Just a short post today since I didn't compose it ahead of time.
We had 3 amazing dives today before lunch at Sipidan Island, a national park preserve for which we each had to have a permit to visit.
In order to squeeze that many dives in, we had to be at the dive center at 4:55 AM. (omigosh. Why do we always choose hobbies that require early rising???)
The point of getting out early was to arrive at the island (30 min away) by sunrise, because that's when the Bumphead Parrotfish, an endangered species, migrate from the island out to sea.
As soon as we dropped down, we saw 6 of them whiz by. They're very large fish compared to most reef fish -- about 4-5 feet long. The reason they're endangered is because they're tasty and have been overfished. But at the park, they're protected.
In addition to those fish we saw lots of yellowtail barracudas, one Great Barracuda that was bigger than any of us and had scary teeth, a gazillion sea turtles, and many white tip reef sharks, mostly juveniles.
In fact, we sank down to where one 5-foot shark was resting (at 81 feet) and got to pet it! It was so dormant, it didn't react for a long time. Super fun!
When we got to the top of the reef, we saw so many thousands of fish that it's impossible for me to describe what it was like beyond saying it was truly wonderful. Definitely worth the trip!
I'll try uploading a few photos, and then head back to the room to rest a bit before the next dive. Thanks for your comments on my previous post.
The resort
The village
Afternoon View
Glad you're experiencing good weather for this trip! Keep us posted on all.
Posted by: Kathleen & Stephen | February 26, 2012 at 07:14 PM
Sounds absolutely awesome! Can't wait for the pictures that will follow. I'm with you - that's way too early to get up for a hobby but the sights you're seeing are well worth it.
Posted by: Nancy | February 27, 2012 at 09:20 AM
This sounds and looks amazing. Thanks for the updates. Can't wait for more.
Posted by: Jeremy | February 27, 2012 at 04:57 PM
Also... 80 feet down? That's pretty deep... How long did it take to decompress coming back up?
Posted by: Jeremy | February 27, 2012 at 04:59 PM
re: coming up -- we work our way up gradually, and always make a safety stop for 3 minutes at 15 feet just to make sure
Posted by: Mom | February 29, 2012 at 10:17 PM
The standard recommendations are that basic "open water divers" should not go deeper than 18 meters or 60 feet. "Advanced open water divers," such as ourselves, are permitted 30 meters or 100 feet. Of my 147 dives only 3 exceeded the 100 ft limit:
102 feet to see a pygmy sea horse in the Philippines and
105 and 111 feet on wreck dives in Roatan.
Being that deep is not innately dangerous, but is potentially for a couple reasons: The deeper you go, the greater risk of getting nitrogen narcosis, the less time one can stay before requiring decompression (which we are not trained in) and, of course, the farther the distance to the surface, should an emergency ascent be required. However, if being aware of those limitations, being cautious and having a dive buddy nearby, one can do this without significant risk.
Posted by: Dad | March 03, 2012 at 11:23 AM