recent Sipadan dive conditions/experiences?

[kars]

my girlfriend and i hope to visit sipadan for diving the 2nd week of september. before that we're backpacking sarawak/sabah. has anyone got a recent update on easy/cheap ways of making the arrangments (from Semporna, kota kinabalu e.g.?)? and what are the conditions like now underwater in terms of fish and species? is the big group of barracuda yet around??
any comments or info would be much appreciated!!

 

[Sweden78]

Me and my girlfriend are going to Malaysia and backpack around, with start in mid Aug. The only thing we booked in advance was the diving on Sipadan. We did e-mail a diving center on Sipadan, and did the deposit payment in advance.
I think you will get the best price if you go to semporna and try to get an "walk in" price. But then you can have to wait one or two days if there is full booked on Sipadan. But in Sep I don`t think that will be any problems. We choose to reservat in advance becuase we don`t want to miss any traveling days to waiting in semporna, and we also want to live on Sipadan. If you want you can also live in mabul, is seems very good also.

The big baracudas are still there, but not as many as before.
I heard that the viz is not so good in sipadan, average about 10-12m.

I hope you will have a good trip!

 

[kars]

thanx sweden & Njoy your holidays!

anyone have more input or underwater experiences to share at/near Sipadan?

 

[Luis]

Visibility was limited. Lots of coral rubble as well.

Those were the only disappointments.

Highlights included:

Sharks on every dive
Turtles on every dive
Schooling barracudas
Baby turtles leaving the shore for the ocean at sunset
One manta ray

and... tada!... one whale shark!

This is truly oceanic diving, and currents can be fierce.

The wall at barracuda point as well as the pass where barracudas school are probably the best sites.

Note however that whale sharks sightings at Sipadan are extremelly rare. It was just one of those things...

 

[Luis]

next

 

[Luis]

My main flash had failed, so I was shooting with a 50W small ikelite unit.

Pretty dark at 44 meters with not a lot of visibility, this was the best picture of the lot.

One of the other 3 guys that saw the whale shark was shooting digital and posted his pics at Jon's pics

 

[Ganzoe]

Water vis now is not very good....around 10 to 15metres with strong surge at certain dive sites like coral gardens for starters.....but Barracuda point is the best one to go for...always see something new there....this time I went there were plenty of sharks...turtles....schools of Jacks....tuna....only thing was no big schools of barras!....bit dissapointing....Divemaster there said best time to go is during May to June...vis then can get up to around 40m....hope this helps.

 

[blackice]

Luis once bubbled...
My main flash had failed, so I was shooting with a 50W small ikelite unit.

Pretty dark at 44 meters with not a lot of visibility, this was the best picture of the lot.

One of the other 3 guys that saw the whale shark was shooting digital and posted his pics at Jon's pics

Nice pics, interesting .. only 3 weeks to go and I'll be there

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Tell me how it is, since I dont think I will be there anytime soon...

I was supposed to be flying out early on Sunday, from LAX, but my flight out of Boston was cancelled, and I couldnt get on another flight. So, my Sipadan trip never happened. Was supposed to be staying at the Sipadan Water Village resort. It was a trip that my boss set up for me, and it cost me next to nothing. But, of course, I wont be there to enjoy it.

SO, now I am sitting at home, in the rain, reading SB.

Nice vacation for me...

 

[LUBOLD8431]

and then I just realized that my last post was post #666...

Great irony, huh????