Paragliding, bungee jumping, sky-diving and surfing are among the activities on my to-do list. And now I can cross out surfing from the list! :DD
Since I’m the sort of person that’s totally up for anything out of the ordinary or unfamiliar, it wasn’t a hard decision to make to agree for a 4D3N trip to Terengganu for a surf event.
I have Rip Curl Malaysia to thank for for having me and a bunch of other bloggers for a 4D3N holiday in Terengganu for Rip Curl Pro first ever 6-star Asian Surfing Championship. I always thought my first surf would be at Bali, with Bali being a popular and one of the nearest location known for surfing, and I sure as hell never thought of the coast of Terengganu being an ideal venue for surfing, much less an international competition!
But Pantai Batu Burok proved to be a worthy area for the competition, with the waves going up to almost 4 feet at times.
The first day got off to an exciting start with the Terengganu’s local dignitaries and event sponsors sounding off their air horns to officially open the event.
Then it was the surfing heats, with me watching in wide-eyed amazement. I’m actually seeing surfers in action and I’m right here in Malaysia!
BELOW: Mohd Daud of Malaysia took advantage of Batu Burok’s prime conditions to win his Round 1 Open Men’s heat on the 1st day morning, boosting for the crowd and advancing into the 2nd round.
Strong waves and mild weather has made for perfect conditions for surfers and the spectators.
All of us strolled along the beach, watched the heats, played some games, drowned cans of Fanta, overindulged on Nestle drumsticks and took the opportunity to surf as much as we can ourselves throughout the 3 days!
This is how we bloggers roll..or sunbathe.. with our phones in our faces of course. 😛
I however, decided to seek shelter 😛
We managed to catch our very own Malaysian woman surfer Brenda Lee for a short chat. On that day she had said that she hoped to win. Well, she didn’t but she did alright to manage to qualify until the semi finals.
To those of you who thinks surfing is fun, please do enrol yourself in a surf class like we did! It’s challenging at first, but actually standing and riding the waves was worth every litre of salty seawater I choked on, the bruises, the bleeding gums and the headaches I got from being continuously knocked by the surfboard! 🙂
The surf clinic gives you the basics of surfing, which is getting yourself up on the board while out at the sea. Certain positions are explained and we had sessions just trying to jump up onto the board from our horizontal position.
The hot sun didn’t help. I was melting….
……but determined to do it! :DD
Carrying the surfboard out to the sea was a workout by itself. Having to go against the waves each time as we pushed our surfboard further to the sea must have burned all the calories I consumed from the lekor I ate!
Look at the gungho Jess! 🙂
After that it was basically getting out there in the sea and practicing again and again!
Step 1. Wait for a wave.
Step 2: Jump on board.
Step 3: As the wave hits you and push you forward, put your hands beside your ribs. Push up with your head held up and look front.
Step 4: Hop on your feet and position yourself sideways, one leg in front of the other.
Step 5: Steady yourself….
Step 6: Try to stand up.
Step 7: Stand and balance!
Step 8: Waves hit you. It’s time to surf!!! :DD
Ermm… ok I didn’t quite “surf”…..LOL!! :DD
But I eventually got it! Whheeeeeeeeeeeee!
I’m proud to say that I caught a few waves and managed to stay on the board for maybe less than 1 minute or 1 minute? 😀
All thanks to our wonderful surf clinic guru Jonni Morrison-Deaker, from the Rip Curl Bali Surf School!
3 days ended too soon but the competition heats were the hottest on the final day. The first ever 6-star Asian Surfing Championship surfing competition in Malaysia ended on a high note with winners as below.
Rip Curl Pro Terengganu 2012 Contest Results:
ASC Men’s Open Division
1. Made Darmayasa (IDN)
2. Garut Widiarta (IDN)
3. Andre Julian (IDN)
4. Sandi Selamat (IDN)
Bali’s Made Darmayasa wins his first ever ASC Men’s Open competition at the Rip Curl Pro Terengganu.
ASC Longboard Division
1. Arip Nurhidayat (IDN)
2. Tipi Jabrik (IDN)
3. Decha Sithidej (THA)
4. Khairil Doje (MLY)
ASC Women’s Division
1. Jesse Hong (TWN)
2. Yasnyiar Gea (IDN)
3. Diah Rahayu (IDN)
4. Salini Rengganis (IDN)
ASC Master’s Division
1. Tipi Jabrik (IDN)
2. James Hendy (ENG)
3. Decha Sithidej (THA)
4. Yasuo Hirana (JPN)
Bodyboard Division
1. Ibrahim Shiman (MDV)
2. Syed El Hussain Syed Atikullah (MLY)
3. Ali Javeed (MDV)
4. Hatta Affendi (MLY)
Say hi to Hatta! 🙂
To follow the Rip Curl Pro Terengganu and see photos, heat draws, videos and more, check the Rip Curl Asia minisite on asia.ripcurl.com, and the ASC website at www.asiansurfingtour.com.
The Rip Curl Pro Terengganu 2012 is sponsored and supported by the State Government of Terengganu, Rip Curl Malaysia, EC Extreme, the Ministry of Tourism Terengganu Office, and Tourism Malaysia, and co-sponsored by Fanta, Nestle Drumstick and Sunplay with Suria FM as media partner.
I certainly hope to be on the surfboard again, same time next year on Pantai Batu Burok of Terengganu! Go Rip Curl! :DD
Last but not least, watch me surf! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5QAli2exLs&feature=youtu.be
** This was a picture taken at the very same beach at 6.45am in morning. Nice? 🙂
glad you had fun! and you look good at this! i’d probably have fallen off in 0.5 seconds! heheh 😀
If I have not headed to the down south, I would have joined this event…I was looking forward for the surf clinic actually. Hope there will be another time again.
You look good woman!! 🙂
Surfing sexay becky! 🙂
Hahaha I watched the video and can’t help laughing!
But you managed to really surf! Not bad for a first timer!