We all met at Terminal 2 Singapore Changi Airport at 7am on the 7th to check in for the Silk Air flight to Cebu. Everyone arrived on time and the check in was smooth, as always at Changi.  Can’t say the same for my rushed panic after realizing I had slept in, but I still … Read more

Another great two morning’s of diving at Hantu (a local island off Singapore) with viz of up to 8 metres.   We headed out on both Saturday and Sunday morning from the Republic Of Singapore Yacht on the Dolphin Explorer.       Onboard we had 5 PADI Open Water Students, Vivian, Aanya, Petter, Krista … Read more

The Sunreef62 is a new live on board (LOB) catamaran that I will be using during the next Malaysian dive season (due to open early March 2013). I had the opportunity to take her out Wednesday evening for a sunset cruise. On board we had Karen, HongBo, Alex, Dean, Gena, Tobias, Yvonne, Craig and Rex. … Read more

Another day in the office at Hantu, Singapore, and an amazing one at that.  Who says Hantu viz is crap?  Oh, I did last weekend.   I really wish I had taken my camera this weekend. I could have gotten some great shots of a turtle, stargazer, a nudi laying eggs, big grouper, bat fish, … Read more

Diving Singapore waters was not at its best today. It was a full boat with Dive Master Glenn, Dive Master Trainees Francious and Elodie and recreational divers David, Sam, Brett, Jana, Jill, Alex, Kenneth, Laura, Patrick, Jeff, Su, David, Stephen and Alex.   Viz was at best 20-30cm. Even Glenn commented that perhaps there was … Read more

To start the new year, we did two morning dives on Saturday and another two morning dives on Sunday at our local island off Singapore called Hantu. I was conducting the PADI Open Water Diver Course with Charlotte and Jade. Jade’s father Bob, also joined us as a recreational diver on both days. Saturday was … Read more

We had planned for 2 dives at Sisters wreck both mornings, but due to the weather and currents we only managed one on Saturday.  We had rain, wind and strong currents and bad viz, so not the best weekend diving.         Saturday there were 20 divers on the Seaborne and we headed … Read more

I woke early Saturday morning to ensure the MV Seaborne was ready for the weekend Live Onboard local diving trip in Singapore waters.  I was even on the boat before the crew had woken up. I sorted all the gear, boosted some oxygen into the closed circuit rebreather (CCR) tanks and had a bit of … Read more

Tuesday the 13th was a public holiday in Singapore, no better time to get out and do a couple of dives.   A total of 19 divers boarded the MV Seaborne at 7.30am from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club (RSYC) and we headed to Sisters Wreck, a local wreck off a local Singapore island. … Read more

Rocking Riau . . . What an incredible weekend!  We saw so many cool things I have not seen at Riau before and the viz was also incredible, up to at least 10-15 metres. The best I have seen in this area.  We saw turtles, marble ray, sea snakes, cuttlefish, bamboo sharks, puffer fish, a … Read more

I was leaving home for Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) when I received a text from Paul at 5.30pm. His message was “need a brain, left passport at home, in cab now should be there on time”. Off to a great start I thought, then at 6.15pm another text. “Sorry going to be late … Read more

It was nice to be back on the boat after a couple of weekends off. I took a weekend off because my brother and his wife visited me on their way back to Sydney after spending 2 weeks in Europe. The week prior, my students cancelled and I sent Glenn off diving and I stayed … Read more

Gary Savins had his 2 TDI technical diving students cancel this weekend, so when I offered to go with the GS-Diving group so he could stay at home and watch the AFL Grand Final, he jumped at the chance. For those not in the know, AFL details can be found here – and Gary’s team … Read more

Many people were happy to escape the craziness of Singapore during the F1 Grand Prix weekend and dive Seven Skies and Maritime Fidelity wrecks.  We met early around 4.30pm at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) to ensure we cleared Indonesian immigration early and get to Seven Skies before all the other dive boats.   On … Read more

With a busy weekend ahead we all boarded the MV Seaborne Friday night, from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal Singapore, around 6.50pm and headed straight to Bahara Rock, south of Tioman, Malaysia.   This weekend I was conducting PADI Junior Open Water Diver with Erling and Rex. Their fathers, Ben and Craig were doing PADI Advanced … Read more

I can’t remember the last time I did a single tank air dive on a wreck called Seven Skies in Indonesia. I guess it’s been several years. All other dives I have done there in the past have been technical diving with multiple tanks and multiple gases.   I was surprised how short air dives … Read more

I had the pleasure of conducting PADI Junior Advanced Open Water with Johnny, Tony’s son.  Johnny lives in the UK and whenever he comes to Singapore to visit his father they always go diving for a weekend.  A good friend and fellow PADI Instructor, Chris Hutton taught Johnny to dive one week after his tenth … Read more

A few weeks back I noticed that I had not made any diving arrangements for the 25/26 August weekend.  I quickly checked the tide table and checked a few boats and hey presto! So it’s off to the local island, Pulau Hantu in Singapore we go.   Each afternoon we had 10 divers and we … Read more

Smiling happy people is what was on board the MV Seaborne after the first day’s diving at Tioman, Malaysia during the Hari Raya long weekend.  The viz had improved and it was nice to be back in the water after a weekend off.       I had to skip the previous weekend due to … Read more

Not long after we took the mooring line at Pinnacle Two Sunday morning, the boat boys were no where to be seen. One of the boys came on the dive deck, detached the line attaching us to the other boat on the dive site, the MV Seaborne, he then said something about an accident with … Read more

This weekend Big Andy, PADI Dive Master, was guiding Natalia, Rosemarie, Michael, Penglee and Su Huan.  Armand, my PADI Dive Master Trainee  was guiding Benth, Rhonda and Michael.  Rhonda and Michael also did a refresher course with Armand last week at Outram Secondary School’s pool – click here to find out what is involved in a … Read more

  “Uncle Gazzer” Gary Savins double booked himself for this weekend and opted to let GS-Diving to be represented by Paul, Sophie, and myself, Suzanne (aka rEvo rOat).  “The Gang” did our best to make sure we did not sully Gary’s reputation.     We all successfully met up and boarded The Ark Friday night … Read more

This weekend showed signs of the weather finally changing for the better.  The seas were calm, the viz was great and Pulau Aur, Malaysia was the best I have seen it in a long time.  Pinnacle 1 was loaded with fish and it is the best reef dive I have done in a few months. … Read more

I sound a bit like a broken record, but it’s true, another rough night at sea heading to our first dive site.  We departed Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) Singapore, on Thursday night bound for Sara D Wreck, only to get half way through the night and the now predictable weather hit.  No one slept … Read more

It was a busy week leading up to this weekend’s trip with the in-laws in Singapore for a couple of weeks, also busy with pool and theory so there was no time for the traditional happy hours at Vie bar with Karen’s olds. I finally got around to writing this on Sunday afternoon on the … Read more

Ebony was late arriving at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT), Singapore so the rest of us that arrived on time had to wait 45 minutes. When she arrived she explained that she got in the cab and fell asleep.  Her taxi bill from Sentosa to TMFT was SGD$60.00. I suspect the driver took her to … Read more

This weekend we had calm seas, which was nice for a change. We were on The Ark which is a live-on-board boat that departs from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal Friday night and returns Sunday night.  I was conducting Advanced Open Water Courses on this trip. Although I must say, we did experience bad viz … Read more

Num Num, Mr Angry, The Model, Revo Roat, Goh, Georgie and Phil joined GS-DIVING for the weekend diving the Seven Skies Wreck, Igara Wreck and Anambas, Indonesia.  We departed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal Friday night and boarded the MV DiveRace (live-on-board boat), checked in at Nongsa Marina, Indonesia, had dinner, exchanged a few … Read more

After diving for 6 years, it is now time to retire my second wetsuit.  This one had served me well with over 150 dives to its credit.  It had started to perish in December, then fall apart in March and now in June, well nothing is left but a piece of stiff cardboard type material … Read more

With 17 divers loaded,  we headed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsa Marina, Indonesia to clear immigration into Indonesia. Glenn and Wendel were helping out as dive guides. Onboard we had – Dean, Gena, Judith, David, Manish, Devyani, Marcus, Maggie, Zhuo Han, Yoi Kong, Joshua, Melvin, Paulyn and Being Yap   This weekend … Read more

Diving at Palau Hantu, Singapore. Article by Andrew Taylor from the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) 3 June 2012 www.smh.com.au/travel/activity/surfing-and-diving/singapore–for-diving–no-really-20120531-1zk15.html Copy of the article is listed below:- WEDGED between the Shell oil refinery and three islands used by Singapore’s air force for target practice, Pulau Hantu is not quite the tropical idyll one expects in south-east … Read more

This is the 5th trip I have done with “my kids”.  These school kids, from a international school, sure know how to have fun.   This was their first trip on a Live Onboard Boat.  They loved the point that we did not have to carry bags through immigration, at the checkpoints and moreover everyone … Read more

This weekend’s MV Seaborne dive trip to Tioman, Malaysia was mostly full of people from the Australia and New Zealand (ANZA) Dive Club. Also joining me were 3 PADI Open Water Students – Emma, Jean and Oliver. Liam was meant to be the Open Water Instructor for the weekend, but unfortunately he had urgent matters … Read more

Sorry – Not many photos for this trip report I have the best job in the world.  Every weekend on a boat, enjoying the outdoors, the sun, the sea, the stars, the company and of course the diving.  Best of all I get to torture people during Rescue Diver Courses.  Oh, what fun it is. … Read more

    It was going to be a busy weekend diving with 7 dives planned around Pulau Aur. We boarded The Ark at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) Friday night, had dinner and an early night for all.  The seas were flat calm all night which allowed most people to sleep well.     On … Read more

The alarm went off at 6am, the first of many early starts for the coming week of diving.  I met up with the group at 7.15am at Terminal 2, Changi Airport.   Joining me this week was Tobias (third trip in a row), Joan, Natalia, Hongbo and Jochum.  Suzanne had to cancel due to urgent … Read more

HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales, South China Sea, Malaysia. For full specs of these World War II ships, please click here – HMS Repluse and HMS Prince of Wales It was the first technical diving trip for The Ark since its arrival in Singapore. Everyone was early arriving at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal … Read more

Easter long weekend dive trip on the MV Seaborne had been planned a long time back.  The trip was on my website about 6 months ago and it filled pretty quickly.   This weekend we had Suzanne, Davy, Tobias, Scott, Jo, Bianca, Ken, Jane, Shan, Colin, Wee, Charles, Adam and JB.  Andy and Sara were … Read more

Tioman has finally a new wreck! The former Royal Malaysian Navy warship KM Sipadan was sunk on 29th March 2012 to become an artificial reef .   KM Sipadan was commissioned some 48 years ago under the name KD Sri Sawarak and the warship was later renamed as KM Sipadan. It was decommissioned to the Malaysian … Read more

  I rounded up my 4 divers at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) on Friday night and proceeded through immigration, with all the usual comments – “Off again diving Gary?”   Dean, Gena, Angela and David were my leisure divers this weekend. I was not teaching any courses so it made for a nice … Read more

It was a very busy and noisy weekend with 12 school kids.  We boarded the bus Friday night at Riverwalk, Singapore and we were bound for Mersing, Malaysia to catch a ferry to Pulau Aur.  There was non stop chatter and excited laughter.         We finally made it to Pulau Aur around … Read more

Paul and Phillip signed up for TDI intro to Tech and TDI Advanced Nitrox a few months back, we finally got our schedule sorted and completed the theory in Singapore, but missed the pool session due to Paul’s flying commitments.   We were up crazy early Monday morning to take bus and then ferry to … Read more

Rocking Riau weekend. The visibility all weekend was 8-10 metres, the sun was shinning and seas were flat, a perfect weekend all round.  The leisure divers did 7 dives including one night dive that Andy volunteered to lead, so nice of Andy!   Andy was guiding Richard, Hans and Kevin.  Glenn was looking after Evan, … Read more

We had the pleasure of joining the second voyage aboard MV The Ark; one of Singapore’s Mongolian flagged dive vessels. Fortunately we were heading for Pulau Tioman and Aur; rather than the home ‘port’ of Ulaan Baatar.         The overnight sail took us to Bahara Rock for the first dive. Conditions were … Read more

Akiko, Germaine, Chris, John, Lay Nah and Caroline and a bunch of other divers all met at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT), Singapore on Friday the 2nd March,2012 to join The Ark’s maiden voyage to Aur, Malaysia.   Everyone was excited about diving Aur for the first time this dive season.  I was also looking … Read more

It was the final trip to Hantu, a local island off Singapore.  That is, until after the South China Sea dive season ends around November this year.  It was a beautiful morning as I drove to RSYC after collecting Georgie, one of my Divemaster Trainees. The tide table said it would a slack tide round 11am … Read more

We departed from Singapore’s Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) at 5.30pm and headed to Batam to clear immigration in Indonesia. It was a windy crossing that made it a little unpleasant for some people.  We cleared immigration and headed towards our destination, 60-70 nautical miles far south of Batam.   The wind and waves did … Read more

  I checked the tide tables Friday night and could see that it should be a good morning at Hantu (a local island off Singapore), the next day.  Well, that is if you believe what is in “the book” anyway.  “The book” said it would be right at the top of the tide when we … Read more

  19 divers all arrived on time at Republic of Singapore Yacht Club, Singapore, Saturday morning.  Well one was a little late and there was one no show, but we still departed at 7.20am.   We planned to do a dive at each Hantu wreck and Sudong wreck, but the conditions changed the plan.  We … Read more

It’s 7.30am Friday morning at Changi Airport, Singapore and I round up all the divers.  I found JB first, then Vesi and Rebecca.  Suzanne had already checked in for the flight. Unfortunately Tobis had to cancel the day before. The four of us checked in for the Silk Air flight to Manado, Indonesia then went … Read more