Sail Rock Diving (2) “it’s more fun in the Philippines”

This dive site has a lot of rave reviews and videos showing whale sharks, bull sharks and a host of other pelagic species. This site was the coveted gem in this dive trip and it actually fueled the adrenaline rush in our preparations.

One thing we wanted to forget was the fact that Sail Rock is located in the Gulf of Siam, which is actually the dumping basin for all the mighty rivers in the region. This will tell you that sediment from these rivers can make visibility in the sea unpredictable. Today may be clear but tomorrow could be murky. One dive site may be murky and another dive site 10 kilometers away - clear.

The photos will now do the talking :-P

we were in the dive boat early and it was still dark.

the excitement shows through the sleepy eyes

some divers checking the gear

While some try to get more sleep in the hour 

and half it took to get to Sail Rock

That's it... Sail Rock in the midst of nowhere.

from the boat we could already see that the water 

was greenish, which means poor visibility. we 
donned our gear and jump overboard and our fears 
were confirmed...1 meter visibility. it was quite 

disorienting and we even got separated, which 

means we had to ascend prematurely. 

we cut short the dive and the dive 

master decided to head to another site

hoping that the visibility was better.

Southwest Pinnacle proved to be much better

and this giant grouper and plump fusiliers

greeted us.

this cordia was so shy that i couldnt get

close enough for a good shot.

a great school of barracuda kept the water

at southwest pinnacle swirling. it was 

really awesome.

a closer shot

this grouper could have easily tipped the

scales at 30kg.

rabbit fish (danggit) 

hills and hills of grass-like anemone

teeming with fish. it reminded me of the

chocolate hills of Bohol.

some areas had good visibility as it got deeper.

taking a break between dives

preparing tanks for the next dive

the conditions for underwater photography 

weren't good this time.

Nikki showing how to operate

the dive computer.

crown of thorns... "touch me not!"

a hermit crab on top of some bleached coral
and a parrot fish (molmol) encircling above.

damsel and butterfly fish with some sponges

a pair of moorish idols

a beautiful nudibranch

another type of nudibranch

Nemo's first degree cousin

a juvenile grouper watching over a 

banded water snake.

Thanks Nikki for 2 great dives and an 

awesome cave dive at Red Rock.

lunch before boarding the catamaran for 

Chumphon and home.

these feathered friends feasted on our

leftovers.

Sail Rock was a disappointment to us, but our spirit's were not dampened. One day with God's grace we will return to conquer this dive site.

Some reasons why it's more fun in the Philippines is the clear water and gorgeous divers like this lady. She already completed all required dives and skills and only has to take the written exam for the Open Water Diver's course.