2006-08-28

First day photos.

Our guide, "Beard man". An excellent guide with great service and hospitality. First class!


God blessed us with excellent weather condition.
The preverse day was too windy and many boats actually return to land early.


The kid in the center is 'Beard Man''s assistant.
Paiseh... I almost hurt him real bad...

"Eddie Eddie, wake up!"

Yong was looking confident. Joshua was having a good time chatting with Beard Man.


"Lucky charm"???


Oh yes, our trip was supposed to test out this device too. This is a 'FAD' (Fish Attracting Device). Its purpose is to attract.... fish lor.... The nozzle is spraying water onto the surface to simulate baitfish presense. After two days, I kinda believe that this thing does work. We came into contact with 20 sails for two days and only 8 were landed dued to inexperience. We sighted many many others within range too...


Friday's night preparation


Joshua's choice for sailfish teamed with a very old rod, Shimano Beastmaster.



Joshua's choice for bottom fishing.


Joshua's mini reels for sotong fishing teamed with very old Shimano's Stimula.


I brought up my Major Craft Offblow PE0.8-2 and Daiwa Certate 2500R-CUSTOM with the trust worthy 15lbs red Powerpro. I'm out to test this pair of gear again. Hopefully it still performs like my previous trips but it has met any biggies yet. Hopefully, the reel will scream hard and fast this time.

Rompin, Malaysia - Day 1

After I blogged about me going for a breather, some of my kind friends asked me where am I really going. I gave them a broad smile and told them that I was actually going up north to Rompin targetting sailfish.

"I thought you were going Perth..."

"I wish I am going Perth too."

"You sound more interesting in going to Perth than Rompin... hahaha... I know... you miss your darling very much, right?"

"Yes I do... I miss her always."

It is my first ever trip going up to Rompin. I have heard about that the sailfishs there are plentiful and finally, I got to experience it myself.

In this trip, I fulfilled two wishes... I am very happy and I wish my darling was with me there too to share my joy.

********************************

All involved anglers met up at Beach Rd on Fri's afternoon and we set off in Joshua's Volvo XC90. I would say that this is a very comfortable trip and it sure reminded me of my days in Arizona, USA. I always like to book a Ford Explorer to roam around in the wilderness... driving a 4x4 out in the wild... the drive is exhilirating especially when you enter those tight corners... with slight tail drift... *bleah*

The traffic was smooth and really pleasant. Onboard we had Eddie (from Fishingouting), Yong and Joshua (DeepSea). Everyone was very nice and we had wonderful company throughout the whole trip.

After a good night sleep on Fri, Sat we woke up fresh with anticipation. Let me tell you, I was very positive as well as everyone.

We set off around 8.45am on Sat. As usual, the boatman would bring us to gather enough baits first before fishing. It didnt take too long and we have a bait well full of baits. No time lost, we set off to the very first spot for sail.

We chased sails for the whole day. I couldnt remember how many sails were lost due to many many reasons on the first day. A total of 12 sails were lost for both days... if we were in the competitions... I think we would be really sad... hahaha...

It didnt take long to have the first sail caught and landed. The sailfishs were around. They were eager and willing. Along the way... a few misses here and there... and two more were landed to comclude day one.

Everyone had a sailfish to 'hug' except me. I was concentrating hard to catch one on 'stick' bait and I decided to let all go first. At the end of the day, time ran out on me and nothing for me.

I had a few misses. The sailfish took my jig but the hook just didnt set. They hit my stick bait but the hook didnt get a positive hookup. The drag didnt scream at all...

I was upset but somehow I knew it wasnt the end yet as I still had one more day.

During dinner, our dear guide promised me at least a sailfish the next day. I was very encouraged by his words and hospitality. He is 58 this year but he looks lean and fit at his age.

The service for the whole trip is very very good. The guide, (I couldnt remember his name but in malay, they call him the 'beard man'. He got beard lah...) is very professional. His helper is very hardworking as well. I felt really bad as I accidentally hooked the helper when my reel's bail arm flipped closed when I cast... the stick bait swinged back and got caught on his neck... Thank God that the trebles only got his skin. Only one hook and it was simply pricking beneath the skin. Phew, I was very sorry and I apologised... (This uneventful accident happened on the second day.)

Everyone was exhausted. After dinner, at about 9.30pm... I went into dreamland...

Somehow in my heart, I could feel an assurance from God that tomorrow would be a good day for me.

I slept.

I'm back!

Hi everyone,

I am back... finally. After two hours of jam over at the causeway... I finally got my exhausted body home...

As promised, I have lots of photos ... stay tuned.

Regards.
Edward

2006-08-22

Out of town... for a breather...

Hello people... I will be out of town for a moment... to take a breather... catch some fresh air...

I should be departing on Fri...

Meanwhile, I need to prepare for my trip and probably not blog till I am back.

My heart is heavy... with anticipation... with valor... with vigilance...

Highly focus... great determination... everlasting endurance... full of passion...

I will not be gone for long... I thank God for this arrangement as I could feel Him pushing me... it seems like He has something to show me where I am going...

Where am I going? You may ask... I'll be going to "Rom"... Where is "Rom"?
I have pinned my destination in my mind and waiting to see what is there for me to grapse and to realise... my destiny is about to begin...

Alright, it's time back to my book... I need to study...

2006-08-21

My blog was hacked...

Hi people, if anyone of you sees that my blog is amiss, please kindly let me know.

My blog was hacked today...

I have to actually thank him/her that he/she didnt deface it...

2006-08-20

Drift Emotions in Video!!!



Nissan Silvia S15s Drift Emotions Photos


Nissan Silvia S15 with 'tofu'... kekeke


"Time Attack!"

Super bimbo Audi... just too overwhelming... yucks!




2006 YAMAHA CUB PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP cont'd

It was a humid and very warm morning. Mechanics and pilots were getting their bikes ready.....

At the scene, Singapore's racing in anyway is still very far behind. Apparently, these bikers have no training grounds but there's races here in this little isle.

The competition started off with 4 strokes Cubbies... engines were revving... tyres screaching... crowds were screaming... Upon the start... in less than 5s, there were 3 riders down. Thank God, they were all wearing riding suites which helps to protect them.

I thought the 4 strokes were exciting, the 2 strokes cubbies were even more breathe taking. I saw riders drifting their rear wheels as they attacked the corners and some even wheelie upon flagged. Apparently, there were more spectactors compared to the 'time attack' for cars across the street.

Since I was there, I walked across the road to witness time attacked too. Many pilots were making some spectacular moves. Tyres screaching in high pitch. Engines revving and turbo hissing!!! I only managed to watch a few of them do the 'time attack' and of them all, an very old Honda Civic Coupe was really good. The co-pilot did well and no mistakes were made and every turns and corners were almost perfect, especially his 'donuts' were the best so far!

The pilot and co-pilot must worked perfectly in order to achieve excellent timing. Communication is vital and safety is paramount when they could only have their map last minute before their turn. This really test the ability of the pair to make it to the top.

While I was excited taking photos of these power machines doing their moves, drift demostration was about to start too. I guess due to the super hot Jap anime 'Initial D', drifting is gaining its popularity in Singapore. Two power packed beefy Nissan S13s slowly edged their way to the holding area waiting for their turn to perform. The engines were knocking hard...

Check out the videos I had recorded... smoking!!!

Be patient... I will do my best to get them up asap... stay tuned!

(My friends and I didnt stay through everything as this would take almost the whole day till evening. We didnt get to sleep last night and it would be wise to get back to rest early. Thus we left. Furthermore... the sun was melting me... I felt like an ice cream... and I smelled like 'tuti'... 2 strokes engines are 'breath taking'... eeks!