Hi,
I've been in Amed for a couple of weeks and thought I'd share my experiences here as well as post a little clip of a video on a dive at the Japanese shipwreck.
I recommend diving in Amed, and prefer it as a base to Tulamben (I was there for 4 weeks). There are much more dive sites here, lots more to do topside, and all the local operators drive to Tulamben anyway - although I would say that the best time to dive on the wreck is 6:30AM or 8PM... so you're better off staying in Tulamben for a night or two. I STRONGLY recommend Liberty Dive Resort for staying in Tulamben. It's the best dive resort I've ever stayed at. It's hard to fault. It's been designed from the ground-up with divers in mind - and it's a very polished operation.
Anyway, getting onto Amed and the Japanese shipwreck dive site... The wind here makes a MASSIVE difference to conditions and viz at shallow (<10m) depths - so much so that I don't recommend diving the Japanese shipwreck if there's much wind. Wind here brings waves and swell, and the shipwreck is so shallow that conditions deteriorate very quickly to very poor viz with massive amounts of backscatter.
High tide is the best time to dive the wreck. Ask your dive shop what the tide is going to be like when you plan to dive the wreck. If they don't know - they should do... not a good sign!
Lunar cycle also makes a big difference. Don't dive shallow at full moon - there will be waves, current, and poor viz. Head deeper.
Getting in and out of the water
Diving the wreck is from shore, not boat. The shore isn't sand unfortunately - pebbles - and can be tricky... Very tricky when there are waves. I saw a very slight Japanese woman diver really struggle getting in the other day and felt the operator shouldn't have taken her there - getting into the water under stress is never a good idea, it can be exhausting (some guides and DMs that do this day-in and day-out forget how tricky a difficult entry can be). It's not a good way to start a dive. She would have been much better doing a boat dive further up in Jemeluk.
Snorkelling do yourself a favour and do a recky first... Go snorkelling at the shipwreck by yourself the day before (you can park there, there's a cafe there so relax and have a coffee/snack). Go about the same time as you plan to dive the next day. It's a great site to snorkel - the wreck is only 20m from the shore, and there's lots to see, don't just stick to the wreck. The shipwreck is so shallow that it's one of the best wrecks I've been to snorkelling.
I try to snorkel all my shallow shore dives now before I dive. It's a great habit to get into - and really helps you visualise your entry and plan your dive.
What should I do if there's wind, waves & swell? Go to another dive site, or if you must go to the wreck site - go deeper (see video below). In my experience if it's choppy or windy, things are fine once you get below 10m or so. I recommend going to Jemeluk or Bunutan - they both have walls at their points and stay below 10m.
Happy diving - there's lots to see in Amed
Here's a video of a lovely Mantis Shrimp at 12m; 10mins into the dive heading west from the wreck. Conditions on the wreck were dreadful... so we headed out going deeper and had a great dive
[video=youtube;9XXd7CI9JaY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XXd7CI9JaY[/video]
More diving videos from Amed and Tulamben here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CrazyAboutScuba
I've been in Amed for a couple of weeks and thought I'd share my experiences here as well as post a little clip of a video on a dive at the Japanese shipwreck.
I recommend diving in Amed, and prefer it as a base to Tulamben (I was there for 4 weeks). There are much more dive sites here, lots more to do topside, and all the local operators drive to Tulamben anyway - although I would say that the best time to dive on the wreck is 6:30AM or 8PM... so you're better off staying in Tulamben for a night or two. I STRONGLY recommend Liberty Dive Resort for staying in Tulamben. It's the best dive resort I've ever stayed at. It's hard to fault. It's been designed from the ground-up with divers in mind - and it's a very polished operation.
Anyway, getting onto Amed and the Japanese shipwreck dive site... The wind here makes a MASSIVE difference to conditions and viz at shallow (<10m) depths - so much so that I don't recommend diving the Japanese shipwreck if there's much wind. Wind here brings waves and swell, and the shipwreck is so shallow that conditions deteriorate very quickly to very poor viz with massive amounts of backscatter.
High tide is the best time to dive the wreck. Ask your dive shop what the tide is going to be like when you plan to dive the wreck. If they don't know - they should do... not a good sign!
Lunar cycle also makes a big difference. Don't dive shallow at full moon - there will be waves, current, and poor viz. Head deeper.
Getting in and out of the water
Diving the wreck is from shore, not boat. The shore isn't sand unfortunately - pebbles - and can be tricky... Very tricky when there are waves. I saw a very slight Japanese woman diver really struggle getting in the other day and felt the operator shouldn't have taken her there - getting into the water under stress is never a good idea, it can be exhausting (some guides and DMs that do this day-in and day-out forget how tricky a difficult entry can be). It's not a good way to start a dive. She would have been much better doing a boat dive further up in Jemeluk.
Snorkelling do yourself a favour and do a recky first... Go snorkelling at the shipwreck by yourself the day before (you can park there, there's a cafe there so relax and have a coffee/snack). Go about the same time as you plan to dive the next day. It's a great site to snorkel - the wreck is only 20m from the shore, and there's lots to see, don't just stick to the wreck. The shipwreck is so shallow that it's one of the best wrecks I've been to snorkelling.
I try to snorkel all my shallow shore dives now before I dive. It's a great habit to get into - and really helps you visualise your entry and plan your dive.
What should I do if there's wind, waves & swell? Go to another dive site, or if you must go to the wreck site - go deeper (see video below). In my experience if it's choppy or windy, things are fine once you get below 10m or so. I recommend going to Jemeluk or Bunutan - they both have walls at their points and stay below 10m.
Happy diving - there's lots to see in Amed
Here's a video of a lovely Mantis Shrimp at 12m; 10mins into the dive heading west from the wreck. Conditions on the wreck were dreadful... so we headed out going deeper and had a great dive
[video=youtube;9XXd7CI9JaY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XXd7CI9JaY[/video]
More diving videos from Amed and Tulamben here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CrazyAboutScuba
Last edited:
