Dive Trip Report: Bleh Boracay

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shugar

Contributor
Messages
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Location
Manila, Philippines
# of dives
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DISCLAIMER: if you love Boracay diving this is not for you, go elsewhere.

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Got to stick in a couple dives while I was in Boracay for the Nescafe Soundskool Workshop.

Overall Boracay is an expensive and ugly place to dive. I don't know what foreigners see there but by Filipino Diver standards that is the most boring, uninteresting and overall pathetic excuse for diving.

My 1st dive was actually to shoot video for Nescafe. While some of the workshoppers were doing an intro and seawalker thing, I scooted around taking video of them for use in the finals. The other dive was booked with Calypso Divers - a dive that turned out to become 2 dives (more later).

Calypso was a professionally run operation. They gave a dive briefing the likes of which I have not heard in a looooooooong time (when dive with the PPD a lot all you really get is "oh, current is that way, we start at X feet depth, safety stop when you get low on air... ok? ok go!"

But the buggers missed the freakin' bouy on our dive! Hello!

Anyway, here's the details.

DIVE 1: A bunch of rocks, some coral, and a bunch of reef fish
Max Depth: 16'
Bottom Time: 54mins

This is where they take snorkelers, intro-ers and seawalkers. A bunch of rocks, some coral both hard and soft and the usual damselfish, sergeant majors and common reef folk.

I do feel, though, that I took some fairly good video. It's been about a year since I've worn a jacket-type BCD and really hate the bloody things.

Saw a sea snake... also saw a soundskooler almost step on the same sea snake.

This year's intro was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than last years... at least this time we actually headed out to sea.

After the intro, it was almost my call time to Calypso for the dive. The intro started from Station 1 near Seagaia and I had no intention of walking or even triking all the way back from there. I just wanted to get to Calypso soonest.

So here I am, telling the bankero to let me off off-shore from Calypso and I was going to swim in. "SWIM"??? they all (including the soundskoolers) look at me like I'd grown an extra pair of ears.

Yes, swim... it's not really that far if you let me off closer to shore (I knew I could handle the physical excertion anyway). So the boatman comes in, then goes "this is as close as we can go, we're only allowed 1 docking and it's not here, this is 50 meters from shore".

50 meters my ass!!! That wasn't 50 meters! 50 meters is 2 swimming pool lengths and that was not 50 meters... maybe 80 pa!

And so I make bilin my stuff to one of the soundskoolers, get my slippers, grab my camera, and jump off the boat. It's not that far... I can do this...

And so I began to swim... and swim... and swim... avoid the paraw... and swim... and swim... freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, curse self for being so ****in' stupid, backstroke, slap self upside head for being an idiot, dog paddle...

I eventually dragged my sorry ass out of the water... that wasn't 50 meters... there was no way in God's good earth that that was 50 meters.

I was 3 minutes late to Calypso... not bad hehehehehe

DIVE 2: Some Ugly Rocks
Max Depth 93'
Bottom Time: 23 minutes

We were supposed to do the Camia Wreck. Instructions were we descend down the line, hit the wreck, swim around including some safe swim-throughs and up for a safety stop on the rope.

Easy.

Except on this first one we just followed our DM around like idiots and began to wonder about 20 minutes in how far the mooring bouy was from the freakin' wreck.

After a bit DM turns around and writes on a slate: "Wrong Bouy, no wreck, sorry"... what's the underwater sign for "WHAT THE ****?!"

We exit and get back up on the boat. I'm down to about 40% air, and they only have 1 extra tank onboard. After a record-breaking and totally useless Surface Interval of 13 minutes we're over what we hope is the correct bouy and go down on our 2nd of what was to be only 1 dive.

DIVE 3: CAMIA WRECK
Max Depth: 79ft
Bottom Time: 22 mins

Yippee, they found it.

The wreck had some potential... but not much growth yet.

I was having bouyancy issues as well - for some reason I was light despite dumping all my air... damn jacket BCs

I took 1 picture, went half-way around the wreck, was getting light in the tank, and it was time to go up.

1 picture... I barely remember anything of the wreck... all for 1 picture...

Then again, I'm actually happy I got to salvage ONE picture out of the whole dive...

15349_178698913093_553008093_2746055_6534460_n.jpg


The Moral Lesson: Don't dive Boracay.

If you're an Anilao diver who likes actually seeing stuff underwater then you're better off spending your 1,600 pesos on a pizza and beer at Aria - may sukli ka pa pang Jonah's Shakes and Choriburger from My-my's.

If you're a PG diver the cost might not be surprising but the marine life and topography will be depressing. If you're a PG diver you're most probably white, have some $ source of income and would find far more fulfillment either boozing the night away at one of the many bars, or getting your horn polished by many of the local oysters - either way they're both on the surface and not underwater.

If you dive anywhere else in the world and find the a couple corals and some fish an amazing dive experience then do Boracay before anywhere else in the Philippines. What you see will already be impressive (by your standards)... do Boracay first because what you will see in Anilao, PG, Bohol, Dumaguete, Camiguin, Gensan, or most anywhere else in the country may pretty blow your mind away.
 
I guess its a case of the disappearing wreck. By the way, where are the bikini and oyster pics?

ps - Calypso didn't even offered a 20 minute Yapak dive to make up for Dive 2?
no they didn't... they also had a 3pm dive to get back to and personally ayoko na rin so paid my bill, showered and finally had lunch at about 4pm

Jag
 
This write up tells a bigger story.......JAG (as critical as he is - and God does love him) has described what paradise has become. If you knew Boracay just a few years ago you would be ashamed of what it has become. We see Boracay operators coming into our area to get away from their ecological disaster. They do not abide by our local rules (that reads LAWS). I feel your pain JAG.....really. Keep those SCHMUCKAPUCKS on their island and let the foreigners pour their money into that ecological disaster of a resort town. Not to worry though.....soon they will have another international airport to help speed them to their grave. And, oh by the way, your horn probably needs some polish to make you feel better after your traumatic experience. LOLOLOL
 
This write up tells a bigger story.......JAG (as critical as he is - and God does love him) has described what paradise has become. If you knew Boracay just a few years ago you would be ashamed of what it has become. We see Boracay operators coming into our area to get away from their ecological disaster. They do not abide by our local rules (that reads LAWS). I feel your pain JAG.....really. Keep those SCHMUCKAPUCKS on their island and let the foreigners pour their money into that ecological disaster of a resort town. Not to worry though.....soon they will have another international airport to help speed them to their grave. And, oh by the way, your horn probably needs some polish to make you feel better after your traumatic experience. LOLOLOL
thanks babyd... and yes, i did get my horn polished when i got home...

i didn't mention that there were a disturbing number of trannies on the prowl when i was in boracay - real scary, i mean, they weren't fooling anyone with those tiny miniskirts, fake boobs and adam's apple bukol that was about as big as the bukol on the miniskirts...

but I don't think it's really purely man's fault - seems that that areas is really not a dive heaven... great beach, but lousy dives

Jag
 
Spent a short time there on my way to Romblon, beach and dinner was nice and hotels not too expensive... Thanks for the info I will safely scratch that one off my list...
Cheers
 
I'm so glad I didn't trust my non-diver friends when they told me to go to Boracay.

LOL@the bukol in miniskirt comment
 
I learned to dive in Boracay!
It was GREAT!
But then I dove other places, and realised that it was more for newby divers. The depths, and sites were not all that great. I had my four qualifying dives at two locations only.
Boracay is know for its beach not for the diving, and as such should be only for the novice diver, less than 50 dives, or anyone comming from the northern cold-water regions for the first time.
Try Bohol; Puerto Galera; Anilao; Mactan; Moalboal; etc.
 
Agree with you on the overdevelpment - in four years of going there the island has changed, for the worse before my eyes. Shame though, stunner of a beach. Also not soo bad for a beginner diver - I did my first sea dives there. The plus is that you can get there and back quickly, but thats also a minus because this is how it ends up.

So what can be done to stop this happening in future?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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