Another Day

Wx- hot, sunny, flat calm, 30+m vis and nice

Hammerhead school still around. 2 comments posted, don't really feel like answering them but hey.....

1st comment - your answer is in an earlier post. See you soon. And don't ask "the" question. We hear it more than enough everyday.

2nd comment - where does it says that the post and the photo must match?

Please don't make your comments mundane. Life is too much fun to be wasted answering sfaq and comments. Ciao.

Great hammerhead

Wx-passing shower and cloudy, Sea-choppy 1m, Vis-good, Current-mild

The great hammerhead was spotted at 5m on top of reef at wrasse in the afternoon. As for the rest of the scallops, they were at their usual hang out.

Trees got watered for the first time in 6 weeks. Now we have got some real work to do cutting grass. All these while with the hammerheads and all, we thought we were on holiday as well.

Did you know MAS is flying for us ? Yup, every tuesdays and fridays at T1 with a 11 seater at the usual time. On other days, it's at T2 with Sabah Air on their 6 seater. Watch your weight with the barangs. If it exceed, you'll get charged or worse, it will not come on the same flight as you. Don't moan to the resort about it. It is NOT their fault. And if you don't see the Hammerheads, it's NOT their fault either. Cheers.

Daily hammerheads

Wx-sunny, Sea-choppy 1-2m, Vis-30+m, Current-mild

It's been 20 days and they have been showing up daily. So far so good. Hope it keeps going for as long as possible. No real complaints yet. Except for the "I wish it was a bigger school and nearer" line.

Anyone who recognise the spot where the blotch is, will get a free beer. Cheers!

Something New

The guy who took this photo had no idea what it was. What do you think? Look at tips for clue. This was taken yesterday just after the SLF school.

Mikkel got to go back to U in Frankfurt. Bon voyage.

Normal Again

Wx-sunny with NE winds, Sea-1 to 2 m, Vis-20 to 30 m green, Current-mild, U/W Temp-28c

Another normal day in Layang Layang. Sightings are mobulars, blotch ray, jacks, thresher, hammerhead school, hawksbill and the nesting yellow margins. Corals still there with the reef fishes.

Just a note, if you have the new Mares dive comp, read and bring it along for your dive trips. They have a tendency of locking up. We don't know the reason why and would like to read the manual to find out.

If you still have that question about when is a good time to be on Layang Layang, when you are here is all we can say. Reminder for the photo enthusiast. Don't chase the poor creatures away and deprive the other divers of a sight. Not all divers are trained chasers and missiles. Ciao.

Sperm Picts

These are the Picts that we got. Still trying to do some enhancement to make it better. These will have to do at the moment.

Vis was greenish and 20m. They were spotted above water about 1 km off the Valley at 8.30 am. Stayed around with us for about 30 mins and then disappeared. Most of the divers had cameras, but they forgot what it was for. That's why not many photos. Can't blame them for being excited.

Will post better picts if we get them. If it's only blue you see here, too bad.

SPERM WHALES

Perfect weather.........

Photo of the witnesses (The Sperm Hunters)

Only 3 sperm whales. School of hammerheads and nesting yellow margins. Wish you were here? Not everybody saw them or swam with them. Only 15 divers had the rare opportunity. Some photos taken but not that great. BUT it is still evidence, right?

We'll post the photo later after we try to enhance it. What a great morning.

Peace at last

Wx-really hot, Sea-1m, Vis-30m, Current-flutuate

Like the title says, peace, no missiles, no SLF, no happy DMs and lots of yellow margins. Marble ray is about the only excitement in town.

Question from soon to be guest on the island. End April whats it like? Answer from DMs, what do you like? We will make it happen for you, we have a direct line to 'you know who'. Honestly, your luck is as good as ours. If we can tell you what you will see end April, what the heck are we slogging away getting wet? We'll be rich by now for every dollar(US$) with our prediction on dry land. If you want a guarantee, look west, the sun will rise and east, the sun will set.

To make a long answer short. WE DON'T KNOW!

By the way, diving is fun. Cheers

Same Same Plus

Wx-very hot and sunny, Sea-0.5 to 1m, Vis-30 to 40m, Current-mid to strong

Hammerheads again. Fortunately for some others, they got to see a manta, 4 mobulars and an oceanic white tip besides the jacks, yellowfin tuna, bonito, baras, leaf fish, frog fish, ghost pipes and the torpedo diver.

Season for the missile divers is back and picking up. Don't tut tut, we are sure you guys have done it too. We learn as we get fatter and try to kick back, slow down our kicking then watch the topedos going into the blue show. Right?

Enough of that, we understand what you have to go through to enjoy your diving holiday. Just make sure when you do that, to be able to fin faster than the creature behind you. You're allowed 1 time only. Enjoy.

Hammerhead School Again

Wx-sunny, Sea-0.5m, Vis-30m, Current-medium

The SLF/hammerhead school is still around. They were sighted at about 25m depth.

If you guys out there find this site useful, don't forget the beers when you get here. For those who has been trying to answer their friends and students' questions, refer them to this site. That's what this site is all about. The only value of the site is to make sure you know that nature is in control and not the DMs. So don't go shouting you want your money back because you did not see the SLF/hammerhead. Cheers.

Hot Day

Hot and sunny today, slight breeze, calm seas.

Just like paradise. The trees are growing well and the grass is cut. Muffins for tea and everyone is cool.

Hammerhead Film

Wx-intermittent rain, Sea-choppy-2+m, Vis-30m, Current-mid

Same story as the past week, they (SLF/hammerheads) still doing their thing. Strutting their stuff in 20m depth.

Have a film clip taken from a sony T1 camera today. Very close and very clear. Unfortunately, we don't know how to post it for you all to see. MPEG about 1min 30secs. He used video instead of photo, so no photo to post.

If any of you have a solution to post it to web site to watch, please teach. There is a clip on Thresher shark as well.

If you're planning to come, keep your fingers crossed and pray that they will stick around during that period. Good luck.

Action Station

Wx-Hot, sunny and windy, Sea-Choppy 1.5m, Vis-50+m, Current-very strong

Lots of action. SLFs forever. Also a lot of hunting and feeding going on with the other pelagics as well. Yellowfin hunting bonitos, horse eyes mating, rainbow runners cruising alongside barracudas. All in schools. if you have been here before, you'll know what's it like to just get neutral and drift. Thats what happening every morning. And for those who love the pristine reef, yellow margins not screwing around yet.

A lot of happy divers at the moment and a lot of beers at the bar as per DC exchange rates. And also some not so happy pool divers (demoted to the pool). I guess you know the reason why. cheers.

Today's Sighting

Wx-sunny, Sea-1m, Vis-more than 50m (according to photographer), Current-mild

It's been a great week and still counting. According to our last count, they have been sighted since the 7th. Don't know how long more it will last though. This photo is hot off the boat. The DMs are excited and they are fighting to get on the boat to lead. Normally they just lie around on the hammock and sleep for excitement. Unfortunately, the new divers that arrived today thinks that SLF school sighting is normal.

Some of you know better, right? Ok, for those that requested wallpaper, we will be sending it out to you soon.

We are going to start a Layang Layang Idol competition, voting is open until the end of this season. Our choice for the idol is the "Yellow Margin" trigger fish, he provides entertainment, excitement, sense of impotence for divers and most important of all is the wow factor.

Oh yes, humans are also eligible to compete as idols. ie. Dms, waiters, reception staff and the guy who cleans your room.

If you are bored of SLF post, let me know and we'll switch to something more mundane. bye.

Yesterday's Thresher

Blah.......... (forgot to record)

Yesterday was a good day sighted 2 SLF and (bonus) a THRESHER shark. His appearance in layang layang looks to be a monthly cycle. he was spotted on the reef top.

Great Hammerhead

Wx-cloudy, Sea-flat, Vis-30.25m, Current-strong

Just when you think you have heard/seen it all, our super duper numero uno DM sees a greater hammerhead. The GSLF was swimming at the fringe of a very very big (wallpaper) school of SLFs.

And if you're wondering who the DM is, you'll have come here to find out. cheerio

post late again

Wx-cloudy, Sea- flat, Vis- thermocline at 30m, Current-strong

Besides diving and posting, we do have a life. An excuse for not posting yesterday.

Anyway, same old story yesterday, again. Hammerheads galore in the morning. In the afternoon dive, they(SLFs) were spotted at wreck point.

For those of you interested in leaf fish, there are black, pink, yellow, white and brown ones around. Mikkel says he has spotted more varieties of nudibranchs as well. Not interested in this huh?

Chris is back to do his video, maybe now we can have some good photos to post. Let you know later.

Still Around

Wx-hot and sunny, Sea-flat as a runway, Vis-thermocline, Current-split

Same old story again, the SLF school still around. But yesterday they got to see a manta in the afternoon as well. It was being chased by a red snapper (DM banned the snapper for harassing the manta).

Satisfaction- diver's wish in Layang Layang
1."If I get to see one hammerhead, I'll be satisfied" - done, have seen one
2."If only it was a school of hammerhead" - done, have seen a school
3."If only they were up closer" - done, have seen closer
4."If only the dolphin would show up after the hammerheads" - done, at the bar after dinner
5."If only the price for coming here is cheaper" - unsatisfied cheapskate
We guess the only satisfied divers are those who love diving for the sake of diving and everything else seen while diving is a bonus with pleasure.

Still no hammerhead photo/s to post yet.

Yesterday and Today

Wx-cloudy but no rain, Sea-flat, Vis-30+m, Current-split

Computer maintenance yesterday. Anyway, the SLFs sighted yesterday and today. What can we say? When they are here, they are here. Some photos taken by divers but not that great. No photos until a good shot comes along.

We were asked another question yesterday, which generated other questions. We will start another blog on FAQ. But beware the answers might piss you off. But should be fun answering them. Also if you are interested to know the common and uncommon diver profiles experienced in Layang Layang, the answers could be interesting too. You can either send your questions through this blog comment or email us (if you are privy to it).

Example questions. How to take a good photo? Why are the SLFs sighted now and not last week? When is a good time to visit Layang Layang? Why is the package so expensive? Why is that diver so lucky, stupid, arrogant, sexy or can't even swim? All the why, when and how of Layang Layang. Answers will be in the new blog.

BUT they are here NOW

They are back

Wx-hot and sunny, Sea-flat, Vis-30+m, current-mild

OK. They are back. I mean the SLF (hammerhead) schools. For those who left the island without saying good bye to them, you can always come back. In case you do not know how a SLF look like. Take a screen shot of the photo posted. They look the same underwater as well but move faster.

Until next post enjoy the photo and more posts for the next few days.

Missing Fish

Wx-sunny, Sea-flat, Vis-30-40m, Current-mild

Old adage applies " when have nothing good to say, shut up". That statement applied for the past couple of days for those whose sole interest is the hammerhead school sightings. The SLFs have been missing for about a week now (reasons unknown).

So this post is about them being back this morning. We feel for those divers that left in the past few days that have not had the opportunity to see them. We will keep you posted on how long they hang around until their next disappearing act.

Of other interest is, we had a visit from the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. He was here to launch the installation of the Tsunami early warning Sensor somewhere in our area. All I can say is that the honorable Minister can dive (DSD style). Oh, he wants to improve our Vsat so that we can have broadband. Fingers are crossed but hope that they do not get permanently cramped (neither will we hold our breath). Look out for our ugly mugs on TV or in the newspaper (don't hold your breath either). To COA, we hope he can take a joke if he reads this accidentally.

Hopefully we will get to post more regularly on our sightings and not only on SLFs. Unil then.....

Sun Tan

Wx-hot and sunny, Sea-1/2 to 1m, Vis-20-30m, current-strong

You all must be wondering why there aren't any post for a couple of days now. Simple, unless we are mistaken, there is only 1 item that interest you, right? No post means no sightings of hammerhead(SLF). But we do have other stuff of interest but most probably it will bore you.

If you diligently keep track of these post and do your own stats, you'll find an interesting cycle happening with the SLF. That way you can plan your visit to coincide with the cycle. Good luck. Your guess is as good as ours.

Other fishes and birds

Wx-very hot and sunny, Sea-very calm, Vis-very blue, Current-very strong, Life-very good and getting better.

These 2 days sightings has been mobulars, oceanic white tip and 1 hammerhead swimming around in the bar. But don't let that stop you from dreaming about the others in the water.

That's the latest for the fishy report and moving on to the birdies....

They are not back yet. And we don't eat them, which some of you might have some doubts. Especially now with all those reports about the bird flu and all. Please read the following, it might help those that have their head stuck underwater for too long.

"GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday that cooked poultry does not transmit bird flu in a bid to calm mounting consumer fears as the virus spreads. 

"The WHO confirms that when poultry products are safely handled and properly cooked, humans are not at risk of acquiring H5N1 (bird flu) infection through food," the United Nations agency said in a statement. 

European countries where the virus has been detected have reported big drops in consumption of chicken and other poultry products, and France, Europe's largest producer, is facing curbs to its exports.

Some 20 countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Thailand and South Korea, representing 5 percent of French foreign poultry sales, have imposed restrictions after the deadly disease was found in a turkey farm in the east of the country. 

"Globally, the evidence demonstrates that there is no risk of infection when birds and eggs are well cooked, as this kills the virus," the WHO said, adding that poultry products were important sources of protein. 

It noted that since December 2003, when the virus reappeared, 173 people have been infected, of whom 93 have died. But none of these cases has been linked to the consuming of properly cooked poultry."

e&oe