SPECTACULAR SIPADAN – EAST BORNEO Part 2

Sipadan has for a long time been top of our list of places to dive. Everyone we know who has dived Sipadan has raved about the diving, even Jacques Cousteau was once quoted as saying it was one of the best dive sites in the world. After all this hype we were really worried that it wouldn’t be able to live up to its reputation – but we needn’t have worried.
    Located off the east coast of Sabah , Malaysian Borneo, Sipadan is an oceanic island and surrounding the island is a fringing reef that plummets straight to the sea floor 600m below. This tiny island use to be packed with dive resorts in the 1990’s, but to protect its reefs and the fragile island itself, these were all closed in 2004 and the island declared a marine sanctuary. The dive resorts relocated to nearby Mabul and Kapalai, but one of the resorts that didn’t have to relocate was the Seaventures Dive Rig, which has been located off Mabul since 1998.
    The Seaventures Dive Rig was our base for exploring Sipadan and the other dive sites in the area – Mabul, Kapalai and Siamil. One of the most unique dive resorts in the world, the rig is a converted oil field accommodation rig that accommodates 51 divers in 25 rooms. All the divers that we met while staying on the rig had come to Borneo for just one reason – to dive Sipadan.
    Since Sipadan was protected in 2004 the Malaysian Government has been limiting the number of divers that can explore the reef daily to 120. Each resort in the area, and there are a few, have a daily quoter of divers that can visit. We had heard mixed reports about this quoter system, some complaining that they only got to dive Sipadan once, while others said they visited the island daily. Diving in November we found no problem with the quoter system and did three visits, and could have done more. The advice from Daniel White, the manager of the Seaventures Dive Rig is the earlier you book and the longer you stay the more chances you have of diving Sipadan.
    It’s an early start to dive Sipadan, departing the rig at 6am, which then gives you three 50 minute dives around the island before lunch and the option to return to Sipadan in the afternoon for two more dives. It is only a 20 minute boat ride to Sipadan, barely enough time to nap on the boat. Upon arrival you register at the park office and then it is time to explore Sipadan’s underwater wonders. Wall diving and drift diving is what it is all about at Sipadan and although there are 13 named dive sites around the island you generally drift through at least two of these on most dives.
    Our first dive was at Whitetip Avenue . We jumped into the water to be greeted by 30m visibility, 29°C water and a herd of humpheaded parrotfish. Sipadan is famous for its schools of ‘humpies’, which are seen on every dive, but more so in the early morning when they leave the shallows in schools to start feeding. This dive site was typical of all the dives at Sipadan – walls coloured by soft corals, sponges, sea whips and gorgonians, while in the shallows there are thick beds of hard coral and abundant reef fish. While the coral was pretty, the marine life is the main attraction at Sipadan – sharks, pelagic fish and especially turtles. Green and hawksbill turtles nest on the island year round and are commonly seen cruising the walls, or at the surface catching a breath of air or sleeping on the coral or under ledges.
    Our favourite dive site was the famous Barracuda Point. Our first dive here was a little disappointing, no current meant no barracuda, but on our second dive we had a ripping current and a ripper of a dive – schools of trevally, bumpies, GT’s, black snapper, fusiliers, and a massive school of swirling barracuda. The current also seem to bring more sharks, a dozen white-tip reef sharks and half a dozen grey reef sharks. The dive guides also informed us that Sipadan is a great place to see the unexpected, especially out in the blue water, as they have seen marlin, whale sharks, sunfish and manta rays. Sipadan is also famous for schooling hammerheads, but these are only seen during the cooler months of February and March, and as the guides say ‘no guarantee’.
    Overall we found that Sipadan certainly lived up to its reputation, the corals decorating the walls are pretty, and the marine life that gathers around the island is quite spectacular.

For more information – www.seaventuresdive.com

Article appeared in Dive Log No.271 February 2011