Why Are You Here?

Sea Expedition

In SAF, when a course you are undergoing is about to end, it usually marked by a significant event. In BMTC we have the 24km route march. In SISPEC, we have the 32km route march. In SSC, we have the ultimate Sea Expedition.

For our batch SSC5, CO decided that we should end our sea expedition at Kallang Basin. For your info, the longest distance the last few batches have traveled to is only ECP Big Splash. We are worried whether if we are able to last through the whole journey. We put in a lot of preparations for this event. We did all the background work and logistics. Frankly speaking, we were overwhelmed by the whole load of Sai Kang waiting for us to square them away.

On the day itself, we received good news the tide is in our favour. In another words, it mean the current is not against us. It means theoretically we will have an easier time to row out of Changi Naval Base. We started rowing when the day breaks. 1 thing it hit you most when you row is that your back hurts badly due to the awkward position you place your body to row the boat. Some of us were lucky. We row continuously. We row furiously to catch the tide. Some of us were lucky and took 1hours and 20 mins to reach our first check point. Those who were left behind were dragged back by the current. For every stroke they applied to push the boat forward, the current move the boat 2 steps back. With the boat heaving up and down, I waited for the rest of the team to reach our first check point. Just when I thought I could have a little rest, I was starting to experience sea sickness. It is not easy to be stuck on the same spot for ½ hours seeing distant object heaving up and down while you are stationary in your boat. I stuff myself with preserved plum and countered the effect of sea sickness. And sorry to disappointed everyone… I DID NOT puke.

Rowing the boat is all about teamwork. Everyone must co-ordinate their strokes in order for the boat to move forward effectively. Paddle too hard on the left, too light on the right and the boat will move left instead of straight. Get what I mean? Another thing to note is the method you dig your oars inside the water. It is not the number of cycles you dig. It is all about the effort and amount of strength you put in. A good stroke involve is digging your oars deep inside the water and pulling the oars backward with your entire body, back and arms to move the boat forward. It is not an easy task ad definitely no no for the weak. My boat has a hard time doing the above things. There were a lot of times I was frustrated about the lack of progress. There was times where I almost lost my temper. I coaxed, I cajoled, and I tried to cheer the team up but to no avail. Perhaps it was the weather; perhaps it was the sea sickness they were suffering from. In the end I just kept quiet and continued rowing.

The highlight of the expedition happened at ECP. We were shagged, we were suffering and we weredying. We have rowed for 8 hours. But somehow, some ways our Platoon Sergeant conjured up magic and found 2 ladies from VJC to cheer for us. We went wild. We put in our best effort. We tried to look Garang when in fact we are dying. We chanted their School name “VJC” as we rowed. The 2 ladies even cheered our boat when we went past them. The reason being; we are the LAST boat. I could hear the words faintly:” Jia You! Catch up with them” Even though we do not know the identities of the 2 ladies except they are from VJC, even though we can’t get their numbers (dammit) I still wish to say Thank You for the support they have given us.

We reached Big Splash around 3pm. We have achieved what the previous batch set for their record. Now it is ultimately up to us to remake history and travel to new boundaries. Kallang Basin was our next target. The sea was getting rough as minutes passed by. I think we reached the mouth of Kallang Basin around 5pm. We were tired yet upbeat because finally we were about to complete our mission. My back was aching very badly by then. There were some students rowing past us with great speed with their canoes.1 strokes of their paddles and “Zoom” they instantly became a distant object. Nai Bei Chow Barney! We did not make an attempt to smile. I think the only thing they could see in our face can only be described by 1 word: “Shagged”.

Never before in the history of SSC has rowed this far out and reached Kallang Basin. I am pleased I’m part of the team that rewrite history. I heard the CO was very pleased by the effort we put in. I heard the CO was going into orgasm when we achieved our target. I am pleased that my buddy and I was sticking and supporting each other during the difficult journey.

The reward?

CSM indent us the barber to cut our hair for Mon POP parade.
and now I get a fcuking bird nest hairstyle which I hated it to the core..

Cheers to SSC 5. We made it.

posted by Immortali @ 11:05 am