Labuan team kayaks to Sabah and back
Published on: Saturday, September 22, 2018
Labuan: Some 26 local kayakers managed to conquer an 88-kilometre rowing stretch during the "Dayungan Kayak Sayangi Malaysiaku" programme held in conjunction with Malaysia Day here.The rowers, comprising 10 women and 16 men, completed the two-day route on Sept 15-17.Rowers began their journey from the Labuan International Sea Sports Complex in Tanjung Purun, here, to Kampung Lupak, Beaufort, and then to Kampung Lubok Weston before finally rowing their way back to the island.
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Participants also held a kayaking clinic with residents of Kampung Lupak, Beaufort, during their stopover there.The event was organised by the Labuan Canoe Association in collaboration with the Labuan Youth and Sports Department (JBS), Labuan Corporation (LC) and Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Heritage Malaysia (Motac).The expedition led by the association's president Mohd. Yunus Waidin, aims to sow patriotism among its members and the local community as well as developing and promoting the sport of kayak to the public.The programme is the third installation of the association's annual XPDC series. In 2016, kayakers journeyed to Kampung Mansud in Kuala Penyu while in 2017, they rowed their way to Brunei.
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Participants comprised of varied members of the association, some of whom have 20 years of experience in kayaking while for others, it was their first expedition.One participant, Mohd Dzulfaizal Ab Manan, said they would typically kayak in Labuan waters or open sea areas (XPDC Brunei).
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"This time around, we were eager to experience the passage through the Padas River from Kampung Lupak, Beaufort, to the estuary in Kampung Lubuk Weston," he shared.He disclosed that for this expedition, in particular, the main challenge was the weather and the Mongkut storm warnings which came two days before their journey began."We were all eager for the challenge, but the warnings could not be taken lightly and it was the reason our expedition was almost called off."Thankfully, the weather was in our favour and we were given the green light to go on with the expedition. We went through special training beforehand with 'water confident' tips to save ourselves if our kayaks were to capsize at sea," he said.Mohd Dzulfaizal hoped the sport will continue to have a place in the community and receive strong support from the government.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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