It was the Singapore F1 weekend, which to me is a perfect time to escape the city and go diving. But then, when do I ever need an excuse:)
My student and I boarded the Live-on-Board (LOB) MV White Manta Friday night and sat back and relaxed as we powered towards Tioman, Malaysia. We arrived at Jahat early and enjoyed a few more hours sleep without the engines running.
Unfortunately the viz all weekend was bad for Tioman with a max of 8-10m. We dived Jahat, Chebah, Tiger Reef, Labas, Bahara Rock and Jack Rock.
I have re named Chebah to “Trigger Fish Rock”. There were so many Trigger fish, one had to grow eyes in the back of ones head. At least 2 people were bitten, one on the fin and the other on the leg. I had to fend off 4 of the crazy buggers including one as big as a small horse. I spent the whole dive looking over my shoulder for trigger fish.
Bahara Rock was the best site of the weekend with slightly better viz. Well, that was only after I woke up because we hit the water at 650am and I was still a bit sleepy. Once I was awake we spotted all sorts of stuff you don’t normally see during the day, free swimming morays and blue spotted rays cruising for food and loads of hungry fish.
Sharks, Nudi’s and Pipe Fish greeted us at Jack Rock and as per normal, my student was happy to see the sharks. But his eyesight let him down trying to focus on the small Pipe Fish, time for contact lenses or a prescription mask.
Congratulations to Mike for advancing his diving skills and passing the SDI Advanced Adventure Diver Specialty Course.