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.
I have never dived Sisters Wreck, so I took Phil and Georgie along as Dive Masters (DMs). They had dived the wreck last month. Big Andy joined as a DM too. It’s almost impossible to keep Andy away from “new wreck” dive trips anyway, he kinda invites himself.
The wreck was about an hour’s cruise from RSYC and we were dodging all the ships along the way. We even spotted an Ice Breaker, really a bit of an overkill for Singapore waters. However, the sea opened up after Hantu and the view was calm and clear.
We arrived on time, geared up and I took Phil with me on the tie off dive to help me locate the wreck. Thankfully I did, because the captain dropped us on top of the wreck and the current pushed us off the wreck to a nearby reef. The current was due to slacken off in about 30 minutes. Phil took a compass bearing and headed off. I followed pulling the line and a few minutes later, a dark shape appeared in the distance and we located the wreck. Phew, I thought. I gave Phil a underwater “high five”.
I tied off on the prop shaft (no prop however) and we made our ascent. Once onboard, the first group were almost ready. Suzanne, Scott and Goh dived together. Benny, Melissa, Gabriel and Robin dived as a group. Big Andy looked after a couple of ladies, Luey Min and Lian Lin. Georgie had the boys, Karl and James. Phil had the father and son, Ben and Erling. I had Shabeeu and Cheryl.
We staggered our dives so the wreck was not too crowded, this worked out fine and I only saw one other group on both dives. The wreck is a perfect size with a max depth of 18 metres. You can do a lap around the wreck taking your time looking in all the cracks and holes and explore and be out of the water in 45 minutes.
The wreck is close to one of the Sisters Islands and is protected a little bit from currents etc. I had planned to dive it at slack tide. There was little to no current on the wreck during both dives. Perfect conditions.
Most of the portholes have gone and there are some boxes with nothing in them but sand lying around. The wreck is mostly upside down with some of the deck showing on the deeper side were it is also broken up a bit. It is a really old wreck and has been there a while. I think the protection it gets from Sisters Island is the only reason its still mostly intact.
Everyone really enjoyed the wreck, even the hard core wreck divers, Mr Angry, Big Andy and Suzanne. For me it was nice diving somewhere new. I was like a kid in a candy store trying find something that could help identify the wreck or its origin. All I found was a bottle, but suspect it was not from the wreck but fell off a dive or fishing boat some time back.
The viz was, well, this is Singapore viz, around 1-3 metres. Torches were a must!
It was fun to watch Mr Angry and Revo Roat dive open circuit single tanks. I managed to ride Mr Angry like a cheap pony at the end of the second dive. Knees around his tank, slapping his backside….things we do on safety stops. I understand he did the same to Revo Roat on the first dive.
Mr Angry admitted just after we left RSYC that he had left his swimming trunks behind. I considered offering him my spare pair, but opted not too. So Mr Angry decided to parade around the boat in his worn out red undies all morning.
Nice wreck, excellent company, great weather and conditions. Perfect Tuesday morning all round. And thanks Cheryl for the use of your photos.
Cheers, Gary Savins