Decisions, decisions

So I just quit my job a few days ago and I have an unexpectedly long 3 months before I start my new job. Now that some of the excitement has worn off, I am considering which dive spots I should hit during my break. Right now I am thinking of either (1) a few days each in Bali and Anilao or (2) a longer trip to just Bali. I have been to Bali several times but have never dove there, and the more I research Bali, the more attractive it looks as a diving destination.

I hope to also squeeze in a long weekend or two doing some tech dives in the South China Sea.

Anilao Pics

I have uploaded the pictures from my Anilao trip. They are at the following links:

Anilao pics
Slugs and flatworms. The ones from Anilao are numbered 33 to 86.

Anilao Trip Report

I just spent 4 nights at Acacia Resort in Anilao. Anilao is south of Manila, about 3 hours' drive in normal traffic. The resort fits about 30 people and is quite a new resort (opened in 2008). Like all the other resorts in Anilao, Acacia does mostly weekend business from Manila. It's best to come during the weekdays - I was the only guest for the first day and one of a handful of guests on the second day. The rooms are simple, modern, and clean. The food is quite good and varied with a mix of local and international fare. The resort is named after a huge and ancient acacia tree that sits in the middle of the property - see pictures below. Overall, the resort is pretty, comfortable, and well equipped to handle visiting divers. The one annoying thing is that there are occasional power outages. We lost power 3 times during my stay, for not much more than an hour each time, but it can be disruptive for photographers who need to keep their equipment charged.

Diving is done from small banka boats with minimal shelter. They are crewed by 2 boatmen and one dive guide. Marlowe guided me on my 12 dives. He is patient, has a good eye, and is motivated to find interesting marine life. The macro life in Anilao is amazing - I saw more nudis than I have ever seen, by a wide margin. For context, I photographed more than 60 nudis on 12 dives (and passed on a number of others). Other interesting life includes various crabs, shrimp, octopi, scorpionfish, frogfish, etc. I did not have any luck with coleman shrimp (I was told that fire urchins are seasonal), mimic octopi, blue ring octopi, or stargazers, but I'm very happy with what I saw and photographed. I used a 60 mm lens for 7 dives and a 105 mm for 5 dives; that mix is about right for what I saw.

The dive sites are typically 15-25 min boat rides away from Acacia. Visibility ranged from 5m to 20m with an average of about 10m. Dives usually start with 20-30 min at 15-25m and end up in the shallows in a few meters of water. Most of the dives are leisurely, with little current or surge. The dives tend to be quite long (average over 60 min). The water can be quite cold from November to April. Personally, I will dive dry in the future during those months. We were getting cold after about 45 min and quite chilled during the surface intervals.

I'm very happy with my trip and intend to go back. My time there was very peaceful and laid back - but I'm not sure how it is during peak season on the weekends.

Thanks to Miko for making the arrangements and loaning me his gear.

Nudibranch Madness

Today's dives were at Dari Laut, Bethlehem, and Sand View. Dari Laut is the steel structure of a floating restaurant that was sunk many years ago. It is home to many tiny and rare nudibranchs. Bethlehem and Sand View are both sandy dives, where we spent our time moving slowly and staring at the muck. I used the 105 mm lens on all the dives. The highlights of today's dives were more nudis, whip shrimp, whip goby, and a very strange nudi threesome. A very nice end to a good week of diving.

Nudibranchs Galore

Today, we did 4 daytime dives - Sand View, Koala, Kirby's Rock, and Cathedral - a nice combination of soft/hard coral reefs and sandy mucky bottom. There are so many nudis here that it is getting a bit ridiculous. Several times today, I passed over nudis that I had already photographed so I could make time for other things. "There's a nudi. Let me clear my mask. Oh, there's another nudi. Let me check my depth. Oh, there's another nudi." Ok, I exaggerate a little, but there are a LOT of nudis here.

I used my new 105 mm macro lens for the first time today, on two dives. As expected, it was hard to autofocus in all except the brightest light. My focus light was borderline effective. The autofocus tended to hunt a lot, especially with small and moving things, like pygmy seahorses. But, it was brilliant at capturing the real tiny stuff. I actually prefer the 105 mm to the 60 mm for shooting nudis. I took the 105 mm only after discussing with my guide what to expect on the dive. The funny thing is, when I switched back to the 60 mm lens, autofocus and composition suddenly felt like a breeze. The 105 mm is a fantastic lens but it has its limitations. I am doing 2 more dives tomorrow morning with the 105 mm lens... really looking forward to it.

Highlights of today's dives were whip shrimp, pygmy seahorses, emperor shrimp, the biggest frogfish i have ever seen, and lots and lots of nudis.

Anilao Continued

Today's dives were just as crazy as last night's. On our first dive at Mainit Point, we saw at least 10 nudibranchs of different varieties. Mainit Point is a healthy sloping reef made up of lots of hard and soft coral. I've never seen so many nudibranchs in my life. The funny thing is they all seemed to be in a hurry; I've also never seen nudibranchs move so fast. We ended the day with 2 dives at Secret Bay. Secret Bay is as different from Mainit Point as can be - it is true muck diving with nothing but a crappy sandy bottom. Highlights of today's dives were millions of nudis up close, hairy squat lobster, zebra crab, xeno crab (alas, no good pictures), 3 ornate ghost pipefish, and 2 playful octopi.

Crazy Night Dive

I did one night dive in Anilao and I'm hooked. As far as crazy stuff underwater, that dive takes the cake, and I've seen some pretty crazy things underwater. There was one rock where we saw an ornate ghost pipefish, a crab, sleeping clownfish, a lionfish, and banded coral shrimp all within 2 feet of one another. Then there was the crazy octopus trying to made a fortress out of 3 seashells, which I photographed for 15 min. And how about the 6 inch long nudibranch? One of my strobes died 20 min into the dive, which made me yell %!&^!*^$%, but still, I've never had so much fun in 4m of water.

The Alma Jane

I forgot how nice a dive the Alma Jane is. The Alma Jane is a metal frame of a wreck in Sabang Bay, about 40m long and with a max depth of 30m. We saw, among other things, huge snapper, trumpetfish, common lionfish, and 3 kinds of shrimp within a 2m radius: scarlet skunk shrimp, banded coral shrimp, and my favorite, an army of peppermint shrimp. We spent 30min on the Alma Jane before scootering inland. Vis was terrible (less than 10m) but that's ok when the focus is on macro life.

This afternoon, I am transferring to Anilao. I am doing my first dive in Anilao tonight, a night dive.

Hello from Puerto Galera

Puerto Galera hasn't changed much since I was last here in May 2008. A few dive shops have changed hands. Some of the buildings in Sabang look a little different. The El Galleon looks a bit nicer and it seems like the food has improved. The diving is still the same, that is to say, still a good time. Yesterday I did 2 dives to about 45m - the first one on Sabang reef, surfacing right in the middle of Sabang bay, and the second one at Fishbowl and ending up in the Canyons. This morning, I did a 60m dive at Blackfish corner in Verde Island. The currents there are always exhilarating - at some points, I struggled to move forward with my Gavin on full pitch while kicking. We ended up on a very healthy sloping reef all the way up to 6m. Not many people dive there and as a result, the marine life is healthier than elsewhere in PG.

Visibility is not the best at the moment. The water is clear but dark below 40m or so and a bit milky above that. The water is a lot colder than I expected - 27C is colder than it sounds. I went to every shop in town to find a new wetsuit and/or hooded vest but with no luck. I guess I am just going to have to suffer through the cold this week. Note to self: apart from in the summer, dive dry in PG.

Dave has already taken off and Sam is off tomorrow for Sri Lanka. They are hosting 2 one week expeditions to the HMS Hermes, a British aircraft carrier sunk in WWII. After tomorrow's dives, I will be moving to Anilao to do some macro photography dives.

Next Trip

I have made last minute plans to go diving next week. I am spending 3 days at Tech Asia in Puerto Galera and another 3 days at Acacia in Anilao. My time with Tech Asia will be spent doing Tech 1/2 scooter dives to get my tech fix, and my time with Acacia will be mostly muck and reef diving and macro photography. I have been to Tech Asia many times in the past and it will be nice to catch up with Dave and Sam after not having visited in almost 2 years. It will be my first time in Anilao and I have high expectations for the quality of the macro life, after hearing so much about it in articles such as this one. I will be taking my 60 mm and 105 mm macro lenses. Fingers crossed that I will be able to photograph stuff like coleman shrimp, emperor shrimp, nudis, bobbit worms, seahorses, stargazers, etc.

I will report back during/after the trip.

Ikelite housing port upgrades

Ikelite recently announced 2 upgrades to their housings - the addition of 2 port locks (for a total of 4) and a threaded mounting point for a focus light. The 2 new port locks are a welcome addition as it has long been noted that the old port locking mechanism is flimsy and does not inspire confidence. The threaded mounting point is also nice as it simplifies mounting a focus light (previously had to be mounted on a strobe arm). I sent my housing back to Ikelite last week for upgrading. After transit time and 3 week turnaround time, I'll probably get my housing back in March.

Read more about it here.

Nikon 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens

My wonderful friends bought me a Nikon 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens for my birthday. This lens is highly specialized and will be awesome for shooting nudibranchs, slugs, and intricate details on other marine life. I'm not sure when I will get to use it yet as I have not yet planned my next diving trip, but I am really looking forward to it.

I will need to buy the Ikelite flat port to go along with the lens.

Similan Islands Trip Report, November 2009

I just got back from a trip to the Similan Islands. We also visited Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai, and Koh Bon, which are within a day’s travel to the north of the Similans and not technically part of it.

The Boat
We spent 4 days and 3 nights aboard South Siam Divers 4. South Siam Divers is quite a big operator with 2 day boats and 2 liveaboards. The boat was quite large, sleeping more than 20 and with room for 70 divers (!) on the dive deck. In my opinion, the right maximum number is probably something like 40 to avoid overcrowding. There was a large deck, sundeck, a small saloon, and 6 bathrooms on board. All were adequate. Each day, new divers boarded the boat at 10am, while divers leaving the boat departed at 3pm – I would have preferred no overlap as the boat got quite crowded and chaotic during those few hours. The boat was quiet and stable compared to what we have out here.

The Food
I had high hopes for the food on board given my experience with the Black/White Mantas and the fact that it was Thai food. I was quite disappointed. Most of the food was bland and dumbed down for foreign tastes. There were only 3 meals a day with no snacks offered in between. On the second night, I got a mild case of food poisoning, with stomach discomfort and diarrhea. Thankfully, it went away about 12 hours later. Out of our group of 9, more than half got food poisoning or stomach upsets. Divers from other groups also got sick. We couldn’t trace it to one particular source, so I suspect the food is either not fresh, not clean, or both. This is really unacceptable and is something that has to be fixed immediately.

The Diving
All the dives were around the Similan Islands except for one day, when we made the overnight trip to Richelieu Rock. There were generally 5 dives offered each day, with a maximum of 4 dives allowed per person. The fish and reef life was very healthy as the area is a well maintained and policed marine park. I was surprised to find lots of varieties of edible fish that weren’t at all afraid of divers. I’d never seen so many glass sweepers in my life – the schools were so thick that sometimes you couldn’t see what was behind them. Apart from the general reef life, there were a few rare and interesting creatures like longnose hawkfish, ornate ghost pipefish, leopard sharks, and McCosker’s flasher wrasse. We were disappointed to not see any mantas at Koh Bon, but I was told that they are more common from February to April. I actually found the dives at Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai and Koh Bon the most disappointing as we went through all the hassle to find that the marine life was no different from that in the Similan Islands. My entire trip, I didn’t see more than a handful of nudibranchs, which was surprising given what I had heard about the place. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun shooting with my 60mm and 12-24mm lenses. I did a bit of experimenting with camera settings, strobe technique and placement, and close focus wide angle.

As the boat mostly caters to tourist divers, the style of diving is rather hurried, with the dive guides rushing from attraction to attraction. We preferred a more relaxed pace and it took a few dives to get the message across. There are lots of dive boats operating in the area. At one point, there were almost 10 boats within sight. Yet, the boats are run quite smoothly and none of the dive sites seemed crowded.

Would I go back? Probably only during the February-April peak season and on a different boat that had better food and was less mass market.

Similan Islands Pictures

Full set of pictures here.

Videos from Thomas' Memorial Trip

2 videos from Thomas' Memorial Trip showing the placement of the plaque and mementos:

No self control = more toys on the way

I have jumped on the crazy underwater photography train and left the station. I just placed an order from the helpful folks at Reef Photo in Florida for two full sets of 5"x8" Ultralight arms and a BigBlue 5W LED aiming light. My stuff should arrive in a couple of weeks' time, giving me plenty of time before my Nov 26 trip to the Similans.

Pulau Aur Macro

I tested out my new 60 mm macro AF-S lens with 2 strobes, Ikelite DS-160 and DS-125. I tried shooting with all settings on manual for the first time. It was loads of fun but it became clear that the learning curve is going to be pretty steep. The macro lens is fantastic. I can't even begin to describe what an upgrade it is from the 18-55 mm kit lens. It has a close focusing distance of 2 inches, which makes capturing close ups of nudibranchs much easier. Marine life was pretty good this trip with several sightings of rare nudibranchs. I don't have photos of all of them because I got quite a few wacked exposures while experimenting with camera/strobe settings. By mid afternoon, it was getting darker and my camera was having some trouble autofocusing on subjects that were too close up. Next on the to buy list: aiming light.

Here are some photo highlights from the weekend. Full set of photos here.

Memorial Trip for Thomas

Last weekend, we did a trip to Pulau Aur on the MV Quest in memory of Thomas. The folks from Living Seas made a marble plaque with a poem written for Thomas. The first 2 dives of the day were used to scout for an appropriate place to lay the plaque. The third dive was dedicated to lowering the plaque to the sea bed and putting it in place. We then laid some parting gifts and said our goodbyes. It was an emotional dive, with some divers fighting tears. But an appropriate one given Thomas' love for the sea and the desire to to say goodbye in a significant way.

Rest in peace, Thomas.

Photos and video of the memorial dive to come later.

I made it to the GUE website again

The trip report I wrote about last year's Manado trip made it to the GUE website. The link is here.

More toys

After a lot of deliberation, I finally committed to getting a macro lens. Today, I ordered a Nikon 60mm f/2.8 micro lens. I also ordered the Ikelite flat port to go along with it. They should be in my hands within the next few days. My next opportunity to use the lens will be the 1st weekend of October aboard the MV Quest in Pulau Aur.