“Simple; you get on to the waters!” :-)

You'll have to oblige a fellow consultant.
So I checked the tide tables and high water was 12:35 on Saturday and Joseph, expectantly, showed up early at my place. As beginner’s luck would have it, we had to choose a day when it was probably the lowest mean high tide which was a 6 ft plus drop from my jetty!

So we adjourned for lunch; after which I took my son, Tim to the PC show and I invited Joseph to come along so that we can talk about kayaking on the way. After collecting the price lists and brochures for comparisons we went home to let Tim figure out the configuration for his dream gamer’s PC. The weather was good and I could read the grin on Joseph’s face – “Now. Let’s go kayaking!”

We put in at Satok Bridge’s old ferry point and after helping an excited but nervous neophyte get on my Perception Squirt; I got on my Swing and we paddled off. As I took a snap of him, Joseph beamed and said, “You can put this down as ‘New Blood On The Water’”. Hmmm. Next time, they’ll want to write the story too.

All beginners tend to paddle too fast, probably due to excitement or the dislike/fear to be left behind; so I told him to take it easy and relax when he complained of a slight pain in the shoulder. I was happy and carefree just taking it easy on the waters.

We saw some kampong kids playing in the waters across the river in the distance and Joseph read my mind and asked if I would like to paddle across to take photos. Would I?

There were about half a dozen of them swimming and taking a dive from the tree and riverbanks; and when they saw me swam towards my kayak and tried to mount it! I didn’t mind though risking a capsize as I was grateful for their genuine smiles, exuberance and excitement of being photographed by this stranger on a kayak on a Saturday afternoon. Waving goodbye to these jubilant and carefree kids; I reflected on how much they had despite their humble background and how lucky they were compared to kids who became bored quickly and do not know how to entertain themselves the minute they are away from the TV and online gaming.

As we get off the water onto the ramp I noticed that the new blood on the water was grinning from cheek to ear just like the young bloods!

• Note: As I paddled away with my mind’s eye of those kids on the water, I smiled quietly as I thought of some of my fellow kayakers with their phobia of crocodiles on the Sarawak River. Hi you folks, the crocs would make an easy meal of those kids and yours truly first ok? :-)

Stumble It!