Good Week

WX- Still PERFECT


Schooling hammerheads and mobulars daily plus a thresher thrown in for good measure today.

Reminder! Remember, we only serve compressed air, no fancy stuff like trimix or nitrox. Recreational divers max depth is 40 meters regardless of status like instructor, professional photographers or videographers, course directors, beginners ......... or whatever nationality. All have equal opportunity of getting hit. No deco chamber, no doctor, no ambulance or taxi here. Only you and your god if you do get hit.

Other than that, have a nice dive. Don't forget that the fishes don't need air like you do. AND don't chase the fishes. Thank you.

Hammerheads Galore

WX- Perfect


Hammerheads schools sighted on both ends of atoll at the same time. They started coming back yesterday morning.

Those divers that left were a bit unlucky for the past week. If you're here only for the hammerheads, you'll be totally disappointed if you don't see them. So, the only way not to be down is to not bother with them.

If this was a zoo, we'll be millionaires mate. If we can guarantee them, we'll be billionaires. Look out for our ferraris, porches, mercs and the cub chai.

CALLING ALL HAMMERHEADS - WHERE ARE YOU?

Wx - It rained all night on Friday night and most of the day yesterday until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the sun put its hat on and shone gloriously for the rest of the day.

So thankfully no wash out for the BBQ and wow what a feast, we can certainly give the aussies a run for their money.

First thing in the morning yesterday, 3 dive boats set off for The Point to try and catch sight of the elusive Hammerheads. Sadly visibility has been pretty poor this last week, around 15-20 metres and sometimes less, compared to 40 metres plus. One group managed to get a glimpse of one Hammerhead in the distance about 15 metres away but nothing more. In another group the DM saw two out in the blue and gave chase but to no avail and in the end came up having seen absolutely nothing, since the current had taken them far from the reef. But that's the way it goes sometimes! C'est la guerre......

A few guys and gals decided to take a trip out to Bird Island yesterday at 11am by boat which is when high tide is, so that you can set foot on the island. There are a huge number of birds, all terns and boobies with their eggs, which sometimes just roll into the water. The boobies rather interestingly make a nest from shells and coral, whilst the terns make a scrappy little indentation in the sand. Another way of accessing the island is just to kayak there. Don't forget your camera if you go!

Both non-diving and diving guests have been pampering themselves, getting massages and reflexology. Don't forget to tell Albert how hard you want it, or you might get more of a pummeling that you wanted! jy

ps. Hammerhead school on 1st dive after your plane took off. Check with peter and paul

Hammerhead Wish

Wx - It has been hot and sunny with calm seas this past week until this afternoon when we had a rain shower.

It has been so good to welcome back old friends from last year who all arrived on Tuesday's flight having visited last season at different times. It was double take x 4 and the staff could almost not believe it as they recognized virtually everyone who stepped off the plane!

The larger plane continues to bring in plenty of supplies and guests are enjoying the delights of fresh fruits and food. A new pastry chef arrived yesterday and set to work straight away to make a birthday cake for one of the japanese party, whose last night it was. They (and we) had so much fun. There were plenty of celebrations for 100, 200 and 300th dives and one by one they all went into the pool. Following suit were all of the Dive Masters who didn't escape the ducking. One last surviving dry DM gave the chasers the runaround the resort grounds, like a scene from The Keystone Cops, before finally succumbing and jumping in with cigarette in one hand and managing to keep it alight!

The school of Jacks is still around letting the divers swim right amongst them as they swim round and round - a truly great experience. We are also graced by turtles swimming around the the reef and dive bombing into the deep. The large school of Bumphead Parrot-fish are also in evidence. On Wednesday one of the groups was lucky enough to see a huge Manta ray swimming out in the blue, it did one sweep to and fro taking a good look at us and then went on its way. At the same time a little Devil ray came by and also did a tour around the group - FANTASTIC! The pair of pygmy sea-horses are still attached to the fan coral at D-Wall - make sure you bring a magnifying glass!

Today was a day for Marble Rays - a family of four, swam slowly around 40m and then later in the afternoon we saw one pretty big one nestled and resting in a nook, that was just about big enough to house it.

Tonight we had 6 people on the Shore Dive and they all had a great time pottering around at the end of the day, careful not to trespass into Navy waters. The area under the jetty was teeming with sea life - 2 large puffer fish (and we mean large!), banded shrimp galore, pipe-fish, octopus, 2 absolutely stunning nudibranchs, a flaming flatworm, a couple of morays, lion-fish in all colours and sizes.

Tomorrow is BBQ day - so fingers crossed - no wash out!jy

Just Our Luck

Wx- It has been very hot and sunny for the past few days. Sea conditions- flat calm like mirror.

The Hammerheads are still around in their usual schools. Was gone for a couple of days earlier but they are back now. Still no photo evidence to show for it. MAYBE we'll get some next week. All the other fishes are around as well as a small school of bumphead parrot fish.

Had our BBQ last night and half way through, it rained cats and dogs. Had to choose the BBQ day to drench us. 2 months of no rain, and had to be BBQ night. Someone sure love us last night. Til the next BBQ then. Bye.

Class Room of Hammerheads

Wx: Still very very very good.

The school of hammers were still in class today during our morning dives. Unfortunately the bell had not rung for them to be let out onto atoll playground.
One hammer was playing truant and was spotted by a group of divers.
All our divers today were lucky enough to see three pygmy devil rays gliding along the edge of the reef. Great vis as usual….

The third dive is normally quite relaxed. However, the tide changed during the dive, bringing up a big school of jacks, followed by a school of chevron barracudas, followed by a school of big dogtooth tuna, followed by giant trevally and a turtle taking last place. Not a bad sight for the 3 minutes safety stop for one group, after spending the dive cruising along admiring the nudibranchs, morays, octopus,leaf fish and the coral reef.mp

Excitement (we think)

Wx- still very very good.


The excitement never ends, here at Layang Layang…Not only do we have lots of action in the deep blue sea – hammers, pygmy devil rays, HUGE dogtooth tuna’s, marble rays and the school of jacks… We also had our own fire…
Forest fires are a yearly occurrence in other parts of Malaysia.. But this was Layang’s first. Thankfully no fingers got burnt.. only the grass.
The wind blew the fire towards the runway, and all the way around the football pitch, leaving the area intact for the staff to enjoy their afternoon sporting activity.mp

REMINDER: If you smoke cigarettes or cigars, make sure to throw the butts away in a safe place. Not in the field or garden. It is very dry on land now, we appreciate all the common sense applied by all. Thank you.

Hammerheads Galore

WX- Still bloody good. Perfect for star gazing?


Say a bit more on the Hammerheads. A couple of schools again. Clear vis, shallow(30m) and no self propelled missiles yet.

Other stuff are the grey reefs, bumpheads(numbers increased compared to last year), blotched ray, white tips under the same rock and..........

Other, other stuff. All you hammies out there can contact the hammies here at 9M4SDX.
Just to clarify for you divvies. Hammies are Ham Radio enthusiasts/hobbyist. They love to do their thing with some dives thrown in. At least they got 1 more thing to do on the island then the divvies do. On top of that, hammies sounds like a bunch of hammerhead hunters then divvies, right? And if you don't know what a divvie is, don't ask.

Hammerhead School

Wx-Still damn good


The single hammerhead yesterday must have came and checked out Layang Layang for the main bunch. Pronounced it fit and ready for the Hammerhead show to begin. 3 schools were sighted. Need we say more?

Hammerhead

Wx- damn good


At last we get to see A hammerhead. At least we know they are around now. We were getting a bit worried that they might not show up until later because of the weather change(el nino or whatever else they want to call it). Other stuff spotted are eagle ray, mobulars leopard shark and our beautiful reef with their spectacular fishes.

The migratory birds are not back yet. What we have at the moment are the leftovers(the old,injured,lazy.......) from last year. The main (or regular) bunch should be arriving soon unless they got delayed by the weather pattern like the hammerheads.

We love the new plane chartered. It's so much bigger and we can bring in the ice cream anytime.

Thresher

Wx-HOT, sea-calm, vis-30+m, current-mild


Thresher in the morning with manta and others spotted. Sea moth and the usual in the afternoon. Schools of barra, jacks and fusiliers about.

Full load of divers arrived today. Underwater photos supplied by our good friend Dr. Kurt again. In case you don't know, he is compiling photos and publishing a Layang Layang coffee table book. Will let you guys know where you can lay your hands on one next year.
That's it for now.

New Aircraft

Wx-very bright sunshine, sea-0.5m and calm, currents-mild, vis-30m.

As far as the undersea goes, it's still great as long as you're in it. Same stuff for the past couple of days. Manta, mobulars, turtles, white tips...............

Now for the interesting part. Those of you who have been here before knows the size of the teeny weeny plane that brought you to the island. This year we have a big plane, and it comes with a stewardess too. There is only 1 entry and that is from the rear.

Forgot to mention, there isn't any loo on board. Make sure you do your thing before take off or you will have to do it in a bottle. cheerio.

Manta

Start of the new season diving is underway.

Sea-1m, wx-sunshine, wind-NE, current-strong.

For a 1st day start, we have sighted manta, the usual school of jacks, white tips, eagle ray, mobulars and all the other little critters. The corals are still in their pristine condition.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of fishing lines entangled with the corals, carried in by the currents during the closure months. We are in the process of clearing them up as and when possible. Whoever is coming can help, they can bring along a pair of scissors and cut the lines as they dive. Or they can merrily just dive.

No pictures just yet. Will have to wait for some to be donated before we can post them. As this is only the start of the blogging for the 2nd season, we will get into stride to keep you updated on the jolly going ons here (both above and below the sea).

Meanwhile have a good day and stay stress free.

Hello Everybody

WE ARE BACK!

First arrivals today but unfortunately we won't be able to let you know whats underwater til tomorrow.

It's sunshine and everything nice so far. Sea is a bit choppy but otherwise everything great. No rain for the past 3 weeks so everything top side is brown. For the sun and burn crowd, PERFECT.

Until tomorrow then. By the way we are now using a bigger aircraft than last year. An Antonov from Russia but with Pratt & Whitney engines (don't you feel safer already?). It's either a 22 seater or 40 seater, depends on the charter company. Let you all know once we have a better idea.

ps. pass the info on that the blog is back in business