Diving in Singapore waters

[JR8]

Has anyone else tried diving ex-Singapore?
I've been reading through this -> http://www.gs-diving.com/ and it seems like a professional operation.
Half-days on the operators boat, down to SGs southern islands incl all gear, 2 dives, $100.

Anyone else interested? I was considering Sat/Sun 20/21st, on the pm trip.

[bgd]

A few years ago I did a few dives in Sg waters during the Malaysian off season. Dived on a wreck, the name I forget now, and then off the jetty of Pulau Hantu. The diving was rubbush but the BBQ on the beach was fun. Viz is the problem, all the reclaimation has ruined the Sg islands for diving.

[JR8]

Yeah, I'm not expecting great vis. it's more about 'getting wet' again, knocking any cobwebs off (I've been dry for just over a year) before an upcoming pretty big dive trip to the PHs.
My thinking is it might be the equivalent of 'muck diving', you're not going to enjoy whale sharks, dolphins and mantas cruising by 30M ahead, but the beauty of it can be the shift to a more immediate perspective, very slow, looking for the really small stuff which is rewarding in it's own right.
Plus despite some years here I've never dived SGn waters, which is ironic as I've gone from here to dive plenty of other countries in the region

For this kind of thing I'd normally just pop up to Tioman for a few days, but sadly the flights there are discontinued; ex-SIN, and ex-KL, i.e. => no flights at all.

p.s. diving under jetties can be fun, you can find the weirdest things. Under Brighton pier (UK), I picked up so many coins it almost paid for one of the dives that day

[nakatago]

carteki used to dive there before leaving Singapore; she had some posts here that link to some pics she took.

[JR8]

carteki used to dive there before leaving Singapore; she had some posts here that link to some pics she took.

Yes I recall that. And she was a very seasoned diver. So that's just another reason why I conclude that if she found it worthwhile then I'm confident that I will too.

[ch3rylw0ng]

well, in Singapore it's safe that you won't meet Sharks, but it's disgusting cos the water is so murky and dirty xD

[JR8]

Ha! If that were the case you'd never dive Europe or the east coast of the US

[teoteojmjm]

Won't recommend diving in Singapore waters xD nothing to see

[sundaymorningstaple]

You are not much of a diver then, are you. :-/

[JR8]

Won't recommend diving in Singapore waters xD nothing to see

IME the less experienced a diver the more bombing about seeking 'big headline drama' they do. Perhaps it's like going on an African safari and feeling compelled to tick off the 'Big 5' sighting ASAP.

With less honed skills (esp buoyancy) together with the hyper-activity that's one reason a newbies bottom time tends to be... er, rather truncated.
But if you go somewhere like Sipidan then you see so much big stuff, usually on every dive, that you rather feel you don't need to see any more. Anyway there comes a point where big drama holds little attraction, if such sightings happen so be it, otherwise you slow down, and when you do that the dive becomes not only becomes more 'meditative' and rewarding, you have time to look for the small stuff. Stuff you'd previously swum right past and not had the time to notice.

I saw plenty of interesting stuff on the dives I did, a lot more than I was expecting. Including things like one of the little guys hiding in a stag-horn coral ->


About 7-8cm long. Yellow and purple banded pipefish. The first time I've seen that species.

[ClubScubaSG]

Its possible to dive Hantu and even Sister's Islnds, and the marine life is pretty diverse; however the vis is indeed horrible. Lost buddies are a common occurrence and like bgd said; its more about the BBQ on the beach/on the boat. lol.

I would suggest spending a bit more time and money and heading out a bit further. the waters in PH are great and with so many islands there is almost everything you could possibly want. not really a weekend trip though.

[Grumpy77]

I've done a couple of dives in Sg water and it wasn't great, but like fishing, there are no bad dives (knock on wood). Better than nothing to get wet, as you say.

It's a bit more $'s but Pulau Sibu (Rimba or Sea Gypsy) about 2hrs drive away is significantly better vis. 5-10m depending on conditions. Rimba has a pretty nice house reef at max depth 9m that is done as a shore dive so it is an excellent place to work on skills while also seeing things and enjoying a weekend away.

Price will be a lot more than doing a half day to Hantu but well worth it. I try to do an early season trip a year there to keep the rust off.

Mal (S. African chap) who owns Rimba is a good instructor if you know anyone who needs certification. My daughter & her friend and then another year my god-daughter have all done their course there with good results.

[JR8]

Huh !!! Diving in Singapore , sounds exciting. Love to do that.

Check you're qualified to. The better operators require that you're AOW qualified and/or min. 60 dives.

I can understand why, the conditions are relatively challenging at times, and there is a lot of marine traffic about...