shugar
Contributor
PREQUEL
I hooked up with the dive group of presidential-dive-instructor-cum-instructor-to-the-stars Gigi Santos. The laurels notwithstanding she turned out to be a very nice person... immediately likeable. She's also a friend of Abi and Mike so that's a good thing.
Arriving at the resort I was surprised to see a huge white guy lying at the balcony - turns out to be Torben - Gigi's business partner and guy I met while doing business with Gordon... he'd just come in from PG and was there to guide some dives - cool! It was also an international cast as Torben's German, there was an American (I think his name's Peter too), a very nice Indian couple, guys who spoke Chinese, and a smattering of Spanish Mestizos.
The next day, while setting up for what turned out to be a pretty large group of divers (15 or so), I noticed that everyone - ok, so practically everyone - was rigging up a backplate system. wow.
I have seen people stare at my rig asking what on earth it was and here I was in a group where they could look at Peter's lone jacket-type and say: "what's that???". Add the fact that Torben and Gigi are the local distributors of EXD bp/w systems so everyone (except Anne) was using an EXD rig - we were a local EXD convention!
The dive plan was to hit Bonito Island - great! never been there before! - and do 2 dives out. Many in the group were going to be diving Nitrox that was imported from Villa Ligaya. We were divided into our boats and the day was about to begin.
I was on the "Mark Joseph" with Gigi, Anne, Liza, Allan (who I dove with in LaLuz), Rendo and Peter.
--------------------
DIVE #1: Bonito Island
Entry Time: 9:52am
Bottom Time: 52 mins.
Max Depth: 88ft
Avg. Depth: 55ft
Bottom Temp: 82F/ 28C
Starting Pressure: 3100psi Ending Pressure: 300psi
The sea was calm and the sky very clear as we took the 30-odd minute boat ride from Balai to Bonito Island on the Easter side of Maricaban... at that point we were spitting distance to Puerto Galera and you can actually make out the populace of Sabang from where we were. There was a slight current on the backside of Bonito so we descended on the anchor line.
The initial site wasn't great... the usual marine life of course, but not much in terms of coral and rock formations...
I began to try to take some photos... there was a current so it wasn't like I could really hold on to one spot and look for tiny critters. After a bit the life started to pick up.
Early into my dive, while having my face shoved into my camera, I, apparently, got separated from my group - oops. I look up to see nobody around me... especially in the direction the current was running... hmmmmmm. I look back and I vaguely see a tank and swam there... approaching the group I noticed "hey... why is everyone wearing Mares Volo Racer fins? Is there a convention in town?" Then off my left a big white guy comes hovering in - Torben's group! Aargh! I missed my group!
I stuck around with Torben's group for what I figured was going to be the rest of the dive... no biggie... except that everyone (except Torby) was in Volos and I was in my bio-pros... talk about being "others" hahahahaha
A few minutes later the drifting group came upon a large group of divers puttering around a very large mound - and not all of them were in Volos... my group!!! - joining them I started to take a few more photos without much success.
Tried to put Mike Veitch's "shoot upwards" tip to work but to no major avail as the compo and shots weren't all that... I was also diddling a lot with the strobe trying to get some good lighting.
I deployed my balloon at the safety stop and surfaced a few minutes later. Allan comes up beside me and goes: "hey, we lost you there for a minute..." Then as we approached the bangka and everyone else surfaces they go: "hey, we lost you there for a minute..." (do these guys dive with a script?)
I go: "wow... did everyone notice I was gone??? (kahiya!)" then I remembered! Of course everyone would notice! EVERYONE in the whole group was diving in black full suits... except wonderboy here - but you gotta love the wonders of a black rashguard, blue-and-orange flowery board shorts, and neon green booties... after a while though they started to needle Rendo (my buddy) who lost me during the dive.
We boarded and kicked off to nearby Maricaban to dock and sit out the surface interval. Great dive... had a lot of fun... and there were already calls to the next boat for "cookies"... hmmmm... looks like SI munchies were gonna rock today.
-------------------------------------
DIVE #2: Hot Springs, Malajibomanoc Island
Entry Time: 12:17pm
Bottom Time: 36 mins.
Max Depth: 61ft
Avg. Depth: 36ft
Bottom Temp: 81F/ 27C
Starting Pressure: 2100psi Ending Pressure: 100psi
SI food was great... these Indian almond pastilles called barfti (sp?), and killer cookies... there was also popcorn and chips going around but the barfti and cookies were enough for me.
Getting back on board, I realized that I only had 2100psi in my tanks - crap! - so it was definitely going to be a (very) short dive for me. Luckily it was going to be a relatively shallow dive so at least the air was going to be maximized. I told Gigi not to worry too much about me - I was going to head for my safety stop at 500psi and pop the balloon for a pickup.
The boatmen said there was a current... but wow, what a current... for the most part of the dive we were swimming against the current in a sea of blasted coral... after a bit I figured "***** it" and stowed the camera and focused, instead, on finning. My biggest worry was that since I was already starting the dive with 1/3 less air than everyone else, that the exertion in finning was gonna drain my tanks before we could get to whereever it was we were going.
This was all happening at 38 feet-ish... then I saw Peter finning straight down over a ledge. I think: "oh ****, deeper, and with not much air... bahala na si batman" and I follow him down... thankfully the current wasn't as bad down there... and at 60 feet... bubbles.
I've never been to an underwater hotspring before and this was amazing! the bottom was composed of small brown pebbles and air would stream up from it like fizz in a bottle of champagne. The water was scalding hot if you put your hands into the sand and you can feel the streams of alternating cold and hot water from the surroundings. It was waaaaaay cool!
I checked my air and saw I had 600. I couldn't get Gigi's attention but Peter happened to look then he told Gigi my status "I'm at 600, I'm headed up for my safety". She signals me: "where's your buddy?" I do a 360 and Rendo (my buddy) is nowhere again... seems he might have been snagged by the current... no biggie... so up I go.
I waited for quite a while before they all surfaced... major bummer really... then we headed back to Balai for a well-deserved lunch.
------------------------
EPILOGUE
Soleil was watching me on the boat as I left that morning for the dives... she was calling out "pappy, pappy, pappy" as the distance increased and she eventually cried a lot... it was heartwrenching.
She was calling out for me again as I prepped for my night dive... and I bailed. I was really looking forward to the night dive but my angel had to come first.
I also bailed on the next day's dives... we spent the morning swimming and playing on the beach and messing around... I missed a couple of high-octane dives at Bahura Kanto but I don't care... the smile on that little angel's face? priceless...
complete photos can be found here ---> http://jaggarcia.multiply.com/photos/album/32
I hooked up with the dive group of presidential-dive-instructor-cum-instructor-to-the-stars Gigi Santos. The laurels notwithstanding she turned out to be a very nice person... immediately likeable. She's also a friend of Abi and Mike so that's a good thing.
Arriving at the resort I was surprised to see a huge white guy lying at the balcony - turns out to be Torben - Gigi's business partner and guy I met while doing business with Gordon... he'd just come in from PG and was there to guide some dives - cool! It was also an international cast as Torben's German, there was an American (I think his name's Peter too), a very nice Indian couple, guys who spoke Chinese, and a smattering of Spanish Mestizos.The next day, while setting up for what turned out to be a pretty large group of divers (15 or so), I noticed that everyone - ok, so practically everyone - was rigging up a backplate system. wow.
I have seen people stare at my rig asking what on earth it was and here I was in a group where they could look at Peter's lone jacket-type and say: "what's that???". Add the fact that Torben and Gigi are the local distributors of EXD bp/w systems so everyone (except Anne) was using an EXD rig - we were a local EXD convention!The dive plan was to hit Bonito Island - great! never been there before! - and do 2 dives out. Many in the group were going to be diving Nitrox that was imported from Villa Ligaya. We were divided into our boats and the day was about to begin.
I was on the "Mark Joseph" with Gigi, Anne, Liza, Allan (who I dove with in LaLuz), Rendo and Peter.
--------------------
DIVE #1: Bonito Island
Entry Time: 9:52am
Bottom Time: 52 mins.
Max Depth: 88ft
Avg. Depth: 55ft
Bottom Temp: 82F/ 28C
Starting Pressure: 3100psi Ending Pressure: 300psi
The sea was calm and the sky very clear as we took the 30-odd minute boat ride from Balai to Bonito Island on the Easter side of Maricaban... at that point we were spitting distance to Puerto Galera and you can actually make out the populace of Sabang from where we were. There was a slight current on the backside of Bonito so we descended on the anchor line.
The initial site wasn't great... the usual marine life of course, but not much in terms of coral and rock formations...I began to try to take some photos... there was a current so it wasn't like I could really hold on to one spot and look for tiny critters. After a bit the life started to pick up.
Early into my dive, while having my face shoved into my camera, I, apparently, got separated from my group - oops. I look up to see nobody around me... especially in the direction the current was running... hmmmmmm. I look back and I vaguely see a tank and swam there... approaching the group I noticed "hey... why is everyone wearing Mares Volo Racer fins? Is there a convention in town?" Then off my left a big white guy comes hovering in - Torben's group! Aargh! I missed my group! 
I stuck around with Torben's group for what I figured was going to be the rest of the dive... no biggie... except that everyone (except Torby) was in Volos and I was in my bio-pros... talk about being "others" hahahahahaA few minutes later the drifting group came upon a large group of divers puttering around a very large mound - and not all of them were in Volos... my group!!! - joining them I started to take a few more photos without much success.
Tried to put Mike Veitch's "shoot upwards" tip to work but to no major avail as the compo and shots weren't all that... I was also diddling a lot with the strobe trying to get some good lighting.
I deployed my balloon at the safety stop and surfaced a few minutes later. Allan comes up beside me and goes: "hey, we lost you there for a minute..." Then as we approached the bangka and everyone else surfaces they go: "hey, we lost you there for a minute..." (do these guys dive with a script?)
I go: "wow... did everyone notice I was gone??? (kahiya!)" then I remembered! Of course everyone would notice! EVERYONE in the whole group was diving in black full suits... except wonderboy here - but you gotta love the wonders of a black rashguard, blue-and-orange flowery board shorts, and neon green booties... after a while though they started to needle Rendo (my buddy) who lost me during the dive.We boarded and kicked off to nearby Maricaban to dock and sit out the surface interval. Great dive... had a lot of fun... and there were already calls to the next boat for "cookies"... hmmmm... looks like SI munchies were gonna rock today.
-------------------------------------
DIVE #2: Hot Springs, Malajibomanoc Island
Entry Time: 12:17pm
Bottom Time: 36 mins.
Max Depth: 61ft
Avg. Depth: 36ft
Bottom Temp: 81F/ 27C
Starting Pressure: 2100psi Ending Pressure: 100psi
SI food was great... these Indian almond pastilles called barfti (sp?), and killer cookies... there was also popcorn and chips going around but the barfti and cookies were enough for me.
Getting back on board, I realized that I only had 2100psi in my tanks - crap! - so it was definitely going to be a (very) short dive for me. Luckily it was going to be a relatively shallow dive so at least the air was going to be maximized. I told Gigi not to worry too much about me - I was going to head for my safety stop at 500psi and pop the balloon for a pickup.
The boatmen said there was a current... but wow, what a current... for the most part of the dive we were swimming against the current in a sea of blasted coral... after a bit I figured "***** it" and stowed the camera and focused, instead, on finning. My biggest worry was that since I was already starting the dive with 1/3 less air than everyone else, that the exertion in finning was gonna drain my tanks before we could get to whereever it was we were going. This was all happening at 38 feet-ish... then I saw Peter finning straight down over a ledge. I think: "oh ****, deeper, and with not much air... bahala na si batman" and I follow him down... thankfully the current wasn't as bad down there... and at 60 feet... bubbles.
I've never been to an underwater hotspring before and this was amazing! the bottom was composed of small brown pebbles and air would stream up from it like fizz in a bottle of champagne. The water was scalding hot if you put your hands into the sand and you can feel the streams of alternating cold and hot water from the surroundings. It was waaaaaay cool!I checked my air and saw I had 600. I couldn't get Gigi's attention but Peter happened to look then he told Gigi my status "I'm at 600, I'm headed up for my safety". She signals me: "where's your buddy?" I do a 360 and Rendo (my buddy) is nowhere again... seems he might have been snagged by the current... no biggie... so up I go.
I waited for quite a while before they all surfaced... major bummer really... then we headed back to Balai for a well-deserved lunch.
------------------------
EPILOGUE
Soleil was watching me on the boat as I left that morning for the dives... she was calling out "pappy, pappy, pappy" as the distance increased and she eventually cried a lot... it was heartwrenching.
She was calling out for me again as I prepped for my night dive... and I bailed. I was really looking forward to the night dive but my angel had to come first.
I also bailed on the next day's dives... we spent the morning swimming and playing on the beach and messing around... I missed a couple of high-octane dives at Bahura Kanto but I don't care... the smile on that little angel's face? priceless...
complete photos can be found here ---> http://jaggarcia.multiply.com/photos/album/32
