Bali diving - Nusa Penida/Lembongan 2d 6Dives or 1d Nusa 1 day Tulamben

[zivva]

FYI :

- Bali Post---Pengemban Pengamal Pancasila
8 divers, coming from Sanur, got lost yesterday in north Nusa Lembongan (Mangrove Point). They may have been rescued this morning but nothing confirmed yet (*)
Mangrove Point is an easy drift : current direction rarelly switches + no up neither down currents, as long as you stay close to the bottom & close to the reef, as for any easy drift dive ... If you do not stay close to the reef, well at the end you finish in the deep end of Blue Corner, and that can be tricky ...

- A diver surfaced unconscious this morning after panicking @ Crystal Bay. Again, divers coming from Sanur.

This is just the begining of high season ...

(*) The 8 divers have finally been found at 10 PM yesterday evening in Uluwatu. Cheap but not the fastest way to get back to Bali ...

 

[highdesert]

The translation of the above article says they "crashed in the sea". What does that mean ... a swamped shuttle boat? Any other details?

 

[zivva]

Bad translation : no crash involved.

Their boat captain just didn't find them after the dive ... and they drifted back to Bali.

 

[brianloh91]

Sweet. I like adventure but hopefully nothing too exciting like drifting back to Bali happens if not i just wasted another night to get wasted haha.

Gee: Thanks for the advice man. Personally I would like to try and experience Crystal Bay's conditions. and besides how can i miss out on that when everyone who dives Bali goes there man! but nonetheless i will stick to my guide like slug! I have emailed a few of the Operators and they told me they could do 3 dives a day itinerary for me and experience different dive sites on both days!

ocdiver1: I will probably be diving w BIDP. any reviews on them?

lp: personally i dun have trouble w my buoyancy so hopefully all turns out well for me. I considered your idea before but my friends were insistent on getting a villa at seminyak and staying there so had to compromise w them a bit. and they have already paid for the place. Precisely why i was quite against the idea of traveling to tulamben to dive because of the short time i have and the drive there is ridiculously long. plus i hear traffic is heavy.

Anyway thanks for the advice guys. Hope the boat doesnt leave me behind. Cheers guys! Happy Bubbles

 

[iDreamOfBubbles]

Hello Brian,
I'm currently on Nusa Lembongan (actually heading up to Tulamben tomorrow), and actually just completed my AOW cert today. Both my dive buddy and I came here with only seven dives each, and we've done 9 dives since. We have been fine the whole time. The best advice I can give you is to dive with a reputable op (we dove with Bali Dive Academy, who have been absolutely fantastic, not sure if they do daytrips, though) and stick with your guide. They know the sites, and if you tell them about your experience level, will keep you safe.

Our first dive was actually at Crystal Bay, and after reading this thread beforehand, I was a bit nervous going in. Although we saw people down in the blue, we stayed relatively shallow and out of the current, and actually had a nice, relaxing dive. We dove it again the next day. To be completely honest, I thought it was pretty average. I liked Toyapakeh, PED, and SD much better. Didn't see any mola molas, but it's still early in the season, and it gives us something to come back for. The diving was still fantastic, though.

One more thing, for many of the reefs that we dove, there would be a flat, shallow section of the reef at about 10 meters before it became a sloping seascape. This area would sometimes be exposed to current, but was much easier to dive in, and there was still plenty of good marine life to see, so you can always stay there if necessary.

Hope this makes you feel a bit better. Just remember, it's about being a smart diver, not a strong diver. You should have no problem. Have fun!

 

[Quero]

Sweet. I like adventure but hopefully nothing too exciting like drifting back to Bali happens if not i just wasted another night to get wasted haha.

Gee: Thanks for the advice man. Personally I would like to try and experience Crystal Bay's conditions. and besides how can i miss out on that when everyone who dives Bali goes there man! but nonetheless i will stick to my guide like slug! I have emailed a few of the Operators and they told me they could do 3 dives a day itinerary for me and experience different dive sites on both days!

ocdiver1: I will probably be diving w BIDP. any reviews on them?

lp: personally i dun have trouble w my buoyancy so hopefully all turns out well for me. I considered your idea before but my friends were insistent on getting a villa at seminyak and staying there so had to compromise w them a bit. and they have already paid for the place. Precisely why i was quite against the idea of traveling to tulamben to dive because of the short time i have and the drive there is ridiculously long. plus i hear traffic is heavy.

Anyway thanks for the advice guys. Hope the boat doesnt leave me behind. Cheers guys! Happy Bubbles

Stay safe, Brian. I personally feel that people understate and underestimate the challenges of diving Penida and Lembongan. There has just been another incident, fortunately with a happy ending.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/425935-divers-missing-bali.html

 

[ocdiver1]

sorry Brian, not familiar with BIDP

 

[Bali Diver]

@Brianloh91 I guess you are Advanced open water diver, Right !

nonetheless i will stick to my guide like slug!

what do you mean by this,are you not confident of your ability if conditions get difficult.if so don't dive the site,what about your buddy or do you intend to dive with guide to look after you.if so remember guide has other guests on dive to consider also and at the end of the day if things get difficult you most likely will have to find the solutions.

 

[gee13]

I think what Brian was referring here to is to stick to the guide as not to lose his group. If anyone has dived Crystals it can be very easy to get separated with the gazillion divers around and the last thing you want is to have to surface in boat traffic rather than surface close to your dive boat which the guide should hopefully be able to do so.

 

[zivva]

@Brianloh91 I guess you are Advanced open water diver, Right !
what do you mean by this,are you not confident of your ability if conditions get difficult.if so don't dive the site,what about your buddy or do you intend to dive with guide to look after you.if so remember guide has other guests on dive to consider also and at the end of the day if things get difficult you most likely will have to find the solutions.

It's better to be not too confident when diving Nusa Lembongan & Nusa Penida !

Most of the guides are used to slugs, as most of the ops dive in small groups (max 4 divers per guide) in the area, and personnaly - as many guides here - I much prefer slugs than too confident divers doing what they want. Obviously your buddy need to be a slug too

@ brianloh91 : my 2c advice : you need to get 2 informations from the op you choose to dive the area with :
- Guide is local and used to the area. In summer many ops from Bali hire western freelancers with no / small experience in the area. You don't want to dive with an unexperienced guide here.
- Get the confirmation from the op that you will dive in a max ratio of 4 divers per guide. This is the most important piece of information you need when diving the area. Obviously you want to carrefully listen to the dive briefing and do what your guide ask you to do + be sure your buddy is on the same page listening to the briefing and not questionning guide's decisions. If you feel your buddy is too confident, ask the op to get a new one !

Not too familiar with BIDP but having a look at their website they seem to be safety focused. Not a good reason to do not ask again about the local & experienced guides + the 4-to-1 ratio when booking ...

Enjoy Crystal Bay's jaccuzi