SCUBA Travel News

Life in the Sea of Cortez is endangered by destructive new fishing methods.

Ten years ago graduate students Octavio Aburto-Oropeza and Gustavo Paredes surveyed the marine life of the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California). In 2009 they went back and were shocked at how things had declined. Sixty percent of the surveyed sites showed signs of degradation, according to Aburto-Oropeza, and many are now missing the top predators normally present in healthy, functioning ecosystems.

"Ten years later we can actually measure the effects of not putting conservation measures in place," Paredes told Explorations Magazine. "Some of us had been conducting surveys in certain sites every year, but until this year we didn't know the whole story of what was going on."

The changes have occurred because of fishing. Traditional hook-and-line fisherman have been put out of business by vastly more damaging gill net fishing and "hookah" diving. Hookah fishermen use surface-supplied air through piping that allows them to walk along the seafloor for long periods of time. The technique is typically conducted at night when fish are resting, allowing the hookah fishermen to spear or grab large numbers of vulnerable fish and invertebrates.

In the most dramatic example of fishing impacts observed on the 2009 expedition a survey of San Esteban Island in the north revealed reefs devoid of fish and instead covered by mats of cyanobacteria.

There are areas which have flourished, though. One example is Cabo Pulmo near the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. Fishing restrictions there since 1995 have ensured that Cabo Pulmo retains a mix of sea life and flourishing fish populations. Other successes include Coronado Island inside the Loreto marine park and Los Islotes inside Espiritu Santo marine park.

Using compressed air has been banned in Mexico for sports fishermen for 40 years, but since commercial fishermen weren’t named specifically they had been allowed to use compressed air to clean the reef. In May 2009 this changed: the use of hookahs have now been outlawed for any type of fishing. Illegal fishing still goes on though, and environmental organisation Sea Watch is asking people to report any that they encounter at http://seawatch.org/en/Resource-Library/359/report-illegal-fishing

Further Reading:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Labels: dive destination, environment, research, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel

The SCUBA Travel best selling diving books in the third quarter of 2009. Yet again the Dive Atlas of the World keeps its top spot. Previous quarter's position is shown in brackets.

1. Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites by Jack Jackson
   300 pages detailing some of the world's best dive sites. (1)
   
2. Fifty Places to Dive Before You Die by Chris Santella
   The fifth in Santella's bestselling "Fifty Places" series. (2)
   
3. Dive in Style
   by Tim Simond
   Luxury diving around the world.(3)
   
4. Coral Reef Guide Red Sea (Coral Reef) by Ewald Lieske, Robert Myers
   Covering jellyfish, corals, nudibranchs, starfish, sea urchins, fishes and turtles of the Red Sea. (5)
   
5. Coral Reef Fishes: Indo-Pacific and Caribbean by Ewald Lieske, Robert Myers
   A compact, guide to over 2000 species of fish you might see whilst diving on coral reefs. (6)
   
6. The Blue Planet DVD
   The BBC television series on DVD - action shots of the intriguing behaviour of the underwater world with commentary by David Attenborough. (--)
   
7. The Underwater Photographer: Digital and Traditional Techniques
   by Martin Edge
   Hints, tips and advice on taking underwater photos. (--)
   
8. Thailand (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Guides) by Tim Rock
   Dive sites of Thailand. Includes city guide to Bangkok. (10)
   
9. Top Dive Sites of the World by Jack Jackson
   With contributions from authors like Lawson Wood, Guy Buckles, Nick Hanna and Paul Naylor, focuses on 75 world-class dive sites in waters as diverse as the icy Northern Atlantic and the tropical seas of the Pacific. (--)
   
10. Diving and Snorkeling the Sea of Cortezs by Susan Speck
    91 Dive sites of Baja California described in detail. (--)
    

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Labels: books, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel

Plumose anemones (Metridium senile) occur in large numbers in good diving areas in temperate waters. They comprise a tall, smooth column topped with a crown of feathery tentacles. When they contact they look like swirly blobs, as can be seen in our photograph.

Individuals may be white, orange, green or blue in colour. They grow up to 30 cm tall and 15 cm across at the base. They like areas with currents so tend to live on prominent pieces of wrecks or on rocky pinnacles.

With fine, delicate tentacles they are unsuited to capturing large animals like fish. Instead they specialise in smaller prey such as small planktonic crustaceans. The anemone's columnar body is narrower just below the tentacles. A current will bend the stalk at this point and expose the tentacles broadside to the flow in the best position for feeding on suspended matter.

The Plumose anemone occurs from the Bay of Biscay (North of Spain) to Scandinavia in the northeast Atlantic, and on the west and east coasts of North America. It is unknown from the western basin of the Mediterranean but has been seen in the Adriatic, where it is believed to have been introduced. It has also been seen in Table Bay Harbour in South Africa where it was probably introduced from Europe.



Further Reading:
Great British Marine Animals, by Paul Naylor
Ask Nature

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Labels: environment, Europe, marine biology, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel, UK

One hundred and eighty-six species of the "Little Dragon" fish live from Iceland in the North to the Indo-Pacific oceans in the South. You will find the species we are concentrating on today, Callionymus lyra, from Norway to Senegal: in the Eastern Atlantic and the North, Irish, Mediterranean, Black, Baltic, Aegean and other Seas.

The adult male C. lyra is colourfully patterned in orange and blue. The females are smaller and a mottled brown. They have an interesting courtship ritual. The male performs an elaborate display, darting around the female, spreading his brightly coloured fins and pulling faces! If the female is impressed the pair then swim side-by-side, almost vertically up to the surface. There they release the eggs and sperm into the water, spawning at dusk. Dragonet males are thought to mate only once in a lifetime.

Dragonets spend most of their lives on sandy or rocky bottoms. They live from the shallows down to 100 m. They are sometimes confused with gobies but have a much broader triangular, head and a long dorsal ray on their backs. If you see slender fish meeting this description darting away from you on the bottom it is probably a dragonet.

More photos of Dragonets...

Further Reading:
Great British Marine Animals, by Paul Naylor

Labels: fish, marine biology, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel, UK

UNESCO has added the Belize Barrier Reef to its list of world heritage sites in danger.

The reef was added as a world heritage site in 1996 as the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, with offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries.

The main problem with Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System concerns mangrove cutting and excessive development. The reef is also the country’s top tourist destination.

While requesting stricter control of development on the site, the World Heritage Committee also requested that the moratorium on mangrove cutting on the site which expired in 2008 be reinstated.

Further Reading:
List of World Heritage in Danger

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Labels: Belize, coral reef, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel

A female French tourist was attacked and killed by a shark while snorkelling at the Saint John's reefs in the Red Sea. The first fatal shark attack in Egypt for five years.

The woman's leg showed visible bite marks, and medics said she probably bled to death before being lifted to the surface.

The shark was an oceanic white tip. Although inexperienced divers sometimes confuse it with the white tip reef shark, the oceanic shark is much bigger, stockier and often accompanied by pilot fish. Whereas the reef shark is no threat to divers, the oceanic white tip is one to be wary of and treated with respect. It is almost fearless and credited with many open-ocean attacks on people after air or sea disasters.

Saint John's is in the Southern Egyptian Red Sea. It is a popular destination for divers, a place where you often see large pelagic species. If you should encounter a oceanic white tip it is advisable to stay close to the reef and not to make any sudden movements.

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Labels: Red Sea, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel, sharks

2009 is the 31st year of the International Festival of Underwater Photography, Films and Children's Artwork.

The festival is open to both amateurs and professionals. You may enter by uploading photographs at http://www.paftachov.cz/en/www/. The deadline for accepting the works April 22nd 2009. The photographic categories include: wide-angle image without a diver; wide-angle image with a diver; macro image and water animal image.

The festival started in 1979. In the beginning it was a modest 16mm and 8 mm films competition, later upgraded with photographs.

As the time went by, categories expanded with slides, videos, and children's art works being added.

At first all competition works were assessed only by the audience. Then in 1994, professional juries were introduced.

In addition to local authors, participants in the come from many countries including Australia, Belgium, Egypt, Finland, France, Italy, Canada, Yugoslavia, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and Great Britain.

The festival is now an international event organised under the auspices of CMAS, the World Underwater Federation which is one of the oldest dive organisations in the world.

The originally one-day event has become a four-day event with a lot of space for discussions, friendships, offering divers plenty of experiences and issues to be assessed. Anyone can join this festival, which is aiming to present results of diver's works in many forms, the artistic in particular.

The festival takes place in Tachov, Czech Republic, from 21st to 24th May 2009.

Further reading:
http://www.paftachov.cz/en/www/
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Labels: photography, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel

Most SCUBA divers disturb the seabed, Spanish researchers say. A study published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science found that nearly 97% of divers in marine protected areas (MPAs) made contact with the bottom. Inexperienced, male divers carrying a camera or torch were the worst offenders.

Creating a marine protected area tends to increase diving in that vicinity. Scientists from the University of Alicante studied the behaviour of divers in marine protected areas, the effects of diving on the natural environment and the characteristics that influence diver behaviour. They found that impacts caused by recreational scuba activity vary widely among different divers.

The scientists followed a total of 181 recreational divers in Mediterranean MPAs, recording the contacts they made with the seabed and the effects produced. They also made notes on the features of the dive. Their observations revealed that 175 of the divers observed (96.7%) made at least one contact with the seabed. Flapping was the most frequent type of contact, and the main damage by this action was to raise sediment.

Contact with the seabed was greater for males than for females, inexperienced divers than for experienced divers, camera or dive light users than for non-users, and divers unaccompanied by a dive leader or who had not been briefed about avoiding seabed contact before undertaking a dive than for accompanied or briefed divers.

The research team hopes that a greater understanding of the causes of harmful behaviour may be useful for stricter management, reducing diving damage and assuring the sustainability of diving in marine protected areas.

Journal Reference:
Luna, B., Valle Pérez, C., and Sánchez-Lizaso, J. L. 2009. Benthic impacts of recreational divers in a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 000–000.
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Labels: Mediterranean, research, SCUBA diving, SCUBA News, SCUBA Travel

Europe boasts some world class dive sites, with great visibility and masses of underwater life. In a recent poll of SCUBA Travel readers, these were voted the ten best dive sites in Europe. Disagree? Then cast your vote.

1. The Zenobia, Cyprus
   The pristine wreck of a huge ferry. Lying on its port side, the wreck starts at about 15 m and descends to 42 m. Fabulous dive. Possibly the best shipwreck dive in the world in recreational depths. 20 m plus visibility and some great swim-throughs. Needs several dives to see anything like all of it.
    
   
2. Blue Hole, Gozo
   A beautiful sharp drop off into the blue hole with what seems like limitless visibility and literally feels like you are on the very edge of the world. A most extraordinary dive.
    
   
3. Cirkewwa, Malta
   
   Features the wreck of the Rozi MV as well as stunning underwater topography. Visibility is very good and there iss ea life in abundance: barracuda, morays, octopus, cuttlefish and even dolphins.
    
   
4. Booroo, Isle of Man
   The Burroo, with its extremely diverse and plentiful marine life offers a truly magnificent dive. In fact, in areas exposed to the fast flowing current, it is something of a challenge to find a single square centimetre of bare bedrock, so abundant is the life here.
    
   
5. Blockship Tabarka, Scapa Flow, Scotland
   This shallow 18 m dive is a real beauty. One of the block ships scuttled to prevent submarine attack during WW2. Covered in life, a beautiful place. Worth the trip and the one of surprises of Scapa.
    
   
6. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
   Claimed to by on a par with the famous Yongala. It is a cold water dive off Ireland's west coast. The bay is fairly sheltered and is teaming with life. The terrain is full of rocks and gullies and the water is really clear.
    
   
   
7. Eddystone Reef, England
   12 miles off Plymouth, England. The reef is from 8 to 60 m. Encrusted with jewel anemones and with the remains of ancient wrecks, including a large 17th century anchor. Stunning.
    
   
8. Secca della Columbara, Italy
   One of the best dives in the Mediterranean. It features a steep, beautifully-decorated, wall; large shoal of barracuda; grouper; giant amberjacks and a wreck. The wreck is a 74 m ship which was carrying slabs of marble. It sank in 2005 and rests at 20 m in two parts.
    
   
9. Fanore, Ireland
   
   Shore dive in crystal clear Atlantic water with abundant fish.
    
   
   
10. Chios island, Greece
    Small undersea caves and paths between impressive rocks, colourful reefs and vertical walls.

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Labels: Europe, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta and Gozo, Mediterranean, SCUBA diving, SCUBA Travel, UK

Dominica’s Dive Fest, the Caribbean’s longest running scuba diving festival, encourages visitors to discover the beautiful landscapes and colourful marine life within the island’s waters. Would-be divers and snorkellers as young as eight can participate in pool- or ocean-based introductory sessions to teach them the basics, with some trial sessions even offered completely free of charge.

The annual event takes place in Dominica from 11th – 20th July 2008. To mark this special 15th anniversary year, many local dive centres are offering group travel packages whereby one diver goes free with every seven that book.

“Dive Fest was established to showcase the incredible marine environment of Dominica to both visitors and residents and is now one of the island’s staple events” comments Steve Bornn, director of tourism at the Discover Dominica Authority.

More information on the Dive Fest can be found at can be found at www.dominicawatersports.com. For more on diving Dominica see SCUBA Travel: Dominica

Labels: Caribbean, dive destination, Dominica, SCUBA diving, SCUBA Travel

Israeli and Jordanian scientists has developed the Red Sea's first artificial coral reef.

Take a dive off the coast of Eilat these days and you're liable to find yourself swimming around a huge yellow concrete and wire construction that stretches four yards up from the seabed, is four yards wide, and is full of holes.

The reef is a unique new approach to conservation in the Red Sea and part of a joint co-operative project between Israel and Jordan.

Dr. Nadav Shashar, the supervisor of the research project, and a marine biologist at the National Center for Mariculture, says "Because of the increase in the number of visitors, the coral reefs are unable to overcome the damage caused and are beginning to die out.

Part of the problem is novice divers. "They kick up the sand, or damage the corals by accident. Multiple that by 100,000 people and that's considerable damage," says Shashar. "These people don't mean to harm the reefs, but they just don't know how to dive properly."

The developers hope that the artificial reef will create a new attraction for these divers, steering them away from the natural reefs, reducing the pressure there and enabling them to recover from some of the damage inflicted on them over the last few years.

At the same time, the Tamar reef which is located near Coral Beach also provides the researchers with a unique underwater laboratory, enabling them to observe and unravel the development and growth of this unique and complex ecosystem.

Further reading: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Labels: coral reef, dive destination, Red Sea, SCUBA diving, SCUBA Travel

Caribbean coral species are dying off, indicating dramatic shifts in the ecological balance under the sea, a new scientific study of Caribbean marine life shows.

The study found that 10 percent of the Caribbean’s 62 reef-building corals were under threat, including staghorn and elkhorn corals. These used to be the most prominent species but are now candidates to be listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

A gathering of 23 scientists in Dominica analysed data on Western Tropical Atlantic corals, seagrasses, mangroves and algae, which are fundamental components of marine ecosystems providing food and shelter for numerous other organisms and local communities.

The threats to corals and other marine species include coastal pollution and human development; increased sedimentation in run-off water; thermal stress and heightened severity of hurricanes from climate change; and shifts in species dynamics due to over-fishing, according to the study. Scientists explained that the Caribbean has undergone the longest and most sustained impacts from human development since the colonization of the Americas.

Next to corals, mangroves appear to be the hardest hit. Mangrove cover in the region has declined by 42% over the past 25 years, with two of the eight mangrove species now considered Vulnerable to extinction and two more in Near Threatened status.

“Mangroves protect shorelines, shelter fish, and filter pollution,” said Aaron Ellison of Harvard University. “The Caribbean was blessed with an abundance of these useful plants, but the consensus of this workshop is that mangroves are in trouble everywhere and need to be protected and restored,” he added. Mangrove forests are being cut down to make way for coastal housing, tourism, and aquaculture development.

The scientists noted that some healthy Caribbean coral reefs still exist in well-managed marine protected areas such as Bonaire Marine Park in the Netherlands Antilles. Direct human impacts are reduced in these areas allowing most corals to thrive; however, thermal stress from global warming affects all corals in the Caribbean and must be reversed if these refuges of Caribbean beauty are to survive, they added.

Further Reading: Conservation International

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Labels: Caribbean, coral, environment, SCUBA Travel

Egypt have cancelled a decree which allowed companies to collect reef fish and export them to Europe and other markets .

According to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), the previous decision had a devastating effect on nature and on the coral reef condition in the whole area. HEPCA launched a huge campaign against this decision and lobbied with other agencies, enthusiastic individuals, and major media representatives.

As a result of the decision HEPCA have ceased legal actions against the Minister's old decree.

Further Reading: http://www.hepca.com/

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Labels: environment, fish, Red Sea, SCUBA Travel, sealife

A new survey of reefs along Madagascar's southwestern coast found massive damage from coral bleaching, including some reefs that lost up to 99 percent of their coral cover.

A number of coral bleaching events – where rising sea temperatures cause corals to turn white and ultimately die – have struck Madagascar's southwest coast over the years, the worst being in 1998 and 2000.

Previous surveys have found that Madagascar's northern coasts escaped damage from these global bleaching events, thanks to cool water currents from nearby deep ocean areas.

Madagascar's southwestern coasts, however, have not been so lucky.
In areas where scientists found damaged coral reefs, algae had started to take over the dead reefs, and fish diversity was lower than in areas with healthy corals.

Madagascars coastal waters are believed to have some of the highest diversity of marine species in the Indian Ocean.

During the survey, led by the conservation groups Blue Ventures and the Wildlife Conservation Society and funded by Conservation International, scientists recorded 386 species of fish along the southwestern reefs of the Andavadoaka region. Of these, 20 species had never before been recorded for Madagascar and one may be a new discovery to science. The survey team believes that further research may reveal as many as 529 fish species living among these reefs.

The survey team also recorded 164 species of hard coral, including 19 that were previously unknown to inhabit Madagascar’s waters. Another four coral species could not be identified and may be new to science.

The total number of coral species recorded was significantly lower than those previously found along Madagascar’s northwestern coasts. These lower numbers are believed to be a direct result of the mass bleaching events of 1998 and 2000.

“Global warming is a major threat to the world’s coral reefs, but there are other more direct threats as well that can be more immediately addressed,” said Alasdair Harris, research director of Blue Ventures. “Destructive fishing practices and nutrient runoff from villages and resorts are also killing these incredible underwater systems that provide vital resources for the people of Madagascar.”

Overfishing and nutrient runoff have decreased the number of plant-eating species living within the coral reefs, allowing damaging algae to grow on corals already stressed by rising sea temperatures. By increasing the number of herbivores, damaging algae can be controlled and coral settlement and growth can increase.

Harris said it is urgent that government agencies, NGOs and local villages work together to create marine protected areas to prevent overfishing and other activities that are damaging coral reefs and the many marine resources they provide. The development of alternative and sustainable incomes – such as ecotourism – will also assist local villages that are currently dependent on these dwindling marine resources.

But the survey team also found some signs of hope. Scientists discovered several small reefs with corals that appeared to be resilient to rising sea temperatures and could ultimately be used to reseed damaged reefs. These resilient reefs may also provide valuable information about how to protect corals from future damage.

The entire report can be found at http://www.blueventures.org/

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Labels: coral, environment, Madagascar, SCUBA Travel

The contract for the controversial RM4.5 million (£650 000, US$1.2 million) clubhouse project on Sipadan, Malaysia, has been terminated. However, a smaller, "environmental-friendly" development will be allowed. The Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman has also ordered a management revamp of Sabah Parks, the state government agency that oversees Sipadan, and he will be in charge.

The contractor which undertook the Sipadan project came under severe criticism when a barge ran aground on 14 May, serverly damaging coral reefs.

Musa halted work on the project but later said that the Cabinet had decided to allow it to continue, but scaled down and using environmentally friendly materials.

Outraged by the damage on corals, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi rebuked Musa on July 27 for defying his advice not to build a clubhouse on the island. "I was very angry with Musa. I told him not to build it. I said so many corals are dying and he promised that he would look into the project."

Musa now says the new development concept would involve only the building of toilets and a small rest area for divers. "We will come up with a new development concept that is environmental-friendly and suits the eco-system. We will announce it two or three months from now" he says.

Sources: Malaysian National News Agency, The Star

More on Diving Sipadan:
- Sipadan Dive Sites
- Diving Trip to Sipadan
- Sipadan Dive Operators
- Sipadan Prints



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Labels: environment, SCUBA Travel

A French court has ordered a total of 1.489 million US dollars to be paid to three of the 21 people who were kidnapped from Sipadan six years ago.

The order was made against Paris-based tour agent Ultramarina, which handled the tour for the three, for failing in its duty to monitor the risks in the region.

It said the company should also have realised that Western tourists would act as a magnet for a kidnap case.

The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office are currently advising: "Terrorists and criminal elements are continuing with plans to kidnap foreign tourists from the islands and coastal areas of Eastern Sabah. Boats travelling to and from offshore islands and dive sites are possible targets. If you wish to visit resorts on, and islands off, Eastern Sabah, you should exercise extreme caution." The Australian government offers similar warnings.

The Sabah Tourism Board, however, offer reassurances "Sabah is a safe destination to travel to and we wish to assure that the Malaysian Government takes security and health issues very seriously and will continue to ensure that all Malaysians and visitors alike are safe and well while on holiday in the country.".

This has been a bad couple of months for the Sabah Tourism Board as in May a barge seriously damaged an area of coral of this famous diving spot.

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Labels: SCUBA Travel

A huge barge - carrying building materials, a bulldozer and a crane - has crashed into the reef at Sipadan. The accident is said to have damaged hundreds of square meters of the reef.

All diving operators and resorts had to leave the island of Sipadan on environmental grounds a couple of years ago: so what was the barge doing there?

According to Andrea and Antonella Ferrari, authors of A divers' guide to Underwater Malaysia Macrolife,

"The damage is incalculable — one of Sipadan’s most precious and beloved spots, well-known the world over, is no more, transformed by a single inexplicable act of human carelessness into a grisly mass of broken and pulverised corals, shredded turtles and mounds of grey gravel suffocating what little is left of the legendary drop-off."

The barge was anchored next to the drop-off. Sipadan is a limestone pinnacle rising from 600 m. It is not far from the East coast of Sabah, Malaysia.

Source: Fins Magazine

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Labels: SCUBA Travel

The tiny Republic of Kiribati, in the Pacific, has created the world's third-largest marine reserve.

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area bans commercial fishing to protect more than 120 species of coral and 520 species of fish inside its 184,700 sq km (73,800 sq miles). It is the world's first marine park with deep-sea habitat, including underwater mountains.

Kiribati is located in the central Pacific between Hawaii and Fiji. It comprises 33 islands stretching across several hundred miles.

Source: ENN

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Labels: SCUBA Travel

The list of the world's top 100 dive sites, as voted for by SCUBA Travel readers, is now updated. The Yongala (a wreck in Queensland, Australia) keeps its top spot but there are new entries for Dominica, Polynesia, Nassau, Roatan, New South Wales and elsewhere.

Disagree with this list? Cast your vote at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/topdiveslong.html

1. Yongala, Australia
2. Thistlegorm, Egyptian Red Sea
   
3. Blue Corner Wall, Palau, Micronesia
   
4. Barracuda Point, Sipadan Island
   
5. Shark and Yolanda Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
   
6. Navy Pier, Australia
   
7. Manta Ray Night Dive, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
   
8. Big Brother, Egyptian Red Sea
   
9. Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
   
10. Elphinstone Reef, Egyptian Red Sea
    
    
11. Great Blue Hole, Belize
    
12. Sodwana bay, South Africa
    
13. Sha'ab Rumi South, Sudan
    
14. President Coolidge, Vanuatu
    
15. Ras Mohammed, Egyptian Red Sea
    
16. Grand Central Station, Gizo, Solomon Islands
    
17. Darwin Island, Galapagos
    
18. Similans, Thailand
    
19. Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
    
20. Straits of Tiran, Egyptian Red Sea
    
21. Richelieu Rock, Thailand
    
22. Bloody bay wall, Little cayman
    
23. Great white wall, Tavieuni Fiji
    
24. Stingray City, Grand Cayman
    
25. The Zenobia, Cyprus
    
26. Darwin Arch, Galapagos
    
27. Jackson Reef, Egypt
    
28. Pedras Secas, Noronha, Brazil
    
29. Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia
    
30. Puerto Galera, Philippines
    
31. Poor Knights, New Zealand
    
32. Shark Alley, Grand Cayman
    
33. Half Moon Wall, Belize
    
34. Protea Banks, South Africa
    
35. Wolf Island, Galapogos
    
36. Peleliu Express, Palau
    
37. Dos Ojos (Los Cenotes), Playa del Carmen, Mexico
    
38. The Canyons, Utila, Honduras
    
39. Canibal Rock, Komodo, Indonesia
    
40. Mnemba Island, Tanzania
    
41. Cozumel, Mexico
    
42. Blue Hole, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
    
43. Gili air, Indonesia
    
44. The Point, Layang - Layang
    
45. Dirty rock, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
    
46. Cod Hole, Northern Great Barrier Reef
    
47. Rainbow Warrier, New Zealand
    
48. The Express, Kuredu, Maldives
    
49. Daedelus, Egyptian Red Sea
    
50. Garuae Pass, Fakarava Island, French Polynesia
    
51. Hilma Hooker, Bonaire
    
52. Hanging Garden, Sipadan
    
53. Booroo, Isle of Man
    
54. Sound Drift, Isle of Man
    
55. Chickens Rock, Isle of Man
    
56. Toucari Caves, Dominica
    
57. Barra Reef, Mozambique
    
58. Wreck of the Bahama Mama, New Providence, Bahamas
    
59. Blue Hole, Malta
    
60. Joel's, PNG
    
61. Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, Polynesia
    
62. Seal rocks, NSW, Australia
    
63. Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Ireland
    
64. Fujikawa Maru, Truk Lagoon (Chuuk Lagoon)
    
65. Sugar Wreck, Grand Bahama Island
    
66. Umbria, Sudan
    
67. Fish Rock, Off South West Rocks in NSW, Australia
    
68. Office, Mozambique
    
69. South Point, Sipadan
    
70. Chios island, Greece
    
71. Pixie pinnacle and pixie wall, GBR, Australia
    
72. Palancanar Bricks, Cozumel, Mexico
    
73. Bay of Pigs, Cuba
    
74. Tiputa pass, Rangiroa, New Zealand
    
75. St Johns, Egypt
    
76. Turtle tavern, Sipadan
    
77. Hin Muang, Thailand
    
78. Great Basses reef, Sri Lanka
    
79. Port Royal, Roatan, Honduras
    
80. Eye of the Needle, Saba
    
81. Tubbataha, Palawan, Philippines
    
82. Steel Forest, Nassau Bahamas
    
83. alcyone, Cocos Island, Costa Rica
    
84. Tormentous, Cozumel, Mexico
    
85. Eel garden, Dahab, Egyptian Red Sea
    
86. Boulari pass, New-Caledonia
    
87. Am chesonet, St Lucia WI
    
88. Aliwal Shoal, South Africa
    
89. RMS Wreck of the Rhone, British Virgin Islands
    
90. Santa Rosa Wall, Cozumel, Mexico
    
91. New Dropoff, Palau
    
92. Kunkungan, Lambeh Strait, N. Sulawesi, Indonesia
    
93. Cenotes, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
    
94. Fernando de Noronha, Brasil
    
95. Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia
    
96. Punta Sur, Cozumel, Mexico
    
97. Lake Malawi, East Africa
    
98. Japanese Gardens, Koh Tao, Thailand
    
99. James Barrie, Scapa Flow
    
100. Los testigos islands, Venezuela
     

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Labels: SCUBA Travel

Manchester - Singapore - Sipadan

With a business trip to Singapore looming and no holiday

organised for the Red Sea this winter, I looked for an
extension to the Singapore trip to get in some good diving.

I first tried some UK dive tour operators to see if a
stop-over in Singapore could be organised but the flights
were not available. Then it was onto the web for a local
operator to book a tour out of Singapore. I found several
but selected Waikiki Divers because they seemed to have
flexible tour lengths and times. A quick email followed
by a phone call put me in touch with Stella Lee from
Waikiki who was able to create a six day, five night trip
to Sipadan on the day required, and returning in time for
the flight back to Manchester.

From Singapore it was a 9:30 am taxi to the Senai airport
across the border in Malaysia, a flight to Kotu Kinabalu,
followed by another to Tawau, and then a one hour minibus
ride to get within one last leg of the destination. A one
night stay at the very spacious and quite luxurious
Seaquest Hotel in Semporna was the break in the journey.

The following morning at 8:30 am we were met by the
mini-bus which transferred us the short distance to the
jetty where Palau Sipadan resort tours have their shore
base. A 1 hour speedboat ride was the final staqe to get
to Kapali where the accomodation is in wooden chalets
connected by wooden walkways built over a submerged reef,
with a small very white beach uncovered at low tide. No
one has been able to stay on Sipadan itself since 1/1/2005,
apart from some soldiers whose job is to prevent divers who
land there for their surface interval, from wandering off
down the beach or into the inerior of the island.

Our group comprised one from England, an American, a
Canadian, a Turkish couple and a Japanese, so plenty of
opportunity for swapping notes on world diving.

The Sipadan Diving

The check out dive followed later in the morning and
was a dive from the jetty at the dive centre. Basically
a sandy bottom with coral blocks and quite a variety of
small fish. In the afternoon a short boat ride to
sweet-lips table led to a similar dive but with somewhat
bigger fish (sting rays, large jacks) giant mantis
shrimps and a very large turtle. Most evenings the dive
centre organised a dusk dive for those with the energy
left. Some considerable time was spent trying to get
photgraphs of a shy mandarin fish.

The next day we took the boat to Sipadan (about half an hour away with 300-400 horsepower behind us). In the morning we dived at the coral garden area, and after a break went to the South Point. Here the life was what you might expect from one of the top dive sites in the world. I counted 11 white tip reef sharks resting on the bottom, was passed by a six foot tiger shark going the other way, one Napolean wrasse, too many turtles to count
and an octopus in the shallows at the end of the dive.

For variety we also went to Mabul Island where we dived
in the junk underneath the SeaVentures rig. Here were
plenty of exotic small creatures (nudibranchs, frog fish
etc) but too much man-made rubbish for my liking.

Further dives at Sipadan saw similar numbers of macro
creatures, including a large shoal of barracuda forming
the traditional swirling cylinder, and again an unlimited
selection of turtles.

We were extremely well looked after by the staff at
Kapalai, the food was good, the weather warm but really
quite windy (which keeps the huts cool at least).

Trip of a Lifetime

The trip was well organised, everything went just like
clockwork but was very relaxed at the same time. So if
you get as far as Singapore I stringly recommend you
contact Stella at Waikiki Divers and let them organise
the trip of a lifetime for you.

More Information

For other dive operators going to Sipadan see the SCUBA Travel Malaysia Diver Operators page. For the diving around Sipadan see the dive sites page.

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Labels: SCUBA Travel