KUANTAN
The largely mountainous state of Pahang flattens out towards the coastline, and this is where the state capital Kuantan is located. The perfect base for our explorations in search of new windsurfing spots in the South Chinese Sea. This is where our friend George lives. The city is the largest along the east coast and has all the facilities western tourists would expect. There are also many islands offshore, including Pulau Tioman with its extensive coral reef systems. The finest stretches of beach are found from Kuantan heading to Terrenganu and these were exactly what we were looking for. Almost all beaches are sandy, wide and lined with palm trees. A bit of tropical charm. The spots are around the 4th degree of latitude which is quite close to the equator so not the area you would normally expect to find wind. We were out to prove this theory wrong!
GEORGE WARREN (famous windsurfing ex-pat)
“The best months are January, February and March, but you get wind from November till beginning of April” our friend George Warren told us. George is a passionate windsurfer himself. Work brought him to Malaysia. “I started to work in the oil and gas business in 1983. I had tried to windsurf in earlier years in the UK. In Malaysia I definitely discovered the sport and made huge progress.”
“A high pressure over China and a low pressure over Japan creates the wind from a north eastern direction. Some heavy storms create swells between November and February. 0.5 to 2 m high waves break at exposed beaches, which work best in February and March, when the rain is less. From April till October it’s pretty flat. In general it’s very tricky with the weather during the windy monsoon season. What happens is that for the first one or two weeks of the monsoon, which normally would be in November or early December, you have a period of rain for one or two weeks. It can rain almost every day. But after that you usually get sunny windy weather again”
George picked us up from the tiny airport of Kuantan. “This white car will be yours during the period of your stay. We will spend two days together, but I then have to leave together with my wife. You get the keys for our apartment and please keep the windows closed. Otherwise the long tail macaques, cheeky monkeys, will take a seat on our sofa or grab fruits out of the fridge!”