Category: Diving

I’m off to dive (finally, a recreational dive trip) at end of the month – 8 of us. I can hardly wait. I have not been to this particular island since the dive season began, and am looking forward to going back there.

I am also planning to do my 3D/2N free dive trip (sans billet d’avion, of course) to Sipadan Water Village the following weekend (hopefully). Go on a Friday evening and return on a Monday. Put up a night in Tawau on Friday, get to Semporna and Mabul on Saturday, do my 3 dives on Saturday and 2 on Sunday and chill. Then on Monday afternoon leave for Semporna/Tawau and catch a flight back. Return flight should cost me around RM400 and a night in Semporna for around RM100 plus breakfast. So, that’s a RM500 trip to Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai when it should cost at least triple that for the same duration.

Not bad.

So, who’s gonna buddy me on this trip?

Visakha Bucha is on Monday, and everyone will be on leave. Everyone but me…and Azizul. Received a the day before yesterday from my principal that a client wants divers to unclog one of the outlet valves of a dam north of here. Initially, I called Nik to act as my backup diver but Nik already has a job with PETRONAS Melaka. So, I had to rope in Azizul. Luckily he is not going anywhere this weekend. Both Azizul and Nik have done underwater jobs with me; the last Nik did with me was the structural inspection in Kemasin back in December 2007, while Azizul’s last with me was for the deployment of artificial reefs mid of last year. So I have asked Azizul to get his equipment ready for Monday’s one-day deployment.

Then on Tuesday most probably, I will have to act as a safety diver at Redang island for this one company that will be doing some underwater activity. This will be a two-day deployment I was told. So hopefully I’ll be back on Thursday, hopefully for some Thursday-Night-Friday activity.

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

I sit here and read status updates on my friends’ Facebook profile. Almost all are either already diving somewhere, or going diving tonight. Yesterday, Boatman called me up telling me how diving has been great in Perhentian. Yesterday morning, some friends text me that they were boarding either a speedboat, or a ferry somewhere – all island bound.

Yes, I know I always do that to other divers. I am guilty of spending every weekend diving back in 2005/2006, and spending long durations on islands in 2007, and diving when others don’t, such as during the fasting month and on Hari Raya.

This year, apart from doing jobs underwater, I have only gone on a dive trip ONCE! And I have yet to go back to Perhentian. Well, the last time I was in Perhentian it was during Hari Raya – it was sunny the first day I was there, then it rained like mad, as it did then in my heart – the very reason I went to dive on a Hari Raya.

Perhentian has improved a lot since my first dives there: seahorses, more sharks, marine life in abundance, fantastic marine life at the Sugar Wreck, including occasional sightings of Blacktip Reef Sharks. Come to think of it, almost everywhere has been the same lately.

I have to go back to Perhentian for a recreational dive trip very soon – and I will also need to go and do dives using the Yellow-Box-Of-Death (YBOD) in Tioman. I need more underwater photographs, and I need them soon.

And I can hardly wait…

I received this a moment ago on Facebook:

Greg S. Garthak

2:51pm Apr 24th
the Repulse trip is the 26-30 of Apr. I’m shooting for 3 dives a day on 26, 27 come back refit on 27 the back out 28,29,30 3 dives a day. Your gas mix is ready for you to dive and payment received. Just let me know if you’re coming so we can arrange for your ferry ticket.

Maybe I should just go…

I woke up this morning and noticed that there was no electricity. As such, I couldn’t shave as the bathroom has no window, and it was dark. I couldn’t see satu benda berdarah. I couldn’t see how much toothpaste had gone onto the brush. Terrible. Apparently the whole island was without electricity for an hour.

Balistoides viridescens.

Beautiful fish, but I hate it.

I was leading a group of divers in strong current, and turned around to count the number of divers. When I turned around to start swimming again, there it was…right in front of me. The sickening smiling face with a false moustache, grinning its Nosferatu-like teeth. It also goes by its uncommon name: Moustache Triggerfish. Otherwise, it is commonly known, among Malaysian divers especially, as the Titan Triggerfish.

I whacked its head once with my camera, then I punched it, before whacking it using my fins. It swam away, and attacked the others.

Twice we were attacked by two different Titans. During the other attack, one of the divers thought that the divers who frantically swam past him were racing to pose for his camera. When they gestured to him using their hands to tell him there was a Titan behind him, he thought they asked him to take more and more photos. I took a photo of him as the Titan approached behind him with its trigger raised. That was the last moment before he was attacked by the little bugger.

Current was strong on the surface, we had to sail to pick up three divers who had drifted away. I called off the next dive because it was getting dangerous.

Anyway, I did not take that many photos that I can share with you today. Certain parts of the training were classified so I cannot post them online. So, please enjoy looking at the ones I took during the last dive.

Dang! I really miss someone.

Evening traffic

Cameraman on the left didn’t know why these guys were swimming so fast away from

And this was his last moment before he was attacked

Doing my deco stop alone…all the rest have gone up

Looking stern at the stern

Sunset for the day

The day started early for me.

Well, real early.

I had a tough time trying to sleep because of the din my roommate was making as he blared away announcements through his nasal tannoy. In the end it was almost 3am that I got to sleep. Then I was awakened at 4am by a text message from my telco about some money-saving deal. At around 5am, I got up again because my mobile phone had dropped from the bed. I must have pushed it off the bed as I had my pillow over my left ear (I was sleeping on my left – must be a newly-acquired habit). Finally at 6.30am, my phone’s alarm went off signalling 30 minutes to get working.

I lay-in bed after waking up my roommate asking him to go to the bathroom first to settle whatever he’d have to settle then, before my turn came at 6.45am. I quickly showered, donned my rashguard and shorts and made my way to the coffee house. Then it was all training discussions over breakfast. I received a call from ASP Rosman, Officer Commanding ‘Bravo’ Squadron, of the VAT 69 (police commandos). I haven’t spoken to him since I left the service and he sounded happy to hear my voice again, even calling me “Commando 69’s favourite son” because when I was in the armed forces, I would always invite them to participate in our exercises; be it for diving or parajumping. He’s asked me to visit him in Hulu Kinta anytime soon.

I went down to see Yusof taking the trainees for their physical training, while I just did some Yoga stretchings. You cannot exercise much before, between, and after dives, for fear of getting decompression illnesses. After breakfast and briefing, I went down with the first group to train them on using the Interspiro full-face mask at 6 meters. A few were comfortable but there were those who ripped the mask of at the slightest problem to equalise. The Interspiro has such high air volume within the mask that it keeps tugging the head upwards; and because it is impossible to pinch your nose when you use one, equalisation can be a hassle…well, not that I have any of those problems. After that I took them to the threshold of their training: 18 meters (although when alone I went down to 27 meters…dark, cold, silent and eerie; meeting “Big Guys” with nasty teeth. Just the way I love it). So for both teams I had to do this.

In the hurry to get the mask off their face, they forgot to secure the nose-piece inside the mask and caused this RM200 odd piece of thing to disappear beneath the waves; not forgetting the fact that one of them managed to destroy a RM4K piece of government-owned equipment due to carelessness.

In the afternoon, after lunch, the other instructors and I, lay down on the coffee house’s floor and slept for about half an hour. Later, a course was conducted on radio protocols, before we headed out to sea again to train these guys on underwater communications.

During the last two dives, I farted underwater quite a lot. Must have been the broccoli with sambal belacan that I whacked during lunch.

After completing the dives, I was on the phone when someone I was talking to might have heard me tell my colleague, “Take him out to sea and make sure he drowns.” It was one of the divers who’s not quite up to par with the rest, and I wanted him to have more dives even though it was getting dark. Yeah, someone has to be the sadistic instructor.

Hmm…I really miss someone badly. Yeah…terribly. 😦

I managed to find 4 nudibranches playing choo-choo-train underwater. Oh, I also remember telling someone that we were also busy playing with friendly sharks. So here are some pics:

Big guy swimming near us

Let’s go closer and see if he wants to play

Ah! He does want to play!

Come closer, baby!

A school of what???

Ooooo…a school of Chevron Barracudas

Someone asked me how is the visibility…well, here’s a pic taken at Labas

Taken at Panuba house reef

Taken at Panuba house reef

Ready to dive

I made this guy gear up and pose for me in the hot sun

SeaDemon’s around???

Hello!

“Hey, bro! let’s see what’s on the left side of this sandy patch!”

My leaking left tank valve

“Hi, there!”

Sunset on Wednesday 2nd April 2008

Today was a bit hectic as compared to yesterday. I have been diving using the Kirby Morgan KM-48 full-face mask. Tomorrow I will have to assist in teaching some 20 members of the Fire and Rescue Department divers to use their Interspiro full-face mask. Most have not used a full-face dive mask and those who have cannot equalise well when they dive deep.

During the administration briefing earlier this afternoon, I emphasised on discipline, teamwork and cooperation. We hid an important equipment that they have forgotten to store in a safe place, and ordered for a full layout of survival kit. Only then did they realise. This time around, they were let off with a warning. The next time, this smiling me may not be so forgiving, and this is sanctioned by their Chief Dive Officer. Tomorrow morning, Yusof is going to take them for some physical training at 7am. I’ll be ragging them underwater at 9.30am. Now, I would love to see who panics underwater when I start ripping off masks whenever they commit the simplest of mistakes. It is my belief that, as lifesavers, they must have a penchant for details and safety. So my job is to instill this into them. No more melayu civil servant mentality when the public look up to them to be saved and so on. However, to be fair to them, they are a good lot. But it is just me as the sickening training officer: the kind who can share sweets with you and whack the back of your head at the same time.

However, I love diving with the wireless underwater communications set. The clarity is superb that I sang songs to the Surface Controller from underwater. However, it also picks up high-pitch engine noise from surface vessels above that I went deeper to avoid being hit by them. Good early warning.

And, oh, the blardy leak on the neck at the base of the left tank’s valve is leaking very prominently. I lose air a lot from it at greater depths. How am I supposed to dive this tank when I do the deep dives at HMS Banka? Hmm…

Let me share with you some pics…ones I have managed to upload using this narrow broadband.

Deja vu

Both were doing something on their respective notebook

Sunset on the first day

Morning on the second day

We were hungry in between dives, so Yoi made us some Koter Anjing Goreng

Communications units

Kirby Morgan KM-48 full-face mask

An Interspiro full-face mask

One of our dive boats – a Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB)

Yusof giving an admin brief, Navy style

My twin-tanks set-up with the KM-48 mask

Sunset…it is time to dive

Good guys wear black and dive in the dark

End of another day…