7 skies or Pulau Aur?

[mudguppy]

Someone help me out here

I have one weekend that I can do a liveaboard while in Singapore.

There is the 7 skies wreck
and the Pulau Aur trip.

Does anyone have an opinion on which would be the best all around trip? and why?

Actually, my preference would be to head to Thailand and do the Phi Phi Island thing, but I'd sure save a lot of money if I stuck to Malaysia.

Is there that much difference in diving Malaysia as opposed to Thailand?

Thanks for the help.

Mudguppy

 

[Zept]

I went to Aur at the weekend. Diving was great -- we saw a huge turtle, two huge bumphead parrotfish, mating cuttlefish and four different types of big angelfish. Some of the other groups saw an eagle ray. Loads of other fish as well, and some fabulous hard corals. Water was 29-30C (84-86F), conditions were easy with a couple of gentle currents and a tiny bit of surge on one site. Viz ranged from 10m (30ft) to 20-25m (60-80ft), or maybe more.

I haven't been to Seven Skies, but the people who went a week ago had a good trip.

Differences between the two trips, that I know of:

1 Travel time: Either way it's a three-hour bus trip from Singapore to the port. The boat trip to Aur takes about four hours. Seven Skies takes about eight hours. Hopefully you can sleep through it.

2 Accommodation: Seven Skies is a liveaboard trip. With Aur, there's also a landbased option -- you can stay in chalets on the island. Can be nicer if you get seasick or want some space.

3 Experience required: At Aur there's no need to go deeper than 18m (60ft). You can do long, shallow, easy dives. Seven Skies is a deeper dive, 24-35m (80-115ft). Plus you are eight hours from land/medical assistance.

4 Chance of seeing big pelagics: Better at Seven Skies, I think.

5 Chance of getting blown out by bad weather: Also greater at Seven Skies, because there's no shelter. If the conditions are bad (not that likely) I suspect you'd end up at Aur instead. Worth asking the dive company about this one.

6 Cost: I'd expect Aur to be a bit cheaper.

7 Number of dives/night dives: Worth asking about. You might do fewer dives on the Seven Skies trip because of the depth.

Re Malaysia vs Thailand, there isn't much in it. Maybe more variety around Phuket/Phi Phi, but then I've only dived a few of the sites at Aur. There are fewer divers at Aur -- around Phuket you'll often see several big dive boats on each site. There are some differences in the underwater life, but there's loads to see either way. In May, weather should be better at the eastern Malaysia sites (Aur, etc) than it is at the western Thailand ones (Phuket, etc). I wouldn't spend the money to go to Thailand at this time of year, because there's plenty of great diving locally.

Hope that helps!

Zept

 

[divedivedive!]

Do the Seven Skies. Its really rather impressive - being a supertanker, its certainly the biggest wreck within diveable recreational limits in these parts, big enough that you won't be able to cover the whole ship during the weekend - and it actually goes far deeper than 35m, I think it bottoms out at 50m+, with the shallowest point, the funnel, being around 24m. If you're looking for shallow, relaxed reef diving avoid it completely because, being in the middle of the open seas, its a norm to face pretty stiff currents, especially on the ascent and descent.

But the real selling point is the marine life: can you say resident manta ray? Schools of barras, jacks, surgeonfish, just tonnes of life. The only problem here is visibility isn't always great (can get down to 10ft) because of particulate matter, but thats mainly a problem for photographers.

Also, when you do the Seven Skies trip you get to go to Aur anyway for some dives (maybe 4 out of 6 dives), and you'll probably do the best sites there, like Rayner's Rock, so you won't miss much.

As for Thailand vs Malaysia, it's coming to the end of the dive season in the west coast of Thailand already, are you sure Phi Phi is even an option? FWIW I personally liked the Phuket and Similan sites, but have heard Phi Phi's not really that much better than Malaysian waters, better for the topside beaches and parties though. May not be worth the dosh.

 

[Zept]

Originally posted by divedivedive!
...it actually goes far deeper than 35m, I think it bottoms out at 50m+, with the shallowest point, the funnel, being around 24m.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I figured 35m was about as deep as anyone is likely to go on a rec dive (should get you down to the bridge). You're right, though, it sits in around 50m of water.

Z

 

[seaslug]

Do you know, I had never even heard of the Seven Skies till I got on this site - but now I am intrigued! Can anyone give me more info on where it is exactly and details of operators who arrange trips out there (from spore or KL) and how much it would cost etc?
Also is it viable to dive without nitrox??
Ta!

 

[Zept]

Not my kind of dive, so I can't answer all your questions, but...

From Singapore, you can do a trip with Marsden Bros or Vincent Dive. Probably there are other people who go, those are just the companies I know of. Prices and more info on their Web sites.

More accounts of diving on the Seven Skies here and here.

Hope that helps,

Zept

 

[mudguppy]

Hey Seaslug.

I don't know a whole lot about the dive, but here is what I have found out via e-mail.

Besides Zept's info, Living Seas goes out every weekend I am told. I am scheduled to dive with them on the 3-5th of May.
It is an Advanced dive so only open to those with their AOW certs.

Cost is S$550 (US approx $320)

I have made arrangements for an SSI instuctor to go with me, as I am on the nervous side. Sounds great, tho.

Wish me luck......hope you find a chance to try it!

mudguppy

 

[Zept]

Hi mudguppy!

Good to hear you've got your trip sorted out. I hope you have a great time and see lots of interesting things. I'll be at Pulau Aur from tomorrow (1 May) until Sunday (5 May), so we'll be able to compare notes afterwards.

Happy (and safe) diving,

Zept

 

[divedivedive!]

Just to let you know, one of the more famous dive operators servicing the Seven Skies wreck is Friendly Waters (http://www.friendlywaters.com.sg), who run a liveaboard there every weekend. In fact, Living Seas, who you are doing it with, are very closely connected to Friendly Waters and will be on their boat, the MV Samudera Quest. Very nice boat.

Mudguppy - the only things to be nervous about are firstly, the current, which can get pretty strong but all you have to do is hang on to the mooring line, and once you get down there the wreck geography should provide you with enough shelter to avoid any real problems, and secondly, staying down there longer than your supposed bottom time because there's just so much to see! When I got there, the manta was at 38m... I lost track of time... and needed to do a 20 minute deco stop

Worth every minute though. You'll have fun.

 

[seaslug]

Thanks for all the info, guys.
It sounds like a lot of effort for maybe 30 mins of actual downtime??
Mudguppy, let us know how your trip went and if you saw the manta.
I don't suppose it's worth doing unless if you take in Aur as well???