Under the Sea

I spent three hours underwater today and two and half yesterday. I am slowly growing gills, as it should be. The diving here in Mabul/Sipadan is really good. The visibility is a bit reduced because of last week’s storms, but the storms didn’t reduce the fantastic amount and diversity of sea life I’ve seen. We’re still a bit limited in the dive sites we can visit because of currents, but everything seems to be calming down so hopefully more areas will be safe to dive.

Mabul, where the oil rig platform-come-resort is stationed, is known as a “muck dive” because there is always a lot of sediment in the water and the visibility is never great. But all that sediment means bajillions of little filter feeders, reef fish, and other critters. I’ve seen several species of sponges, nudibranchs, Christmas tree worms, soft coral, and anemones, plus many types of angel fish, clown fish, pygmy sea horses, damsel fish, gobies, you name it. It is a little weird to see some of the species I used to have in my aquarium as a teenager.

Sipadan is a limestone pillar and not part of the submerged mountain range that makes up the other islands in the park. There is a wall that drops to several hundred meters, and because Sipadan is exposed to the open ocean there is an even greater diversity of marine life present. On my second dive this morning, I saw seven green turtles and a school of barracuda. I also saw three species of shark – grey reef, white tip, and nurse. And more sponges and nudibranchs and coral and soft coral and other fish and even four mermaids.

Enough of the biology lesson. I’m pretty happy with the rig. It is well equipped (even has internet), and the staff is professional, friendly, and laid back. The food is plentiful and very tasty. There is also a karaoke room, but I decline to participate. From the sun deck I can see the other (nicer, more expensive) resorts on Mabul Island itself, but I’m glad to be here b/c I’m saving some cash and there is just something cool about being on a reconverted oil platform. Plus, who needs a beach?

The other divers are in general pretty good. This morning I was with a group about my skill level (advanced open water with 50+ dives). Yesterday I was with three Japanese who have about 2,000 dives between them. They were very friendly and excellent divers. To perpetuate stereotypes about tourists of particular nationalities, each of them had a very expensive underwater digital camera and snapped away throughout the dives. It was kind of annoying, actually, b/c I was trying to commune with nature while they were shoving the macro lens in the pygmy sea horses’ faces.

Currently on board there is a film company based in Cape Town who was hired to do a promotional video for Seaventures. I’m in some of the shots, such as the lunch shot, the signing the dive log book shot, the lift going down to the boat shot, and the recently completed karaoke room bar shot. The staff easily bribed me with a beer to participate b/c they needed “more Europeans” in the frame. Their words, not mine. Look for me in a feature film in the near future.

Tomorrow, more diving.