.
Hygienic – We all know and sometimes try to ignore that the water is seriously muddy at times, so called the ‘teh-tarek’. Close to the beach is the river which is the culprit that, well let’s be honest, not really that clean. Balok dumps its domestic waste into this river, directly from kitchens & toilets ( pardon the truth! ). If you watch closely at the map of Balok, you can see there’s a long small waterline connecting the main river to nearby well-packed & highly developed area. Who knows what goes in the water. continue reading...
Despite not being a local, George Warren needs not to be introduced among the Malaysian windsurfers. Nicknamed K-21, George has ventured almost every coast and every channel in the Malaysia map starting from the 80′s up until now where he commonly resides at a little place called Duta Village, Kuantan. He was also one of the organizers for the Malaysian leg of the well-pronounced Asian Windsurfing Tour (AWT), The Monsoon Madness in Kuantan for 10 years.
Although currently living in the UK, K-21 would return at least twice a year to Malaysia, particularly during NE Monsoon Season and SW season. With over 25 years of experience and still going strong, he sure is living up to his name as being one of Malaysia’s legendary windsurfers.
George will be leaving for UK the next day, so I decided to have a little chat with him. Read on. continue reading...
What is the big deal about foot position?
During my earliest attempts at windsurfing, I have made several mistakes that slow down my progress. One of it by not considering where I position my feet on the board. I have taken a bad advice that basically says “…your feet will naturally know where to step on with a lot of practice.”
This particular advice, while not 100% incorrect, led me to believe that I should not be bothered about where to step, and focus more on getting good balance wherever my feet are on the board. Things will just sort out themselves intuitively.
Of course, it works, but not without a lot of falling and uphauling and breaking my back. continue reading...
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