Imagethief

Imagethief

Malaysia Photographs:
Sipadan & Kapalai	Layang Layang	West Malaysia	Wrecks

Malaysia's Legendary Dives

Published in the Asian Diver Annual 2004
By William Moss

Healthiest Reef
Layang Layang: Gorgonian Forest
Max Depth: 40m
Visibility: 25m
Current: Can be strong
Main Attraction: Profusion of large, healthy sea fans

It's difficult to single out just one particularly healthy reef at Layang Layang; it's all gorgeous! Layang Layang is so far from mainland Sabah that it has escaped most of the ravages that have damaged so many of Malaysia's other reefs. A limited number of divers and strict monitoring of diver behavior have also helped to preserve the walls and reefs of Layang Layang for all to enjoy.

While singling out the vibrancy of any one site at Layang Layang is challenging, Gorgonian Forest is outstanding for it's profusion of gigantic, namesake sea fans. Scattered along a steep wall, the fans are nourished by the same occasional currents that can make drift diving Gorgonian Forest an adrenaline raising experience. As Gorgonian Forest gives way to Navigator Lane, the next site along the wall, the character of the reef changes, with more soft corals.

A delicate exploration of the nooks and crannies reveals the explosion of life that marks a healthy reef. A look into the blue water often reveals the big fish that Layang Layang is famous for, including grey reef sharks, jacks and trevally, dogtooth tuna, and, if you're lucky, the seasonal hammerhead sharks.

Big Fish
Pulau Sipadan: Barracuda Point
Max Depth: 34m
Visibility: 20m
Current: Moderate
Main Attraction: Reliable schools of barracuda

Many dive sites are named for supposed inhabitants, but who among us has never been to a site grandly named something like "Sharks-a-million" or "Bucket o' mantas" only to log clownfish and crinoids?

That is not likely to happen at Sipadan's Barracuda Point. While seasonal and tidal variations can have some effect, the resident school of blackfin (?) barracuda usually operates with clockwork reliability. Barracuda Point is an essential destination for anyone seeking an intimate encounter with one of the sea's great predators. Fortunately for divers, the resident barracuda are placid and approachable by day, circling the area in a lazy loop. On a good dive at Barracuda Point the school will sweep by overhead two or three times. If the school is out in force, it can seem like an endless river of barracuda suspended over your head. Photographers will find few better opportunities to capture barracuda in numbers.

But there is more to see at Barracuda Point. Trevally also congregate there, and white tip sharks bask on the sand in the narrow valley at the floor of the point. And this being Sipadan, you're guaranteed a turtle or three.

House Reef
The Jetty at Kapalai
Max Depth: 15m
Visibility: 5m
Current: Slight
Main Attraction: Critters, frogfish

House reefs are all the same, right? Whatever patch of rubble is outside the front door is named "the house reef" and you're expected to be satisfied with the meagre inhabitants that can tough out the boat traffic and resort refuse.

Wrong. Kapalai's house reef and jetty do indeed sit atop a pile of rubble, but it's an eye-popping pile! Situated at the edge of the Sabah continental shelf, Kapalai is built upon little more than a sandbar. The resort itself is on stilts-one giant jetty, if you like-and the exposure to currents helps to keep the reef clean and stocked with wildlife. A stroll along the wooden catwalks of the resort is your first hint of what waits below as lionfish, octopi, crocodile flatheads and moray eels are clearly visible.

Underwater the scenery is every bit as good. The jetty is a zoo in itself, with shrimpfish, lionfish, and an assortment of critters that is practically alarming. At dusk mandarin fish flirt with each other and with photographers, and crinoids open to reveal squat lobsters and commensal shrimp. A short swim from the jetty an abandoned boat trailer shelters two enormous, scowling frogfish. Bring lots of film.

Macro
Pulau Mabul: Sea Ventures Platform
Max Depth: 20m
Visibility: 5m
Current: Negligible
Main Attraction: Critters: Frogfish, pipefish,

Want to work out the macro lens? Mabul is just the place to go. Mabul sits on the Sabah continental shelf just a few minutes from Semporna, the same town that is the jumping-off point for Sipadan and Kapalai. Like Kapalai, Mabul is renown for a veritable infestation of critters. Unlike Kapalai, Mabul is actually an island and some of its dive areas a little more sheltered, resulting in a slightly different mix of critters and variable visibility.

The Sea Ventures platform is an old oilrig that has been converted into a dive resort by an enterprising operator. A short distance off of the island's shallow fringe, the legs of the platform are surround by various pipes and industrial refuse that has evolved with time into a rewarding muck dive. The most famous residents are abundant frogfish. If you have had trouble spotting them elsewhere, this is your chance to make up for it. A kaleidoscope of nudibranchs also glides about beneath the rig.

Sharp-eyed divers can spot well-camouflaged pipefish of many varieties, as well as mantis shrimps and, with luck an occasional flamboyant cuttlefish. Night reveals a menagerie of commensal crustaceans prowling the crinoids and coral. Bring a light.

Night
Pulau Sipadan: The Drop Off
Max Depth: 40m
Visibility: 20m
Current: Variable
Main Attraction: White tip sharks, bumphead parrot fish

Night dives are often on shallow, weather beaten house reefs. But if you've just spent the day diving spectacular walls, wouldn't you like to see what they look like at night? At Sipadan's Drop Off you can do just that. It will change your conception of night diving.

The house reef for Sipadan's two major dive resorts, the Drop Off plunges to abyssal depths right off of the beach. The first hint that this is different night diving may come while you gear up, as you watch turtles and white tip reef sharks patrol beneath the jetties.

In the water the view improves. Sipadan's abundant white tips prowl at night. The unmistakable shark silhouette in the glow of a dive light and the orange gleam of reflective eyes are guaranteed pulse-raisers. Fortunate divers may even spot a rare thresher shark.

Need more? Sipadan's resident bumpheads sometimes spend the night at the Drop Off. Even sleepy and slow moving, that much fish in close confines is a dramatic experience.

If you tire of the big-fish, the wall itself offers a photographer's smorgasbord of macro life. But you may find it hard to turn your back on open water.

Shark
Layang Layang: Dog Tooth Lair
Max Depth: 40m
Visibility: 30m
Current: Can be strong
Main Attraction: Hammerheads

If you've dreamed of seeing hammerheads, Layang Layang is the one Malaysian destination to put on your must-dive list. Justifiably famous for unspoiled reefs and dramatic walls, for four months each year Layang Layang hosts one of the greatest shows in tropical diving. From April through July, when the water is cool, schools of up to several dozen scalloped hammerheads cruise the deep waters around the atoll. Lucky divers may encounter the sharks at any of Layang Layang's deep dive sites, but Dogtooth Lair has the best reputation for producing the goods.

If the hammerheads don't appear, don't fret too much. Dogtooth Lair's healthy population of grey and white tip reef sharks will keep you entertained. And there are always the eponymous dogtooth tuna and trevally to pass the time with. Thresher sharks, manta rays and even dolphins may also come calling.

A word of caution: The hammerheads tend to run deep, in the cool water below the thermocline. Due to its distance from the mainland Layang Layang is strict about how deep divers can go. Look, but don't follow unless you want to spend the rest of the trip hearing about the hammerheads other people saw.

Wall
Pulau Sipadan: Hanging Gardens
Max Depth: 35m
Visibility: 20m
Current: Variable
Main Attraction: Sea fans, turtles, white tip reef sharks

A good wall dive should make you feel as though you are drifting past a colourful cliff alive with life. Sipadan's Hanging Gardens delivers every time. The site is named for the lush coral life, and in good conditions the multi-hued forest of huge sea fans is a capitivating, sunlit spectacle.

As you would expect from Sipadan there are things to watch besides the coral. Sipadan is famous for its green turtles, and the Hanging Gardens are a favourite haunt. Look for massive specimens snoozing in ledges or caves in the wall, or gliding through the clear waters overhead.

White tip reef sharks are also abundant, often swimming along the lip of the wall, where the shallows of the fringing reef give way to the sheer drop. It never hurts to keep an eye on the deep as well. Hammerheads are sometimes spotted shoaling in the cool waters of the deep wall.

While Sipadan sometimes suffers from too many divers, one fortunate consequence is that the fish life is surprisingly accustomed to human intrusion. Divers and photographers will find that the Hanging Gardens serve up an unbeatable mix of healthy coral, turtles, sharks, and approachable and photogenic fish life.

Wreck
Johor, Peninsular Malaysia: The Seven Skies
Max Depth: 62m
Visibility: 30m
Current: Can be strong
Main Attraction: Stupendous wreck, big pelagics

If you think wrecks are for rust-obsessed technical divers, the Seven Skies will change your mind. The Seven Skies is an oil tanker that sank in 1969 near Malaysia's resort island of Pulau Aur. It was then the largest commercial wreck in history, and the sheer size makes it a dramatic dive. Although the bottom is deep, the coral-covered wheelhouse is at 35 meters, within the limits of advanced recreational divers. Trained technical divers can penetrate the superstructure and engine space, and explore the ships deeper reaches.

While the wreck is fascinating, the guests are the real showstoppers. The Seven Skies is a gigantic, artificial pinnacle on the migratory path for manta rays and whale sharks. In October and November, at the end of the local diving season, these colossal vagabonds use the wreck as a waystation. A resident white manta sets up housekeeping every year for several weeks, often with one or two friends. Late-season divers also stand a fair chance of whale shark sightings.

Even if the giants don't appear, schools of trevally, batfish and barracuda make for a lively dive, but depth and strong currents make it best for moderately experienced divers.