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!