Mactan to Negros dive trip

[Wantonmien]

Hi,
Just finished my third dive holiday in the Philippines. Had a great time as always, especially on the black sand at Dauin, Negros Island.
Enjoy the pics!

Bowmouth

Having been in Dauin myself a couple of weeks back I opened your post to see if I recognised any of the critters - and very nearly emailed you to ask what camera you were using as your shots put most of mine to shame ~ and then I saw a G11 - same as I use !

Have any more pointers on the G11 use ? What settings are you using when not shooting Macros ?

Cheers

 

[NAIBdiver1]

Thank you for posting the pictures. I will be in the same area in August on the Philippine Siren. My first time to the Philippines and am getting excited.

Very colorful animals !

 

[Bowmouth]

Bowmouth
Have any more pointers on the G11 use ? What settings are you using when not shooting Macros ?

I haven't used the camera very much for "wide-angle" or "general scenery" shots. Remember that I didn't have an external strobe with me! I tried a bit of wide angle using natural light and the build in flash while shooting in Manual mode but wasn't all that happy with the results. Main problem was either lack of color (because the flash was off or not reaching the subject) and the forming of "spots" in the pictures when using the flash and light bouncing back on small particles in the water.
So no, I haven't any good tips for you yet. Next time I go on a trip I'll bring the external strobe and try some shots other than macro.

Cheers!

 

[jigo]

Thank you for posting the pictures. I will be in the same area in August on the Philippine Siren. My first time to the Philippines and am getting excited.

Very colorful animals !

I seem to have read somewhere that the Philippine Siren just drove into some corals off Apo Island near the Chapel dive site. Best to check if its still afloat or if they have done anything to avoid similar accidents.

 

[jigo]

here's an article about it: Luxury dive boat destroys Apo Island coral reef; Dauin officials hit delayed incident reporting | balita.ph

 

[Bowmouth]

I seem to have read somewhere that the Philippine Siren just drove into some corals off Apo Island near the Chapel dive site. Best to check if its still afloat or if they have done anything to avoid similar accidents.

I heard that the news-article was not having all the correct facts and that the Philippine Siren was not damaged at all during the incident.
Better not believe everything you read in the online news papers. There's a lot of shouting but very few people seem to really know what happened.

 

[markwwdas]

I seem to have read somewhere that the Philippine Siren just drove into some corals off Apo Island near the Chapel dive site. Best to check if its still afloat or if they have done anything to avoid similar accidents.

Hi Jigo,

My name is Mark and I am one of the owners of the Philippine Siren and work in the sales department. Someone drew my attention to this post and I thought it prudent to post a reply on Worldwide Dive and Sail's behalf. Unfortunately the news article is indeed full of untruths and I believe politically/financially motivated. The Philippine Siren did not drive into coral at all but her mooring pulled free and damaged some coral. As this saga is still ongoing I can't say too much but here is the official statement we have released.....

"On Friday the 25th of June the SY Philippine Siren was visiting Apo Island as part of its South Visayas itinerary. The ship was on a mooring that was supposed to be strong enough for that type of vessel and was assigned to her by the local authorities.

Unfortunately, sudden heavy seas moved the ship together with the mooring and anchoring rock, pulling the anchoring rock over a part of the reef, damaging a section of Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis).

We are saddened by this event and are currently working with the authorities on how to proceed so that this type of damage does not occur again.

As divers, we are dedicated to protecting the reef as well as sharing the underwater beauty of the Philippines with divers from around the world."

 

[Malene]

Great pictures! Thanks a lot.
I too love muck diving (dove in Lembeh last May and really enjoyed it). So now, I guess I need to put Dauin to my list of places to go! What differences would I find in Dauin compared to Lembeh?

 

[Bowmouth]

What differences would I find in Dauin compared to Lembeh?

Positive:
Less trash and warmer water!!!

Not so positive:
Not as many different "muck" dive sites compared to Lembeh Straits.
Lembeh has overall more species.

 

[Anniedos]

We were divers aboard the Philippine Siren when this problem occurred and totally agree with the statement that Mark (owner of the Siren). We were present and standing besides the Captain of the Siren when storm became very strong. At no time did the Siren ever bash into Apo reef, in fact the Captain and crew were constantly attempting to keep strain off of the assigned mooring line. The waves increased approx 2-3 meters, with high winds. During the storm the mooring line snapped. The Captain proceeded to sail the Siren away from Apo Island reef and seek a safe haven for us to wait out the storm. At no time did we ever experience any bumping, crashing into or hitting Apo reef. There is absolutely no visable damage to the underside of the Siren, but of course there would not be any damage since we did not hit the reef! Many of the allegations that are quoted in the Visayas Daily Star are based on second hand information and hearsay. We were there, this is not hearsay. We were eye witnesses.
Bill and Connie

Hi Jigo,

My name is Mark and I am one of the owners of the Philippine Siren and work in the sales department. Someone drew my attention to this post and I thought it prudent to post a reply on Worldwide Dive and Sail's behalf. Unfortunately the news article is indeed full of untruths and I believe politically/financially motivated. The Philippine Siren did not drive into coral at all but her mooring pulled free and damaged some coral. As this saga is still ongoing I can't say too much but here is the official statement we have released.....

"On Friday the 25th of June the SY Philippine Siren was visiting Apo Island as part of its South Visayas itinerary. The ship was on a mooring that was supposed to be strong enough for that type of vessel and was assigned to her by the local authorities.

Unfortunately, sudden heavy seas moved the ship together with the mooring and anchoring rock, pulling the anchoring rock over a part of the reef, damaging a section of Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis).

We are saddened by this event and are currently working with the authorities on how to proceed so that this type of damage does not occur again.

As divers, we are dedicated to protecting the reef as well as sharing the underwater beauty of the Philippines with divers from around the world."