Ok here is the trip report.
There was some nervousness on my part with respect to the grounding of the Eco Explorer, but thank goodness, the ship was fine. Everything on the boat was in good condition, service was excellent, and the dive masters were helpful. We were picked up at the airport at Puerta Princessa and shuttled to the boat posthaste. Did a checkout dive in the harbour (saw a big green frogfish) and left PP at 6pm. \
Weather on 1st day was incredible. NO WIND, NO WAVES, NO CURRENT, SUNSHINE. Result: excellent vis for wide angle reef shots. Plenty of reef fishes but no pelagics. Reefs, in general, are is good though not excellent conditions. Was diving the northern and southern face of North Tubbataha. Night dive was nodescript.
Weather on 2nd day was worse for wear. Wind started picking up and surge washed a lot of silt into the walls. Vis dropped to 40ft. On flip side, saw my very first manta. Need to go to YAP now. Was diving Black Rock (north of South Tubbataha). Moved south as the day went on as wind picked up further. Dived Delson. Poor vis means poorer photo conditions. More pelagics though (a school of barracudas and trevallies)
Wind REALLY picked up on the third day. Surge and poor vis. Currents on some dives were switching every 10 mins. Down currents were also in play. Lots of turtles, white tips. Some other divers saw hammerheads (diving in blue at 30+m). No luck for me though. Loads of reef fish again.
Had my best dive on the last dive on the last day. Spent all my time at 15m or less. Schooling big-eye trevallies and barracudas. Sharks at shallow waters. All at Malayan Wreck. Vis was again poor, but heck, excellent diving.
Overall impression was that diving is good but not great. Full moon + winds mean poor vis. Some of the other return divers said that fish life and the reef was a lot better a few years ago. Eco Explorer is a BIG boat so it is fairly comfortable. Food was fine and the divemasters were fairly knowledgeable. Because it is such a large boat, it cannot moor on the moorlines. So hats off to the crew for maintaining the position of the ship day and night. Will recommend them with no reservation at this stage, though will probably go for a smaller boat next time. 33 divers IS A LOT.
PM me if you need to know more.
Photos are here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1749
There was some nervousness on my part with respect to the grounding of the Eco Explorer, but thank goodness, the ship was fine. Everything on the boat was in good condition, service was excellent, and the dive masters were helpful. We were picked up at the airport at Puerta Princessa and shuttled to the boat posthaste. Did a checkout dive in the harbour (saw a big green frogfish) and left PP at 6pm. \
Weather on 1st day was incredible. NO WIND, NO WAVES, NO CURRENT, SUNSHINE. Result: excellent vis for wide angle reef shots. Plenty of reef fishes but no pelagics. Reefs, in general, are is good though not excellent conditions. Was diving the northern and southern face of North Tubbataha. Night dive was nodescript.
Weather on 2nd day was worse for wear. Wind started picking up and surge washed a lot of silt into the walls. Vis dropped to 40ft. On flip side, saw my very first manta. Need to go to YAP now. Was diving Black Rock (north of South Tubbataha). Moved south as the day went on as wind picked up further. Dived Delson. Poor vis means poorer photo conditions. More pelagics though (a school of barracudas and trevallies)
Wind REALLY picked up on the third day. Surge and poor vis. Currents on some dives were switching every 10 mins. Down currents were also in play. Lots of turtles, white tips. Some other divers saw hammerheads (diving in blue at 30+m). No luck for me though. Loads of reef fish again.
Had my best dive on the last dive on the last day. Spent all my time at 15m or less. Schooling big-eye trevallies and barracudas. Sharks at shallow waters. All at Malayan Wreck. Vis was again poor, but heck, excellent diving.
Overall impression was that diving is good but not great. Full moon + winds mean poor vis. Some of the other return divers said that fish life and the reef was a lot better a few years ago. Eco Explorer is a BIG boat so it is fairly comfortable. Food was fine and the divemasters were fairly knowledgeable. Because it is such a large boat, it cannot moor on the moorlines. So hats off to the crew for maintaining the position of the ship day and night. Will recommend them with no reservation at this stage, though will probably go for a smaller boat next time. 33 divers IS A LOT.
PM me if you need to know more.
Photos are here:
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1749
