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Part 4 Nunez Shoal and Calangaman Island
These two spots represent what I felt was probably some of the best diving in the area. You have to hit it at the right time though. I made two trips there during my stay in Malapascua. Great visibility both times. The first trip on the first day I was there was probably a highlight to my entire stay in the Philippines.
Nunez Shoal and Calangaman Island are fairly near each other. We left around 10:30 AM as I recall (sorry I should have written the times down). Because of the distance, this is a two tank trip.
The sun was shining as we headed towards Nunez Shoal for the first dive. Near the beginning of the trip out we saw a pod of dolphins. That seemed like a good omen. Turned out to be the only dolphins I saw the whole time I was there, but thats okay:-) We were a group of about nine divers. One group from Europe, a family of four from Singapore, and myself.
I actually remember the moment when I was on my first dive that morning at Monad Shoal when I felt myself start to relax and get into the trip. It's something that I am starting to become aware of when I take my vacations. A moment when I feel myself begin to relax. This is why we take vacations to get away, to unwind, to relax, to enjoy. Not to say that I don't enjoy my life in Japan or my life in general, but it's really nice to get away :-)
As we aproached Nunez Shoal we took our cue from our guide and began suiting up. After we arrived the guide gave his brief and then we began approaching the bow of the boat two at a time to enter the water. One of the boatment would assist you with your tank. You would put on your fins and mask, stand up, take a step to the edge, and then step off into the water. Once everyone was in the water we descended together.
At 12:34 in the afternoon of my first day, I was making my second dive. I was immediately struck by how clear the water was. Visibility was over 60 feet. Perhaps after diving in Japan all summer where a good day would be 15-20 feet visibility had an effect, but I thought this was really cool. We descended to the bottom, a short swim and we were over the edge of the wall which dropped much deeper than we could see.
I was reminded right at the beginning how deceptive things can be when diving a wall. I rolled over on my back to shoot up at the other divers. Before I realized it I was below a 100 feet! I put a little air in my BC and kicked back up. My dive ended up averaging 56 feet... I have nothing against deep diving, if there is a reason, but it cuts into your bottom time to much :-))
There were lots of nice corals, good fish life, the usual assortment... Lionfish, emperors, wrasse, angelfish, sweetlips, parrotfish, etc.... A very enjoyable dive.
When getting back on the boat there is basically two procedures. You can hand your weights, up to the boat crew, then remove your BC/Tank and they will also take that. Then swim over to the ladder, hand up your fins, and then climb the ladder. The second way was to just go to the ladder, hand up your fins and then climb up while still wearing your tank.
I preferred the second method, especially if the water was rough. As I think I've already mentioned the weather was not always the best while I was there. We were still able to dive usually, but I found that keeping my mask on and my regulator in my mouth went a long way in preventing me from inhaling water while trying to ascend the ladder :-)) I also felt the extra weight made me more stable on the ladder as I climbed up. There was always someone from the boat crew there to assist as you came up the ladder.
After the first dive we proceeded to Calangaman Island where we anchored just off-shore. There were several fishing boats nearby. We watched as they pulled their nets in. Some people ate if they had brought a lunch, and others, went for a swim. If you want lunch, you have to make sure you make arrangements ahead. I think some people ordered their lunch through the dive shop and others just had the restaraunt at their hotel prepare one for them.
After about an hour and a half surface interval, we started gearing up again. Another brief, by our guide and repeated the procedure from earlier. My next dive started at 3:19 PM.
Again, great visibility, lots of different kinds of coral, fish life was good, and another nice wall dive.
After the dive we headed back, arriving around 6PM. I was told that it was to late for a night dive. I think there was a little confusion there. It wasn't to late for a night dive, but it was to late for the Mandarinfish. You have to be there at dusk to catch them. I let it go, it had been a long day.
My second trip to Nunez Shoal and Calangaman Island was a week later on October 31st. Was still good, but had to fight strong current on both dives getting over to the wall. Weather was also rougher that day. The group was larger and we had more guides that day.
I was working on my Rescue Diver course and we were going to work scenarios at the end of each dive. Saw a really nice flutefish, but didn't get any good pictures.
The strong current added perhaps a little more realism than I would have liked :-)) We came up a little earlier than the rest of the group. I had to work through unresponsive diver on the bottom and the surface a few times and then get them on the boat. Then I had to deal with first aid, CPR, etc...
In between while anchored in a sheltered spot near Calangaman Island we practiced over and over unresponsive diver on the surface. This required simulated rescue breathing while getting them to the boat and out of their gear. I spent pretty much the whole surface interval in the water practicing.
After we moved over to the other side of the island to start our dive. Found two really nice nudibranch's on the wall. Current was there, but not as strong as it had been at Nunez. At the end of the dive I practiced search techniques and then un-responsive diver on the bottom. Getting them to the surface, and to the boat. Playing out the scenario on the boat and what to do.
After getting everyone back on we headed back. I took off from the night dive, it had been a very long day starting at 5:30 AM when I went out to Monad (saw two Threshers that day). I had bookwork and knowledge reviews to work on, so I took a small break....
Part Five Bantigue, Tapilon Wreck, Lighthouse Reef/Wreck
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My next dive on the 25th after the morning shark dive was Bantigue. After the morning Thresher Shark Dive at Monad Shoal, I had gone back to Hippocampus for breakfast. Then it was back to the dive shop where I met with my instructor Steve who would be taking me through my Nitrox and Wreck specialties and Rescue Diver.
I really think that I got lucky with Steve and his girlfriend Mal being there. Steve is from Australia and Mal from Sweden. They met while going through Divemaster/Instructor training. They had been moving around the last several years, having done time in the Mediterranean, Carribean and the last few years working on a live-aboard operating in the Red Sea. Very personable, knowlegeble, and experienced. I couldn't have asked for more. As it turned out the regular instructor was out sick. Steve and Mal were helping out while they're waiting for their work permits to go through as they have just been hired to work a live-aboard in Palau. Steve does incredible video work. He had done a promo for the dive shop and he would also put together a trip video also for anyone who wanted a memento. Mal is a really great photographer and gave me some really good tips that helped me a lot. I would log a lot of dives with them over the next week and a half. Really good people. I'm hoping to be able to go to Palau at some point to dive with them again. Mal usually played the "victim" during my Rescue practices and scenario's.
A little after 11 I headed out to Bantique for a dive. I was in the water at 11:31 and out at 12:32 diving 32% Nitrox. It had been recommended to me that I dive Nitrox because of all the diving I had planned. One of my buddies in the dive club told me that the extra oxygen would keep me from being tired... I don't know... maybe. I did a lot of diving in Moalboal also in a short period of time on air and still felt okay. I had planned on diving Nitrox for the trip and to leave my computer set on air for the last day before I left to give myself some extra safety margin.
Maximum depth at Bantigue was 49 feet, with an average of 36 feet. Not a really deep dive. Visibility was easily over 50 feet. At Bantigue there was lots of small stuff. I found three baby lionfish underneath an outcrop of coral... not a good angle to get a picture though. Lots of gobie, clownfish, damselfish, pipefish, a thornyback cowfish which looked just like the ones we have in Japan and a seamoth which I had never seen before. Also the largest nudibranch I have ever seen. It was several inches across and actually as it turned out was capable of swimming through the water... very cool.
The next dive of the day was at the Tapilon Wreck. In at 3:46, out at 4:24 PM. This is a WW II Japanese wreck. It's pretty much been blown to hell. The bow actually points off at an angle from the stern. Not only a wreck dive but a fairly deep one also. The wreck sits in just over 90 feet of water. I was diving 32% Nitrox. Visibility was not as good, maybe the worst that I experienced during my trip, probably 20-25 feet. This was the first Wreck dive for my course. Steve also had an AOW student along also.
I found a nice nudibranch. There was a huge school of barracuda that seemed to call the wreck home. Also saw a small lionfish and various other fish life. The next morning on my second dive there also saw a sea snake and remoras. I had not seen remoras before that weren't "attached" to something... I was a little worried they might try to attach to me :-)) There might be the possibility of a "limited" penetration from the stern which is open, but I don't know that it would be worth it.
Lighthouse Reef, is where you find the Mandarinfish. You have to be there at dusk though. If you get there to late then you're not going to see it. Once it's full dark then they dissappear. It's close to shore, only about 10 minutes by boat from the dive shop. It's also a shallow dive. I made four dives there and my maximum depth was only 36 feet.
On my first night dive the same day of my first dive at Tapilon, we got there to late for the Mandarinfish.... It was still a nice night dive though. Saw an octopus, different types of crabs, seahorses, and bigeyes, which I could never get a good picture of. On other night dives there I also saw banded pipefish, a small Leaf Scorpionfish and even an Anemone Hermit Crab and of course the Mandarinfish mating ;-) Visibility was usually over 30 feet... could have been more, but most of my dives there were at night.
Lighthouse is also where I got up close and maybe a little two personal with a sea urchin. I managed to move into it while maneuvering for a picture and got stuck good in my right hand. I was stuck in four places and in two of them the spine broke off. Stung like the dickens :-)) I decided at that point that 55 minutes was enough for a dive and my dive guide and I headed for the boat, doing a "swimming" safety stop at 15 feet.
The next day after a second dive at Tapilon where I had to work on mapping, we made a dive on the Japanese wreck at Lighthouse. It's a very shallow wreck, close in to the beach... maximum depth 17 feet. The main purpose was to practice running lines. The wreck is very open. Nothing left really but the shell, so it's not an overhead environment by any stretch of the imagination. First I practiced running lines on the surface, then below. There is enough of the wreck there to have things to tie off to. There was a juvenile lionfish inside the wreck and also a small anemone, with a tiny clownfish to go with it :-)
Part Seven North Point, Chocolate Island, Dona Marilyn, Gato Island
On the 28th we had rough seas. We did make it out for the afternoon Manta Ray dive at Monad, but that was the only dive that day. It was a very "wet" ride out and back. Pretty good current to :-D Earlier I practiced Rescue skills off the beach in front of the dive shop, so it wasn't a totally wasted day :-))
On the 29th we went to North Point. We were in the water at 11:06 AM. This dive was made a little shorter so I could practice Rescue skills. I was warned ahead of time that anything could happen so I was watching. Little things like Steve's tank coming unfastened :-))
I wasn't too surprised towards the end of the dive when Steve swam up and signalled "out of air" and we buddy breathed to the surface. It's a little trick to buddy breathe with someone while maintaining a safety stop in open water and deploying an SMB at the same time :-) I found my habit of never using the anchor or mooring line to hang on to during my safety stop (unless there was a strong current) paid off now. Deploying an SMB from depth though is something I'm still trying to perfect :-)) I hadn't actually practiced deploying it since I got it, so the Rescue course gave me a perfect opportunity to practice under "realistic" conditions :-)) Steve gave me some really good tips which of course as the instructor he was supposed to
North Point is a nice little dive. Maximum depth was 63 feet, with an average depth of 42 feet. Visibility that day was was 30-35 feet+... not bad considering the rain and bad weather we'd been having. Lots of coral heads to move around. Nice fish life.. lots of clownfish and saw several nudibranch. Steve found a nice black one with red dots all over it for me and I spied another one on the move underneath an overhang. I was practicing manual white balance, always trying on every dive to improve and practice my photography skills.
That afternoon we went to Chocolate Island. No underwater pictures here. This was all Rescue dive. This was all about practicing search patterns which I did for 53 minutes :-D. We were in at 3:37 and out at 4:30PM. My maximum depth was only 18 feet with an average depth of 7 feet ;-) Looked like some nice fish life and I saw several sea snakes, and there was a lots of nice corals, wth channels and crevasses. My focus, though was playing out scenarios with a "diver who has lost his buddy". Visibility was not particularly good, around 20 feet, which made finding the "lost buddy" a little more difficult.
The 29th was the day that I got stuck by the sea urchin during the night dive at Lighthouse.
The next morning on the 30th after diving Monad where I saw a nice Neon Slug (didn't like my picture though), had breakfast and worked on finishing up bookwork for my Nitrox course. Late morning we headed out to the Dona Marilyn.
The Dona Marilyn was a passenger ferry that sunk in 1988 when it was caught in a typhoon. It sunk stern first taking 389 people with it. Only 147 survived. 1988 Pacific typhoon season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We were in the water at 12:21 PM and we were using 32% Nitrox. Visibility that day was over 30 feet. The boat dropped a shot line down to the wreck and we followed it down. There was some current that day but it wasn't bad. My maximum depth was 100 feet. Averge depth was 47', but I hung out for a while at 15 feet waiting for people to get on the boat. It was Steve's second time diving the wreck. The dive plan was to make a penetration, conditions and air supply permitting. It would be my call as this was my "final" for my Wreck Diving Specialty course. Penetration was not required to pass the course.
The ship is lying on it's starboard side in just over a 100 feet of water. It had lots of soft corals, small fish, sea urchins, all over the wreck. I saw a school of striped catfish. Steve, Mal, and myself descended to near the bottom and then worked our way along looking for a good place to penetrate. We eventually found a place to penetrate, but when I looked at my gauge I had used almost a 1000 psi. I was just over 2000 psi. The "rule of thirds" applies just as much in Wreck diving as it does in Cavern diving which I'm also certified in. I had started with 3000 psi. I'll admit there was a temptation (just for a moment ) to make a "limited" penetration, I opted not to. We continued to work our way around the wreck which was covered in soft corals and had plenty of fish life. We found another good penetration spot at a depth of around 60 feet. With a wreck that is over 300 feet long this is normal. One might have to make more than one dive to "survey" the wreck and then make a plan.
We were out of the water at 1:01 PM. Steve and I both talked about it after we were back on the boat. I think had I had more time in Malpascua we would have made a penetration on the next dive, but now I was getting close to end of my time in Malapascua. There were other places yet to dive in the Philippines and as it turned out not a place that I had planned on, but a place I kept hearing about after I got to the Philippines.
After the Dona Marilyn we headed for Gato Island. When we reached Gato again I had Rescue practice during the surface interval. Then Steve gave me a break and told me that this would be a fun dive. We started our dive at 2:59 PM. Visibility was 25 feet +. Maximum depth was 62 feet, but our average was only 31 feet.
There were lots of nice coral heads and "canyons" in between the coral heads to swim through. Good fish life. I found a nice zebra lionfish underneath an overhang. Also a hawkfish and various other reef fish... the usual suspects wrasse, angelfish, anthias..... We found a cave that was full of Whitetip Reef Sharks. Unfortunately, my flash was back in my room on charge, so no pictures :-( On the return to the boat we saw two nice cuttlefish. Ended up with a bottom time of exactly 60 minutes
On my second trip to Gato 2 days later I only made one dive. Lots of nice fish life again. During the second dive when the rest of the group went into the tunnel underneath the island I was finishing up my Rescue scenario's. Steve could tell that I was dissapointed about not making the second dive and offered to do the dive and finish up scenarios the following day, but I knew I needed to finish. That turned out to be a good decision as I don't think we would have finished in time the next morning to make our transportation back to Cebu.
So that's it for the "diving" portion for Malpascua :-)
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A few more shots from Malapascua....
I didn't talk much about how I spent my off time... mainly because there was so little of it. Bookwork took up a lot of my spare time. Doing three courses was probably a little optimistic on my part. I think I was glad when I finished them all
Most of the places along the beach like Hippocampus, Cocobana, Bluewater and Sunsplash were a little pricey for things like breakfast (although the view was nice). Breakfast would run 150-190 pesos. I could go to Ging-Gings which was on the main path that ran behind the resorts and dive shops on the beach and have breakfast for half that. You could also let them know what you wanted for dinner when you went in for breakfast and they would make sure to purchase fresh ingredients for your dinner that night. More than once I ran a tab there, because they were often short of change. This was not really uncommon. I bought a t-shirt from someone right next to Hippocampus. When I didn't have change they said it was okay, just bring it when I had it. I was diving a lot so it ended up being a few days before I saw them out again. The woman said she never worried about it. Her husband was a dive guide at Sea Explorers and her brother-in-law was one of my dive guides at Thresher Shark Divers. The bar above Thresher Shark Divers was open everynight after we came back from the last dive of the day. 2 for 1 during Happy Hour :-). Sometimes we'd have a beer there then go to Ging-Gings for dinner. By then it was time to go to bed since we had to get up early for the morning shark dive. There was an internet place at the Japanese restaraunt. Internet could be unreliable (one night I gave up after about 10 minutes) and it was always slow. I only used the internet three times in the nine days I was there.
I had wanted to go and see the cockfights while I was there having never seen them before. Mal who is a vegetarian told Steve that she was all in favor of cockfights now after having to listen to the roosters crowing every morning (and half the night) :-)) Steve and I often joked about eating chicken since the more chicken we ate, theoretically the less roosters there would be crowing :-)) The chicken curry at Ging-Gings is very good by the way
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and here are a few more photos from Malapascua...
a few more photos from Malapascua...
