Will We Ever Enjoy Diving Again?

As Jeff wrote in another entry, one of our two major objectives in going to Borneo was to dive Sipadan.  Having been told that one can only really appreciate Sipadan if you go to depths past those permitted with an Open Water certification (the the first level of SCUBA certification given by PADI and the one Jeff and I earned in Florida last summer), we decided we would also get our Advanced Open Water certification while we were there. Taking classes made it easier to get permits to dive Sipadan as well. It is generally necessary to book arrangements at least a month in advance because the Malaysian government only issues 120 dive permits per day, which it evenly distributes amongst all the dive agencies in the area.

 Aerial view of Sipidan (I did not take this shot)

So what makes Sipadan so special? Sipadan island was formed over thousands of years as a coral bed grew on top of an extinct volcano. Being situated on top of a volcano, once you are off the island, there is a sharp and almost immediate drop off to the oceanic plate.  This differs greatly from the other islands in the area, which sit in shallower water on the continental plate.

 Diagram showing just how dramatic the drop-off is at Sipadan

In effect, as you dive, you are swimming along a nearly vertical wall of coral that goes down further than you can see. Located in one of the richest marine habitats in the world, it is home to thousands of marine species and is known for its schools of barracuda, hammerhead sharks, as well as green and hawksbill turtles.

Sipadan is about an hour's boatride off the coast of Semporna, which, to be honest, is pretty much a dirty run-down town. Most people do not spend any time in Semporna, staying at one of the resorts on a nearby island instead. We would have done the same, but the shop with the best teaching reputation happens to be situated in Semporna. Oh well, I don't like beautiful island resorts anyway. We did, however, get to stay in an over-water bungalow of sorts. The entire hotel was situated on stilts in the water, and was actually a cool concept if you ignored how disgustingly polluted the water was. The bathroom was also pretty cringe-worthy, with no actual shower stall and no drain, so the water (including any soaps) went straight into the ocean below... no wonder the water looks so disgusting. It was kinda amusing, given our glamorous three days in Moorea.

The first two days of diving were dedicated to completing our Advanced Open Water certification and were to be done at islands other than Sipidan. Most people complain because dive shops, due to the limited number of permits, require divers to sign up for a series of dives in other locations in order to do Sipadan. Thus we were not expecting spectacular diving for our first two days.

In order to complete our certification we had do some book work and perform five Adventure Dives. Two of the dives are required for completion: Navigation Dive (you swim around with a compass) and Deep Dive (you go down to 100 feet). You are able to choose from a series of options for your other three dives. We chose to do a Night Dive and a course called a Peak Performance Buoyancy for two of our other dives. Buoyancy control is one of the most important aspects of diving, as it helps you control your movement through the water. For our third dive, I chose to do Photography and Jeff did some boring one that had to with diving at different depths and then figuring out how long you had to be out of the water and blah blah blah blah.

Our first day was packed with four dives at four different sites. Luckily, our instructor, Graham, did not dedicate too much time to the different tasks involved in the Adventure dives, and instead spent much of the time showing us all of the amazing life that could be found around the different sites. Graham did an outstanding job of pointing out different creatures we would never have seen without his help. Both Jeff and I were blown away by the amount we saw on that first day. We saw rockfish, crocodile fish, lionfish, two huge cuddlefish protecting their eggs, and countless other fish. Everywhere we looked there were fish. We also found a few huge green turtles napping on the ocean floor. And when I say "huge" I mean gigantic; I could have curled up and taken a nap on one of their backs.

When we returned after our Night Dive that evening, we were surprised when Graham asked us if we would like to complete the rest of our Advanced Open Water dives at Sipadan the next day. Of course Jeff and I jumped on the chance to dive Sipadan for two days.

How did we get so lucky? Well, apparently back in 2000, 21 people were kidnapped on Sipadan by a Filipino Islamic terrorist group due to territorial disputes that have existed for some time between Malaysia and the Philippines. Ever since then, so we were told, Australia periodically issues travel warnings for the area, citing terrorist activity. When this happens, the number of divers apparently plummets. This leaves many dive shops scrambling to fill spaces. Thus we got lucky and only had to pay an extra 50 ringets (less than twenty dollars) to dive Sipadan for two days instead of one; something many people would kill to do.

So the next day we made the hour trip out to the fabled island. Let me say, it did not disappoint. As Jeff so eloquently put it, "everywhere you look there's life! And then there's more life living on that life, and life chasing that life!"

That's Sipadan behind Jeff

Because I was getting my Photography certification, I rented out the shop's underwater camera for the two days we were there and had the most amazing time taking photographs of the area. Coming up with good photos underwater is not easy. However, I did manage to get some that I have put in this post. I don't think Jeff enjoyed my picture-taking all that much, because I was in my own little world once I got that camera in my hands. Jeff had to constantly try to get my attention to not go so deep. Well, it's not my fault you have to get as close as possible to your subject to even have a chance of having a decent picture. Oh the poor sharks in that area, as I kept swimming frantically after them to get their pictures. The turtles were quite patient with me. Fish, however, are almost impossible to get a perfect picture of. They wont stay still. Very annoying.

After our two surreal days diving around Sipadan we both are left wondering if we will ever dive in another place as amazing?

Please note that I have tried to control myself here. I think I have over 200 pictures and would put them all up if I could:

Trying to give you an idea of the dramatic landscape:

All the amazing flora and coral:

So many fish!

I probably have a million barracuda shots:

I have so many good turtle shots, it was hard to narrow them down as much as I did:

And here are some other cool shots:

A crazy clam

 Can you spot the fish?

Lobster

Shark

Cowtail ray. This thing was huge!

Me behind the ray

Me behind a whitetip reef shark - that's Jeff right beside me in the back and then some guy that apparently thought we wanted him in the picture as well.

Moray eel

Lionfish

Me swimming beside a turtle

A batfish being cleaned (see the small fish around the gills)

Jeff completing one of the tasks for our Deep Water Adventure Dive

At the end of our last dive