Ruling the waves

Singers J Jetrin and Joey Boy are tireless in their efforts to bring help to flooded communities

Pop star Jetrin "J" Wattanasin and rapper Apisit "Joey Boy" Opasiampisit may be best known for the careers in the music industry but both are also champions in the world of sports.

Jetrin picked up top prize in the Timed Slalom race at the 1999 Jet Sports World Finals while Joey Boy is a member of Thailand's national paragliding team and will be taking part in the para motor competition at next year's Asian Beach Games in Haiyang, China.

With Central Thailand looking more like a river than dry land, they've both be putting those sporting skills to good use over the last weeks.

Jetrin has been riding his jet ski round the sois to help those in need while Joey Boy has given up admiring the landscape from above and is cruising around the streets either in a large truck or a rubber dinghy.

"Most of people I've rescued are old, paralyses or suffer from kidney or heart disease," says Jetrin, who's now 41.

"Me too," says Joey, adding, "that's why I'm now known as grandma's pet."

Both have rescued and evacuated victims from almost all flood-affected areas but agree that the streets around Buddhamondhol and Lam Luk Ka are the most terrifying.

"The areas along buddhamondhol Road like Aksa, Thawee Watthana and Kanchanapisek have been the hardest because of the deep and fast-flowing flood-waters and all the small sois. 

Lam Luk Ka Khlong 2 and 3 were extremely difficult because they were still surprisingly full of people. The water was chest high.

"We recently joined up with a volunteer medical team from the First Army Area and went with four army trucks, four boats and two jet skis to Wat Udomrangsi School in Buddhamondhol Sai 3. That was hard," says Jetrin.

"I check news of the flooding in the morning to try and find how deep the water is. If it's very high, I use the boat. If it's waist deep or lower, I drive a big truck. 

But some areas like Buddhamondhol Sai 2 are both low and high, which makes getting around a lot more difficult," says Joey.

"I used my motor rubber dinghy to rescue people with the help of doctors from the military and from Sawang Prateep Foundation. J transported a doctor on his jet ski and sometimes the doctor was giving shots to sick people in front of their houses," he adds.

The garbage and pollution have taken their poll on both jet ski and dinghy though Jetrin points out that he isn't using a competition standard jet ski for rescue operations but a more solid, factory standard model. He's grateful to Tri Petch for their donation of an Isuzu D-max pick-up.

"I damaged a propeller one night in the Lam Luk Ka area. It was about 9pm and very dark because there was no power. I was jittery because two crocodiles had escaped from a flooded farm. When I'd been there before I'd heard chickens clucking. 

It turned out okay though, but when I went back the next day to deliver 300 survival kits, the chickens weren't clucking anymore," says Jetrin. "Now, I have to carry a weapon to protect myself against crocodiles!"

Both Jetrin and Joey have been making full use of Facebook and Twitter to communicate and spread news of what is needed.

"Twitter is very effective. Today, I have 170,000 Twitter followers and expect 15 per cent of them to spread my information to other people, says Jetrin, whose followers on Twitter include Dome Pakorn Lump and TV hosts Patcharasri "Kalamare" Benjamas and Woody Milintachinda.

"I personally follow media people like Suthichai Yoon, Jomquan Laopet and Sarocha Pornudomsak. Tweeting is great," says Jetrin, who also uploads photos and video clips to his own website JJetrin.com.

Joey Boy too is an avid Twitter fan. "I always check news of flooding through my Twitter account @joeybangkokboy," he says. "I set up my fund, 'Ya Yom Na', meaning don't lose courage, and take donations from my Twitter followers."

Jetrin and Joey often join forces with other volunteer teams, among them Smile, Jetrin's own Flood Fight, Sawang Prateep Sriracha, and Nok Air chief Patee Sarasin.

"We regularly make an appointment for 7am then move after an hour, because it can taken three or four hours to get to a flood-affected area, which would take 30 minutes in normal times. 

use Google Maps to check the directions and when we get there I scout around the area on my jet ski then suggest the best route for the boats to take," says Jetrin.

With the water now receding in some areas, Jetrin and Joey are now planning for to help the recovery efforts.

"I will be raising money for the flood-affected victims and helping to meet their needs for bottled water and canned food. I will produce a second set of 1,000 'Flood Fight 2' t-shirts. The new set will be distributed to all NYLA branches at Siam, Esplanade and centralworld," says Jetrin. 

"We used the money from sales of the first set to maintain the equipment and buy survival kits. I'd like to thanks the Twitter follower who donated 200 packs of water and the owner of the khao kha moo shop at Ram-Indra km10 who provides me with 300 packs every day."

What lessons should Thais learn from this year's floods?

"We need a good water management system, that's for sure," says Jetrin.

"Thai people should be more aware about the dangers of global warming," says Joey.

While both will part company pretty soon after flooding is over, they will be back on stage together early in 2012 at "Sea-Mix on the Beach". It takes place at Ocean Marina Yacht Club Pattaya on February 25.