by Jessica Kieras
Have you ever dreamed of a beautiful, warm water challenge in an area of rich cultural and artistic heritage? Former journalist and cartoonist, Ridzwan Rahim has recently envisioned, organized and executed the Wonderful Terengganu Four (WTF) swims, a series of four channel swims among several islands and mainland Malaysia. In the true spirit of the marathon swimming community, he is now supporting others in repeating these routes, which are open to swimmers from all over the world.
This is also the story of someone who didn’t really know how to swim, but learned– at age 32, and went on to create one of the most exciting set of new channel swim routes the sport has seen in decades. The creativity and courage it took to take on this project is both astounding and inspiring.
It began in 2009, when his scuba instructor challenged him to step directly off a starting block into a pool, which scared him because he did not know if he would resurface. He did return to the surface though, with the experiential knowledge that he always would. “Ever since that day, it was a lot easier to learn anything in swimming or scuba because I was no longer afraid of deep water,” he explained.
Unassisted Swimming
Since then he has been on a quest to inspire the Malaysian open water swimming community to “reduce dependency on flotation devices and to have more trust in their own abilities.” Upon discovering the Marathon Swimmers Federation and the dedication of this community to swims not using flotation assistance, Ridzwan said he felt he had found “kindred spirits”.
Perhentian Channel
After completing Alcatraz without a wetsuit in 2016, and the Perhentian Island Marathon Swim in 2017, plus training for a relay across the Malaka Strait, that fell through last minute, Ridzwan was ready to create and organize a new challenge of his own: The Perhentian Channel, a 17 km swim from Perhentian Island to mainland Malaysia. While many people believed it could not be done, Ridzwan set off organizing a crew. “I wasn’t afraid to contact people and get rejected. I did not rely on friends or people I already knew. The focus was finding the people fit for the jobs.”
He completed the swim on March 21, 2021 with a time of 8:56:30. In his swim documentation, lead observer, Abdul Razak Abdul Aziz wrote, “In our small marathon swim community, Ridzwan was considered an average swimmer. But he knew his strengths and quietly trained and planned. And when he finally delivered this feat, it came as a shock (in a good way) to everybody.”
Redang Channel
But Ridzwan was not finished. In 2022, he attempted an even bigger challenge: the 25 km Redang Channel between Redang Island and mainland Malaysia. He ended the swim after 15 hours, but returned in 2023 armed with a year’s worth of training, nutrition and expectation adjustments. This time he completed the swim in a time of 20:42.26. The sea was not hospitable, with wind up to 10 knots and a swift current that pushed him away from the mainland.
“I could not find a valid reason for ending the swim. I felt my body, breathing and heart rate were functioning normally, so I could not tell my team I was exhausted. In that critical moment, I decided I was not going to let my team down a second time after the failure of last year. When I finally told them I was going to press ahead even if it meant reaching shore at night, they cheered. That gave me strength,” he wrote in his swim documentation.
Wonderful Terengganu Four Swims (WTF Swims)
Ridzwan had been pondering a series of swims: “The Terengganu Four Swims” for a couple years. Having now completed the longest (Redang Channel), he was ready to officially tackle the other two. Ridzwan explains the name on the WTF swims facebook page: “WTF refers to “Wonderful Terengganu Four” swims. This is not an easy name to remember. WTF on the other hand is great. It sticks to your mind and causes all kinds of wonderful reactions. As a name, WTF is also appropriate because it is what you’ll be saying one hour into your swim. Trust me, I have done these swims.”
Tengah Number 2
To complete his own challenge, Ridzwan had two swims left. Tengah number 2 was completed before Tengah number 1, during the end of monsoon season on March 3, 2024. Ridzwan completed the 19.4 km swim between Lang Tengah Island and Perhentian Island with 1.5-1.8 meter swells and wind speeds up to 13 knots, in a time of 12:25.28. The swim narrative accompanying his documentation, which you can read here, is humorous, informative and a highly recommended read.
When they originally scheduled the swim, they were hoping monsoon season would be finished. It wasn’t. When the team discovered just how bad the wind and swell conditions were, the swim was perhaps not going to happen, a possibility that came as a disappointing blow to morale. The team debated over whether or not to cancel the entire thing, or to give it a try. “[Team Leader] Razak recommended a 3km test swim from Lang Tengah, just for me to have a feel for swimming in the large swells. After 3km, we would end the swim and return to the resort. Perhaps we would sing karaoke later that night. I voted yes to both the 3km test swim and the karaoke.”
Ridzwan quickly found his rhythm in the large swells and heavy winds as he and his team eased out into the open ocean and away from the island for the test swim. “Even when it’s rough, I’ve discovered I can keep my mind still,” he told me later. “I was still thinking about that karaoke, though. I was waiting for our boat skippers to say, ‘Ok enough swimming. Let’s head back.’ I would’ve happily obliged. But the instruction never came.”
In the video, which you can view as part of the swim documentation, the crew can be seen working efficiently together, despite sea sickness, while Razak reports Ridzwan is swimming well and, “is in synchronicity with his surroundings.” He battled his way through the swell, the chop, the jellyfish stings and the full-body exhaustion for over twelve hours, to finally arrive safely on Perhentian Island. Despite being a shorter swim than the Redang Channel, Ridzwan and the team can be heard discussing that this one was “definitely the hardest in terms of swell.”
Tengah Number 1
On July 14th, 2024 Ridzwan completed the fourth and final swim of the Wonderful Terengganu Four swims in a time of 6:07:22. This time he swam the channel between Redang Island and Lang Tengah Island. Not only was it the shortest of the four, but also the calmest, with winds only reaching up to 5.6 knots. In some ways, this swim seems like it was the celebratory culmination of an epic project. “We were in no rush,” Ridzwan wrote in his documentation. “I asked for an extended break to allow Muslim members of the flotilla to perform their Subuh prayers.” This ritual was also noted in the documentation for the Perhentian Island swim, where Ridzwan was said to have performed his prayer in a supine position while floating in the water.
The photographer, Aqil, was hoping to take photos of the finish at sunrise, so the team delayed another half hour, while Ridzwan was “just bobbing around” in the water. Apparently he got some sea water in his mouth and vomited, did an interview and finally finished the swim with the “rising sun as a backdrop”. The perfect ending to beautiful, adventurous and challenging project.
I asked Ridzwan what had inspired him to pioneer these new channel swims rather than repeating more commonly swum routes, like the ocean 7s for example.
“I’m driven by curiosity. I always want to see if I could do something, but without being reckless. When I decided to attempt the Terengganu Four Swims, I already knew I could stay in water comfortably for a very long time. There was no real danger. The worst thing that could happen was I didn’t finish, and that would not have been such a bad thing at all”.
Supporting Others and the Future of Channel Swimming in Malaysia
By now, you are probably thinking: this looks amazing and I want to try it! Would you like to be the first of your country to complete one or more of these swims? Are you looking for channel swimming without the shivers (28-32c/80sf)? Ridzwan and his team are already set up to help others who would like to experience this adventure. Travelers to Terengganu can look forward not only to amazing swimming, but also to experiencing a rich and vibrant culture, including tasty traditional food, boat building, wood carving, weaving, kite making, fishing, hiking, caving, paragliding, and plenty more. For more information, visit the WTF swims facebook page.
