She started a boat tour business with her husband to share her Orang Laut heritage and bring people closer to the sea

To Nurhuda Saad, the sea is home. The co-founder of Get Hooked SG is a descendant of the Orang Laut (Malay for “people of the sea”), a seafaring people indigenous to Singapore, as well as parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. 

The Orang Laut were mainly fishermen, traversing Singapore waters on their boats. They had an intimate understanding of the islands, winds, tides, and reefs.

Even though Nurhuda’s family has long settled on mainland Singapore from their ancestral home on Pulau Semakau, they still feel a deep connection to the sea.  

The 37-year-old grew up listening to her mother and her late grandparents’ stories – her grandfather’s many adventures on his sampan, how her grandmother loved to play in the sea, and her mother’s fishing trips with her cousins.

Today, Nurhuda is bringing her Orang Laut heritage to the fore as co-founder of Get Hooked SG. She and her husband Adzman Abdul Rahman take people around islands such as Pulau Ubin, where they share their love of the sea with others.  

GROWING UP AROUND THE SEA

“My late grandfather would often share stories about his adventures in the sea,” Nurhuda told CNA Women. “Swimming and playing in the ocean was an everyday norm for him and his family.

“My grandfather owned a sampan (a flat-bottomed wooden boat) and every day after work, he’d go out to sea and fish on his sampan,” she added.  

“He would catch a lot of fish and whatever he’d catch would be dinner for that day. Seeing the fish from the ocean and when it was served on a plate made him and his family appreciate food more.”

Nurhuda and her extended family too, would meet at East Coast Park, Changi Beach or Pasir Ris Park at least once a week to swim, fish or just relax. Occasionally, they would take a boat out to Pulau Ubin to fish and explore. 

“I can’t remember a time when we weren’t surrounded by water,” she laughed. “We really loved the sea. It was when we had the most fun.”

Coincidentally, when Nurhuda was 20, she met Adzman while working in a fish-related job – as a cashier at Long John Silver’s, the fast food seafood chain. 

She caught his eye and they started dating. It was in those early years of their relationship that Adzman, too, grew to love the sea.  

“I’d always bring Adzman along to family outings and we’d go swimming or fishing,” Nurhuda said. “He was taken aback by how often we were at the sea, but he started loving it too, and even learned how to fish from my relatives.” 

STARTING GET HOOKED SG TO BE CLOSER TO THE SEA

In 2016, the couple tied the knot after dating for 10 years. Nurhuda was then a football coach at a football academy, teaching kids and teens, while Adzman was employed in the oil and gas industry.

“Both of us had jobs that had nothing to do with nature or the ocean,”  Nurhuda said. “We spent less time by the sea even though we still had occasional gatherings with my family.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the couple took time to reconsider their lifestyles. 

“Our jobs were stable and we were okay with them, but we felt that we wanted to do something closer to our values,” Nurhuda said. “That’s when we thought – since we loved the sea so much, what if we shared that love with others?”

A year later, the couple started exploring the feasibility of offering fishing and educational tours around Singapore’s islands by boat.  

Husband and wife then applied for a powered pleasure craft driving license, which allows them to operate a boat in Singapore waters.

The cost of buying a boat was a huge obstacle, however – an average boat could cost upwards of S$100,000. But Nurhuda and Adzman were determined to make their dreams come true, so they quit their jobs, sold their HDB flat and car to fund the business, and moved in with a close relative in the meantime.

“It was scary – we knew people may be interested in exploring Singapore’s seas, just not enough to be sure that we could do well,” Nurhuda said. “But we had the support of our family and we were really passionate, so we decided to just go for it.”

After acquiring the boat, they would take it out often to get used to driving around the north-eastern and north-western islands – Pulau Sarimbun, Pulau Ubin, Pulau Tekong, and Coney Island. To crowdsource feedback, close friends and family were treated to casual island tours. 

Nurhuda’s relatives share their stories about the islands, from where different groups of Orang Laut used to live, to where traditional fishing spots were located. The couple picked up tips passed down through the generations on how to identify the best weather and tidal conditions for a successful catch. 

“Many of our family members were excited for us,” Nurhuda said. “My mum was worried about the stability of our business at first, but after seeing how confident we were while sailing the boat and sharing the stories about the islands, she got excited, too.

“She felt happy that we had started a sea-related business, as it was close to our heritage.” 

A year later, in 2022, Get Hooked SG was officially in operation.

“When my family goes fishing, the first one who’d catch a fish would shout, ‘Hooked up!’ and then the next would go ‘Double hooked up!’ and then ‘Triple hooked up!’ and so on,” Nurhuda explained. “That’s where ‘Get Hooked’ came from.”

SHARING STORIES TO PRESERVE THE HERITAGE OF SINGAPORE’S ISLANDS

Get Hooked SG has since brought hundreds of people out to sea on its boat tours. Tour prices range from S$20 to S$100 a person, depending on the guest’s age, duration and type of tour. Packages are also customisable. 

One package, the Kelong Tour, takes guests from Punggol Jetty in the direction of Pulau Ubin to see different kelongs along the way. Part of the tour may include visiting a floating restaurant, Smith Marine Floating Restaurant, where guests can enjoy freshly caught fish and seafood from the nearby kelongs.

“Along the way, we’d share stories about the kelong,” Adzman said. “How they were like in the 20th century, how they were built and maintained, who the fishermen were, how they’d reach the kelong from the mainland, and how kelongs are taken care of now when fewer people fish for a living.”

Nurhuda and Adzman also have fun on their Get Spooked tour. In the late afternoon, they take guests around areas such as Sungai Puaka of Pulau Ubin (a lake named after a Malay supernatural being) and tell ghost stories to those unlucky – or lucky – enough to be on board.

“It’s great to be able to share all kinds of stories with people on the tour,” Adzman said. “My wife and I don’t get bored telling the same stories over and over, and we love seeing people’s reactions when they find out things about Singapore’s islands.”

“When I see people happily taking pictures of the kelongs and kids feeling excited while looking at the different islands on the boat, I also feel really happy,” Nurhuda added. “It’s great that we get to share our love with people who may have never been on a boat or left the mainland.”

The couple is hopeful they will continue the spirit of bringing families outdoors and instil a deeper appreciation of the sea and islands around Singapore. 

“I can’t predict the future, but I’m just happy to be doing this now,” Nurhuda said. “I hope my ancestors would be happy for me, too.”