Another Surface Interval

It has been quite a quiet week, depending on whom is judging it.

Wx- sunshine earlier but the wind and rain started hitting us about 4 days ago (we heard the same happened for KK and KL). Sea- from flat (earlier in the week) to 2m for the past few days. Vis- always the same, better when the sun was shining.

Pelagic sighting is about the same as in the past. Single hammerhead, mobulars, manta, dolphins, grey reefs and horse eyes. Corals still look good but nobody seems to be interested in them except the DMs.

REMIINDER- we do not have a doctor on the island and that goes for the ambulance as well. Please do not only be careful with your dive profiles, accidents do happen on land too, like breaking a bone, jog til you drop, gooie stuff coming out of your ear or something like that. Any accident that requires a doctor or hospital. If you should decide to tempt fate or the great one above, make sure you have a fully paid up insurance policy for evacuation and all other cost involved. About 15k and the likelihood that the aircraft is not available at the time you need it most.

We just had a guy that broke his thumb in 2 places while snorkelling. HAH, you wondering how it happened right? That is why they call it an accident, because you cannot imagine it ever happening to you while doing something so simple. Or the time when another guy broke his arm just because his "friend" wanted to throw him in the pool. You noticed it is only the guys that have "accidents"? We will tell you how it happened if ever we meet you, plus a lot more stories if you want to listen, laugh and learn.

Until the next story, goodbye, good luck and take care. Bye.

Latest

Getting lazy so it is going to be a few days post at one go. Unless it is something spectacular for that day.

17th - Wx-rained the whole day, Sea-calm, Vis-so so
We still managed to get a BBQ in. 1 manta and still a lot of reef life.

18th - Wx-overcast, Sea-calm, Vis-same same
4 mobulars and definitely a lot of reef life.

19th - Wx-hot, sunny and humid, Sea-mirror flat, Vis-improved to 30m.

1 hammerhead, manta, whale shark and a pod of spinners. Another 22 thais on the island again. This is really turning into aq regular mini Thailand on a weekly basis. Bye.

Quiet Days

Wx-earlier 2 days were sunny and hot, today is rain and cloudy, Sea- flat calm


Mantas everyday. On some dives, even 2 mantas swimming together. Definitely manta time now. These sightings do not happen often in Layang Layang. Guess it must be due to the change in world climate (theorectically speaking).

If you want to know exactly where Layang Layang is located, get this to help you. Hey, maybe you can see us waving at you with our bikinis and g-strings.

Contributions of new photos have been slow due to the excitement underwater. Will have to make do from our earlier collections. Photos from kurt and asther. Bye.

Three In One

11th, Wx-Still cloudy, Sea-still a bit choppy, Vis-20m and thermocline

Pelagics for the day are 10 mobulars, 1 whale shark and 2 boat load of divers.

Preparing for mini Thailand again tomorrow. Our Fishery department have finished their reefball relocation. Hopefully we will see lobsters and all types of macro marine life in the lagoon one day. Maybe a new dive site for last dive on day before departure?.

12th, Wx-Overcast morning and sunny afternoon, Sea-more choppy than day before, Vis-same as yesterday.

Hammerhead school for group of lucky divers and they are the only divers in the whole of Layang Layang for the 1st dive.

Mini Thailand checked in today and have only one wish, hope and demand. You've guessed it, the one and only elusive hammerheads.

Today, Wx-Cloudy, Sea-calm, Vis-20+m

1 hammerhead, 1 manta, 4 mobulars and a lot of mating jacks. That can only happen in the sea. As far as on land goes, the only creature mating are the bloody cats.
Don't feel sorry for the cats, there are about 100 of them running around. And DON'T feed them if or when you are here. You feed them, you take them home. A lot of suggestions on how to lower their population but nothing that is kind and simple yet. If you have an answer, now is the time to practise your nature preservation and conservation bit with kindness to animals in mind.

Photos courtesy of kurt, again. Nobody seems to be contributing lately except him.
One of the reasons why the post are 2 in 1 and 3 in 1. One day it's going to be 200 in 1. Maybe we will get more photos after the competition in July. Bye.

Windy Day

Wx- Strong wind with 1m choppy waves. Vis- 20-30m due to upwelling with underwater temperatue about 26-28c.

Mobulars, jacks, tunas and a lot of corals(hard and soft). BBQ, world cup football and F1 on land. All in all a quiet day but hopefully the night will be interesting.

Photo taken by asther some time ago. Not every evening is like that but then again, who knows. Maybe when you are here you will be lucky enough to witness this sunset for yourself. Would like to post the starry night sky photo but it's too dark and you won't be able to read this post. Bye.

Cloudy Day

Wx- Serious downpour in the early morning, cloudy and humid for the rest of the day.

We were wondering if the flight coming into Layang Layang was going to be delayed or cancelled again. Good on the pilot (MAS), it was on schedule with a bit of detour along the way to avoid the rain.

Ever wondered how a down current works in Layang Layang? Come here and we will tell you the why, where and how but not the when though. We had it today for 2nd dive. No big deal if you know what to do, it is part and parcel of diving knowledge.

This is the sequence of photos(kurt's) to show you what to expect when you first arrive in Layang Layang. The land shots are much more different, we will post those another day. bye

Quiet Day At The Office

Wx- Sunny as usual, a bit of breeze and sea still flat

Not much pelagic action on the 1st dive, 2nd dive is totally different. 1 hammerhead, mobulars and tunas, if you are only interested in is pelagics. Dolphins on the topside again. 3rd dive is serious macro/close up photography time.


These photos are more colourful than the pelagics, don't you think? they are supplied by Kurt using a seacam with a nikon slr.

The birds are gone. Must be all the weather changes in the world or something. The bird numbers are even lesser than previous years. Maybe they caught the bird flu or something and became fish food along the way. Great news that, less bird flu flying around.
ps. we'll put your name, camera and photo on the blog, IF you hava nice shot from Layang Layang (for free).

Two in One

Yesterday
Wx- flat sea, sunshine and very hot.

Very quiet day in the water as far as the fishes are concerned.

Reminder to all current, going to take up and future potential professional underwater photographers and videographers. You know that thing that you put the camera into that is made of plastic/polycarbonate/metal? In other words called a camera housing. They are rated for a certain maximum depth for a very good financial reason (oops, forgot about the watches, underwater torches and whatever other else that you take underwater). They have a rubber "O" ring that needs to be checked and greased before you put the camera in and go diving? Do not forget to do that. Two divers found out that the housing can leak if not inspected before diving (bye bye camera).

Also we are sure you know what is the meaning of explosion, right? Do you know the meaning of implosion? One diver found out while underwater at a depth that exceeded his depth and the housing specs the meaning of the word (the practical and loud way). The implosion sound was quite loud. Try it, you might find it quite spectacular. The fishes thought it was fish bombing and had a good laugh out of it (while they were swimming for their lives). Now you know the reason for that loud sound underwater.

Today
Wx-flat sea, hot and sunny with no breeze at all.



Manta, snorkelling with dolphins and more pygmy sea horses. Hopefully we will have better photos for you guys. We have Dr. Kurt Syrcula (the guy who wrote "Diving in malaysia") here taking photos for a coffee table book of Layang Layang.
But meanwhile this will have to do.

For the guys, we will post a photo of the mistress diver. Guys will love this, until then just fantasize. Bye.

Another Day Another Dollar

Wx- Sunny and hot, Seas- calm

This is going to be a short one. 1 hammerhead came back twice so that means 2 hammerheads, right? So 5 mobulars came back 3 times and a whale shark came circling 4 times, you try to figure it out. That is what happened and that is it. Bye.

Slow Day

Wx- cloudy with slight breeze, Sea- calm

Not much happening, 1 hammerhead, mobulars, dolphins and the biggest school of horse eyes in the world (according to one DM). But we all know there are bigger schools in the world seen/unseen, right? At least she is happy but don't know about the guests though.

Forgot to mention, our Fisheries Department of Malaysia personnel is here to check on and reposition their 1 year old reefballs (artificial reef)in the lagoon. So far no spiny lobsters yet for harvesting.

Another DM birthday today but a bit toned down as most of the staff are either on holidays off the island or have gone home for a better life (traffic jams, exhaust smoke, increased petrol price.......). Wish you were here eh? Next time then.

Same Same Again

Wx- Sunshine in the morning and passing shower in the afternoon, Sea- a little bit choppy but considered calm for Layang Layang standards.

Sightings of 2 hammerheads (only 2, so boring), pod of dolphins, mobulars again and manta. Don't take it as the norm for Layang Layang diving. All the rest of the corals, trevally, sea horses, ghost pipe fish are still around.

As for the birds, we have not been to the bird island often enough to tell you the chicks progress. But, why do you want to go suffer the bad smell and look at those chicks when there are other old(matured) birds and young chicks walking around in their bikinis (and they don't smell as bad too)?


The resort staff had a day outing as well. Some went snorkelling and others went diving. Only problem was, the divers complained that they did not see the hammerheads. In their limited diving opinion, it was a bad dive and they want their money back. We wonder where they picked that up from? Recognise any of them that served you when you were here?

Now that the blog has started again, let's see how long it will last before another break. We have been logging a lot of stats of the various pelagics over the years. We will definitely try to post that when the time is right. But then, we are also afraid that you will take it as gospel and overindulge in your expectations and fantasy. Bye.

Thresher And Whale Sharks Again

WX- very very hot and sunny. Sea- flat calm and not even a ripple(look at the photo).


The whale shark was sighted again along with the thresher. A couple of stray hammerheads. Not many divers around at the moment (about 25). Quiet in the resort and nobody is complaining about crowds and all. In fact, it is getting too quiet. Hope some fun divers come along real soon or the DMs are going to complain that they don't have enough pressure looking for Hammerheads.

Nothing out of the ordinary as far as divers go. July should be fun as the resort is hosting an underwater photo shootout. The prizes are not bad. If you think you can take a photo, maybe you should try it. But make sure you don't shoot the tail end. Bye

We Are Back

Hello all, miss us?
Before we go any further with the news, please read the following paragraph.

All future and potential IGNORAMUS are reminded that this is NOT an OFFICIAL BLOG. We can and will write anything and everything (funny or otherwise). This blog has nothing to do with the company that manages the resort. If you don't like the subjects or the links or the people contributing to this blog or find it offensive you can piss off. And if you still think we are writing about you in this blog, then you must really be paranoid. YOU have a choice, DON"T READ THIS BLOG. We are only writing this blog for divers who wants to know the daily news on whats happening in Layang Layang Island.

We have a problem trying to summarize all of 20 days happening. So you all will have to bear with us on this long post. Another problem came up with the post. This was yesterday's post. Blogger had a problem.


11th- Not much happening except for a whale shark that came head on to a couple of divers. The photos you see of the whale shark was taken by Yasuaki and Yoshie san from Japan. Lucky buggers. Forgot to mention about the 5 mobulars as well.
12th- Hammerhead school and mobulars
13th- Wind change, some very lucky Thai divers that got to see Hammerhead schools on their first day. Most everybody saw them as well. Good day, even better for the DMs (pressure off).
14th- Low preesure in the weather or considered mini typhoon. Not too bad, only about 1-2 meters waves. Hammerheads again and more pygmy sea horses as well.
15th- Hammerheads school, mobulars, overcast sky but still very diveable.
16th- Hammerheads, 9 pygmy sea horses. Overcast sky and heavy passing showers. At least the plants are happy.
17th- Whale shark again and thresher. Sunshine and the sunbathers are out with their colourful bikinis.


18th- As promised to the female divers, this photo is of the potential Dms. Underwater, 1 thresher, 1 mobular, 1 hammerhead and a lot of sunshine.
19th- Hammerhead school, very flat sea and still alot of sunshine.
20th- This is getting tiring, we'll combine the whole damn happenings in one go as of this day until 31st May.
What we got are hammerheads, thresher on a couple of days, mobulars, dolphins, mantas on other days. generally, sighting of all these stuff are quite regular. For the hammerheads, they come and they go. if you are lucky they hang around a couple of days in a row. It rained cats, dogs, oliphants and 1 whale shark on the 23rd but flat seas. Then it got really really hot for the next couple of days. Sightings of the pelagics were about the same but in lesser numbers. We had dolphins with the divers underwater a couple of times. We had a surface sighting of the Melon Headed Whales on the 30th. And on the last day, 1 whale shark, 3 hammerheads and dolphins again. That's it for the past 20 days.



Wx-bloody hot and damn sunny, Sea-flat calm like a mirror

As for today (today just became yesterday), some divers leaving tomorrow and had their last dive. They were happy to see 4 hammerheads and to have seen quite a lot of stuff for the past couple of days but still wish for better.
On the 2nd dive which they can't go, the other divers comes back to rub salt in their wound. They saw manta. Hammerhead school, thresher shark, mobulars and dolphins all in 45 minutes of diving. Better luck next time for those leaving is all we can say.

PS. Thanks for being patient. We'll try to keep you abreast of everything as often as possible.