An unforgettable "Holiday trip"
It was a long weekend that everyone was looking forward to, for a weekend getaway, for a long break, etc. For me, it was a trip down to Tioman Island, the place that I had always wanted to return to. For some reason which I don't know, I actually say "ok" to my father, when he ask me to join him for the trip. To add on to the excitement, we had decided to go diving. Its been years since I last jump into the sea and say hello to the fishes.
Although things tend to happened without a reason, say that I am superstitious, but you still have to agree that many times there are little hints around you as a form of warning.
Was running a fever on the day before trip, but surprisingly, neiter did that dampened or stop me from continuing with the trip. So we set off together with other boats from the club as planned. It was a sunny day with a fair bit of clouds. Being the slowest boat among all, we were left behind in no time.
Everything was moving smoothly, however, out of nowhere, the statellite GPS went haywire. For some reason, it was not receiving signals anymore, so we had to rely on a manual compass to navigate our way. Along the way, the engine was working fine and not giving much problem.
As we were close to the Limau Chanel, already crossed over to the Malaysia water, the power went off suddenly and there were black smokes coming out from the engine room. (5 mins before all these happens, we were still checking out the stern of the boat to ensure that there were no black smoke, and everything was fine.) My father went down to take a look at what went wrong. The other 2 ladies on the boat starting dialing for rescue, trying to get someone to come and tow our boat back to Singapore, but to no avail. As instructed, I went into the cabin and try to locate for the fire extinguishers. This was not the first time that the engine was throwing tantrum and spitting out black smokes, but subconsciously, my father just felt that we should get the extinguishers out and put on our life jackets this time round.
After about 15 mins of trying to someone, either from Singapore or the rest of the boats that left with us, the smoke just grew stronger. Seeing the situation turning from bad to worse, my father signal for me to launch the canoes and everyone to get ready to jump into the sea. Upon launching the canoe, I spotted the first sign of fire and it was so freaking near to my father. At this point of time, it was totally impossible for the fire extinguisher to put out the fire, so we had to abandon the boat and jump into the sea.
Floating on the sea, looking at the boating getting, it was definitely not a pleasant sight and really felt helpless. All I could do, was only to try to console the rest and myself by saying, at least we are still alive here. The longer we stayed in the water, the stronger the fire was growing, slowly it swallow the entire upper deck and I could see the cabin was burning badly as well.
Just before we jump into the sea, my father's friend manage to get call back to the club and get the club admin to contact one of them from group. They turn back to look for us, and that was only about 20 - 30 mins after we jump into the sea. We were save by the Malaysia's coast guard first.
Everything was gone, the boat was gone, our travelling documents were gone, and of course not forgetting our belongings too.
The last we heard about the boat was that, while they were trying to put out the fire, they filled the boat with water and it ended up sinking into the sea.
Although things tend to happened without a reason, say that I am superstitious, but you still have to agree that many times there are little hints around you as a form of warning.
Was running a fever on the day before trip, but surprisingly, neiter did that dampened or stop me from continuing with the trip. So we set off together with other boats from the club as planned. It was a sunny day with a fair bit of clouds. Being the slowest boat among all, we were left behind in no time.
Everything was moving smoothly, however, out of nowhere, the statellite GPS went haywire. For some reason, it was not receiving signals anymore, so we had to rely on a manual compass to navigate our way. Along the way, the engine was working fine and not giving much problem.
As we were close to the Limau Chanel, already crossed over to the Malaysia water, the power went off suddenly and there were black smokes coming out from the engine room. (5 mins before all these happens, we were still checking out the stern of the boat to ensure that there were no black smoke, and everything was fine.) My father went down to take a look at what went wrong. The other 2 ladies on the boat starting dialing for rescue, trying to get someone to come and tow our boat back to Singapore, but to no avail. As instructed, I went into the cabin and try to locate for the fire extinguishers. This was not the first time that the engine was throwing tantrum and spitting out black smokes, but subconsciously, my father just felt that we should get the extinguishers out and put on our life jackets this time round.
After about 15 mins of trying to someone, either from Singapore or the rest of the boats that left with us, the smoke just grew stronger. Seeing the situation turning from bad to worse, my father signal for me to launch the canoes and everyone to get ready to jump into the sea. Upon launching the canoe, I spotted the first sign of fire and it was so freaking near to my father. At this point of time, it was totally impossible for the fire extinguisher to put out the fire, so we had to abandon the boat and jump into the sea.
Floating on the sea, looking at the boating getting, it was definitely not a pleasant sight and really felt helpless. All I could do, was only to try to console the rest and myself by saying, at least we are still alive here. The longer we stayed in the water, the stronger the fire was growing, slowly it swallow the entire upper deck and I could see the cabin was burning badly as well.
Just before we jump into the sea, my father's friend manage to get call back to the club and get the club admin to contact one of them from group. They turn back to look for us, and that was only about 20 - 30 mins after we jump into the sea. We were save by the Malaysia's coast guard first.
Everything was gone, the boat was gone, our travelling documents were gone, and of course not forgetting our belongings too.
- My backpack that saw me through my secondary school, poly and uni days, was gone.
- My Nano that accompanied me through the long journeys across the borders and the many studying session, was gone.
- My laptop that weathered through the many boring nights with me, and the one who kept my deepest and darkest things about me, was gone.
- My "buddy" that slept by my side through the tearful night, was gone.
- My digi cam that capture my happiness and many memorable moments, was gone too.
The last we heard about the boat was that, while they were trying to put out the fire, they filled the boat with water and it ended up sinking into the sea.
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