Boating

[sparks]

Has anyone gone on a boating trip to southern islands or any other islands of Spore? Can share about your experience, like what you do & what the children enjoyed & what to look out for? TIA!

[Vevey]

Been to Kusu island a few times but nothing much to do except picnic.

So we prefer to take bumboat to Pulau Ubin & cycle ard +meal at the coffeeshops. There's a lagoon too.

[jetsetter]

Southern Islands


Normally we sail there by ourselves on private boat from ONE°15 Marina Club...after passing by Kusu, St John's, Lazarus and Sisters...

Back-ups

All men including my dh possess an MPA pleasure craft driving licence. Don't rely on just 1 skipper.
A few of them are medical doctors, so our first aid is sorta \"covered\". :nailbite:

Safety

Ensure every passenger has a life jacket, including young kids. Make sure there's a life raft as well!
Ideally all passengers must be good swimmers (preferably Gold cert). Young kids mustn't be scared of sea water.
When sailing, you can walk back n forth on port/starboard/bow/stern, suntan on the bow, or do the Titanic pose, but must be very careful not to fall overboard when the boat is speeding!
Always do a headcount before sailing off from the island.
Need to put on lots of sunblock esp if intending to lie on deck...

Seasickness

Avoid fatty foods for a good 12 hrs before, and during sailing. Stay inside cabin to watch tv if too giddy...avoid staring at sea for too long.

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What to do on the island

First and foremost, EVERY ONE must know how to swim well (in open sea) cos the boat cannot anchor too near the shore. The larger your boat, the further you'll be from the shore...meaning when you dive off from the boat, sea could be 2-3m deep so you need to confidently and competently swim/wade slowly towards the shore or take your power jet...See my pic. That was about 2m?? Smaller boats can go nearer of course.
http://i57.tinypic.com/iqikao.jpg\">

For kids
All the dads will carry their respective kids and swim towards the shore. I cannot swim and handle another person simultaneously. I might drown! :imdrowning: :yikes:

You can either hv a picnic on the pristine beach and disembark at night on same day, or hv a campfire if you intend to stay overnight. Yes, you can pitch a tent on the beach and spend the night there (illegally since \"Bo Cheng Hu\" on Southern Island). Many boat owners do that...On some weekend nights, you might see 7-8 boats berthed there.
http://i57.tinypic.com/2j2de74.jpg\">
Beware of lightning...so may I suggest that you sleep inside the cabin; after all, u actually DO need an overnight camping permit...(though many angmohs bochup the regulations on special eves like X'mas/NY)...:lightrod:

IMPT:
Overnight camping is only allowed on Sisters' Island and Pulau Hantu. Please obtain prior approval (7 working days) from the Executive (Southern Islands Management), Sentosa, fax us on 62750161, or email [email protected] with your name and contact number, choice of island, camping dates, and the number of campers wishing to stay. A camping permit will be issued for checking by the Marine Police. Please bring along your own camping equipment.

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After crossing a certain point at sea, you will not be able to access your mobile data or receive calls/SMSes. No signal on the island, I recall...Anyway, you can make SOS calls from the boat if you're in trouble...

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I enjoy night boating a lot, cos it's incredibly thrilling and...breezy!! Can see hundreds of brightly lit commercial ships from afar and enjoy the night view of Sentosa from the south!!! :love:

[FantasyLandDreams]

Hi jetsetter

I thought you are good in the air only ( your id is jetsetter mah) , looks like you are good on land and sea too! Wow!

Can I check with you, do you happen to know which island has a real lighthouse that we can visit? If yes, can you share how we can go there and whether the lighthouse is always open to visitor?

Reason for asking is because I watched a documentary on some lighthouse that we can bring the kids before, but don’t know how to go about doing it?
Thanks.

[FantasyLandDreams]

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[Nebbermind]

FantasyLandDreams:

Hi jetsetter

I thought you are good in the air only ( your id is jetsetter mah) , looks like you are good on land and sea too! Wow!

If you donch already know, she is also KSP walking encyclopaedia!!

[sparks]

I hv forgotten abt this post....


Tks for your boating 101 tips jetsetter. Since then, have been to Lazarus island only (my fav) & mostly ubin. Last time ubin resort has a docking area but they have since demolished it. What a pity cos it's very quiet & peaceful there except for the occasional jet-skiers. Nvr see anyone at sisters island nor St john's. Maybe diff timing? Have tried to go pulau hantu but the propeller kena tangled with seaweed (bloom time that period) so frightening, since then, we never tried going back as it's also too far. Have you tried Pulau Hantu overnight? It's very hard to find a nice spot in Spore to anchor & relax at the beach. The best & only one is Lazarus but the sand flies there can be a killer & sometimes it gets too crowded.

FantasyLandDreams, spore's lighthouses are usually not open to public. However, as part of the maritime heritage tours, Raffles & 2 others were open to public in July this year. Just google & you can have a sneak peek of what to be expected if such tours are avail again in future.

[FantasyLandDreams]

Hi sparks

Thanks for sharing. I emailed national heritage board and they replied that the lighthouse is open usually only once a year during the heritage festival in July. So looks like I got to wait till next July before I get the chance to visit the lighthouse.

[yaya8080]

haha

[tutorkelvin]

Tremendous fun.