Going are the sails... Chapter 4

Desmond is a bright-eyed Chinese Singaporean, perhaps
in his early 30s, who spends his free time in the late
afternoons and evenings close to the sea and gets back
home to his wife at night. He is a soft-spoken chap,
the kind of man who talks only when required. You can
see him carrying a skim board on the beach of the
sailing centre near East Coast Lagoon Food Centre.
Skim boarding is one of the new things one get to see
at east coast other than kite surfing. Down the
western part of east coast, at the area where there
are rows of cafes, bars and restaurants, you will find
more Malay boys skim boarding with fancifully
decorated boards. I knew Desmond only when we were
sharing barbecued chicken wings and fruits with Robert
and 3 other windsurfers at the food centre. At this
sailing centre, strangers become friends when they
have meals together. It is the endearing culture that
started all the way back from 1979. We were
encouraging a couple of novice windsurfers and sharing
with them the interesting things encountered at sea.
It was in this light-hearted conversation that I found
out Desmond windsurfs too. He even did night
windsurfing before. In one of his adventures beyond
KETA buoy he saw a manta ray and encountered sea
snakes swimming around the coast. The sea teems with
creatures below and above it. I even have little
stories of my own; from a stranded huge jellyfish on
the beach, an unidentified silvery large fish that
somersaulted over the bow of my dinghy, a huge black
swan which floated around the waters off Long Beach
Restaurant, and an eagle that swooped grandly and
perched on Siglap buoy. Now I understand how old
mariners told tales of sea monsters and giant squids.
Then came the famous story which many of us know; of
how a windsurfer’s leg was pierced by a swordfish. It
is amazing how stories like that spread around the
beach community. Once a windsurfer from another centre
survived a lightning bolt which splintered his mast
and burned the base of his surfboard. The folks around
here got to know about it almost as quick as the
accompanying thunder. As Desmond narrated his
experiences, my mind wondered on why and when his
conversion to skim boarding. Perhaps the roaring waves
on the beach speak louder to him. Perhaps flipping
over the rolling waves is a closer communication with
the sea. I was trying to understand because I wanted
to know whether he felt the same way as me when I am
out on the sea alone. The restless mind is made quiet
by the visual symphony. I figured that Cassandra felt
the same when she was alone out there paddling on a
surfboard in sunsets. On some evenings, when the sky
had very few clouds, the setting sun over the island
made an entrancing scene. As if the sea anticipated
the tranquil mood of the setting sun, the waves
quietened down and lapped gently on the sands. There
was a dance of quiet and strong colours with
flickering sunrays over the tips of waves. The
majestic azure purplish sky let its fleecy clouds
sieved the setting light to orange, chrome and
vermillion. How not to let your soul speak when
experiencing a sight like this!

Cassandra would paddle back before it gets dark and
sometimes brought back a bag of plastics and Styrofoam
packs which came from drains and ignorant hands. She
never allowed anything to pollute the sea. It was her
small but significant part of making nature untainted
by the wastes of industry that cares not of the earth
it robs.

Everybody calls Tan Chin, “TC”. He is an adept
windsurfer who teaches windsurfing. TC windsurfs as
and when he likes even in light winds. One day, I saw
him experimenting windsurfing with an upside down
sail. In the community of sailing and windsurfing, he
is well known and respected as the person to go to
when your sail needs repair. His meticulous work takes
consideration of wind dynamics. In a zinc- roofed
shack of the centre, you can find TC all by himself,
sewing sail repairs from all centres of the island. TC
together with Ben and Andrew are some of the dedicated
instructors who have shared their passion of
windsurfing with many Singaporeans.