Dogfish at HW

Cyrus with a juvenile Dogfish caught off Sudong at 2100 (HW) last night, 23 Oct 2007. It was released unharmed back into the water. We were looking forward to landing some squid, unfortunately the windy conditions & bright moonlight did little to help. I'm looking forward to the NE monsoon this year, as I intend to search for new & productive spots in our local waters. Many experineced fisherman tell me, the rougher the seas out there, the more motivated the fish will come into our waters to seek shelter & find food. Well lets see what the monsoon brings this year.

Golden Snappers off Sudong

My 12 year old son Cyrus with a 4kg golden snapper

I brought my 2 boys to Sudong last night & came home with 2 lovely Golden Snappers, about 2 & 4kg each. We caught them on fresh dead squid and live prawns, about 3 hours after the lowest tide. These two came in fast & furious and were caught about 5 miins apart. We also caught lots of small squid for bait.

I finally got back from a long work trip in the US.

Time to fish, I told myself when I got back. We took the Grady TigerCat to the inlet at Sultan Shoal Lighthouse and spent the whole afternoon at a popular spot. Score: 2 juvenile snappers & 1 Queenie. Not a thrilling result. But then a though struck me. I should be catching fish that are there and not hoping for the ones that are long gone. Let me explain. There are plently of small selars at buoys moored at the 10-20 meter sounding line and at the Rigs off Tuas. I have no problem catching those. Its fun too. There are also pleantly of small reef fish off the Southern Islands, I should also start specializing in that field. Too often I wait for that big one to be hooked only to be disapointed. So on the next trip in S'pore, I'll check out who's eating the bait fish and look for new reef spots off the beaten track. As for the big ones, I'll leave that till the Tioman trip. Till then....

I was told by my old friend Francis Olsen, the Marina Manager of Nongsa Marina and the Marina at Keppel Bay, that Nongsa Marina will undergo a major facelift this year. The old pontoons that you see in the picture will be dismantled and replaced and the break-water extended to give fuller protection during the NE monsoon months from late Nov-early March. Olsen told me about the sailfish season off Mapor in Sept & Oct. During these months, squid are abundant and attract the pelagics, including mackerel, dolphin fish and sailfish. Well, I've decided to make a trip first week of Oct onboard the Grady TigerCat. If I do catch any sailfish, it would be the first time outside Tioman & Phuket. Stay tuned for the news of that trip.

Tioman Adventure 22-24 Aug 2007

Map of Pulau Tioman & Dive Sites


The first thing we did when we arrived at Tioman was to stock up on live bait-fish in our 20gal bait-well. It took just an hour to catch about 100 baits, mostly kembong & selar, whilst anchored 30 meters upstream of the unjangs. Thereafter we concentrated on bottom fishing & live-baiting downstream. Bonitos were in season and we found it was easier to catch them on the same jigs than using spinners. The best jigs were the Sabiki no 12 hooks with white fish skin and green reflectors. For bottom fishing, we use self-tied apollo rigs with bonito sliced into "cubes" as bait. They will catch almost anything.


The first Marlin of the day, a frisky 30kg juvenile Black, caught on live bait,
Pictured, Alex Tan, Quincy, Ngak Hoe, Fred Chua, WF
Location: Unjung 5.5nm SSE of Tioman at N 02 39.820 E 104 15.620
PS: We practise catch & release of all bill-fish, & we always ask permission from the locals before fishing at their unjangs whenever we meet them there. As far as possible anchor upstream of the unjangs and avoid tying up to them, to prevent them drifting.

Here's the Video of me with the Marlin

Nothing beats a dive off the many fringing reefs & islands just off Salang. WF seen here at Tulai Canyon. The best dive spot was at Pu Chebeh. Good news, the big fish are back. We saw numerous Trevallies, Coral Trout & giant Barracudas. Both the hard & soft corals are thriving. As always we would moor the boat at the many mooring buoys laid by the locals. (Never anchor your boat at the dive sites, as it will cause heavy damage to the reef).




Black Marlin caught on live kembong bait, off the local unjangs in the evening, just when the bonitos were boiling on the surface. There was an abundant of bait-fish, mostly kembong, selar,
scad and good sized bonitos. We went back to the unjangs at about 3am for bottom fishing and caught lots of "angkoli", red-bream. We were hoping to catch some action on mahi-mahi in the morning, but a pod of dolphins visiting the unjuang must have scared them off.


S'pore's prominent sailor Yeo Ngak Hoe onboard the Riviera 51 at Tioman Marina. We took shelter there on the 2nd night. The Marina is a welcome facility at Tioman and a short car ride to Berjaya Resort for dinner. Currently the only facilities are the walk-on, walk-off berthing, shore supply & water. Fuel is sadly not available yet. The Marina does however change the way we fish at Tioman. Its possible to leave a boat there for a season and just fly up to Tioman for weekend fishing. It saves lots of time & fuel too.

Overnight at Bedok Jetty

Its been more than 20 years since I've stayed the night at Bedok Jetty. The jetty must be at least 30 years old, but its in better shape today than it was before. The National Parks have done a great job. Hats off to the authorities also for allowing tents to be pitched on the jetty. What a difference a tent makes, it immediately gives your own private area and confidence from the weather. Well, we managed to wet our hooks the whole night, however the actions only started at 6.30am as Cedric predicted. The main activity was jigging for tambans, selar kuning and the occasional ikan kekek. However, we were there for the queen fish. Apparently they have been biting the past 2 weeks from day-break till about noon. The popular method used, is to cast a line with a sinker at the end upstream. Then hook a lively tamban on a 3 foot trace and connect the other end with a snap-swivel along the main line. Apparently this configuration gives the best presentation of a struggling bait-fish. Well it must have worked, we had 3 runs 7am, 10am and a confirmed hook-up at 1pm. Cedric had a great tussle with a 4kg Queenie at 1pm (1.5hrs before highest tide) on light tackle only to loose her when she dived under the jetty. All in day it was a pleasant outing.

Fishing Kakis

There really is no sport quite like fishing. Instead of competing with each other, all the players collaberate together against the prevailing elements...the sea, wind & fish. Whether you catch any or none at all, it is always great fun to be out at sea. Often the anticipation, weeks before the day of fishing is more than half the fun. At the end of the day, its the fishing kakis that make the difference. Often when you pair up with good kakis, the boat is automatically kept ship-shape at all times, anchoring is a breeze and all hands onboard are ever ready to help whenever someone hooks up a big one. If you have been boat fishing on your own boat before, you will understand the absolute freedom, that is so different from chartering a boat. The satisfaction when you hit big loads of fish, from your own new found spots, with your own rigs together with the teamwork onboard is truly satisfying. Its the ultimate definition of sport of fishing. So here's a salute to all who already got their fishing kakis well established.

National Day Celebrations

We left RSYC late on 9th Aug and headed straight for Marina Bay, for our yearly pilgrimage to join the the National Day celebrations at sea. When we were a mile away, I spotted Quincy's 51 foot Rivera (see picture) & several cabin cruisers steaming the other way. Something was wrong, why were they going in the opposite direction. We found out soon enough. Two Police Coast Guard boats were chasing the pleasure crafts away. They shouted instructions for us to stay 3 km away from shore, right where the ships were anchored at the Eastern anchorage. What a put off. So much for having the Hart System onboard for authentication of identity. There were 10 or us onboard, my family & Ngak Hoe's family of 5. Going home was not an option; the kids would be disappointed. We decided to stick around and very quickly found refuge at the sheltered harbour launch mooring off Clifford pier. Thanks to Ngak Hoe's quick thinking, we had a ball of a time watching the celebrations from the boat. Good thing I brought the 14" TV along, it showed us the events we could not see past the tall trees along Marina Bay. I must say there's nothing quite like watching the parachutists, the helicopters & the F16s screaming past live, from a boat at sea. The fireworks at the end of the celebrations is always a fitting grand finale, especially when we were so close. We'll come back again next year for sure, hopefully they won't chase us away again.

Taking out the Viking

I finally got the opportunity to drive the Viking from Raffles Marina to 1Deg15. She had been berthed at RML the past 10 years and had recently made the 30 hour journey from Jakarta to S'pore. This 60 footer looks big from the outside and feels enormous on the inside. I could not resist climbing up the tuna tower to take a look. Wow! it was so high up, the weather was a tad cooler there. This is one mean fish fighting machine indeed. As soon as we left RML, we felt the full brunt of the southerly winds. It had been blowing the past 3 days and we were experiencing white horses just off Tuas. The toque from her 2,000+HP engines pushed her through high winds & waves like a bulldozer through soft mud. If I had the Viking, I would take her to Aur and spend 2 weeks diving & fishing off the waters there. The comfort level is second to none.

Singapore's accidental Coral Reefs

Did you know that after all the reclamation & piling off the Southern Islands & Tuas area, coral reefs have still been thriving? If anyone knows, it has to be Mr Stephen Lau. I've known this gentleman since 1994 and have been fascinated by his sea stories and diving adventures. Today he is blissfully retired and occupies his time with maritime & environmental conservation. Message from Stephen; The corals in Singapore are still alive & thriving; "One need just to dive around the miles of sea-wall surrounding the Southern Islands to see them". The granite walls make excellent substrate for coral growth and especially the ones which incorporate a horizontal ledge at 3-5 meter depth. The horizontal angle allows the corals to receive direct sunlight and hence the growth proliferates. Where the sun-rays hit the wall at an oblique angle, the growth is sparse. Hence vertical sheet piling holds no growth. Though, a far cry from the corals of Bintan and no where as near to those at Aur, we still have a little piece of undersea paradise within easy reach, for that quick weekend getaway.

Jiang the Friendly Charter Boat Captain

I first met Jiang, when my buddies & I chartered his 45 foot kelantan hull fishing boat, earlier this year. We embarked at Keppel Marina and had a great time catching table-sized snapper & infant dog fish, which we released. Jiang prefers to fish at least 100nm from Horsburgh. He says, the coastal fishing areas are over-fished by the locals. They usually don't go far from shore because of the high cost of diesel. His favorite spots are wrecks & deep-water corals. He got the spots from old fishing kakis, ocean trawlers & finds the rest whilst on passage when they poop up on his trusted Furuno fish finder. Apart from the fishing spots, water condition, changing of seasons, currents & wind play an important role. Jiang says, if the fish don't bite the first 10-15 minutes at a proven spot, its time to move to another with different water condition & current flow. For example, the waters & current between 3 popular spots, Karang Mas, Horsburgh & Berakit, although within 10nm of each other are different. When the fish aren't biting at Karang Mas, its better to move to Horsburgh. He says, when bait fish don't bite, big fish won't bite either. When fish feed, they all feed together, big & small. When they don't feed, its usually because of poor water conditions, lack of oxygen, cloudy water or no current. I asked Jiang if he usually anchors up current of a wreck to fish. His surprising answer is no. Its a fallacy he says, to think the fish are always up current of the wreck. You need experience to know which corner the fish bites, through trial & error. Also if you're too close to the wreck, you'll loose the fish, as it will head right into the wreck when hooked. Its better to stay a little away, it less action but greater chance of landing the fish. His final advice to new anglers. If you love fishing, charter a boat first, you'll learn faster & catch more fish. Buy the boat only if you decide you also love boating. By then you would have acquired many fishing spots. Keep a log on the spots & prevailing sea conditions, time & season when fish were caught. Soon like Jiang, you too could be pulling up fish every time. Happy fishing...

Words of Wisdom from an Old Salt

I spent a good 3 hours speaking to an Old Salt at one of my favorite haunts, Raffles Marina. It was here that I got my first taste of Marina life. I have YP Loke, then the GM to thank. Back to the Old Salt, I'm keeping my end of the bargain by not mentioning his name, as he treasures his privacy, so lets just call him JL for short. Now, what did I learn from JL. For one it was humility. JL received little formal education on marine engineering and naval architecture, yet he knew more about pleasure boats & marine engines than most naval architects. He had kept paced with the latest development in the pleasure boating industry, whereas naval architects were schooled on well & proven science (hence outdated now). JL built his first boat at the age of 12 and soon his obsession with boats became his career. He told me the biggest setback with boating in Singapore was the lack of a playground for boats, so boaters need to travel to Malaysian & Indonesian waters to experience the fullness of boating. He remarked, You don't become a boater by buying a boat, You'll enjoy the sport when you become good at it. How true. His advise for new boaters; Start with a small boat first, learn the ropes before progressing to a larger boat like a cabin cruiser. Its not how much money you have, its your level of proficiency that determines your boat choice. Too many new boaters buy a boat based on their budget. Hence many start straight away, with a large cabin cruiser, with no idea how to handle it and end up with a whole load of trouble. JL sited an example of a new boater who damaged his prop and drive, in a grounding incident. He came back to the marina and demanded a warranty on the craft as the drive no longer functioned properly. An examination showed the badly chipped prop and damaged drive. It was obvious that the boat was grounded. Unlike cars, boating is much more complicated, it pays to start small, learn the fundamentals, then progress to something larger when you are more proficient. Anything that can go wrong at sea usually does and you're often alone to handle the crisis yourself. On a brighter note, it is great to see the boating population increase each month in Singapore. If you ever need advise on a boat purchase, navigation or seamanship lessons, just email me at wf@wfmagic.com. I'm on a crusade to make safe boating fun. Happy boating.

Batuta Kelong - Pulau Mapor

This feature is dedicated to my old boating buddy Philip Seow. (pictured far right) It was taken during one of our many visits to Batuta Kelong at Pulau Mapor. The resort was built & run by Richard, a Singaporean with a passion for carpentry and the rustic seafarers life. Featured here are my fishing & boating kakis in the 1990s from left, Alfred Heng who now resides in Perth, Jon Lum who runs his own Nautical School, Supra who's still in the Army (& probably will be for life), me and Philip Seow. Those were the days when diesel was 28 cents a litre and fishing kakis met every weekend and day dreamed about fishing during the weekdays. Friends, those days are back. Happy days are here again...

Boats for the busy Executive

An old friend of mine recently ordered a brand new GradyWhite Express 330. It is a first for Singapore. Its really a 36 footer and fitted with a pair of Yamaha 4-stroke 250Hp OBMs. (my personal favorites). Being a Grady, the price tag is a hefty S$500K on the water. What's unique about all this, is the fact that the buyer has owned a 62 foot Flybridge cruiser just before he made the order. Why this size 'downgrade' Certainly, it has nothing to do with the budget. The buyer can well afford a 120ft mega-yacht. There's appears to be a paradigm shift amongst seasoned boaters, from Bigger is Better to Smaller could be Smarter. Especially if the only time you can afford is a quick weekend getaway. The Express 330 was purchased with this advantage in mind. With her 350gal fuel tank & a cruise speed of 28 knots, you could leave for Pulau Aur on Saturday morning , dive & fish in the afternoon & Sunday morning and be back at the marina by nightfall without refuelling. Accommodation would be onboard, she sleeps 5 comfortably with all the creature comforts of home; air conditioning, heads with shower, tv, music, fridge and a galley to boot. Another unique advantage is, you don't have to hire a captain & crew to man the boat, you could easily captain it yourself. This boat would be very much at home within the confined waters of Singapore, as she would be offshore. She is versatile enough to be anchored just off the beach or in the middle of the South China Sea. When you've finished using the boat, it sits on a dry berth, either a float-lift or on a trailer, well clear of barnacles & damage associated with a wet berth. Even if the next trip was 3-6 months later, she would be ready, good as new to serve her owner on his next sea adventure. No headaches and little maintenance is needed. What's unbelievable is, this express cruiser will look as good as new 10 years from today, a fact proven by many Grady owners all over the world and now more than ever in Singapore.

Alex Yip, Seasoned Angler

Mr Alex Yip, rarely comes back with an empty cooler box; its usually full of quality fish. He certainly qualifies to be in "The Old Man & the Sea" category. It was a rare occassion for me to meet up with Alex onboard his Grand Banks 36' My mission was simple, to ask Alex for the many fishing spots he kept in his trusted NavMan Chartplotter. Alex was generous to a tee. He gave me 20 hot spots. Last Saturday 28 July, I fished at one of the spots. At 2230hrs, under a full moon, SW of St John's Island, 01 12.970N 103 50.867E, we landed a 1.5kg Kachi drifting over that spot. The bait used was frozen kelong squid bought from a fishing tackle shop opposite Yishun MRT & run by an enthusiast angler name Henry. The bottom was coral & rock. My business buddy Cedric Chan caught the fish using an apollo rig in 105feet of water. Thank you Alex, I owe you one buddy...

1Deg15 to Sebana Cove 21July07

Edmund Lee one of the PWC enthusiasts ridding all the way to Sebana Cove

The Grady White Tiger-Cat with Ngak Hoe, Kong We, Fred Chua & me at Sebana Cove

Dark Clouds over 1Deg15 just before departing for Sebana Cove

It was a dark and stormy morning at 1Deg15 Marina. I was onboard the Tiger-Cat waiting for the marshall to flag off the 'boys' from the S'pore Paddle Club. They were off to paddle 400km to the equator, off Pulau Lingga, south of Bintan and back. There were 6 paddlers in each ocean going outrigger canoe. Arthur Tay, owner of 1Deg15 was aboard a Yamaha Jet-ski with 6 other jetskiers, all raring to throttle their way to Sebana Cove, a short 23nm away up Santi River, 01.24.742N 104.09.822E. The winds were pickig up, it was going to be a rough ride, especially if they pushed their craft to the limit, which now exceed 80mph in flat water. We stopped at the SAFYC in Changi, just next to the Changi Naval Base, where a US Aircraft carrier was moored. A PT class Police Coast Guard vessel on duty nearby saw us racing towards the Carrier and hastened to block our passage. We turned port and went into the calm waters of the marina.

It was about 1300hrs when we finally reached Sebana cove. What a stark contrast from the hustle and bustle of Singapore. The first order of the day was fuelling. Petrol was RM2.40 per/ltr. We topped up 520ltrs and went alongside the marina for some piping hot coffee. There I met up with an old buddy of mine, Alan Koh, we were pals in the school water-polo squad. He was invited onboard Arthur's Ferretti, Hye Seas. The trip was an uncommon break for Alan, he had made it big in the market and now it was time to let some hair down.

The Marina at Sebana Cove. Completely still and tucked away from the madding crowd

As with most trips, the fun part was the journey. The destination held relief from the choppy seas, but also a sudden quiet, as to what to do at Sebana. Oh!! but we had plans, we had prepared ourselves to fish off Karang Mas, 10nm NNE of Horsburgh. But that's another story...

Sebana Cove, right up the Santi River

Fueling is usually done at the ferry terminal just outside Sebana Cove 

The Club House at Sebana Cove 

Front view of the Club House

The Grady White Tiger Cat

It has been 7 long years after I sold all my boats. Suddently, I got access to a stunning 26 foot GradyWhite Tiger-Cat fitted with twin Yamaha 150s. Her owner bought her on a flash decision knowing that Grady no longer built catamarans. He knew she would ride soft in rough water. And what a performer the boat was. It handled all the chops in Singapore harbour and for a 10 year old boat, she looks pretty darn good. The owner is currently fitting her with the latest electronics including a humminbird 997cSi side imaging sounder & GPS chart-plotter. I am looking forward to many exciting days on the boat. The first cruise was to Sebana Cove, next on the menu is Pulau Aur & Tioman. Here's to tight lines & screeming reels.

The Early Years - Fishing off Bedok

same type sampan, different outboard

It was on a hot & windy Sunday afternoon in 1976 on the beach off Marine Parade, that I decided that I would pursue boating and fishing as my hobby. It fascinated me, to see the local fishermen bring in their catch, comprising huge jumping prawns and hundreds of Selar Kuning. All in a day's catch. My curiosity boosted my courage to ask them many questions on fishing. Soon I became a volunteer deck hand, helping a Mr Lim man the nets and haul in catch after catch of prawns & small fish on his 20 foot locally built wooden sampan fitted with a Johnson 6hp outboard. I went fishing with him on weekend nights as I was still schooling. We caught lots of  giant prawns and small fish. Life was simple, carefree & fun then. It wasn't until 1977, a year prior to joining the Navy that I got my own boat, a wooden sampan with a Johnson 4Hp. It was to be the start of a life-long passion for the sea and a love for boats. It soon became an obsession, one that would not ever go away... I loved everything about boats and the sea and would spend long hours at the boat park gathering information and helping the fishermen haul-in their boats back up the beach. Everything was done manually. There were no winches and no tractors, it was all hands on deck. I got along well with the local fishermen. They were simple folks and always willing to share their knowledge and stories with anyone who cared to listen.

What's left of those sampans at the East Coast Park today

I'm Back

I will always remember the year 2007, as the turning point in my life. After 7 years in the MLM industry, I finally made it. I've earned my time freedom and escaped the rat race. Today I am able to live my Dreams. I sleep when I'm tired and wake up when I'm finished sleeping. What a life. I decided to devote the next couple of years to fulfilling my passion for boating & fishing. This blog is dedicated to my wife Roslyn, who has stood by me these 28 years & to my 3 sons, Chester, Crispin & Cyrus. I have set a course on a new voyage of adventure to explore the wonders of the last frontier, the sea. Here's a toast to all my seafaring friends, past, present and future. May you journey ahead with fair winds and following seas.