Atlantis resorts (Puerto Galera and Dumaguete) February 2014

[Kevrumbo]

So, Kevrumbo what's the inside here - that the Pacific/Asia dive market is metric or just the tec side of the Pacific?

I am curious as to the imperial/metric use by the hard-core GUI/DIR divers, both in the USA and elsewhere - which metric do they favor and how does their emphasis on standardization work with these divergent measurement standards?

My thought is that metric is far more intuitive than imperial - particularly for diving - and that the learning curve for imperial-to-metric is quickly mastered. I would much rather use metric than imperial/psi/cuft - only the USA/CARIB imperial usage gives me pause.

It's whatever units the local divers practice & utiilize --in the Indo-Pacific regions that I've been traveling to for nearly fifteen years now, i'm always buddied-up with Asian or European Divers, hence the usage & preference of the Metric System. That, and as you already know --it is much easier and more intuitive to plan & manage gas usage both pre-dive and during the dive using the Metric System, for both recreational and tech diving.

The dual unit SPG will help the transitioning US imperial trained diver over to the Metric System, graphically showing how superfluous that extra zero/order of magnitude of the PSI measurement can be compared to a pressure reading in Bar.

For Peter & Lynne in the Philippines, this is probably not so much a big issue since they are a long time buddy-team used to practicing with US Imperial Units. . .

 

[TSandM]

I can actually multiple and divide by 15 pretty well, even in my head . . .

GUE divers use what their locality uses. When I did my Cave 1, we had a diver from Norway and two of us from the US. We did the class by alternating metric and imperial, and rotating leadership of the dive through the three of us, so everyone had to work with both sets of units on multiple dives. It's not actually that hard.

I totally agree that the metric system makes better sense and makes all the calculations for diving purposes much easier. It's not what we have in the US, and I have no idea how many liters a 100 cf tank is . . .

 

[Kevrumbo]

I can actually multiple and divide by 15 pretty well, even in my head . . .

GUE divers use what their locality uses. When I did my Cave 1, we had a diver from Norway and two of us from the US. We did the class by alternating metric and imperial, and rotating leadership of the dive through the three of us, so everyone had to work with both sets of units on multiple dives. It's not actually that hard.

I totally agree that the metric system makes better sense and makes all the calculations for diving purposes much easier. It's not what we have in the US, and I have no idea how many liters a 100 cf tank is . . .

Uh Lynne . . .what's more hard than 2 bar/min pressure SCR for a 11l tank (AL80 cylinder, the most common rental tank at resorts/dive-ops worldwide) -other than multiplying and dividing by 15 in your head when you don't really need to. . .?

Be considerate . . .Make things easier for your Filipino dive guide hosts (as well as Dave & Sam over at Tech Asia), and other Asian/European divers on holiday: learn & be ready to use the Metric System for your return trip later this year.

 

[JoeH.]

Thanks for the article. It was well written and truly informative. I have a trip planned to Puerto Galera in December of this year, and it helps me to know the surroundings/dive center operation.

 

[TSandM]

As an update, we just finished our second trip to Dumaguete. Often, when you first go somewhere, it's so new and exciting you forgive some small stuff, but when you go back and the novelty is gone, you're not as impressed. That was not the case at Atlantis Dumaguete. We encountered the exact same superb level of service we did in February, and I believe that everyone in the group we brought was thoroughly pleased. I was delighted that people not only remembered us, but remembered our NAMES -- quite something when you consider we had only been there once before.

They have improved the coffee, although I'd still place it at hospital grade. A friend discovered that a double shot Americana made a MUCH better cup, and I wish I'd tried that earlier in the trip.

Nudibranchs are apparently seasonal, so we saw fewer on this trip, but in exchange, we saw a whole slew of flamboyant cuttlefish and a wonderpus, so I'd call it even. Visibility this trip was better in both sites (coastal and Apo). One of the sites we dove at Apo Island has to take the prize for the most diverse and beautiful corals I've seen anywhere.

Two nights, we got critter information lectures from Marco, which I found enormously interesting and most useful in helping me find and identify stuff, and also know what to try to show in my photographs. I wish they had those every night.

At any rate, we had another fantastic trip, and Atlantis will continue to get my strong recommendation as an excellent destination.

 

[fisheater]

They're a class act, for sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalko

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for posting the trip report. Even if I'm ever blessed to hit the Philippines, it won't be for a few years in all likelihood. And I won't likely be doing metric...!

Many discussions of the Philippines get hard for me to follow. I'm unfamiliar with that part of the world, I've heard it said we're talking an area similar in size to the Caribbean so saying 'the Philippines' doesn't narrow it down much, and the awkward foreign names make me lose track of the conversation. Not just place names but names for things (like Bangka for a type of boat).

Richard.

 

[TSandM]

If I remember what I read correctly, there are something like 7000 islands in the Philippines, and they stretch over a very large geographical area. In addition, some places have a name that isn't the name of the nearest map-findable feature, so I agree with you -- it's confusing. Sabang Bay, where Atlanta Puerto Galera is, is about 3 hours from Manila, I think roughly southwest. Dumaguete is on an island named Negros, which is about a 90 minute flight south from Manila. But it would actually be fun if one of the Philippine folks (Andy?) would put together a map that pointed out the sites that people commonly reference, like Anilao, Mindanao, Subic Bay, Tubbataha, etc.

 

[drrich2]

Yes. If somebody from that area of the world asked me about the Caribbean, I'd try to break it down by what I consider the 4 or 5 mainstream distinctive destinations; Cozumel and Bonaire definitely, the Bahamas and Belize maybe (both especially by live-aboard), perhaps the Cayman Islands. Instead of more specialized names that might sound odd to a foreigner (e.g.: catamaran, nekton), I'd go for 'boat.' Some island names are going to sound foreign to a foreigner no matter what you do.

I like the way you broke it down. Some discussions sound to me like 'Odd name resort on how-do-you-pronounce-that island, in a part of the world you're not familiar with, in the region of you-never-heard-of-that, on the what-kind-of-boat? vessel, taking days to get to and from, has great diving. Which makes it run together with a number of other potential destinations I'm vaguely aware of, like the Maldives.

Richard.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Yes. If somebody from that area of the world asked me about the Caribbean, I'd try to break it down by what I consider the 4 or 5 mainstream distinctive destinations; Cozumel and Bonaire definitely, the Bahamas and Belize maybe (both especially by live-aboard), perhaps the Cayman Islands. Instead of more specialized names that might sound odd to a foreigner (e.g.: catamaran, nekton), I'd go for 'boat.' Some island names are going to sound foreign to a foreigner no matter what you do. I like the way you broke it down. Some discussions sound to me like 'Odd name resort on how-do-you-pronounce-that island, in a part of the world you're not familiar with, in the region of you-never-heard-of-that, on the what-kind-of-boat? vessel, taking days to get to and from, has great diving. Which makes it run together with a number of other potential destinations I'm vaguely aware of, like the Maldives. Richard.

The Philippines is at the geo/oceanographic apex of the Coral Triangle Region (link - Coral Triangle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) ". . .which is recognized as the global center of marine biodiversity and a priority for conservation. . . . . .There is considerable overlap between the boundaries of the Coral Triangle that are based primarily on high coral biodiversity (more than 500 species), and the boundaries based on the area of greatest biodiversity for coral reef fishes."Great info on highlights of dive sites and the sub-regions of the Philippines here:Scuba Dive Philippines – For Diving Information and Holiday Packages