Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 4 i Asian Diver

The night has always been a time of haunting pleasures for many who dwell close to the warm, breezy shores of balmy Asia. This issue, when the call of the ocean has come around again, luring us to the pleasing waters of some of the greatest dive sites in the world, Asian Diver yields to its bliss, this time, when the sun goes down. Here, the magic of the night takes over and Asian Diver invites you to surrender body and soul to some of the best night dives you’ll ever experience. Keep it real, keep it fun, keep it compelling...…

INDONESIA’S LARGEST, most-northerly city and capital of the province of North Sulawesi is a food haven, geographically located on a long promontory, backed by a number of active volcanoes, while facing the open sea. Visitors have marvelled at the perfectly cone-shaped mountain of Manado Tua, which, together with the islands of Bunaken, Mantehage, Siladen and Nain form the Bunaken-Manado Tua National Park on the west coast. To the east, closer to Lembeh, Tangkoko National Park is habitat to the world’s smallest monkeys, the tarsiers. Yet, everyone knows it is also home to world-class diving, from the coast off Manado to Bunaken National Park or Bangka Island, to the Lembeh Strait, which offers muck diving at its finest. We take a closer look at one of the world’s best diving regions…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3 DIVE PROFILE: Depth 14m, Temperature 26°C, Sandy bottom LOCATION: Aerprang 2, Lembeh EQUIPMENT: Canon G16 Casing WP-DC52 Dual Sea&Sea YS D1 Macrowetlens Aquako IV Go-So +10 GEAR: Depth Sea Supply BCD Mares mask, fins & booties Akona 3mm wetsuit Archon Go-So torch light Dive guide extraordinaire reflects on being the eyes of visitors who come to dive and shoot critters in the world renown waters of Lembeh. WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO DIVE AT NIGHT? For some divers, it’s a strange or even intimidating idea. You don’t know what you’re missing, as night diving has certainly garnered some fascinating aspects you probably never knew way back when it was a mere necessity for an Advanced certification. Years later, perhaps it’s time to give it a second…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 1–5 HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Lighthouse Peel Island DIVE PROFILE: Depth range: 9–15m, time: 60 mins, extended based on diver’s air consumption LOCATION: The Wall, Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar (Distance from dive centre: 20 mins) GEAR: Apeks regulater with long hose Halcyon backplate Cressi fins Bare full 3mm wetsuit Sharkskin vest EQUIPMENT: Canon 5D Mark III Aquatica housing Canon 60mm macro lens INON lights WHILE the diversity of marine life and the high biomass on the reefs of the Andaman Islands are making this jewel of the Indian Ocean a popular choice among the diving community, night dives remain a very underrated speciality in the region. For a variety of reasons, it has almost been an afterthought, which is unfortunate, as night dives here present opportunities to see…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3–6 DIVE PROFILE: Depth 10–12m, temperature 28°C, BT 1 hour or more (depends on the liveaboard) LOCATION: Fesdu Lagoon, North Ari Atoll, Maldives GEAR: Hollis SMS 50 Sidemount BC Aqua Lung Legend regulators Hollis M1 mask ScubaPro Jet Fins Shearwater Petrel dive computer THIS HAS TO BE one of the most breathtaking night dives in the Maldives. Why? Because you are going to be in the middle of a manta ray show! This happens in a lagoon in North Ari Atoll known as Fesdu Lagoon almost every night. Liveaboards anchor here to spend the night in the sheltered lagoon. When they switch on the powerful lights on the back of the boat, plankton and tiny shrimps are attracted to the light, which then brings the mantas. It’s…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 5 DIVE PROFILE: Black Water LOCATION: Mekong River, Kandal Province, Cambodia GEAR: Guardian full face mask Aqua Lung, US Divers mask Aqua Lung, Conshelf 14 regulator Aqua Lung, Super Rocket fins Aqua Lung knife Zeagle, Ranger BC ScubaPro gloves Harveys wetsuit G-Shock watch KANDAL PROVINCE. In late May, 26-year-old deminer Lorn Sarath shrugged into his wetsuit, donned his two-way communications mask, and slipped into the silt-heavy waters of the Mekong River near Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. The dive marked the culmination of two years’ work by former US Navy dive experts to train a team of Cambodian deminers to take their land-learned skills and apply them underwater. It’s a unique programme that attracted Sarath for several reasons. “First of all, I find it interesting and this is…

OCT October 18–25 BLUEWATER PHOTO'S 2015 MALDIVES UNDERWATER PHOTO WORKSHOP www.bluewaterphotostore.com/ maldivesworkshop-2015 October 19–22 CAWCR ANNUAL WORKSHOP 2015 – COUPLED MODELLING AND PREDICTION: FROM WEATHER TO CLIMATE Melbourne, Australia www.cawcr.gov.au/events/AWS9 October 23–25 TIOMAN ISLAND CLEAN UP DAY Berjaya Hotels & Resorts www.berjayahotel.com October 25–November 4 KADU PINHEIRO IN COCOS ISLAND Okeanos Aggressor www.uwphotographyguide.com/cocostrips-october2015 NOV November 4–7 DEMA SHOW 2015 ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER Orlando, Florida www.dema.org November 7–December 12 MASBAT BAY CONSERVATION 2015 www.redsea-ec.org November 18–28 ANDERS SALESJO IN FIJI S/Y Fiji Siren www.sirenfleet.com/scandinavian November 2015 VOLUNTEER BORNEO MARINE AND SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION www.globalteer.org/volunteer-projects.  aspx?project=borneo-marine-andseaturtle-conservation DEC December 26–January 9 X-MAS REEF CHECK (Includes a 3-days Reef Check EcoDiver Course trained by marine biologists) Blue Hole, Canyon and Gabr el Bint www.redsea-ec.org December…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 5 (For divers with night and muck diving experience) DIVE PROFILE: Maximum depth 25m (although usually shallower), Dive time 60 minutes CURRENT VELOCITY: Limited current LOCATION: Lembeh Strait, Indonesia GEAR: Hollis BCD/reg/mask Fourth Element 5mm Proteus wetsuit Poseidon reg AP Diving BCD Mares Volo Power fins Light & Motion Sola red dive light Suunto Vyper computer Marine biologist Dr Richard Smith visits Lembeh Strait by night and considers how it changes under the cover of darkness. THE LIGHT of my torch’s beam illuminated a small circle of fine black silt, outside of which the darkness was absolute. My buddy and I had wandered deeper than planned, but one amazing critter after another had drawn us onwards until we found ourselves exploring a barren expanse at 25 metres.…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 4 DIVE PROFILE: Depth 3–8m, temperature 22°C, dive time 50 mins LOCATION: (Sa Su Hang Beach Point) DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 5–8 DIVE PROFILE: Depth 14–30m, temperature 17–26°C, dive time 30 mins LOCATION: (Mun Island) DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 7 DIVE PROFILE: 14–40m, temperature 15–27°C, dive time 45 mins LOCATION: (Sung San Dive Point) GEAR: Santi drysuit E-motion/ Scubapro wetsuit ScubaPro MK21 EVO/G260 reg ScubaPro single BCD Diverite XT fins Light Monke y dive lights JEJU ISLAND was once a place feared by Koreans, its long and tumultuous history evoking a sadness within people’s hearts. During the Joseon Dynasty, before the beginning of modern Korea, Jeju was an island for exiles, far from the mainland and not easily accessible. Once a person was exiled to the island, nobody knew…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 6 DIVE PROFILE: Depth 20 m, time 45 mins/70 mins on 32% nitrox (Distance to site: 45 mins) LOCATION: V16, Andaman THERE are no reefs here. No resident fish. Just a black sand bottom and 20 metres of water between bed and surface. It’s a site we don’t do too often, but will on request, and lately, one that we visit in order to do black water night dives. While V16 offers the chance of some spectacular macro during the day, the night dives are where the wild and wacky really come out to play. A typical black water dive here throws up a lot of unexpected critters floating in the water column. Juvenile flounders, microscopic shrimp, tiny crabs, unidentifiable jellyfish, juveniles of all sorts of reef…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3–6 DIVE PROFILE: 100mins, 10 to 15m deep, 29–30ºC LOCATION: Alimatha Jetty, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives GEAR: Waterproof 3mm wetsuit Cressi Gara Professional LD fins Oceanic Shadow mask EQUIPMENT: Canon EOS 5D Mk III Nauticam housing Fisheye FIX LED Aquavolt 7000 video light ALIMATHA JETTY is a dive site located in Vaavu Atoll in the Maldives. The shallow sandbank near the jetty of one of its popular resorts is where most of the action happens. The average depth is 10 metres and the maximum is only 15 metres deep. To say the least, it’s a very easy dive for a massive return of being able to watch the exciting feeding frenzy of nurse sharks, blacktips, marble rays, jacks and more. One of the reasons for this dramatic site…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 4 (for TEC50 certified divers used to strong currents with four tanks per dive) DIVE PROFILE: 53m deep for 25 mins BT, Temperature 24°C at bottom; 40 mins decompression on EAN 50 and O2 at 21m and 6m respectively LOCATION: Batticaloa, Sri Lanka GEAR: Shearwater Petrel 2 computer Uwatec Aladin backup computer V-Planner backup plan on slate Nomad Tec side mount BCD XS Scuba jetfins Four Dive Rite sidemount configured regulators Light Monkey helmet with torches Mares backup masks Dive Rite lift bag and reel THE MONTH of April 1942, at the height of World War II, was a pivotal moment for Ceylon, as the country was known under its British rulers. A massive Japanese invasion was imminent and the same sea/air strike group that lay devastation…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3 DIVE PROFILE: Sandy slope (Beware of stirring up silt) CURRENT VELOCITY: Limited current LOCATION: Posi-posi 1, coastal Manado GEAR: Fourth Element Hydroskin rash guard Lavacore Polytherm Unisex pants ScubaPro G260 + Mk25 OMS 45lbs Single Bladder with Retraction Bands ScubaPro jetfins F.I.T LED 2400UV torch Oceanic shadow mask The latest Asian sensation, underwater photographer Glenn Yong reveals his first love and how it continues to seduce him when the sun goes down. MANADO was my first ever overseas diving trip back in 2010. Back then, there was still so much hype about the huge walls of Bunaken in the west and the world famous macro haven, the Lembeh Strait in the east. I couldn't believe my eyes: There were so much action in the water when…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 5 (For divers with night and shore diving experience) DIVE PROFILE: Maximum depth 8m, Dive time 45–60 minutes LOCATION: Hachijo-jima, Japan GEAR: Fourth Element semi-dry Proteus 7mm wetsuit Thermulation heated vest Poseidon reg AP Diving BCD Mares Volo Power fins Light & Motion Sola dive light BY NIGHT, pitch-black waters the world over provide cover for an array of miniscule plankton that migrate up from the deep to feed. Hachijo-jima, a small volcanic island almost 300 kilometres south of Tokyo, emerges from deep waters that are bathed by the Pacific’s Kuroshio Current, making it perfectly positioned to access this vertical migration. With little to keep them occupied in the evenings, an enterprising collective of dive shop owners on the island decided to devise a way of diving…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3–5 (Mild to strong current (3 knots) on some days) DIVE PROFILE: Sloping reef with rubble patches mixed with soft and hard corals, max depth: 30m, visibility: 15–30m LOCATION: Mandarin Playground & CBR House Reef, Pom Pom Island GEAR: ScubaPro Everflex wetsuit ScubaPro MK 25/S600 regulator Aqua Lung Pearl i3 BCD Cressi Gara modular fins EQUIPMENT: Olympus OMD EM-1 camera Nauticam housing M. Zuiko 60mm lens Subsee +10, Aquako IV dioptre Dual Inon Z240 strobes Fisheye Fix Neo DX 2000 lights MENTION SABAH, and Sipadan Island comes to mind. What many don’t know is that Sabah has a secret. One hour north of Semporna lies a cluster of relatively undiscovered islands that are Sabah’s hidden diving gems. These islands boast healthy reefs with impressive biodiversity and interesting…

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 5–7 Divers should have night diving experience with ample buoyancy control. Underwater vision is dictated by lighting, as the fluo lights (with zero presence of white light) are limited in range to enhance the fluorescence of the marine life. DIVE PROFILE: Mooring; Slope/Sandy Bay/ Deep Overhang LOCATION: Teluk Maya, on the northern side of Lintea Island; 20-min boat ride RANGE FOR BEST MARINE LIFE: 0–75m Suitability (best = *****) Minimum Skill Level: Beginner Snorkelling: ** Tek Diving: **** DIVE PROFILE(1): Mooring dive, Slope / Small Sandy Bay LOCATION: Zoo (good fluo dive) southeast of Wakatobi dive resort; 10-min boat ride RANGE FOR BEST MARINE LIFE: 0–30m Suitability (best = *****) Minimum Skill Level: Beginner Snorkelling: *** Tek Diving: ** Gear: KISS Classic Rebreather fitted with Golem shrimp…

GEAR: Hollis SMS 50 Sidemount BC AquaLung Legend regulators DiveRite regulators Hollis M1 mask ScubaPro jetfins Shearwater Petrel 2 dive computer INSTANTLY becoming a wreck addict ever since I did my first dive to the famous MV Maldives Victory in 1995, I became obsessed with the last of the Centaur class aircraft carriers, the HMS Hermes. Being an ex-Navy diver, I’ve always been interested in war wrecks. I’ve wanted to dive the HMS Hermes since 1996, when I heard about it while I was in Sri Lanka. But at that time, I couldn’t go because of the war that was going on in the country. After the conflict ended in 2009, I planned a trip to dive her three times, but for some reason or another, I had to cancel.…