To say, I am behind in my trip reports, is an understatement. With GS-Diving PADI Instuctor Julius away for 6 weeks and GS-Diving PADI DiveMaster and Intern Favian also away for 10 days and with the Seaborne renovations and the DiveSingapore construction, I have not had the time to update you all.
Anyway, I will do my best to summarise all the trips I missed writing about.
Best to start with the most recent trip. I dived on Saturday the 14th February and Julius on the 15th February. During the weekend both YM and Sasika completed their PADI Open Water Diver Course. Congratulations! The visibility was good, with up to 6 metres. On the first dive with Sasika (YM did dives 1 and 2 in December) I saw the resident big turtle on the Northern Reef of Hantu, a local island off Singapore. It was swimming away and Sasika did not really see it, so I grabbed her arm and as we swam closer, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. The turtle was seen again on the second dive in one of the other leisure diving groups.
Stuart completed his PADI Advanced Open Water Course during these weekends too. Congratulations!
One trip that will never be forgotten is when Kelvin knocked his camera overboard. When I heard what had happened, I took a quick look as to where we were. Luckily we were near The Jetty and I got a good idea where it may have landed. After 2 short dives together, I managed to find his camera. As I passed it to Kelvin, he was so happy that he gave me a hug underwater.
When everyone came back from their dives, I told them I found it precisely where I knew it would be. An said, “Where?” I replied, “On the bottom.”
The visibility has been improving every weekend. Late January it was 2-3 metres, on the 14th of February when I dived it was 5-6 metres. I think once the rain and monsoon winds stop, we will get the enjoy 8-10 metres again. I can’t wait for that!
GS-Diving regulars took some nice shots during this period. Kelvin’s and Boon Leong’s photos are below:
Cheers, Gary Savins