Windsurfing & Kitesurfing Malaysia

Boy died of drowning, another saved by our Boy.

A boy died of drowning yesterday (Sunday) here in Balok at around 5pm. He was with his friends fishing on the main rock closest to the beach. They believed to have climbed the rock when it was low tide, but tried to swim back at high tide. Another friend of his was lucky enough to be rescued by our surfer, Boy. I wasn’t there when this happened. It was a windless day due to the rain.

Searching by local rescuers for the body failed. This morning, the body eventually resurfaced.

My deepest condolence goes to the family involved, I hope they’ll take it easy. Rest in peace brother.

A word of advice to anyone eager to swim to the rocks, or anywhere near the rocks. There are dangerous undercurrents within the proximity of the rocks. Undercurrents are known to be the main culprit to suck you down hard into the water. This is obviously not safe for anyone who does not know how to swim very well. If you have to climb on it anyway, please please please do not try to swim back when it’s high tide. This is the most dangerous time & condition to swim, even a good swimmer has high risk of not getting back to the beach easily because of the strong currents during high tide.

One tip you have to remember when you get into this situation, is to relax. Breathe air, not water. If you feel tired, get a deep breath, try to reach the bottom and jump back up. Do this until you have enough energy to swim back to beach or just let the current to wash you ashore.

23.02.2009 News No Comments

Where to buy?

Here’s the truth. There is no single *reliable source for windsurfing gear in Malaysia.

Trust me. Been there, done that.

Singapore is the closest where you can find truly exceptional quality, bang for the buck windsurfing equipment. Gear in Singapore are generally cheaper than anywhere else in the world. There’s a few online windsurfing shops in Singapore. Now I’m not here to advertise anybody but rest assured, they are quite easy to find, so google is your friend.

For used market, there is no better place than the Bluefinz’s Marketplace. Keep watching and you’ll find what you’re looking for eventually. Prices are usually very reasonable too.

Lastly, contact this guy PJ. He owns Bluefinz Windsurfing Shop, very friendly and you can trust him for the quality.

Like every other purchase, study what you want to buy, study your seller ( see if he has any good/bad review before) and most importantly, don’t rush into anything.


*not reliable in this context means an organization/person that has any of these issues;

  • Long waiting time / bad communication ~ waiting for a whole week just for a price quote isn’t exactly what you’re looking for
  • Potential to sell overpriced yet battered equipment ~ lack of sellers & availability means they can price it however they want to desperate & uninformed beginners.
  • Potential of getting scammed ~ you should get what you paid for, not less than you paid for
  • Other bad issues that are too general to mention

23.02.2009 Windsurfing Lesson No Comments

Another great weekend in Balok

Seems like the NE is coming to its end.. NOT!

Simon and Eng from KL went down to Balok today. One thing about these guys, they’ve been spoiled over the years with shortboards and small sails, that they only go out when it’s really blowing.

Well I guess today’s their lucky day! It was around 15-18 knots from 2pm. A bit cloudy and a bit gusty but that won’t stop us windsurfers to go out. Some kiters were also spotted at the usual place, Duta Village.

As it was weekend, we had a great number of spectators. Nothing beats the cool feeling you have when having all these eyes on you as you walk with your gear to the beach! :) Be careful not to fall in front of them though. continue reading...

21.02.2009 News No Comments

For the weekend warriors

Here’s an update for the wind and weather.

As of today, and for the past few days, the wind’s blowing consistently. A friend asked if he could use an 11m kite. I’d say, definitely YES!

As usual, I was on my 7.4m, and a friend on his 6.0m sail have no trouble getting to plane.

No joke, the wind is quite strong at the moment. Have to do with the fact that it’s been at rest for quite a while ( remember the bleak windless weekend?). Also, it hasn’t been raining for at least a week or so. Sunny, sunny, sunny days!

Anyhow, the current wind pattern is strong wind from 1-5pm and slowly decline from there. Just in case, bring your bigger kite ( and sails ) to be on the safe side.

Thumbs rule is, if it’s not raining for at least a day, there will be wind.

See you soon!

20.02.2009 News No Comments

Windsurfing Lesson: Foot Position

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...

19.02.2009 Featured, Windsurfing Lesson 3 Comments

Is it expensive?

Windsurfing is a serious sport.

Therefore I have to be seriously honest with you.

Windsurfing is not cheap. A brand new carbon mast alone can set you back more than a thousand ringgit. A whole set of the least branded windsurfer could cost you up to RM3000. It sounds ridiculous. But is it worth it?

Let’s look at other sports that are similarly ridiculously priced, but in long terms proved to be a somewhat worthwhile investment.

Let’s start with mountain biking. Sure, you can always get for less than a thousand for a cheap bike to start with. But once you’re serious in the sport, a professional bike frame alone can cost you nearly RM5000. Same thing with BMX frames. Adding tyres, brakes, rims, etc will give you an estimate of 7000-10000 ringgit! That’s not cheap doesn’t it?

Now let’s go to motorsports. Cars for example is already generally known as not cheap, let alone if you’re into cars that can race! Maintenance are vitals and they cost a bomb each time. How about golf , a club for a friggin RM2000? How about Scubadiving? The license alone will empty the pocket of an average salary guy, not to mention every single diving session have serious overheads to consider like hotels, transportation, rentals, guides etc. How about Motorbikes that cost you over RM30000 just for occasional riding & showing off, or the least expensive one i.e the Rempit Machine.. Well let’s not even go there!

The truth is there’s not so many serious sports & hobbies out there that are not expensive, or at least sounds very expensive.

But these things have something in common. It is the so-called ‘Personal Satisfaction’. To further elaborate this, there is nothing out there that can beat the feeling of achievement and personal satisfaction when you have invested serious time and money into something.

On windsurfing’s point of view, there is huge difference between having to carve gybe after several weeks of practice compared to completing 10 levels of Command&Conquer’s Red Alert 2.

So what is this ‘feeling’ that these big spender morons trying to achieve? How does it really feel? It is for you to find out. Just a hint – It’s better than sex!

18.02.2009 Windsurfing Lesson 8 Comments

NE Wind is Still Not Over Yet

Over the last few days, the wind has seemingly to have died down completely. When there is some wind, the direction shifted from NE to E. The fishermen are now out again. Dead flat mirror-like water… and it all seem very hopeless…

For the rest of the team, it all looks like there’s nothing worth to wait for. It’s time to pack up the small gear, and go big or go home.

Little that we know, there’s a surprise waiting around the corner. continue reading...

17.02.2009 News No Comments

The BBQ

On the 25th of January ‘09, a BBQ party was held at the club to celebrate with the Chinese on their New Year’s eve. Over 30+ people turned up, including a few families travelling all the way from Singapore & Kuala Lumpur. After an exhausting day of surfing & kiting, nothing beats the tender taste of the bBQ chickens & meats.

So basically it was an “Eat-play-eat some more- play some more” type of event. continue reading...

16.02.2009 Events No Comments

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