under water
Contributor
I just got back from a week of diving at Sipadan from the Seaventures rig and wanted to share some of my impressions.
This was my first trip to that area. My real reason for going to Borneo was to see the Orangutans, but how could I pass up a chance to dive Sipadan.
Getting to Sipadan from Boston is one heck of a trip. Our return trip was 37 hours door to door in taxis, buses, planes and airports and a 12 hour time zone change. We have been back a week and still suffering from jet lag.
The diving: Well, Sipadan pretty much lived up to it's reputation. Lots of schools of bumphead parrotfish, lots of turtles, lots of schools of jacks and barracuda, lots of anemone fish and plenty of other things we had never seen before. I was hoping for two hundred feet viz, but didn't get that
.
We were able to go to Sipadan every day of the 6 days we were on Seaventures rig if we wanted to; there just weren't that many people there. At one point in between groups, I think there were only 7 guests. We choose to go to Mabul & Kapalai one day instead.
The diving at Mabul was great although the visibility was really horrible. Although the diving under the rig was good, there were some drawbacks. First, it is 60 feet and I use air up pretty fast at 60 feet. Second, there was often quite a bit of current and we had to wait several time for the tide to change before going in. Even then, the current on the top could be pretty strong and with the poor viz, you could get turned around and come up on the wrong side of the rig (I did once) They do not allow diving after 8PM under the rig.
We upgraded to the VIP suite, which is about 4 times the size of the regular rooms. It was worth it as I needed the room for my computer and photo gear. Wireless was hit or miss, mostly miss, in our room on the 4th floor. This is an oil rig and although converted it still feels like an oil rig, even if you are in the captains quarters.
The food on the rig was OK, not great. Just be prepared for noodles and hot dogs for breakfast. and a menu that is heavily weighted towards chinese and malaysian cuisine. If you need a hamburger option at every meal, forgetaboutit.
The dive setup (equipment, etc) was really efficient, although it took me a while to get the hang of where to get a clean towel.
Although the description on the web implies a complete computer/photo room setup, I had a hard time finding an available 2 prong outlet to use, even though it was far from full of divers, so make sure you bring enough of the UK style 3 prong adapters.
All in all, the diving was a lot of fun and I am really happy to have had a chance to go there. If I were to go back to Sipadan, even though I believe the value at Seaventures was great, personally I would probably stay on Mabul so that I could take advantage of the shallow shore diving. I am sure I would have been underwater a lot longer.
Here is a link to a page with some pictures from the trip.
Sipadan
Here is a video showing diving around Sipadan and under the rig.
[vimeo]16167354[/vimeo]
All in all I recommend Seaventures and Sipadan as a destination. The rig I would recommend if you want to maximize your trips to Sipadan.
This was my first trip to that area. My real reason for going to Borneo was to see the Orangutans, but how could I pass up a chance to dive Sipadan.
Getting to Sipadan from Boston is one heck of a trip. Our return trip was 37 hours door to door in taxis, buses, planes and airports and a 12 hour time zone change. We have been back a week and still suffering from jet lag.
The diving: Well, Sipadan pretty much lived up to it's reputation. Lots of schools of bumphead parrotfish, lots of turtles, lots of schools of jacks and barracuda, lots of anemone fish and plenty of other things we had never seen before. I was hoping for two hundred feet viz, but didn't get that
.We were able to go to Sipadan every day of the 6 days we were on Seaventures rig if we wanted to; there just weren't that many people there. At one point in between groups, I think there were only 7 guests. We choose to go to Mabul & Kapalai one day instead.
The diving at Mabul was great although the visibility was really horrible. Although the diving under the rig was good, there were some drawbacks. First, it is 60 feet and I use air up pretty fast at 60 feet. Second, there was often quite a bit of current and we had to wait several time for the tide to change before going in. Even then, the current on the top could be pretty strong and with the poor viz, you could get turned around and come up on the wrong side of the rig (I did once) They do not allow diving after 8PM under the rig.
We upgraded to the VIP suite, which is about 4 times the size of the regular rooms. It was worth it as I needed the room for my computer and photo gear. Wireless was hit or miss, mostly miss, in our room on the 4th floor. This is an oil rig and although converted it still feels like an oil rig, even if you are in the captains quarters.
The food on the rig was OK, not great. Just be prepared for noodles and hot dogs for breakfast. and a menu that is heavily weighted towards chinese and malaysian cuisine. If you need a hamburger option at every meal, forgetaboutit.
The dive setup (equipment, etc) was really efficient, although it took me a while to get the hang of where to get a clean towel.
Although the description on the web implies a complete computer/photo room setup, I had a hard time finding an available 2 prong outlet to use, even though it was far from full of divers, so make sure you bring enough of the UK style 3 prong adapters.
All in all, the diving was a lot of fun and I am really happy to have had a chance to go there. If I were to go back to Sipadan, even though I believe the value at Seaventures was great, personally I would probably stay on Mabul so that I could take advantage of the shallow shore diving. I am sure I would have been underwater a lot longer.
Here is a link to a page with some pictures from the trip.
Sipadan
Here is a video showing diving around Sipadan and under the rig.
[vimeo]16167354[/vimeo]
All in all I recommend Seaventures and Sipadan as a destination. The rig I would recommend if you want to maximize your trips to Sipadan.
, as for the dynamite bombing, I have always been told it was coming further from the Philippines zone outside the Malaysian Marine park (though not very far from Sipadan)... and well, that's what they say... 
