Why Balok? I mean, seriously

[Syamil]

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.

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.

Even the water as far down to Swiss Garden hotel not spared from this. I wonder how the heck that the SG developer even chose that place in the first place! I can imagine that several years before it can be quite clean, but today it's just pathetic. On the beach you can see a lot of plastics, bottles, garbage - all coming from the river. I remember one time this particular doctor said to me "Why the heck you even swim in Balok, do you know the river there has this incurable nasty parasites, that can severely affect your lung?". Of course, I ignored that too. LOL

Aesthetic - You can expect light-blue/turquoise sea water when it's high tide, but nothing like see-through Pangkor Island type. When it gets rough or low-tide, you will have your classic teh-tarek filling up the water. And with all the rubbish on the shore, it's not really a sight to behold..

I think the reasons why windsurfers still keep coming to Balok are -
1. Beers - no other known resorts nearby that offer beers other than Swiss Garden & Duta
2. Tradition for windsurfers
3. Can't be bothered to discover different, better spots or...
4. Balok is already 10 times better than Singapore, so why bother. LOL
5. Closer to town, airport, civilization...
6. All your friends are here
7. You're married

For what its worth, there are several alternative spots which I have sailed at that you might want to check out.

1. Pantai Pelindong (Pelindong Beach) - or Beserah. I sailed here only once. Because it is further down the bay, it is not protected like Balok. Dumpers are huge, but surfable & fun. Water is cleaner & look healthier. Next to the beach is the very beautiful & untouched bay called the Teluk Bulan Mengambang ( Full Moon Bay ). Very island-like beach which if you intend to reach by land needs a bit of hiking & rock climbing.

2. Pantai Sepat (Sepat Beach) - Relatively easy to go, faster because no traffic, around 10 minutes drive from town. Wide beach, white sands and it's is very very nice. Nothing sort of Balok, no rubbish etc. Wind is solid, blowing 10'o clock from the beach, nothing to filter it. You can do beam reaching sprint without worrying too much about getting back upwind. The city council tried to develop it as a tourist attraction, so its very well taken care of. But no hotel yet, sorry. The reason I sailed here is because it is closer to my place & because I hate traffic lights. The waves too can be quite chunky.

3. Pantai Sungai Ular ( Snake River Beach ) - There's plenty of pretty nice resorts here, and they offer beers. I sailed here because it's my home village which is next to the Lis Na Ree resort. The beach is wide open, no filtering, good for downwind/upwind sailing. Close to the surf village Cherating so there's a lot of entertainment awaits. You should also check out the mini island, damn beautiful. It's a famous diving spot because of the surrounding corals.

4. Pantai Tanjung Lumpur - This one is closer to my place. Wind is cleaner & better than Balok. Occassionally you get the muddy water but not as severe as in Balok when the tide is really low. You can do beam reaching sprint here too like in Pantai Sepat.

But even after sailing at these different spots, I still think Balok is the best, because Balok 'feels like home'. Like I said, I get used and live with it

Syamil
http://balokwindjunkies.blogspot.com/

[38 mph]

Well, Sukhdev did the "road work" 25 years ago by driving up and down from JB to KB and all points in between.
Balok was the best for all the reasons you mention.
I like Holday Villa in Cherating and we held the first 2 or 3 AWT events there.
Good hotel and lots of grass for rigging.
Sadly, the shore dump was too much for some and they moaned about the broken equipment !

[Syamil]

Balok is such a nice place, except on those marginal wind condition when you wish that headland is completely diminished.

If only there is a way to build a mini wave breaker to ease launching & landing..

[Syamil]

Right in front of the Primula Beach Resort of Pantai Batu Burok, Kuala Terengganu there's a nice, long breaker so you could launch from there during monsoon. The beach is wide, but a bit steep.


the hotel


breaker

[Denis Wee]

Latest news is that budget airlines are going to operate direct Singapore - Kuantan flights.  Syamil, how far is the Kuantan airport from the town?  How's the taxi service?

[Syamil]

Normally when I drive to pick up my mom at the airport from town , it would take around 20 minutes. The taxi are fine, and they have limos too if you fancy one

[Denis Wee]

Right in front of the Primula Beach Resort of Pantai Batu Burok, Kuala Terengganu there's a nice, long breaker so you could launch from there during monsoon. The beach is wide, but a bit steep.

Are you still talking about Balok?  Then why Kuala Trengganu?

[Syamil]

I was there on Monday, so I managed to visit a couple of the beaches. They're amazing!

Pantai Batu Burok is an addition of places worth to check out for windsurfing. Terengganu should be getting more wind than Balok too.

[Syamil]

another pic of the breaker

[Denis Wee]

Kuala Terengganu is a bit far for people from Singapore.

[thye]

Was in Kuala Terengganu, Heritage Bay Marina during during the Monsoon Cup, past 4 years a International Keelboat Match Racing Tour Event were held in the river mouth close to the city to promote Terengganu. The whole population of Terengganu would turn out and line the river bank.

The sea outside turn white when it really blow there, one Dato Lim spoke of bringing more events to the venue but don't believe any Windsurfers be willing to get into the milktea colored water.   

[Meng]

Was in Kuala Terengganu, Heritage Bay Marina during during the Monsoon Cup, past 4 years a International Keelboat Match Racing Tour Event were held in the river mouth close to the city to promote Terengganu. The whole population of Terengganu would turn out and line the river bank.

The sea outside turn white when it really blow there, one Dato Lim spoke of bringing more events to the venue but don't believe any Windsurfers be willing to get into the milktea colored water.   

i have seen the monsoon cup racing site in the big river, quite interesting for Formula if given a chance to hold a simple course there, im sure the locals will be thrilled by the speed and colourful sights...

[Syamil]

The Malaysian sailors that went for the 9th (last) place this year were rewarded RM9000 each. Heck even Kuantan Challenge offered RM1000 for first place. Monsoon Cup is a high profile event, with a lot sponsors and very organized people behind the scene. Terengganu itself is a fantastic state in terms of its tourism. They seem to be working very hard to promote & develop Terengganu especially in the recent years.

Since windsurfing is already a tourism magnet, I don't see why it couldn't be developed and organized here.

Anyway, about the river. The lands surrounding the river mouth are quite flat, but some friends who sailed there before said the wind is still quite shifty, and the currents are mad. But it's a good idea to provide some sort of 'teaser' for the crowds inside the beacon before the real race.

Here's the map of Kuala Terengganu to those wondering what we're talking about.

[38 mph]

and because every 25 years you get a Force 8 ( for 3 minutes).......