Dive Report: Pulau Payar 9 December 2006

First Dive: Lembu Rocks
I dove Lembu Rocks on 5 November and the visibility has significantly degraded since then. There are thousands of what appear to be something in the jellyfish family in the water. They are about 6-12 cm in length and look something like worms and have translucent pearls, about 5-6 pearls per “jelly worm”. They don’t affect visibility but the fact they are there shows a current change and that means murky water.

As we headed deeper, circling the rocks and the visibility worsened so our divemaster took us to shallower parts at the base of the boulders. The visibility got better, about 5 meters or so and we saw a couple of moray eels. Near the end of the dive we saw something in the nudibranch family. It was about 10 cm long and brownish in colour. First time I had seen whatever critter it was. Just after that we were doing our “safety stop” by exploring the shallow areas of the rocks when we happened upon a turtle. I am not sure whether it was a green turtle or a hawksbill turtle but it was a juvenile, not full grown and the first I have seen a turtle in Payar waters. How do you tell the two species apart?

Second Dive: Coral Garden
This was an excellent dive. The visibility was about 8-10 meters the entire dive and it seemed like miles of vis compared to the murkiness we had experienced in the deeper waters around Lembu Rocks. It started out great as we saw a boxfish just after descending. That was followed by a nice hermit crab. As we headed up a slope, we could see a Napoleon or humpheaded wrasse in the shallower waters above us. It was almost 2 meters in length but never came down for a perfect viewing but close enough to enjoy it for 30 seconds or so.

We saw a several other interesting things during the dive, razor fish, puffer fish, a fish that camouflaged itself against the rock and a moray eel. Our divemaster petted the eel under the chin, something I disagree with and think that most things like that wind up “biting” someone in the end.

So, the visibility has degraded at Payar but I would rate both dives above average. Also, my divemaster said the jellyfish worms bring in whale sharks during the month of December so it might be a good time to try a dive at Segantang. I also met a guy named “Jack Dolphin” on the ferry who is a tour guide in Langkawi who said he could guarantee snorkeling with whale sharks and knew of several dolphins but couldn’t guarantee sightings of the dolphins. Rates were around RM220 for 6 hours. Email me if you are interested in his contact information. I want to try going up there and seeing whale sharks sometime in early 2007, maybe over Thaipusam holidays.

Comment from Scuba Explorers

When we started this blog, I wanted it to be a place where we could provide information to other divers. I knew that if I wrote a poor review of a dive operator, it could generate some heat but it could also be beneficial to those reading it. I reviewed Scuba Explorers and said they were OK but not spectacular and listed a couple of reasons for doing so. Charlie, the owner, commented on my review and I want to post it here so everyone can see it. I feel if he enacts the measures he says he will in the comment, then the blog will have served its purpose in being a knowledge centre for all divers, whether dive shop owners or dive master or divers.

He said:
Scuba Explorers and Tenggol Island Beach Resort are totally independent identity. The rates, both for diving and resort stay are predetermined by the resort and the operator Scuba Explorers have no say what so ever. Scuba Explorers cannot provide any discount with out consciences (consent) form the resort office form KL.

Scuba Explorers is starting out another operation in Pulau Tenggol independently, at a different resort at Tenggol Resort, Pulau Tenggol. The accomodations are also basic but at a cheaper rate and better customer service.

Although Scuba Explorers will still help out in Tenggol Island Beach Resort initially and on special request later on.

You can check out Scuba Explorers web page at http://www.scubaexplorers.com.my . The web site will also tell you how to get there.

2007 rates will be out soon.

I do ask this question, "If the resort and dive shop are "totally independent", then why can you not offer discounts unless the resort gives you permission?" Is this a common contract agreement because other dive shops have given discounts to divers.

We wish your new shop success and if you want specifics on how customer service can be upgraded, feel free to email.

PADI rescue diver-Emergency First Response

Tuesday night Shirish and I started our rescue diver course with PADI. One thing I had hoped to do was to go through the course with SSI or NAUI but it just didn’t work out. I have nothing against PADI but wanted to see what one of the other organisation’s training methods was like.

In PADI, you have to also certify as an Emergency First Response/Responder (EFR) or basically just get some training in fundamental first aid skills. The EFR training is not scuba specific, in fact, all the scenarios were from the office or other non-scuba situations. Overall, it is very valuable training.

A few months ago I was chatting with a friend and we were griping about Malaysian traffic. We then started talking about the high probability of seeing a road accident or coming upon one just a few moments after it had happened. I have a strong belief in “Be Prepared” so we talked with a friend of ours who used to be a paramedic in the UK and he conducted five 2 hour training sessions on the basics of first aid. The PADI EFR course covered most of what he taught us during those sessions.

The difference, I found, was the PADI session was conducted by a trainer who probably had never or only once or twice had to administer first aid in an emergency situation. When we trained with my friend, he obviously had been in hundreds of situations where he was part of a team administering first aid. Although the information wasn’t different, I found his sessions better than the PADI sessions.

Maybe I misunderstand the PADI EFR training but I believe it is a certification developed by PADI. Wouldn’t it be easier to outsource this training, and in the place of EFR require an internationally recognized certification that is conducted in a hospital, university, clinic, the Red Cross/Crescent or by the fire brigade? Then first aid professionals are training the students rather than someone who has studied first aid and rescue in theory only.

Here is a course syllabus for training through the Red Cross. This is a course in the US. An internet search for a similar course in Malaysia yielded no concrete results although Mercy Malaysia does have a training course for people going on its humanitarian missions.

CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer - 9 1/2 hours, $74

Our professional rescuer courses are designed for people who have a job-related duty to respond in an emergency. This course is known by other names such as BLS, Healthcare Provider CPR or “Level C” CPR.

Students who are required to take this level of training include nurses, law enforcement and EMS personnel, fire fighters, business and industry response teams, lifeguards, flight attendants, and others who must take action in emergency situations.

Upon completion participants will receive a one year certification in CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for the Professional Rescuer. The books and pocket masks used during the class are included in the fee and are the students’ to keep after the course.

Professional rescuers will learn how to:

• Recognize and provide care in respiratory and cardiac emergencies in adult, child and infant victims
• Perform two-rescuer CPR and techniques for special rescue situations
• Utilize techniques used in saving a victim of choking
• Use resuscitation masks and bag-valve-masks for ventilating victims
• Use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
• Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

I don’t want to be negative but I do want to think outside the box. I do appreciate what PADI is trying to do in training people in general first aid and applaud that effort. I just wonder if it isn’t easier to work in conjunction with the health care community to provide a higher level of training.

Dive Report: Pulau Payar-Sunday, 5 November 2006

This last Sunday, 5 November, the gang from Scubafiends headed out to Pulau Payar for a couple of dives. It had been a couple of months since our last dives so we were all starting to crave a fix of salt water and wanted to breathe some air from a tank.

The ferry trip out from Penang was slower than usual. We usually leave at 8:30 and arrive around 10 a.m. but on this trip the boat was packed with over 200 people, mostly from a Korean Lion’s club tour group. So, the boat never went fast and we just chugged along until we reached the island around 11 o’clock.

We transferred right away to East Marine’s large boat they use as their dive centre. Since the ferry was late, we were rushed to get our gear ready and into the smaller boat for transfer to the dive site. I understand the late arrival of the ferry made the rushing necessary but I hate that feeling of being pushed faster than I want to go. I want to take my time and enjoy the entire experience from beginning to end.

Our first dive was at Lembu Rocks. The visibility was outstanding for Payar, around 10 meters. There were four of us and a dive master, so 5 in all. We enjoyed taking our time and observing the marine life for long periods of time. We saw a pair of lionfish, a boxfish, several nudibranches and at least two species of triggerfish we hadn’t seen before. Since the dive was shallow, only around 18 meters, our bottom time was 45 minutes. This was a great dive and I think it was the first time any of us had dove Lembu Rocks despite the fact between the four of us we had logged 30 plus dives at Payar. Check it out next time you are there.

Then we headed back to the big boat and transferred to the shore for lunch. The box lunches they provide are just not very good. I didn’t eat mine and opted instead to have the watermelon and take pictures of the guys feeding the juvenile black-tip reef sharks. Always a tourist pleaser. Terror-terror!

Our second dive was at Coral Gardens. Definitely not the first time for us to dive this site. It seems to be nudibranch mating season. We spotted at least four pairs of nudibranches. Maybe they aren’t mating, but that was our guess. Could it be nudibranch fighting season? A batfish checked out for a few moments during our initial descent and there was a moray sighting about halfway through the dive. The visibility deteriorated a bit during the dive and at the end was about 5 meters.

As we headed back to Penang, we all wished that the ferry left a little later so we could have squeezed in a third dive. We had all enjoyed our day and the dives at Payar. The visibility is good for Payar and definitely worth your time if you are in the area. I can’t promise it will be this good in a month. Happy diving!

Dive Destination: Pulau Payar

Pulau Payar is located just over halfway between Langkawi and Penang and is a favourite with holidaymakers from all corners of the globe. While it doesn’t have the crystal clear waters of Terengganu or Pahang on the east coast, it does have unique attributes.

Perhaps the biggest asset that Pulau Payar has is ease of access. It is very easy to get up in Penang, head to your favourite mamak stall for roti canai, catch the ferry for Payar at 8:30 a.m., dive twice and be back in Penang for dinner at the famous hawker centre on Gurney drive. Most dive locations are quite remote, requiring a long flight or bus ride and then a choppy speedboat journey to the resort. The Penang-Langkawi ferry is posh compared to most of the speedboats plying the waters on the east coast of Malaysia.

The second asset Payar offers is marine life. I once spoke to an old fisherman who said, “God blesses some places with clear water and no fish and some places with murky water but loads of fish.” This comment often comes to mind when I am diving at Payar. No, the visibility isn’t great and, honestly, can be very bad some days, but the dive sites teeming with marine life. I dove Pulau Redang in April and then in early May dove Payar and saw more nudibranches at Payar, not to mention moray eels, soft coral, batfish and lobster. I thought then, “If Payar had the crystal clear waters of Redang, it would be a better dive site.” Rather than being someone who gripes about the poor visibility of Payar, I would rather appreciate what it does have, which is a large variety of marine life.

The downside to Payar is the aforementioned visibility conditions, which on bad days is 1 meter and on good days is 10 meters. Also sometimes frustrating and alarming are the crowds of people snorkeling. This isn’t usually a problem for divers because there are usually only a handful of divers (unless you are really unlucky and go on a day where a big tour group is diving). But there is usually a horde of snorkelers and they are not easy on the reef. Rumors have circulated for the last year about closing Payar for a period but it is a cash cow so that will probably never happen.

The last negative thing about Payar is the limited number of dive sites. Of course, you don’t go to Payar for 10 dives over four days, but there are only around six dive sites. There are four islands, Payar, Kaca, Lembu and the distant Segantang. The big island, Payar, has the sites Coral Garden, Japanese Garden and the House Reef. Coral Garden is a nice dive with lots of soft coral and a large variety of fish-life. House Reef and Japanese Garden are virtually the same site and usually the dives are long and shallow and so you cover both of them. Huge groupers and barracudas hang out near the dock or pier and juvenile black-tip reef sharks patrol the shallows as well. Around 12:30 the hands gather the snorkelers and feed the sharks so usually quite a crowd gathers to watch.

Juvenile blacktip reef sharks gather expecting a meal.

A crowd gathers to watch the sharks eat.

The beach at Pulau Payar.

Pulau Kaca and Lembu are about a three minute boat ride away. Between the two islands is a site with several sunken fishing boats and more massive groupers. There are some tyre reefs here as well. Further out around Pulau Lembu is a site called Lembu Rocks which is quite nice but not usually on the itinerary. It is a boulder site that is usually circled and yields a nice variety of triggerfish, nudibranches an occasional lionfish and a boxfish or two.

Segantang is further away, around half an hour by speedboat. I was on a dive that tried to dive here once, but we didn’t get dropped close enough to the island and swam around without seeing a single fish. Worst dive of my life! They do see whale sharks here occasionally and purportedly there is a rock wall that is nice to dive.

In summary, Pulau Payar is not a place you travel thousands of kilometers and sell your prized possessions just for the chance to dive it. However, if you are spending a week in Penang and need a way to work a kilo or two of that extra weight gained from the nasi kandar dinners, Payar is a great little day trip that the whole family can enjoy.

Waves gently lap the sand near on of the elevated wooden walkways at Payar.

Book Review: Reef Fishes, Coral and Invertebrates of the South China Sea

When a person picks a new hobby, they are often overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the subject. How do they sift through the myriad of possibilities and choose what is right for them? This is how I felt when I first started looking for a fish identification book.

I chose Reef Fishes, Coral and Invertebrates of the South China Sea by Elizabeth Wood and Michael Aw by chance really. I was browsing Popular and happened to find it. It was cheap, around RM40 so on a whim I decided to pick it up.

This is a photographic guide to marine life. I find photographic guides problematic because for so many species it is difficult to get good, clear photographs and second because juvenile or variant colourings are rarely included. So it is with this book. For example, on page 54 the author comments that 50 species of sharks occur in the South China Sea but the book contains pictures of three: the whale shark, leopard shark and the blacktip reef shark. Hmmm, and the 47 other species, where are their pictures? And so goes most of the book.

I find that identification books with good plates of the animals are the best way to go. The problem is that often the plates are hit and miss. Sibley’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America is a work of art just in how great the plates are. I haven’t found a fish identification book that matches it's quality.

The pictures in this book are good: sharp and clear. The book is also ordered quite logically with an introduction to reefs and their unique ecosystem, then how to classify fish into families based on their silhouettes or bone structure. Next comes the sections showing kinds of coral, invertebrates and then the fish.

There is nothing wrong with this book but if you are looking for an exhaustive encyclopedia of most of the critters you will see while diving, you will be disappointed. If you want a brief introduction to the world of the coral reef for an affordable price, then this is the book for you.

Blending without colour

Try to spot this cheeky lil' fella:



I have seen frogfishes before and have usually been able to pick them out from the patch of corals they paste themselves on. In their attempt to blend in, somehow something about their disguise usually gave them away, and it was usually because they carried a slightly different colour from their background.



It wasn't until I took the black and white shot above though, that I truly appreciated the effectiveness of their disguise.

Unlike divers, most fish are colourblind (only able to make out shadings of colour, shape and movement), which makes the disguise of this particular frogfish deadly effective.

Dive Destination: Lang Tengah

The east coast of peninsular Malaysia is famous for its clear waters, laid-back culture and tropical islets. You’ve heard of Tioman, Redang and Perhentian. But what about Lang Tengah?

Lang Tengah is sandwiched between the islands of Perhentian and Redang. On a clear day you can see Perhentian just a few kilometers to the north and Redang almost equidistance to the south. Those two are huge compared to Lang Tengah, which boasts only 3 resorts and can be circumnavigated by a speed boat in about 15 minutes, if you have a penchant for speed.

Depending on your taste in holidays, Lang Tengah may be just what the doctor ordered. Because there are only three resorts, the beaches are rarely crowded like Perhentian or Redang. The other two islands often cater to the crowd desiring night life and loud music. You won’t find that here but you will find starry nights perfect for midnight walks on the sand. During the day that same sand glistens in the sun and was rated by Islands magazine a lost gem. Indeed this is a lost gem, just waiting to be found and enjoyed once again.

The diving at Lang Tengah is good but with limited sites because of its size. The gang from Scubafiends dove Lang Tengah the first week in August. Visibility was impacted by storms at that time but on the sheltered side of the island visibility still reached 20 meters.

There are two superb deep dives here: Karang Nibong Laut and Terumbu Kuning. We dove these sites a total of three times. Karang Nibong Laut is very deep, 30 plus meters, so bottom time is limited but full of sightings such as several species of puffer fish, nurse sharks, blue-spotted ribbon tail ray, cuttlefish and a white-eyed moray eel. Terumbu Kuning boasts batfish, Janss’s pipefish, hingebeak shrimp, blue-spotted ribbon tail ray and a couple of trevally.

After these two sites, the quality goes to average. Goby Garden was one site I will not dive again but the rest were fun. Nudibranches were plentiful and certain species we stopped pointing out to our resident photographer. For me, these were fun dives rather than destination dives. No, they aren’t the drop-off at Sipadan but it was great fun to dive with a group of friends and scour the rocks and coral for interesting critters. I wouldn’t fly halfway around the world to dive at Lang Tengah but I will probably visit there again this year.

The resort we stayed at was Lang Sari. It had just changed management but the food was spectacular, if you like local fare. They did a good bar-b-que in the evenings. The rooms were clean but spartan. A bed, a toilet and a shower. There was Astro in the main dining area for the guests to catch the finale of “Akademi Fantasia”. (Why do girls enter that competition? They can never hope to win.)

Lang Tengah is for people who like a slow relaxing day, sitting in a hammock and reading a novel in between snoozes. Here is where you speak quieter as the night lengthens, aware that your voice is harsh against the sounds of the jungle night and the soft slap of the waves on the shore. This is where friends enjoy mah jong or cards and long conversations deep into the night. No, it isn’t for everyone but it may be just what you are looking for.

Review of Scuba Explorers and Tenggol Island Beach Resort

Scuba Explorers is the dive centre that operates out of Tenggol Island Beach Resort, one of the three resorts on Pulau Tenggol. One of the resorts does not have a dive centre and from word of mouth regarding the other resort (not personal experience) Scuba Explorers is the better of the two dive operations. Tenggol is also visited by liveaboards.

Quick rating of Scuba Explorers and Tenggol Island Beach Resort—

Dive experience: Adequate but expensive.

Resort: Adequate but expensive.

Scuba Explorers’ customer service: Poor.

Dive Experience: The diving at Tenggol is very good, some divers rate it the best in peninsular Malaysia. Charlie, the dive operator, has a long experience leading dives on the east coast, having worked out of Redang for several years. The Scuba Explorers dive centre is basic but clean and well-laid out. Charlie has been diving Tenggol for several years and has a good knowledge of the dive sites. He has developed his own dive site map based on his experiences. His pre-dive briefings are excellent and thankfully so because the currents in Tenggol are unpredictable and divers need detailed briefings in order to be prepared to deal with the unpredictable dive conditions.

“No frills” is the best way to describe the service provided by Scuba Explorers. The difficult thing about this “no frills” service is the dive prices are some of the most expensive on the east coast, at RM80 per dive. When we settled the bill there was no discount given either, which had been the practice on my three previous east coast dives (Perhentian, Lang Tengah and Redang). In total, I paid RM1410 for three nights and 9 dives. That is RM720 for the dives and RM690 for 3 nights lodging. The price combined with only adequate service makes me pause at returning, although I probably will just because of the quality of the diving.

Tenggol Island Beach Resort: The resort is fairly basic. There is a great deck where most people sit and talk till late in the night, eat their meals or watch Astro. The food was good and there was a free flow of coffee, tea and water. Power is provided by a generator but it wasn’t working right so there weren’t hot showers but we did have electricity the whole time. There isn’t air conditioning in the rooms but honestly it isn’t needed. The resort is rustic compared to the resorts of Redang but nice to get away from all those modern conveniences and feel like one is roughing it. The problem is ‘roughing it’ for RM230 (meals included) a day. That gets a room in a three star resort in other places.

Service: The problem with Scuba Explorers was the service I received prior to arriving on the island. My initial enquiry was met with an email about a package that included four dives and two nights stay but I was planning more dives and 3 night’s stay. The price of the dives was not broken down individually just a total amount was given. I had to request the price of the dives. Then when I asked for it, I saw it was RM80 per dive. I hesitated to pay so much for diving but really wanted to experience Tenggol. I thought I could get a discount once I got there so I just deposited a minimal amount as a deposit. It took a long time for them, the office in the KL area, to get back to me when I asked if they had received my payment. Then there was no “Thank you for choosing us!” I was just encouraged to send in the rest of my balance. Finally, I asked to just pay for the lodging and four dives and was allowed to do so. Once I did that there was no further information given. Luckily, I knew how to get to Dungun and had the logistics arranged. I think it would have been a nightmare if I was trying to come in from overseas and dive Tenggol without a prior knowledge of Malaysia. The Scuba Explorers office seemed to be concerned with collection of funds and nothing more.

A couple of days before the trip, I emailed and asked for directions to the jetty and more details. The person in the office replied that he didn’t know the way! It wouldn’t take much to make the process of booking the dives more user-friendly and I hope that is a step Scuba Explorers takes in the coming months.

What is an excellent dive master?

Let me start out by telling a story from a non-scuba setting. Let’s suppose I am going to visit a tourist landmark, such as the Petronas Twin Towers in KL. Upon arrival I am assigned a tour guide and we proceed to tour the exhibits at the base, ride the lift to the skybridge, walk around for fifteen minutes on the skybridge and then take the lift back to the bottom. The entire time the tour guide says nothing, giving me none of the history of the building or details of the construction process. Of course, I am impressed with the architecture and the views but these things are obvious and easily seen. After my tour, someone asks me, “How was the tour?”

“Ok,” I reply, “but I really wish I knew more about what I saw.”

Let’s look at this story to see what is an adequate dive master.

First, in the story I just told (which is fictional) the tour guide is not horrible. I had a good time. I saw some amazing things. This is one category of dive master. S/He takes you to an interesting dive site and you dive it together. They don’t point out any interesting things or ensure you see everything they see, basically, you both swim around together. You see whatever you happen to see and they see what they happen to see. I would say this is an acceptable dive master.

The second type of dive master is a one who takes the time to show you all the interesting critters, fish and other things that lurk in the depths. Personally, I prefer the ones that use a slate and after showing you something on the sand or in a crevice will write the name on the slate and then show you. This helps me know what it is and know where to find it next time because the same animals and fish appear in the same environments. This is a good dive master.

The third dive master is one who is always teaching. This may mean that after a dive s/he sits down and gives you some pointers on what you could do better. S/he is not just knowledgeable about the marine environment and sharing it with you but helping you upgrade your skills and scuba knowledge so that you are better informed about your hobby. They help you to assess whether you need a dive computer or torchlight and are more interested that your needs are met than that they get a larger commission.

Dive masters like these are few and far between. Why? Because many people love scuba and go diving at every opportunity but that doesn’t mean every person can teach scuba. Teaching takes special abilities such as observation skills, patience and wisdom. Anyone can dive but very few people can teach. A person who has these is an excellent dive master.

What makes a bad dive master? A bad dive master destroys and endangers the marine environment, consumes alcohol or drugs and then dives with his/her senses impaired, doesn’t give briefings and belittles people in front of the group.

Personally, I will not rate individual dive masters on this site unless they are excellent but I think it helps to have an idea of what I feel is adequate and what is exemplary. I will dive with any dive master as long as they don’t fall into the bad category. I don’t want to be a spoiled brat but I want to recognize excellence and honor the person who delivers it.

Pulau Tenggol (Part 2)

The sites I dove at Pulau Tenggol in late August 2006

Early the next morning we head out to Tokong Timur, our first dive site for the second day. This too is a drift dive, circling two exposed rocks. We gather in a cleft between them and, sheltered from the choppy seas we make our descent. In moments we go from being washed and thrown by the waves to complete peace and silence, silence broken only by the sound of breathing. We descend through clouds of fusilers painting silver and gold ribbons through the deep. Once we enter the current we drift past layer upon layer of coral infested with tiny damselfish darting in and out of the crevices, parrotfish crunching noisily on their breakfast and then we spot another humpheaded wrasse swimming just above us. As he makes his way against the current and then I notice a lone great barracuda just a few meters from the wrasse. Upon exiting the current we play in the calmer waters behind the exposed rocks, searching amongst the massive boulders for nudibranches and other macro-life. I also see humpheaded bannerfish here, a first for me. Tokong Timur has not failed us, delighting us with massive schools of fusilers, abundant coral fish, a humpheaded wrasse and a lone barracuda. A welcome respite to a morning of answering calls and emails!

The next dive takes us to Tokong Talang. This dive site is much like Tokong Timur, a dive circling rocks that are exposed for a few meters above the surface. We descend again on the sheltered side of the rocks and find a thermocline at around 20 meters. It affects the visibility, making it difficult to see past 7 meters or so. We circle, keeping the rock on our left. I fall behind the divemaster and two others in our group because I am too interested in investigating a rock covered by some soft coral. The three of them swim left and out of sight behind a large boulder. I rush to keep up. As I poke my head out from behind the edge of the boulder, I can see my buddy and another diver hanging onto the rock as the current pulls them sideways. For a moment I am bewildered, because the boulder is protecting me from the current. Then the divemaster signals me to watch my bubbles. I exhale deeply and watch as the bubbles rise slowly from my regulator, up, toward the surface till they are suddenly whisked away. “Huh! Whisked away!” I think but then it slowly dawns on me. These are the strong currents we have been warned about here at Tenggol. Obviously they are nothing like the gentle currents that we experienced on our morning drift dive but rather the ripping currents that guard this castle. I bite my regulator tightly and swim out to face the current. It jets past me, pushing me back and I kick harder and harder trying just to move forward. Finally, I make it to a rock and hold on, thankful to let my legs rest. I begin to pull myself forward with my hands, almost climbing forward as the current whips past. As soon as I clear the rock I swim down to as close to the next rock. Here I find the current less and I am able to make my way forward with only minimal use of my hands.

So this becomes my process, finding the lowest point and swimming to it, using the rocks or reef to block the current and making my way forward, following the divemaster. I don’t really look for fish or nudibranches, I look for handholds I won’t feel bad about touching. When we finally surface, I feel like the initiation has ended. I feel drained, not just physically but emotionally as well. Like a student who has just passed a major exam, I know I have passed the test. No, I didn’t make the highest marks in the class but I did pass and I feel that it was worth all the scraping and clawing for handholds if it helps me be more confident in my scuba skills.

When we surface, there are just five of us. We climb into the boat, tired from fighting the current but once we get in the boat our tiredness slips away. Seven of us went in the water, where are the other two. We circle the rock, scanning the horizon for any sign of our friends. We watch as another boat picks up scuba divers that are also staying at our resort, hoping to spot a distinctive fin or BCD that will tell us our friends are with the other divers. No such luck. We circle the rock for the third time and I begin to see something…no! Just a fisherman’s float. The mood on the boat begins to sour after what seems like an eternity of searching and our thoughts flicker unbidden to those forbidden thoughts of disaster. Suddenly, the divemaster says, “Is that orange?” and turns the boat ninety degrees. Silently, we all scan the horizon for the next few moments, hope springing in our chests. “Yes! It is!” he shouts and almost simultaneously we are hurtling forward to the small speck of orange bobbing on the horizon. We reach the two divers in about four minutes. They smile with exhaustion, happy to see us but tired from the emotional exhaustion. I look back at Tokong Talang and realize just how far we have come and just how big the ocean is. Not a good place to be drifting around in for several hours.

Pulau Tenggol (Part 1)

Dungun is a sleepy little east coast town that seems only to shake her slumber by mid-morning when the jetty begins crawling with the activities of the local fishermen bringing in their catch. The deafening roar of the ice grinding machine reducing massive blocks of ice into bags of shavings confirms that Dungun is indeed awake and moving. We clamber aboard the speedboat bound for my first diving trip at Pulau Tenggol. As we leave the harbor, a turtle pops it’s head up just in front of the boat and I breathe lungfulls of the invigorating salt air. This is going to be a great trip! Almost instantly our eyes are drawn to Pulau Tenggol, sitting on the horizon, brooding like a distant storm cloud, dark and foreboding. As we draw closer to the island we see that sheer granite cliffs jut sharply out of the water and ring this island, not the usual wide, sandy beaches. The island feels like a medieval fortress, built to withstand long sieges and head-on attacks yet we are not an invading force but simply an alliance of friends coming to pay homage to this ancient keep and her inhabitants.

There is one long beach nestled amidst the cliffs and as we glide into it’s jade coloured waters rain starts to peck at the surface. We rush from the boat to the island to take shelter from the weather. Why have you come to dive Tenggol is one of the first questions I am met with. Why am I here? I am here because Tenggol is an enigma. Some dark whisper of the name stuck in the recesses of my mind and grew there, like a fantasy which became an obsession. Currents. Drift dives. Pelagics. Hump-headed wrasse. Bump-headed parrotfish. Possibly even elusive an whale shark or manta ray. These are not the idyllic waters of Redang or Perhentian. No, these are the swirling waters of the moat of Castle Tenggol, filled with strange beasts worthy of her reputation. This is why I have come to Tenggol.

As the dusk begins to gather on the first day, we head to a site known as “Mini-Highway”. “The Highway” is one of the most famous Tenggol dive sites but isn’t diveable this time of year due to unfavourable currents. “Mini-Highway” starts on one side of Tanjung Gemuk and then you drift in the current to the other side of the point. We start out in a sheltered bay and almost immediately after descending we spot a pair of humpheaded wrasse meandering out into the current. We follow suit. I have never done a real drift dive and my blood is pumping as we hit the current. It is an eerie and almost unnerving experience to have your regulator hit the current at just the right angle and start to vibrate in your mouth from the force of the current. As we start our drift, a school of trevally begin to envelope us. They stay with us for the first 200 meters or so of the drift, eyeing the invaders to their watery realm with an unblinking, steady gaze.

Continuing on in the current, we float over coral beds, mixed soft and hard. There, grazing amongst the hard coral is a hawksbill turtle. I turn and face back into the current, kicking against it, is not unlike walking down the ‘up’ escalator. In doing so I am able to hold steady with the turtle, watching him search for delicacies amidst the coral bed. Finally, content with my interlude with the turtle, I stop finning and let my torso catch the current and turn me back toward our original destination. Perhaps this highway was misnamed, because on this dive we see four turtles, ending our dive in a sheltered bay, hovering at 5 meters watching yet another turtle feeding amongst the coral. We surface to smiles and the last rays of light casting a rosy glow on the waters.

Scuba tips I have learned recently

While diving at Pulau Tenggol in August I learned a few things that I think are worth sharing.

1) If you haven’t used your equipment in a long time, check it out with a pool dive first. The first dive my dive buddy was a lady who had not used her equipment in several years. As soon as she got in the water we realised the seal around where her inflator hose attached to the BCD was cracked and bad. I got to finish the dive but she had to go back to the boat and then rent for the rest of the weekend.
2) Bring an extra mask. I am a real idiot sometimes and I did a big step entry from the boat without holding onto my mask. Oops! There it went, off my head and down into the depths. No one else had brought an extra mask, so I was forced to abort the dive and rent a mask the rest of the weekend. Next time I will have a cheap backup in the dive bag.
3) Get it right, then go! One of the ladies in our group had just bought a new BCD. Although it didn’t malfunction like my dive buddy’s did, she was not familiar with it. She struggled through three dives or more before finally settling in and getting comfortable with the new equipment. I would rather dive in the pool or perhaps just a simple dive to get used to it rather than going to a great place to dive and missing lots of interesting sights because I was fiddling with my BCD. Get it right and then go! is my new philosophy.
4) Buy a sausage. I remember in university my housemate took a course on diving for university credit. He came home telling me that a dive knife was required equipment and you should never dive without one. That stuck in my head for years and even now I struggle to shed it. For me, the sausage is more important. A sausage is an inflatable buoy that divers often use to mark the spot they are doing a safety stop. They are usually about 2 meters tall once fully inflated. Twice in Tenggol divers were separated from our group and swept away from the dive site by strong currents. Once, they were swept 2 kilometers away within 20 minutes. We only found them because they both had their sausages fully inflated. After seeing that I vowed never to dive again without a sausage.

I hope these ideas help you and feel free to submit any tips you have learned. Let’s limited busted dives!

Diving Goals

As the year enters it’s twilight phase, I’ve started thinking about ‘scuba goals’ or the things I would like to do before December 2007 rolls around.

Rescue Diver: I am currently waiting for a quotation from the dive centre I usually use regarding a Rescue Diver course. I have decided to switch organisations. Prior to this I have always certified with PADI but I am going to certify through SSI. I feel that PADI is not so thorough although actually the thoroughness rests in the hands of the instructor. But, consider this: Rescue dive candidates must have 20 logged dives in the PADI system but in SSI they are required to have 50. That is 2 ½ times more. My whole purpose for certifying as a rescue diver is not to get the card but so that I can be as knowledgeable as possible about scuba. Events such as Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia (and Southeast Asia) have shown me that the worst case scenario does occur and to be minimally prepared is to be unprepared. I am hoping to finish my rescue diver training before I return to the USA in December.

Similan Islands, Thailand: Considered one of the top dives in the world are the Similan Islands. They are reachable via live-a-boards out of Phuket and I am hoping to visit them in early 2007. Also, I have never experienced what diving is like on a live-a-board, so I am interested to find out. The main draw is that the Similans are home to Richelieu Rock. There and other sites in the Similans whale sharks and manta rays are frequently spotted. Plus, the diving in general is supposed to be fantastic!

Vancouver, British Columbia: I once talked to my friend’s sister who raved about the diving in Vancouver. I just brushed it off as crazy exuberance until I saw the article in National Geographic about diving in Vancouver and the pictures just blew me away! Of course that is true of just about anything National Geographic does but it made me think I can’t pass it up the next time I am near there. I will be there in June of 2007 and I am hoping to do at least two days of diving there. Also, it will be my first cold water diving. What can I say, I have been spoiled by the tropics.

Sipadan, Malaysia: Everyone who dives Malaysian waters raves about Sipadan. Everyone who has never dove in Malaysia knows about Sipadan’s legendary diving. Why have I lived here four years and never dove there? This has got to change! So, by hook or by crook next year I will dive Sipadan.

What are your diving ‘goals’ over the next 15 months?