Scuba Dive Sites

Sipadan Island : Staghorn Crest

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With the sun beaming directly over your head, or slightly to the West of you, Staghorn Crest is usually a dive reserved for the afternoon. As we made our entry at this site, we observed it is much like the rest of the island. The top reef is simply beautiful and teeming with life. So beautiful, it’s hard to leave as you make your descent. The topography at Staghorn Crest is a bit different from most of the island as there is a slope that offers views of many beautiful soft corals. On the slope we noticed many white tip reef sharks resting before their next hunt. Hovering out over the depths we observed even more resting white tips at depths far out of reach for recreational dive limits where you can quickly find yourself at 30+ meters.

As we dropped down to our cruising depth of 23 meters, an eagle ray gracefully passed by about 10 meters below us and wowed us with its beauty as it effortlessly swam against the current to greet other groups of lucky divers. Swinging our heads directly above us, 3 giant barracuda were methodically circling hoping to grab an easy meal. We kept on floating along the wall and were delighted with the scene of multiple turtles swimming above and below us looking for a great perch on the reef.

Along this wall, we begin to progressively see more soft corals. The West side of the wall at Sipadan reminds us of our trip to Taveuni, Fiji 3 years ago where we spent a week in the Somosomo Strait diving amidst colorful soft corals on the Rainbow Reef. Carnation corals in varying colors create a colorful painters palate backdrop for an army of blue fusiliers screaming past us into the depths, while a docile maori wrasse remains unfazed by this frenzy of activity.

Continuing our dive up to 15 meters, we close in on a cleaning station and see a few grey reef sharks gently floating in the current with small reef fish picking off their parasites. Sharks aren’t the only big creatures you can find at the cleaning station, at times Tim has referred to the cleaning station at Staghorn Crest as a turtle timeshare with one turtle leaving and another coming in to take its place.

One could seriously contest that the top reef at the end of the dive at Staghorn Crest boasts the most beautiful scenery on the island. It is truly explosive with color as you look as far as you can see over massive Staghorn Coral with thousands of tiny reef fish darting in and out of it. Swimming along the top of the reef there are many turtles to see with other large reef fish and on one dive, a rare treat of a leopard shark with its massive tail pushing it through the water. As gracefully as the leopard shark appeared, it swam away silently disappeared into the depths.

Like other dive sites at Sipadan, Staghorn Crest has the potential to develop a sudden current along the wall. Prudent diving should always be exercised as you stay close to your buddy and be aware of the divemasters signals to possibly switch directions. Staghorn Crest is definitely a site to put on the short list of dives at Sipadan.

Keep on equalizing!
Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim

Sipadan Island : South Point

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On the Southernmost tip of Sipadan Island you will find the aptly named site, South Point. Exposed to the prevailing currents, this is an excellent dive where you have the greatest possibility of observing schools of hammerhead sharks. Given the fact that the schools of hammerheads are normally found in stronger currents at depths in the 40 meter (130 foot) range, you will be most comfortable here if you have two things:

  1. Advanced Open Water Certification
  2. Experience diving with current

Not to say that newer divers shouldn’t dive this site, but if you do, you should have a great sense of adventure and stick close to your Dive Master as depths descend straight down to 600+ meters and currents can be strong. The reason that you want to stick close to your Dive Master and buddy at South Point is because most times at this site, if you are lucky enough to see the hammerheads, (Lana and Tim have not seen them in 5 trips to Sipadan) they are close to 40 meters (130 Feet) and that’s after you swim far enough into the blue that the wall behind you nearly disappears.

So, if you are after excitement, then ditch the Nitrox. This is a dive you do not want to be restricted by depth limits if you see big creatures beyond your Nitrox Maximum Operating Depth. If you typically dive Nitrox, it is good to know when planning your trip that the first two dives of the day at Sipadan are usually deep and air may give you more flexibility. Given the depths that most groups usually descend to at South Point, it is commonly your first and deepest dive of the day in hopes of seeing the schooling hammerheads and other “big stuff” like grey reef sharks, thresher sharks, eagle rays, tuna, barracuda and jacks, to name a few. If your timing and the currents are just right, South Point becomes a happy hunting ground where you can observe many of the larger pelagics.

As we back-rolled and dropped down during our three times at South Point, the sharks were definitely there. Albeit, they were smaller white tips and some medium-sized grey reefs, but they were present in large numbers. We did spot one eagle ray gracefully swimming by and the SDA Team all agreed it felt like we gave ourselves concussions by the end of the dive. This was a result of flinging our hands to our heads as we signaled the shark sign so many times. Shark! Hopefully on one of our future trips to Sipadan, we will time it right and see the majestic schools of hammerheads that Sipadan is famous for.

As with most of the dive sites at Sipadan, entry and exit at South Point are normally planned near the shallow reefs where massive schools of smaller reef fish dart in and out of the corals. You are almost guaranteed to see at least one turtle in the shallows and many times they are accompanied by giant trevally, white tips, and many other larger fish. On any of your entries or safety stops over the shallow reefs, it is normal to see many varieties of boxfish, trigger fish, surgeon fish (aka tangs), grouper and eels among the endless list you will see. We have never been to a place where you see so many varieties of hard to find fish in huge numbers as Sipadan and South Point is certainly no exception.

Speaking of “safety stops,” we have a funny story to share from one of our dives at South Point: While the SDA Team were enjoying the peaceful reef scenery on our safety stop at South Point, Tim tapped his tank to get everyone’s attention, pointing to a fish asking what kind it was. Using underwater hand signals, Lana motioned the signal for a trigger fish but then shrugged in uncertainty. Everyone watched as Tim agreed but Tim needed confirmation (this trigger was huge) and called Eljer, our dive master. Before Tim even knew what was happening, Eljer had latched onto his arm and fin kicked 15 meters towards this massive titan triggerfish. Little did any of us know (except Eljer, who was buckled over with laughter) that the titan trigger fish was nesting and did not take kindly to Tim’s invasion. The protective trigger wasted no time in squaring off against Tim. As for Eljer? He’s gone. Buddies and dive mates? All were laughing hysterically. Why? Tim was dancing around, spinning in circles as this infuriated fish charged at him over and over while Tim used his pointer to keep the fish at bay and avoid being bitten. This dance went on for about 30 seconds and the battle finally ended when Tim retreated to the surface. The trigger won this battle with a couple last nips at Tim’s fins and then returned to its young. If you ever encounter the titan trigger, which is a beautiful fish to observe, be cognizant of its nesting “cone” extending up to the surface and maintain your distance. They may be quite aggressive and have been known to injure unsuspecting divers.

South Point is a dive site that can present many surprises throughout the dive. Be sure to ask your dive master if hammerheads have been sighted as you plan your dives each day. If the hammerheads have been spotted, then mark down South Point. It is one dive site you must put on your list and get ready for a thrilling ride!

Happy diving!
Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim

Sipadan Island : Turtle Patch

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The very name Sipadan tends to conjure up excitement in a divers imagination as the once only spoken tales from the Celebes Sea begin to be shared in cyber-space. Most readers, including the SDA Team until recently, did not know that Sipadan is Malay for “turtle.” Sipadan’s namesake comes as no surprise as this tiny oceanic island is home to more green and hawksbill turtles that call its’ reefs home than any other dive location we’ve ever visited.

Sipadan has many impressive stories of conservation underwater, but the turtle sanctuary is not only underwater. The local military and a team of biologists have made huge efforts to create a small turtle hatchery that raises turtles from eggs to just large enough to set free in the waters of Turtle Beach. These biologists provide a safe land environment for the turtles to hatch and gain strength in an isolated beach location, secure from the opportunistic monitor lizards above ground, curious divers on the island, as well as the oceanic predators who will snap up any opportunity for an easy meal. This inaccessible area, turtle beach, extends straight out towards the reef along the east wall and has aptly provided the name for this next dive site, Turtle Patch.

A favorite place for Sipidan’s resident turtles to lounge about, the underwater topography at turtle patch boasts incredible crevices and large coral heads which are home to the turtles’ food source of algae and sponges. The top reef is prominently covered with staghorn and acropora corals, but patches of fox, cabbage and colt coral also attract the turtles in massive numbers. Looking at this picture of a green sea turtle resting on a bed of colt coral and several pieces of crushed staghorn and acropora coral, it becomes evident that the turtles crush more coral than some of the less coordinated divers who descend into the water with poor buoyancy. There are literally hundreds of places for these turtles to rest along this dive site and even the white tips venture up to this area to lounge about.

Another curious fact is that the turtles are not trying to eat the coral but they use their serrated beaks to clean the algae, sea grass (green turtles) and sponges (hawksbill turtles) off the coral. This is what provides them with their nutrition and it also helps sustain Sipidan’s pristine reef system.

Turtle Patch is not just a playground for the turtles, it is also a wall dive along the Eastern side of the island, shared by larger pelagics that venture into this southern part of the reef. Watch closely into the deep blue and you’re likely to spot large grey reef sharks or eagle rays gracefully cruising the island’s perimeter. One of Lana’s dive log entries from this site exclaims, “Sharks, Sharks, Sharks! Greys and White tips everywhere!” Are you looking for some excitement? Lana surely recommends this dive site. But venture back up to the shallows to see the islands greatest concentration of turtles.

Like other Sipadan wall dives, the safety stop rests perfectly on the top reef. The way that all of the Sipadan dives end is convenient as you nearly always finish a dive with a safety stop perfectly on the top reef. As you take care of your three-minute stop you can relax and watch as thousands of tiny anthias and other reef fish fill a huge Christmas tree coral formation. Before you know it, your three-minute stop turns into ten or fifteen minutes of off-gassing nitrogen and it’s time to hop back on the boat.

Turtle Patch is a great morning deep dive or an afternoon shallow dive. The current is typically mild and it is a good dive to consider if you haven’t graduated past your open water certification. If you are in question about a certain dive or the conditions that exist it’s always best to consult the dive masters and boat captains. They are experts at reading the currents and assessing if something may be too strong for your skill level.

Until next post,

Dan, Esther, Tim and Lana wishing you happy dives!

Sipadan Island : Mid Reef

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If you only have one day to dive Sipadan, Mid Reef would be a great addition to your list of top four dive sites to explore. Mid Reef is an East facing dive site best enjoyed in the morning or early afternoon when the sun illuminates the reef to display its amazing colors. Before you even enter the water, the morning view from the boat presents a beautiful photo opportunity of the tiny island of Sipadan. So, for those of you who have not made the giant stride into purchasing an Ikelite housing for your DSLR, bring your dry bag as you will have some of the best photo ops of Sipadan Island, fit for a postcard. The morning sun bounces perfectly off the island’s natural palm trees enabling you to capture many great pics.

Reviewing our dive log entries, Mid Reef has consistently offered the second best opportunity to spot schooling barracuda at either the start of our dive or at the end during our safety stop. So, if the barracuda have been playing shy at Barracuda Point, mention this feedback to your dive master to see what they think.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-PR5MNum0]

Mid Reef may boast an unimaginative name for a dive site but it is far from being that way under water. As its name suggests, it is sandwiched in the middle of the East facing wall between White Tip Avenue and Turtle Patch, generally at the crossroads of your best opportunity to spot the island’s greatest concentration of turtles and white tip sharks. Aside from Turtle Patch, you will most likely see more turtles at Mid Reef than any other site due to its close proximity to Turtle Beach where the young turtles from Sipadan’s hatchery are released. An adrenaline filled dive, similar to White Tip Avenue, drop down to your desired depth and float along with the mild current as the fish life fills your view with huge batfish usually in schools of 10 or more, beautiful black and orange juvenile batfish and loads of nudibranch.

Just like other East facing wall dives, there are great opportunities to view enormous sea fans and gorgonians along with massive barrel sponges. Now that you have been drifting along for a few minutes, flip over and look up toward the surface. What the SDA Team enjoys about this dive is that the diversity of coral gives the dive site, Hanging Gardens, a run for the money on appearance from the depths to the surface. Numerous shapes of massive corals excite the mind and make for a stunning view. Look beyond the corals. It is common for schools of fusiliers, sergeant majors and niger triggers, together with turtles, chromis, anthias and all sorts of other reef fish swimming in harmony above you.

Our experience with Mid Reef has generally provided us with a leisurely mild current allowing us to reach a neutral buoyancy at our desired depth and then follow the wall without even a fin kick. However, Sipadan is an oceanic island and that mild current can quickly gain a couple of knots and present challenges. So be aware and always dive with your buddy. Mid Reef is a 360 degree experience, which will distract you, with beauty at every angle.

All we can say is: Get out there and dive Sipadan!

Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim

Sipadan Island : White Tip Avenue

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With a backward roll into the water, you quickly discover that White Tip Avenue will be another exciting Sipadan wall dive as a school of adult batfish confidently greet you near the surface. As you descend a few meters and give a few fin kicks to the wall, White Tip Avenue offers a unique sight of huge canyon like crevices on the fringe of the shallow top reef where you can float over and take a look down into the beautiful formations as you prepare for your descent.

Even though White Tip Avenue is a wall dive, you will find many rocky slopes and ledges where white tip sharks are regularly seen as they rest outside the current preparing to hunt for their next meal. The typical dive depth for White Tip Avenue ranges from 18 to 30 meters, sometimes up to 40 meters if there are reports that larger pelagics have been sighted at depths. But, keep in mind that with all sites at Sipadan, depths plunge well below the 40-meter recreational diving limits to depths exceeding 600+ meters. So, keep your eye on your computer and dive the plan because it is easy to lose yourself in the beauty of the dive.

As you drift along with the current, you will quickly notice that you are not the only large creatures enjoying this dive site. White Tip Avenue is no exception to regular sightings of the large pelagics divers flock to Sipandan to observe. The list includes white tip and grey reef sharks, turtles, Napoleon wrasse, bumphead wrasse and the graceful spotted eagle ray. Look back towards the wall and massive gorgonian sea fans are waving in the current, a unique feature to this site. In the coral formations surrounding the sea fans, you’re likely to see an awkward looking boxfish, the always elusive eels, and camouflaged clams that make their residence here. Continuing on with the current you are likely the resident schools of barracuda and jacks that continuously make their way around the island. White Tip Avenue is one of the places you will see large schools of jacks and barracuda from time to time, which never ceases to excite as we are driven to observe them and join with them in the towering tornadoes the schools create.

As we reach our safety stop, like many of the other dive sites, the top reef is a filled with beautiful scenery of small fish darting in and out of the hard corals. Inside these corals you’ll see parrotfish, anthias, chromis, as well as anemones with clown fish curiously peeking out at you providing an entertaining show. Juvenile batfish remain shy among the coral, while damselfish move about at dizzying speeds.

White Tip Avenue is usually a mild current dive that allows the diver to reach neutral buoyancy at their desired depth and then follow the wall without even a fin kick. However, skillfully using your fin like a rudder to maneuver within a comfortable distance from the wall will allow you to see the beautiful black coral while looking out into the blue to capture frequent glimpses of the pacing sharks. As with most of the sites at Sipadan, experience with current is a plus as you are likely to experience at least a mild current. White Tip Avenue is an East facing dive site that is best in the morning or early afternoon when the sun is illuminating the reef to display its amazing colors.

Until next post! –Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim

Sipadan Island : Coral Gardens

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Coral Gardens is a beautiful dive site located on the Northern tip of Sipadan’s East wall. Facing East, this dive site is best experienced in the morning with the sun illuminating the entire reef and showcasing the abundant fish and invertebrate life. This site begins as you descend upon a top reef filled with huge, multi-colored, tabling acropora coral which is teeming with tiny reef fish swimming in and out of their hard coral homes. At this depth, you are also likely to see giant trevally, jackfish, barracuda and an occasional white tip or grey reef shark. The colors of the fish and coral at three to five meters are so mesmerizing that you may not feel like heading for the wall. How can it possibly get any better than this? Spend a few minutes here and then head for the wall to find out for yourself.

Once you crest the wall and begin your descent, you will not be disappointed. We floated down to 25 or 30 meters and began to drift along in the mild current. We saw some of the larger turtles Sipadan has to offer and looking out into the blue, a few white tip and grey reef sharks increased the excitement of an already stellar dive. With a couple of switchbacks along the way as we followed the currents, we observed some of the other critters you are likely to see at Coral Gardens including moray eels, the occasional frogfish, and loads of colorful grouper.

Given that this dive is especially susceptible to changing currents in the morning, it is important that you stay near your Dive Master. The current at Coral Gardens can change more than once in your dive pushing you in either direction toward Barracuda Point or White Tip Avenue. Knowing this, it is imperative to be aware of your surroundings at all times, remain close to your dive buddy, and further, this makes Coral Gardens a recommended dive for Advanced Divers.

Our 40-minute multi-level dive goes by quickly and in no time we are back on the top reef for our safety stop while we enjoy the playful fish and amazing corals. Because of the pristine coral life on its top reef, Coral Gardens invites many of the fish species that make Sipadan home, allowing you to see most of the fish (small and large) Sipadan has to offer, all concentrated in one dive site.

If you have only one day to dive at Sipadan, Coral Gardens is definitely one site to add to your list of the four you are allotted for the day.

Until our next post! Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim wishing you happy adventures.

Sipadan Island : Barracuda Point

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After experiencing all of the dive sites of Sipadan has to offer (and truth be told, there will always be a million and one variations of the same dive based on depth, current and dive plan), the Scuba Dive Advisor team unanimously agreed that Barracuda Point is our favorite dive site on Sipadan. This is only pure conjecture, but we believe that Jacques Cousteau must have been speaking of Barracuda Point when he coined this now-famous phrase, “I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found an untouched piece of art.” There are so many different topographies and species at different parts of the Barracuda Point dive that it feels as if you have four or five dives in one. Barracuda Point is so much a favorite that we dove it three times on this trip, and Tim and Lana, to date, have been at this site TEN times!

After our back roll into the water, we found our normal entry point on the fringe of a shallow reef teeming with coral and fish life. During two of our dives on sunny days, we were greeted by schools of bumphead wrasse numbering in the 30 to 50 range, the smallest of them being 40 to 50kg. When the water is calm, you can actually spot the schools of wrasse from far away and make your entry right beside them. The bumpheads are peaceful to watch, as they munch away on the corals at the top of the reef, as if they are oblivious to your presence and will allow you to get very close.

After five or ten minutes observing the bumpheads, it was off to the wall. Swimming over the shallow reef it is an amazing feeling to reach the edge of the 500+ meter drop off and float out into the blue like a bird. It was at this point during most of our dives at Barracuda Point that we saw the huge schools of jackfish Sipadan is famous for. Swimming under the thousands of schooling jacks, it is as if a cloud rolled in and blocked out the sun. But as you look up through the school, you can see the sun shimmering off of their shiny bodies. The jacks are inviting and let you swim up into the middle of the tornado it appears they have created, and like an infantry in unison, they march around you, never touching you. Many times, the opportunistic giant trevally are mixed right in the middle of the school of jacks. This made for amazing viewing and photos.

Onward we drift (this dive is amazing with current) in a Northeasterly direction as the current sweeps you past amazing walls of soft corals, hard corals and gorgonians that are amazing to see. As you are drifting by keep an eye out in the blue, as sharks are pacing down in the depths and you feel like you are on an adventure ride. As we start to come up the wall, we get to the point of the dive where we typically saw schooling barracuda (for which this site is aptly named) and sharks. This is a great time to find a small rock to get a finger-hold, or use a reef hook, so you can pause for a moment and watch as the white-tip and grey reef sharks come up from the deep to swim in the current. Because of this current, the sea life and activity that you can see at Barracuda Point is abundant and the chance of seeing pelagics is often better than other sites. Keep an eye on your computer because a lot of the big stuff is deep and with all the action, it is easy to go into deco-mode if you get lost in the action that is unfolding before your eyes.

Let go of your finger-hold and begin to ascend to the top of the reef and you enter into another dive all together. Once you crest the top of the reef, you find yourself in a channel where you effortlessly drift over resting green sea turtles and loads of white tip sharks lounging on the bottom. As you drift through this channel, you will quite frequently see giant schools of barracuda hovering in the current, an amazing sight to take in. At the end of the canyon, you will find yourself on a slope near the start of another wall dive. Generally, we found the current on top of the slope to be mild to non-existent at about 5-10 meters in depth, which is a great place to begin your safety stop. Take in all of the sights with hundreds of fish, diverse coral formations dotted anemones and resident clown fish that are always entertaining to observe.

Barracuda point is filled with excitement, diversity and best summarizes Sipadan diving with each dive presenting a new adventure. With depths reaching up to 30m (99 ft), this is best enjoyed by Advanced Open Water divers and those with experience in current. If you have both of these, then add Barracuda Point to your Top 10 list and experience the joy we have burned in our memory!

Take the Plunge! Dan, Esther, Lana and Tim

Borneo Divers : What\’s the Big Deal About Sipadan Diving? {Part 3 of 3}

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“Top 10” lists. All of us are guilty of creating them. From restaurants we want to eat at to books we need to read. Scuba diving is no different. What we judge or perceive to be the best of the best, as far as dive sites are concerned, will differ from diver to diver. These “Top 10” lists are very personal and seldom will it occur that any two lists will be the same, but certain dive locations evoke a powerful feeling and excite our imagination, thus, making the list for most people. These dive sites bring our community together in fellowship to experience nature at its finest.

Punctuating out of sea floor in the middle of the Celebes Sea, Sipadan is just one of these places many of us dream about. It has garnered favor in the dive community for many years. Seldom do we find a dive zone that has a little of everything for all divers, but Sipadan is a special place that offers as much diversity in topography as it does in sea life. Looking for pelagics? Macro? Turtles? Stunning coral reefs? You will find it all here.

Although Borneo Divers has been the pioneer of Sipadan diving since 1983, it is the colorful Jacques Cousteau, who echoed the words in his film, Borneo: The Ghost of the Sea Turtle (1989): “I have seen other places like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found an untouched piece of art.” Jacques Cousteau said it, the world listened, and divers around the globe have been coming in droves to experience the beauty of Sipadan for more than 20 years! From that moment on, Sipadan escalated to become one of “the” places to dive in the world and tales from Borneo surged exciting more divers to come and many more to dream.

So what is the big deal about diving at Sipadan? The near perfect eco-system with colorful hard and soft corals circle the island providing a playground for smaller reef fish like chromis and anthias numbering in the thousands. You will also see larger species such as the parrotfish, Napolean wrasse and bumphead wrasse that find their nutrition in the coral. Massive bubble, sebae and carpet anemones cover the reef for curious clown fish to hide out. But for many, the excitement comes from the bigger stuff like schooling jacks and barracuda, massive trevallies, sharks, eagle rays, and many other pelagics that come in to feast on a smorgasbord of opportunity. Oh yeah, for anyone who loves turtles, you will be guaranteed at least one (more like 20 to 30) green and hawksbill turtles on every dive! The diversity of Sipadan is absolutely amazing.

While diving in this region is top-notch, it is not limited to Sipadan. Hundreds of amazing dive sites ranging from smaller wall drifts on the South shore of Mabul, to muck dives around neighboring islands, to white sand slopes, all covered in a kaleidoscope of colorful corals, reef fish and other little critters. Yes! And to our delight, we found that there are still areas near Sipadan and Mabul that have not yet been explored and others that are unnamed. How exciting is that?

In the posts to come, we will navigate our way around the various dive sites at Sipadan and then proceed on to neighboring Mabul, Kapalai, Sibuan and Mantabuan. Of course, we were unable to dive all of these sites on this trip, so we will revert back to solid logbook entries by Lana (because Tim is terrible at keeping his logbook up to date) to share what was seen.

Have you been scuba diving around Sipadan? How did you like it? Share your experiences below!

Happy Diving! –Dan, Esther, Tim & Lana

Advanced Open {COLD} Water

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“Meet people. Go places. Do things.” Those are our guiding principles for traveling the world. So, we decided it was time to take our certification to the next level. So, after 6 years of enjoying the wonderful sport of scuba as PADI Open Water divers, we figured we would take the next step and pursue our Advanced Open Water Certification. Keep in mind that Esther is from Miami. She grew up swimming in the tropical waters off the coast of Florida and is definitely not a fan of cold water. Me, on the other hand grew up in California surfing as much as possible and am a bit more comfortable committing to diving in the mid fifties. It took a couple of months (probably subliminally waiting for the weather to warm up) to commit to taking the plunge but once it was decided, it was off to our friends at Eco Dive Center.

We told the dive staff at Eco that we were interested in getting our Advanced Open Water Certification prior to an upcoming trip to Sipidan, Malaysia. Of course the ever positive and energetic team at Eco Dive Center were eager to help get us get in the water and get certified prior to our trip. As a matter of fact, the package that the team at Eco put together was so good that we committed to purchasing all of the materials to become Rescue Divers as well!

As many of you can imagine, there are numerous different reasons that someone would want to increase their certification level in any sport. Some people are interested in the education, others prefer the chance to work together and meet new friends while doing something they love, some (us) want to be able to volunteer at local aquariums and beach clean-up efforts. There are, of course, many other reasons that we decided to get our advanced certification, the main one being that we wanted to be better prepared for any situation that we may encounter. Let’s face it, the more prepared you are, the better you will be able to handle stressful situations in a safe manner.

About three weeks prior to our class, we began reviewing our SDI AOW dive manual covering the following topics :

  • Underwater Navigation
  • Deep Diving
  • Advanced Buoyancy
  • Boat Diving
  • Computer Diving
  • Drift Diving
  • Dry Suit Diving
  • Marine Ecosystem Awareness
  • Night Diving
  • Underwater Photography
  • Beach Diving (Esther’s LEAST favorite)
  • Wreck Diving

For those of you who are not fans of studying books, the SDI AOW book is an easy read that you can absorb in a couple of days. The coursework is geared toward real life applications for each of the subjects. Once we finished the reading, the class gathered at the dive shop on the Friday night before the weekend’s dives for a briefing and discussion of what to expect over the next two days.

Saturday morning the alarm came early at 5:00AM. We were literally getting out of a wonderfully warm bed to go drive to a local beach and plunge into the cold surf for two hours. Crazy? Maybe a little, but the payoff was so worth the work. Our first dives were at Veterans Park in Redondo Beach, California. We gathered all of our gear in the parking lot and made our way down the stairs to the beach. Once we go to the water, the interesting part began. We timed our entry into the water very well and no one fell over on the way out. Once out in the water with our patient and wonderful instructor Greg, his positive energy put us at ease in the near zero visibility that we were in. It turns out that the bad visibility of the beach dive was perfect for our first exercise of underwater compass navigation. Once under the water there was absolutely nothing but depth and your compass readings to keep you on course. With Greg’s expert approach to teaching and obvious experience in the water, everyone in our group did very well with the compass navigation and quickly got the hang of reciprocal, square and triangle patterns in the water.

Next up, were the pool exercises. Once at the pool, we learned how to tie a bowline knot, a half hitch and a sheet bend. All and all, the first day was a great learning experience and it was a good way to get to know our instructor Greg. Who we had the pleasure of spending the rest of our weekend with.

Sunday morning at 4:30AM came very quickly, but once again we were out the door to voluntarily throw ourselves off of a perfectly good, not to mention, warm boat.  We arrived at our first dive site and Captain George announced that the visibility was as good as it gets for California diving. As soon as we jumped in, you could see kelp forests as far as your eyes could see. To make things even better we were greeted by a sea lion showing off in figure eights and having a good old time just hanging with us as we made our descent. Unfortunately, as we submerged, Esther had trouble equalizing and we decided to abort the dive to get back to the boat to adjust while our group went on with their deep dive.

After our surface interval and some delicious chili (compliments to the Sand Dollar’s Chef) we hopped back into the water and made our second attempt at a deep dive. This time Esther’s ear was fine and she was able to equalize. Once down we circled a small sailboat wreck and saw a number of Garibaldi (California State Fish) along with huge kelp forests and loads of bait fish shimmering in the rays of the sun. About half way through the dive we stopped and practice deploying our safety sausages and used all of the knots that we had learned from the previous day. Thanks to great visibility and Greg, our amazing instructor, we had our first dive in California that was a complete joy filled with all sorts of beautiful sights.

For our last dive, the planned skills to practice were advanced buoyancy control and search patterns. We got right to business with buoyancy control and quickly after everyone was leveled out just above the bottom, we headed for the kelp and went for a nature swim right through the forest, it was absolutely breathtaking and we now long to go back for more. About half way through the dive we stopped at an opening in the kelp forest and ran search patterns for about 15 minutes before we continued our trek through the kelp forest. After hearing about how beautiful kelp forests are for years, we finally experienced it and recommend Southern California diving to anyone who is thinking about giving it a try.

So whether you are after more knowledge of scuba diving, want to become a more independent diver, want to volunteer at a local aquarium, or if you are interested in enhancing your certification to the next level, get out and do it! There is a great big ocean out there to explore and many people to meet along the way while you are doing it. With dive teams like the folks from Eco Dive Center, you can’t go wrong and you will have fun along with all of the hard work you do to enhance your certification.

Happy Diving! –Dan

Rodrigues… To the end of the World!

7 Comments / Lodging, Scuba Dive Operators, Scuba Dive Sites / By

As I was thinking about a topic to share this week, past travels came to mind, and I thought I would share a glimpse into one of our own adventures throughout this wondrous world. A few years ago, upon setting foot on our 100th country, Lana and I attained an unusual status as members in the eclectic Travelers Century Club. We have been blessed to travel extensively throughout this incredible world with a voracious appetite to continue our search in pursuit of the unusual or lesser known destinations.

With so many places to talk about, where do we begin? How do any of us begin to map out our strategy for sharing the experiences that tap into our own thirst to plan for the next trip? Do we trace our way through each continent or do we follow a chronological order? The answer is… There is no right way. Basically, our personal compass has pointed us in a direction of getting others excited about the destinations that have made a lifetime impression upon our soul. We aim to highlight the character of the people, the beauty of the land and try to showcase any diversity underwater.

Four years ago, guided by the mention of unique islands on the Traveler’s Century Club’s website, we made the journey to Mauritius, and traveled even further to the tiny island dependant, Rodrigues. Located smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean as you draw your eye away from Island nation of Madagascar, Rodrigues appears to be completely isolated. You may ask, “What brought you here?” Good question. As Lana and I reside in Calgary, we have always aimed to travel to the furthest places away from our home base and it seemed to be an interesting and inaccessible location in the world to explore. Let’s face it, few Canadians ever make it to Mauritius and looking at most travelers who arrive in Mauritius, few seldom consider the extra 1.5 hour flight to Rodrigues.

Our flying journey is not easy, as we must connect through Frankfurt, Kuwait, Dubai and Mauritius to get to Rodrigues. But arrival in this tiny Creole island takes you back to an era of travel most of us yearn for and the exhaustion from 26 hours of pure flying time is completely forgotten as the island’s warmth envelopes you in their own unique hospitality.

When we travel as a couple, Lana and I will quite often fly to a destination without a reservation. Sometimes, our version of “pre-planning” will involve us phoning ahead from the airport we are departing from to tee up some sort of reservation. We know this may be too whimsical for most, but we enjoy the challenges this strategy presents. We like to think it keeps our minds fresh and it is part of how we manufacture some of our adventures. We eventually settled on the Cotton Bay Resort.

Upon arrival at the airport in the SW corner of Rodrigues, it was easy to gain our bearings on the island. We realized most roads filter through a network of three tiny towns at the top of the mountain and they spider off in a structured NW, NE, S, E & W direction. To give you a sense of the island’s size and remoteness, one of those tiny towns held the island’s lone ATM bank machine and the only gas station was located at the end of the NW road in Port Mathurin. Something you would need to pre-plan if you have a rental car to drop off at the airport. Unusual? Certainly! That is part of the appeal to this fantastic place.

The Cotton Bay Resort seems isolated from the rest of the island with few services around the hotel area. While it is only a two-story low-rise, the hotels’ green-hued, corrugated iron roof punctuates the skyline and it follows the perimeter of the bay for which it is aptly named. Arriving at this hotel, the staff is warm and welcoming. Guests are familiarized with the hotel services and amenities and the free appetizers at happy hour was the one feature that seemed to resonate with us and the hotel includes a half-board option (breakfast and dinner) which simplifies your food options. The rooms are well-appointed and divers will definitely benefit from a room on the floor level, especially if you will be moving your equipment back and forth from the on site dive shop or your vehicle. While diving is offered, the resort only offers that as a component of many other outdoor pursuits.

It appears the three dive operators on the island have divided up the various dive zones (north, south and east parts of the island) due to access and convenience. During our first couple days on the island, we explored the dive sites along the channel to the south that empties the lagoon into the Indian Ocean. So we paid a visit to Bouba’s Dive Centre. The owner was distinctly French and had us laughing non-stop for two days of diving. Benoit’s rental gear was in great condition as he used a European favorite, Beuchat. Our favorite dive on the south side of the island was the “Canyon” dive site. The topography was unbelievable as we literally swam through vibrant canyons and in the words of our fearless divemaster, Benoit. “Bwahhhh” (We think it is French for something really awesome). Keep in mind that diving times may be adjusted by Benoit based on the tides. Definitely check out Benoit and Bouba’s Dive Centre.

The Cotton Bay Dive Centre  serves the East side of the island. Fantastic in their own right, they are set up with good equipment to rent and storage facilities for those with their own equipment. Most of the incredible dive sites we read about “La Passe St. Francois” and “Le Canyon” were located on this side of the island and they were absolutely stunning. Diving on this side is not for the beginner (as we were at the time), but we were so excited to dive these sites that my enthusiasm got the better of me and had me running from our room one day with Lana’s wetsuit (Lana sat out due to a cold) and my determination together with Fabio, our divemaster, and two other “buddies” helped me squeeze into her 3mm. And for all you girls out there, Fabio, is still the prettiest divemaster Lana has ever seen during our diving escapades. I can still hear Lana to this day, “It’s his eyes.” Definitely check out the diving on this side of the island.

The day before we departed, we kept this as a non-dive day and explored the topside of the island. We went for numerous hikes and found some completely untouched, white sand beaches. There were spectacular views at every turn. The island’s land based activities equally matched the wondrous diversity we had read about below the surface in the surrounding lagoon. The Francois Leguat Giant Tortoise and Cave Reserve is a place to see the tortoises from the hatchery up until the one hundred year old big guys. This place was absolutely fascinating and the combined tour with the cave system was a well-spent half day of activities.

Rodrigues is blessed with wondrous diversity at every turn. We had only planned to stay for three days as a notch in our travel stick, but we enjoyed it so much that we sacrificed the island of Reunion from our trip to stay on Rodrigues for two more days. Borrowed from their website, the Mauritius Tourism and Promotion Authority sums up the island of Rodrigues the best: “The secure waters of the lagoon and the trade winds that gently buffer the island provide many opportunities for the adventurous. Rodrigues is a wonderful playground for scuba divers who quickly fall in love with the diverse coral reef eco-system and its colourful assortment of sub-aquatic flora and fauna.”

Happy Diving! –Tim