Taken from the Bali Advertiser newspaper:
“Let’s Be Careful Down There!” By Simon Pridmore
Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan offer world class diving especially when the sunfish are around from July through October but this is not diving for the inexperienced or unwary. Take precautions!
To the south of Bali, sitting like an ill-fitting plug in the mouth of the torrential flow of water that courses through the Lombok Straits, lie a trio of islands, Lembongan, Ceningan and Penida. Seen from Bali, they are a sombre presence in the mid distance. Once a penal colony and surrounded by legends of demons and evildoing, the islands are still viewed by many Balinese with some trepidation. As you approach by boat, you can easily understand why. Walls of rock loom dark ahead; water swirls wildly around you and waves break in mid ocean! But then you see the white sand beaches gleaming in the sunshine, the palm-lined resorts dotted appealingly on the cliff-tops of Lembongan and the feeling of foreboding falls away.
Worldwide Fame
Under populated and under-developed, the islands offer a taste of the laid-back Bali of several decades ago but their main attractions lie underwater. With clean, clear water, coral reefs and thriving fish populations, the ocean around Penida and Lembongan is a fabulous diving environment. Celebrity animals such as manta rays and reef sharks are often seen but the stars of the show are the oceanic sunfish (mola-mola) that are frequently spotted close to shore during the months of July to October.
These distinctively plate-shaped giants are the worlds largest bony fish. Big adults can measure 4 metres tall and 3 metres nose to tail and weigh 2000kg and Bali has attained worldwide fame as one of the few places on the planet that offers reliable sightings.
Cold water upwellings bring the sunfish in from the deep ocean to the shallows where thousands of small fish hang in the blue waiting for them. The sunfish stop, rotate their huge bodies until they are vertical, mouth pointing to the surface, and bask motionless while the fish swarm around them picking off the multitude of parasites they have collected during their long ocean journeys. It must feel like a relaxing, healing, soothing massage: (no wonder they choose Bali!)
Understandably, many divers have the sunfish high on their must-see list, local dive operators know the most likely places to find them and, as long as no-one gets too close or too excited, the sunfish will sit there for a while allowing endless photographs.
International Notoriety
Unfortunately, there is a downside, (isnt there always?) The wonderful images of the sunfish and glowing dive reports posted on-line draw divers from all over the world and many of the folk who come are not prepared. They expect warm, calm, tropical seas this is Bali after all but what the impressive pictures of the sunfish do not show is that the waters in which they drift so easily and peacefully are cold and subject to unpredictable and ferocious currents. Sunfish are born to this environment; we landlubber humans are not!
Crystal Bay, a protected cove on the north side of Penida is the busiest of the areas dive sites and plays host to hundreds of divers a day during the sunfish months. Last year, in the middle of the season, Bali attained international notoriety when the police banned diving activities in the bay for a couple of days following a spate of accidents there.
Bad Press
John Lippmann, Asia Pacific Director of the Divers Alert Network (DAN AP), the worlds pre-eminent dive safety organization, described the situation perfectly in an editorial on the topic later that year. He wrote:
(Nusa Penida) is a popular dive site due to the periodic presence of Sunfish (Mola-Mola.) However, there are some serious potential hazards there for divers, especially inexperienced and/or unwary divers. The area is subject to very strong currents, including substantial downcurrents, which can suddenly force a diver to descend far deeper than planned - and quickly. This has caused numerous accidents, including multiple deaths and severe cases of decompression illness. Divers can be unexpectedly dragged to depth and run out of breathing gas and/or have very rapid ascents when the current eventually releases them. Such downcurrents occur regularly in a variety of sites around the world but most reports that DAN AP has received over the past few years have been from Indonesia . Unfortunately the safety standards and preparedness of dive operators varies greatly and unsuspecting divers sometimes find themselves in perilous situations.
This is not the sort of bad press the tourism industry here needs to be generating. John Lippmann lays the blame for the accidents firmly at the door of local dive operators and it is hard to argue when you look closely at specific incidents, such as the one recounted below.
This is the story of a near-miss that almost cost the lives of 8 divers in July last year and, but for a little foresight on the part of one of the divers and a million-to-one chance, would have rocketed Bali to the top of newsfeeds around the world.
A Close Call
Just before midnight on 7th July 2012, a fishing boat picked up eight divers adrift in three-metre seas off southern Bali. The divers had begun their third dive of the day late in the afternoon, had been picked up by a strong current, become separated from their guide and had surfaced out of sight of their dive boat, which was then forced to return to port after a very brief search because it did not have night-running lights.
The divers were recovered 20 kilometres from their starting point when the fishermen spotted lights in the water. Their rescue was completely fortuitous. In fact, the captain of the fishing vessel said that normally if he saw a light in the water at night he would think it was another vessel and steer away from it! He had not been looking for them. He was just on his way home from Flores. An official search had been planned from Bali but it was not due to begin until dawn the following morning!
It was not only luck that turned what could have been a screaming headline into a mere footnote. The divers contributed to their own survival by making two crucial decisions. First, they stayed together, creating a larger, more visible presence in the water and enabling each to take mental strength from the presence of the others. Second, some of the divers were carrying torches, even though they had been on a daytime dive.
These two factors turned the odds sufficiently in their favour to enable them to benefit from the chance encounter with the fishing boat and survive.
Prevention and Precautions
The dive centre responsible for putting these people in the water made some major mistakes. Apart from operating a boat that was not properly equipped, the dive began so late that they should have known it would be impossible for the boat crew to spot the divers in darkening seas when they surfaced in fading light. They also allocated too few staff to take care of a group of this size in difficult conditions.
If you are diver with dreams of swimming with sunfish, how do you make sure you stay safe? First, choose your dive operator carefully. Look at online reviews, go to diver blogs, get recommendations and, even after you have chosen, dont be afraid to walk away if, when you turn up, the operation does not seem as professional or well-equipped as it appeared on its website. The Internet can lie! Even on the boat, if the staff dont seem to have your safety as their paramount concern or something about the set up or briefing bothers you, do what the experienced divers do when they feel that something isnt right: just sit out the dive and catch up on your sun-bathing or a good book instead.
Notwithstanding how good a dive operation seems to be, however, it is sensible to take your own precautions too and carry signalling and survival equipment as a standard part of your dive kit. The following are a few suggestions.
Always carry a surface marker buoy (SMB) or safety sausage. Choose long and thin rather than short and fat and go for either fluorescent yellow or fluorescent orange for maximum visibility. Some models have white reflective tape sewn on the top, which can flash in the sunlight and draw a watchers attention.
Take a torch with you on every dive. Not only is it useful for peering at things hiding in holes or under ledges; as the lost divers found, a torch can save your life! To make you especially visible, you can shine it up through your SMB to create a kind of light sabre!
A piece of unbreakable mirrored card, (the stuff they use in aircraft bathrooms), makes an excellent daytime signalling device. Point the card in the direction of a vessel in the distance and move it from side to side to catch the sun. A CD will do the job just fine too!
Traditionally whistles have been standard dive gear, but these are not very effective except over short distances and even then only if the wind is in your favour. A power horn attached to your BCD inflator hose is much more effective.
A hood is not only useful for keeping you warm in the cold waters of South Bali. It will also protect your head and neck from the sun on the surface. Adding reflective flashes to the hood is a good idea.
Author
Simon Pridmore is co-author of the Bali Diving and Snorkelling Guide, published by Mantaraypublishing.com in June 2013. He can be contacted via Scuba Confidential - An Insider's Guide to Becoming a Better Diver - Home
“Let’s Be Careful Down There!” By Simon Pridmore
Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan offer world class diving especially when the sunfish are around from July through October but this is not diving for the inexperienced or unwary. Take precautions!
To the south of Bali, sitting like an ill-fitting plug in the mouth of the torrential flow of water that courses through the Lombok Straits, lie a trio of islands, Lembongan, Ceningan and Penida. Seen from Bali, they are a sombre presence in the mid distance. Once a penal colony and surrounded by legends of demons and evildoing, the islands are still viewed by many Balinese with some trepidation. As you approach by boat, you can easily understand why. Walls of rock loom dark ahead; water swirls wildly around you and waves break in mid ocean! But then you see the white sand beaches gleaming in the sunshine, the palm-lined resorts dotted appealingly on the cliff-tops of Lembongan and the feeling of foreboding falls away.
Worldwide Fame
Under populated and under-developed, the islands offer a taste of the laid-back Bali of several decades ago but their main attractions lie underwater. With clean, clear water, coral reefs and thriving fish populations, the ocean around Penida and Lembongan is a fabulous diving environment. Celebrity animals such as manta rays and reef sharks are often seen but the stars of the show are the oceanic sunfish (mola-mola) that are frequently spotted close to shore during the months of July to October.
These distinctively plate-shaped giants are the worlds largest bony fish. Big adults can measure 4 metres tall and 3 metres nose to tail and weigh 2000kg and Bali has attained worldwide fame as one of the few places on the planet that offers reliable sightings.
Cold water upwellings bring the sunfish in from the deep ocean to the shallows where thousands of small fish hang in the blue waiting for them. The sunfish stop, rotate their huge bodies until they are vertical, mouth pointing to the surface, and bask motionless while the fish swarm around them picking off the multitude of parasites they have collected during their long ocean journeys. It must feel like a relaxing, healing, soothing massage: (no wonder they choose Bali!)
Understandably, many divers have the sunfish high on their must-see list, local dive operators know the most likely places to find them and, as long as no-one gets too close or too excited, the sunfish will sit there for a while allowing endless photographs.
International Notoriety
Unfortunately, there is a downside, (isnt there always?) The wonderful images of the sunfish and glowing dive reports posted on-line draw divers from all over the world and many of the folk who come are not prepared. They expect warm, calm, tropical seas this is Bali after all but what the impressive pictures of the sunfish do not show is that the waters in which they drift so easily and peacefully are cold and subject to unpredictable and ferocious currents. Sunfish are born to this environment; we landlubber humans are not!
Crystal Bay, a protected cove on the north side of Penida is the busiest of the areas dive sites and plays host to hundreds of divers a day during the sunfish months. Last year, in the middle of the season, Bali attained international notoriety when the police banned diving activities in the bay for a couple of days following a spate of accidents there.
Bad Press
John Lippmann, Asia Pacific Director of the Divers Alert Network (DAN AP), the worlds pre-eminent dive safety organization, described the situation perfectly in an editorial on the topic later that year. He wrote:
(Nusa Penida) is a popular dive site due to the periodic presence of Sunfish (Mola-Mola.) However, there are some serious potential hazards there for divers, especially inexperienced and/or unwary divers. The area is subject to very strong currents, including substantial downcurrents, which can suddenly force a diver to descend far deeper than planned - and quickly. This has caused numerous accidents, including multiple deaths and severe cases of decompression illness. Divers can be unexpectedly dragged to depth and run out of breathing gas and/or have very rapid ascents when the current eventually releases them. Such downcurrents occur regularly in a variety of sites around the world but most reports that DAN AP has received over the past few years have been from Indonesia . Unfortunately the safety standards and preparedness of dive operators varies greatly and unsuspecting divers sometimes find themselves in perilous situations.
This is not the sort of bad press the tourism industry here needs to be generating. John Lippmann lays the blame for the accidents firmly at the door of local dive operators and it is hard to argue when you look closely at specific incidents, such as the one recounted below.
This is the story of a near-miss that almost cost the lives of 8 divers in July last year and, but for a little foresight on the part of one of the divers and a million-to-one chance, would have rocketed Bali to the top of newsfeeds around the world.
A Close Call
Just before midnight on 7th July 2012, a fishing boat picked up eight divers adrift in three-metre seas off southern Bali. The divers had begun their third dive of the day late in the afternoon, had been picked up by a strong current, become separated from their guide and had surfaced out of sight of their dive boat, which was then forced to return to port after a very brief search because it did not have night-running lights.
The divers were recovered 20 kilometres from their starting point when the fishermen spotted lights in the water. Their rescue was completely fortuitous. In fact, the captain of the fishing vessel said that normally if he saw a light in the water at night he would think it was another vessel and steer away from it! He had not been looking for them. He was just on his way home from Flores. An official search had been planned from Bali but it was not due to begin until dawn the following morning!
It was not only luck that turned what could have been a screaming headline into a mere footnote. The divers contributed to their own survival by making two crucial decisions. First, they stayed together, creating a larger, more visible presence in the water and enabling each to take mental strength from the presence of the others. Second, some of the divers were carrying torches, even though they had been on a daytime dive.
These two factors turned the odds sufficiently in their favour to enable them to benefit from the chance encounter with the fishing boat and survive.
Prevention and Precautions
The dive centre responsible for putting these people in the water made some major mistakes. Apart from operating a boat that was not properly equipped, the dive began so late that they should have known it would be impossible for the boat crew to spot the divers in darkening seas when they surfaced in fading light. They also allocated too few staff to take care of a group of this size in difficult conditions.
If you are diver with dreams of swimming with sunfish, how do you make sure you stay safe? First, choose your dive operator carefully. Look at online reviews, go to diver blogs, get recommendations and, even after you have chosen, dont be afraid to walk away if, when you turn up, the operation does not seem as professional or well-equipped as it appeared on its website. The Internet can lie! Even on the boat, if the staff dont seem to have your safety as their paramount concern or something about the set up or briefing bothers you, do what the experienced divers do when they feel that something isnt right: just sit out the dive and catch up on your sun-bathing or a good book instead.
Notwithstanding how good a dive operation seems to be, however, it is sensible to take your own precautions too and carry signalling and survival equipment as a standard part of your dive kit. The following are a few suggestions.
Always carry a surface marker buoy (SMB) or safety sausage. Choose long and thin rather than short and fat and go for either fluorescent yellow or fluorescent orange for maximum visibility. Some models have white reflective tape sewn on the top, which can flash in the sunlight and draw a watchers attention.
Take a torch with you on every dive. Not only is it useful for peering at things hiding in holes or under ledges; as the lost divers found, a torch can save your life! To make you especially visible, you can shine it up through your SMB to create a kind of light sabre!
A piece of unbreakable mirrored card, (the stuff they use in aircraft bathrooms), makes an excellent daytime signalling device. Point the card in the direction of a vessel in the distance and move it from side to side to catch the sun. A CD will do the job just fine too!
Traditionally whistles have been standard dive gear, but these are not very effective except over short distances and even then only if the wind is in your favour. A power horn attached to your BCD inflator hose is much more effective.
A hood is not only useful for keeping you warm in the cold waters of South Bali. It will also protect your head and neck from the sun on the surface. Adding reflective flashes to the hood is a good idea.
Author
Simon Pridmore is co-author of the Bali Diving and Snorkelling Guide, published by Mantaraypublishing.com in June 2013. He can be contacted via Scuba Confidential - An Insider's Guide to Becoming a Better Diver - Home
