Report from Sipadan and Seaventures

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under water

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Location
Tampa
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I just got back from a week of diving at Sipadan from the Seaventures rig and wanted to share some of my impressions.

This was my first trip to that area. My real reason for going to Borneo was to see the Orangutans, but how could I pass up a chance to dive Sipadan.

Getting to Sipadan from Boston is one heck of a trip. Our return trip was 37 hours door to door in taxis, buses, planes and airports and a 12 hour time zone change. We have been back a week and still suffering from jet lag.

The diving: Well, Sipadan pretty much lived up to it's reputation. Lots of schools of bumphead parrotfish, lots of turtles, lots of schools of jacks and barracuda, lots of anemone fish and plenty of other things we had never seen before. I was hoping for two hundred feet viz, but didn't get that :).

We were able to go to Sipadan every day of the 6 days we were on Seaventures rig if we wanted to; there just weren't that many people there. At one point in between groups, I think there were only 7 guests. We choose to go to Mabul & Kapalai one day instead.

The diving at Mabul was great although the visibility was really horrible. Although the diving under the rig was good, there were some drawbacks. First, it is 60 feet and I use air up pretty fast at 60 feet. Second, there was often quite a bit of current and we had to wait several time for the tide to change before going in. Even then, the current on the top could be pretty strong and with the poor viz, you could get turned around and come up on the wrong side of the rig (I did once) They do not allow diving after 8PM under the rig.

We upgraded to the VIP suite, which is about 4 times the size of the regular rooms. It was worth it as I needed the room for my computer and photo gear. Wireless was hit or miss, mostly miss, in our room on the 4th floor. This is an oil rig and although converted it still feels like an oil rig, even if you are in the captains quarters.

The food on the rig was OK, not great. Just be prepared for noodles and hot dogs for breakfast. and a menu that is heavily weighted towards chinese and malaysian cuisine. If you need a hamburger option at every meal, forgetaboutit.
The dive setup (equipment, etc) was really efficient, although it took me a while to get the hang of where to get a clean towel.
Although the description on the web implies a complete computer/photo room setup, I had a hard time finding an available 2 prong outlet to use, even though it was far from full of divers, so make sure you bring enough of the UK style 3 prong adapters.

All in all, the diving was a lot of fun and I am really happy to have had a chance to go there. If I were to go back to Sipadan, even though I believe the value at Seaventures was great, personally I would probably stay on Mabul so that I could take advantage of the shallow shore diving. I am sure I would have been underwater a lot longer.

Here is a link to a page with some pictures from the trip.
Sipadan

Here is a video showing diving around Sipadan and under the rig.
[vimeo]16167354[/vimeo]

All in all I recommend Seaventures and Sipadan as a destination. The rig I would recommend if you want to maximize your trips to Sipadan.
 
sitting behind the desk and reading what you've wrote.. Man, I am envious. Cannot wait till i'm back at sea again. Cheers.
 
The food choices at the rig can most certainly be improved. I would also like them to offer snacks such as hot dogs (not hard to make) or similar items to go along with the beers on sale because waiting for lunch or dinner can sometimes be a long wait especially if one is hungry after 2-3 dives.

It's something they really need to sort out because they don't need a lot of manpower to get this done and to offer it to divers. And it will be additional income anyways for the rig.

Internet was sporadic so I bought a malaysian pre-paid internet card and usb modem. Which was useful. (celcom).

If you can get past the fact it is a rig and take the conveniences it offers to get on and off boats for dives, and you're there purely to dive, it is a good option.
 
Thanks for the vid mate! I've been looking forward to going for awhile now and that has whet my appetite. I'll be there (staying at MWB) at the end of Feb. I hope it is just as good!
 
With the amount of critters that you got to see Im not sure there is much one can complain about. You got to see the all the highlights of Sipadan and the weather looked great!

Just not sure about the shot of the fishermen boat. Hope they were outside the sanctuary area.

What camera setup are you using?
 
With the amount of critters that you got to see I'm not sure there is much one can complain about. You got to see the all the highlights of Sipadan and the weather looked great!

Just not sure about the shot of the fishermen boat. Hope they were outside the sanctuary area.

What camera setup are you using?
I sure hope it didn't come across as complaining. I was just pointing out what I learned and what I would do next time. YMMV of course.
It was a great trip, worth the cost and I really enjoyed it, just wish I could have done more shore diving while I was there.
The fishing boat was about 1/2 of the way back from Sipidan, I'm not sure how much of that is in the sanctuary or not. We did hear dynamite a few times while diving, so I'm pretty sure there are a few rules being broken.

I was using an Olympus E-PL1 in an Olympus housing with a 9-18mm lens (mostly) , Zen dome and 2 INON s2000 strobes. It was my first time underwater with it and I liked it!
front.jpg
 
Well done youve done well if its your first time. How old is your camera? I really liked the shot of the turtle resting on the coral. Im glad 2x S2000 strobes look like working well forwide angle as Im due for my 2nd soon. Just wish I had a proper setup when I was in Sipadan. My P&S flooded on my first dive there and I got nothing. But it doesnt matter that much now as the diving was amazing and we got 200 feet + viz!
 
Very nice video, counting the days for my 5th return to Borneo Divers (actually only 50 days to go). Nice setup too, what's the nice focusing light I can see above the housing?

Though some of the scenes left me perplex : looks like there have been traces of coral bleaching in South Point (around 2:40 in your video), first time I see anemones getting totally bleached to white in Sipadan too, did you actually notice any serious bleaching?

The fishing boat was about 1/2 of the way back from Sipidan, I'm not sure how much of that is in the sanctuary or not. We did hear dynamite a few times while diving, so I'm pretty sure there are a few rules being broken.
There shouldn't be any fishing boats in that area between Sipadan and Mabul :idk:, as for the dynamite bombing, I have always been told it was coming further from the Philippines zone outside the Malaysian Marine park (though not very far from Sipadan)... and well, that's what they say... :eyebrow:
 
All in all, the diving was a lot of fun and I am really happy to have had a chance to go there. If I were to go back to Sipadan, even though I believe the value at Seaventures was great, personally I would probably stay on Mabul so that I could take advantage of the shallow shore diving. I am sure I would have been underwater a lot longer.

The problem with staying on Mabul is that the view is ruined by some really big ugly old oil rig just offshore...

:idk:
 
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