Singapore 180 Your Singapore Experience

Head down to the end of Punggol 17th Avenue, to the Marina Country Club (MCC). The MCC, formerly known asPunggol Marina, is a godsend for watersportsenthusiasts as it is home to the largestwakeboarding hub in Singapore. Thereare no less than five wakeboard operators,each with its own stable of experiencedinstructors on hand to guide anyone fromthe complete greenhorn to the professionaltrick-master. These operators also comeequipped with their own pro-shops, stockedwith paraphernalia like wakeboards, fins,gloves, helmets, and other gear that tocomplement your wakeboarding experience.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) YachtClub (43 Admiralty Road West) and RafflesMarina (10 Tuas West Drive) also boastwakeboarding operators to satisfy the needsof those living in the North and West.

Wakeboarding enthusiasts usually prebookwith the operators; plans for walk-insessions are usually thwarted by the largecrowds that throng the place, especiallyduring weekends. Boat rentals range from$100 to $150 per hour. Wakeboardersusually share the boat with a few others, andeach individual has a 15 to 20 minute setfor his own personal time on the water; toeither perform spectacularly mind-blowingtricks to wow the audience, or simply learnto get up and balance on the wakeboard.The 20 minute set gives the averagewakeboarder enough time on the water toenjoy the experience without tiring himselfout to the point of exhaustion.

Cable-skiing is a variant of wakeboarding.You still use a board, but this time you arepulled by an overhead cable instead of aboat. SKI360°, Singapore’s first cable-skipark, is located at East Coast Park (1206AEast Coast Parkway); besides chargingcheaper rates ($42 per hour on weekends)than other wakeboarding operators, theiroperating hours extend till midnight onFridays and Saturdays and 10pm on otherdays.

For the completely uninitiated, thereare beginner courses offered by variousoperators. The experienced instructors willguide you along your wakeboarding journeyby teaching you the basics of wakeboarding,like getting up on a wakeboard, the differentpostures and stances, and then proceeding totechniques of greater difficulty such as the1-wake and 2-wake jump.

As for expert wakeboarders, the 2008Cable Contender will be an excellentavenue to showcase their skills against othercontenders, for a lack of a better word.Organised by SKI360 and the WakeboardAssociation of Singapore (WBA), it will takeplace on the 13th of September at SKI360ski park at East Coast. More details can befound at www.cablecontender.com.