Through The Backyards;: July 2010

[Disclaimer: All photos taken underwater do not belong to me, but instead, Karen Elizabeth Savins, my instructor's wife and my dive buddy!]

Recently, I signed up for an Open Water Diver (PADI) course under Freestyle Divers (edit: my instructor went sol o!) I wanted a getaway (It was after mid-year exams anyway!) so I brought up SCUBA diving to my mother. It was on impulse and yes, the announcement took her by surprise.

It all happened too fast. Basically, I did my theory on a Tuesday evening, pool session the next evening and went on a 3-day 2-night trip on Friday (within the same week!). We left the jetty at Republic Of Singapore Yacht Club at approximately 6.45pm and scheduled to arrive at our destination, which was somewhere in the open sea (I don't have the coordinates!) in Tioman, Malaysia, in the wee hours the following day.

8AM: Everyone onboard was thrilled to finally embark on their first dive of the trip. I guess that adrenaline rush never ceases huh?

Hold on to your mask, regulator & weights. Alright, leap!

First group down! We're up next! I jumped off the platform, surprisingly without hesitation.

So this rock has a name. It's called 'Bahara Rock'. Water temperature was 28 degrees celsius but it felt way colder than that. Our itinerary for the first dive was circling that rock at 12m. (I know it sounds stupid but that's 'cuz you have no idea what to expect down there!)

Polka-dot nudibranch, Jorunna funebris

This was huge, spanning the length of my forearm + hand (~17cm).

We made a pit stop at Genting jetty. (First thing I bought was chewing gum, wth. XD)

So while they were busy preparing for dinner, I was awed by this.

Night divers getting picked up.

Sunset (taken with sunset mode or something on my lousy camera, normal mode ftw!).

So much food! It was good. Dinner was quick for me though; All I wanted to do was chill on the upper deck, gazing at stars and feeling the sea breeze caress my hair.

Spotted many feather stars during following dives the next day. (This is just one of them and the sea fans were really pretty!)

Pipefish

Polyclad flatworm, Thysanozoon nigropapillosum

Besides these few photographed organisms, I saw blue-spotted nudibranchs, dozens of flatworms, lots pipefish at Pulau Renggis, blue-spotted fantail rays, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, (too many) sea urchins, a turtle!!, butterfly fish, anemone fish, beautiful corals at a mere depth of 12m. Pretty shallow.

Me before mask removal exercise. (Some technical stuff I had to go through as part of the course.) The rubble at the bottom of the seabed gave me cuts. D: