Sultan Shoal - 27 Nov 2006

Hee hee, remember this picture on the left ? Most of you do except those who have not been there before. This year in Nov 24 - 27, 2006 and since 1998, every year after that without fail, Seng Cheng and my family (Sing Chee and Jason) had been there ......Sultan Shoal ! Sultan Shoal is located on the western anchorage of Singapore Straits. It is off Tuas and our reclaimed Jurong Island. On the shoal, a lighthouse has stood there since 1895. Sultan Shoal is a good getaway and a great fishing spot too. Here is where our next generation grew up - Jasmin, Justin, Jacklyn, Jason, Eugene, Tania, Shi Min, Kwok Sin, Yi Wen will all remember Sultan Shoal. This is the place where everyone who had been there and who holds a rod or a fishing line was sure to catch an edible fish....Ga-fish, pomfret, grouper, selar, kuning, Queen fish, Green-eye sotong, baby baracooda, Kim Bak Lor......
On the island, which took about 5 min to walk leisurely round, there is also a lagoon which will fill up during high tide, 2 units of chalets each having a telephone, 3 air-conditioned rooms enough for 12 adults, 2 BBQ pits for each chalet unit, deck chairs and wrought iron chairs/table on the outside, Majong table, Dining Table, Sofa seats, DVD player, Karaoke System on the inside and TV tuner and Yagi antenna system that are capable of receiving the Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia broadcast stations; fully furnished kitchen cooking facilities and utensils and two large bathing rooms/toilet.
I remember in 1998 when we first went to stay on Sultan Shoal, the jetties that streches out to the sea were made of wood. The kids then would sit on the jetty during high tide - the waves would come pounding strongly over the jetty and heave it up and down. It was fun but dangerous as we feared that the jetty might gave way then; about 3 years back in 2004 I think, the jetties were replaced with concrete ones which were very strong and a lot more safer....but there goes the fun part which the kids still remember. Some of the kids also like to go crabbing in the lagoon during low tide. Today in Nov 27, 2006, we discover that there were many many oysters on the rocks and the walls of the lagoon - hee hee, guess what is on the menu in our next trip? Every time we go there, we will always have BBQ. We will bring in food to cook/BBQ and occassionally the breakfast and lunch were brought in by others who come in the morning boat the next day for a day or two visit. Guess what we do on the island ?....Fishing, watch TV/movies, sleep, eat, swim in the lagoon, pluck coconut, pluck mangos...fishing, watch TV/movies.....repeat.

Here are some information that I found out about the island. : Currently still active and has a focal plane of 20 m (66 ft) - meaning the diameter of the tower I guessed; the light in the lighthouse rotates to give two white flashes every 15 s. The tower is 18 m (59 ft) tall. The masonry tower is centered on the roof of a 2-story keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white; the keeper's house roof is red. The striking lighthouse exhibits a remarkable mixture of Oriental and Victorian design and is located on the island of Selat Jurong, about 8 km (5 mi) south of the western tip of Singapore Island. Accessible only by the PSA launches from the West Coast Pier. BTW, the Car Park 2 outside nearby the pier and along the West Coast Highway is free parking anytime, hee hee.... so you know what to do.....drive and park there la!

SingChee