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i've been commissioned to do some videos for ScubaWorld... this means that i will be over the next couple of weekends, and then over the next few months, be able to go around the country experiencing the different dive possibiliiteis in the philippines...
I'm relatively new to diving and on a real budget so many of these trips i would probably never get to afford outright nor as sequentially as they will happen... so i'm taking the chance to do a little more experience diving AND give you guys a heads-up on what's happening in the country...
so my postings will be sub-headings of this general thread and will be added to as i finish the video...
following will be chapter 1: Dumaguete when i finish writing it... come back later today hehehehe
Very interesting, congratulations on your new endeavor. It would be nice to see more and more information on Philippine Diving, be it print or videos.
Here is a website that I recently found, they just produced an episode on Philippine Diving. Looks very good, they were even at Dumaguette.
What type of U/W video equipment will you be using? Just curious, I did some amateur U/W videos myself.
i'm using a sony VX2100 for the surface shots while the guy in charge of the u/w is using a sony trv950 3CCD DV camcorder in a compact gates housing...
Hi guys, just thought i'd share my trip report on dumaguete... it'll be a little different since i'm a relative noob AND i wasn't there to dive (primarily) although i did get 2 dives in over the weekend.
so here goes:
BACKGROUND
i was commissioned (together with a couple of dive pros) to produce a series of videos for ScubaWorld (one of the, if not the, biggest comprehensive dive op in the country)... our job will (hopefully) take us to most of their philippine operations including shops, shore ops and liveaboard ops... it will also take us (hopefully) to their palau liveaboard op and their on-the-drawingboards tahiti op.
in time for a Russian Dive exhibit in mid-feb we began phase 1 of the video shoots... 3 weekends covering philippine diving in Dumaguete (where they have a new resort), anilao (the hub of local diving) and coron (for fabulous scenery and wrecks).
the project deal is a combo cash/ ex-deal system so it’s a win-win situation for everyone aboard… especially little old under-equipped me hehehehe.
CHAPTER 1: DUMAGUETE, HERE WE ARE!
We were not really sure what was awaiting us. All we knew was that ScubaWorld (hereafter SW) was in the process of finishing a new resort in Dauin, Dumaguete (about 20+ minutes south of Dumaguete City) that was gonna compete for the relatively upscale dive market here and abroad – but for a reasonable price.
We took the first flight in to Duma at 545 aboard Air Philippines and got there a comfy 645am where a van was waiting to take my crew of 4 over to the resort.
In the party were Mel Segarra – PADI MSDT and u/w videographer, also the point person of the project. Jun Austria – PADI DM and director, he’s got the whole concept in his head. Karen Regpala – Prod Assistant and a non-diver… for now. And me – PADI OW, 9 dives under the (over)weight belt but one heck of a top-side media pro.
We arrived at the resort and were welcomed by a plantation of coconut trees towering 40 – 50 feet off the ground, palms swaying in the wind. The property faced east and along its southern boundary were two 3-storey complexes – one finished, the other about 80% there.
Towards the beach were about 8 detached cottages and on the northern edge of the property a raised veranda area overlooking the gorgeous sea and ApoIsland in the horizon. The pool was still under construction and I can tell you it will be worth the wait. 2 levels with a horizon pool on the upper deck, a 15-foot dive training area integrated in the pool, a sloping floor to do away with the usual pool designs. The dive area will have a window looking out into the lower pool deck – this gives people a chance to watch the pool sessions like watching fish in a tank.
There were kayaks, banana boats, paddle boats and hobbie cats on the beach and lounge chairs everywhere waiting for the guest to take a load off their feet.
The rooms were very spacious! 2 double beds fit andyou’d still have space for a dance or two. The bathrooms are well and tastefully appointed and are large and airy. The cottages feature a loft where the bed is and a living/ dining area on the ground floor. Large windows give you a great view of everything and sliding doors give you instant access to your very own paradise.
The cottages also feature a whirlpool bath and shower area with large scenic windows that, although supplied with cloth blinds, will eventually be covered by a generous hedge (for privacy) but also allow you to be a tad daring and do your rituals by the light of a brilliant sunshine.
CHAPTER 2: LET’S DIVE!!!
Neither of us ever having had a chance to dive Dumaguete before, Jun declared that since the light was too harsh during the noon time (around 10am-2pm) we would be unable to shoot very well, hence it was our chance to dive.
We joined a 2-tank trip to ApoIsland (about 20 minutes away by banca) where a few of the resort’s guests were also joining.
After our ocular inspection of the locations and the planning of shots over breakfast, we hastily went back into our rooms, got into our swim gear and made for the dive shop where we were to be supplied with BCs and regs (we had brought everything else but opted out of BCs and regs to save on weight).
The dive shop was quaint and clean with rows and rows of pristine BCs, wetsuits, booties, masks and regs.
The boat and dive shop crew then carried all our stuff to the boat… all our stuff. It’s great not having to carry your stuff the 15 meters from the shop to the boat... hehehehe
Less than a half-hour later we were at our first dive site on ApoIsland: “Coconut Point”. The boat men helped us into our equipment, got us strapped into our BCs and helped us to the prow where we giant stride into the water. And this is where the fun begins…
Going in the current immediately sweeps you off… I had a bit of a hard time getting in with the current and equalizing at the same time. My descent must have been a bit faster than I figured because I had to ascend a few times to clear my left ear. Because of the current our original group of 12 was quickly being dwindled to a much smaller group.
A few minutes into the dive I was able to settle in and allow the current to do the work for me. The sea life was excellent! The usual huge biodiversity and color… angels flitting in and out of coral heads, hard and soft corals, the largest starfish I had ever seen, and a school of jacks hanging in the current.
I hit 24 meters (about 75 feet) at some point (to my surprise) w/c prompted my to pay closer attention to my skills so as not to drown or bend myself unknowingly… also so as not to push my current skill levels too much.
At about 50bar I began a slow ascent and stayed at relatively shallow water and enjoyed the views afforded there. Soon enough I “bump” into our local host and he points me to the chase boat about 20 feet away where I clambered up. Paul (a Brit PADI MSDT) was already there cursing himself for leaving the red filter on his camera prompting him to take very nice, albeit “rosy” pics of the sea life.
When he found out my dive record he was astounded that I was still calm and relaxed after a dive even he found challenging. I got a good share of praises from the others when he told them the story… nice to see I didn’t totally screw myself up.
It’s a good thing I had top-notch instructors who trained me well. Now, off to lunch.
Last edited by shugar; January 14th, 2005 at 02:56 AM.
Reason: formatting problems
After all the divers were picked up and immediate experiences were tossed around, we headed for the beach where lunch was in the process of being finalized.
We gathered around some local rice cakes, cheese and cold drinks. Then it was time to settle down and grab some rest before the actual lunch was served. I was able to use this time also to take more surface shots for the video I’m working on.
Lunch was a sumptuous collection of grilled seafood, chicken and pork. There was also a fresh seaweed salad and, much to the foreigners’ delight, rice cooked in a pouch of coconut leaves (this makes it, literally, a portable meal).
After a desert of fresh fruits, we digested among the breeze, sun and stories of what had been an exhilarating first dive.
After once again boarding the banca, we made our way to our next dive site: Mamsan Point (Mamsan is the local name of the Jack). This one was much more relaxing compared to the first. We drifted on lively currents at an average of 20 meters through hard and soft coral bed, schooling jacks and other amazing wildlife.
The group pretty much stayed intact through out dive. I was within easy reach of a DM or DI during most of the experience, so when I began to go a little low on air I was still pretty confident I wasn’t going to go into an OOA emergency w/o backup nearby.
A slow and gradual and relaxing ascent popped me on the surface about 15 feet away from the banca – a huge grin on my face at that. By the time I got to clamber aboard Paul was already there and a couple of other guys in the process of giving him a real ribbing.
Turns out it wasn’t Paul’s diving day at all! He had, of course, taken off the red filter off his nifty new camera housing and looked forward to making up for the photographic mistakes of dive #1… what Paul did not realize was that he had left his lens cap on the camera!
He had wasted a perfect dive on an amateur mistake and was short of drowning himself about it… not to worry though; his friends were going to make very sure the rest of the world found out about it.
CHAPTER 4: AND BACK AGAIN…
The trip back was uneventful yet full of laughter and joy. We had gone through 2 very interesting dives in a location many of us had never dove before.
A reverse block I developed after dive 1 was quickly resolved at the beginning of dive 2.
I had gained a lot of experience in the process the type of which a kiddy fun dive typical of my level would not have given me.
Paul turned added another injury to his insult of a diving day. Having realized early that his camera was useless, he tightened his lanyard and continued the dive with his camera hanging by the wrist. A few hours later he realized he had strained his wrist in the process and spent the rest of the night with a bandage tightly wound around his wrist. Needless to say his buddies were beside themselves with mirth.
The service again was stupendous. We didn’t have to carry a single piece of gear off the boat, the resort staff, like a line of ants, immediately began the caravan of bringing a dozen sets of dive gear down, shoving them into the fresh rinse and hanging them to dry.
And waiting for us at the veranda, cold drinks and snacks…
My wife and I are considering taking a trip to Dumaguet and Puerto Galera this summer. I've had a hard time finding information, reviews, etc. I appreciate the trip report and look forward to hearing more about diving in the Philippines.
Thanks for the report...any plans on videos about Apo Reef (Mindoro) or Tubbataha/Basterra Reefs
Cheers
well it's not final yet but the long-term plan for the project is to include the whole range of scubaworld operations in the country, so there will (eventually... i've got my fins crossed) some sort of featurette if not on the specific reefs, then at least the liveaboard operations to these reefs...
again, they're not final final yet... we're still in phase 1 and they have to love that for us to continue on to other phases
My wife and I are considering taking a trip to Dumaguet and Puerto Galera this summer. I've had a hard time finding information, reviews, etc. I appreciate the trip report and look forward to hearing more about diving in the Philippines.
as far as i know the dumaguete operation should be up and running full blast by march... i think they hope to be up by the summer tourist season...
to be honest, scubaboard seems to be the best place to get reviews or comments on dive destinations, resorts, operations and the like... they're mostly from a personal experience point of view so you don't get the promotional stuff with it... most people will tell you hear outright if it's great, expensive or a waste of time
Jag,
Is the video going to be a local comercial spot, promo video, or a take home video of the sights?
Ben
well, primarily it's a promotional video for use in dive expos and trade shows, it's also for distribution to travel agents and dive trip organizers... so far it's going to run about 7 minutes
i don't know if you'll be able to order one from scubaworld (did you do your pool in their makati shop?) but theoretically you should be able to... so far our deliverables are only the masters - how, when, where, and how many they duplicate is so far their concern
but from what i know SW is very active in doing trade shows so if there's a major one near you or at least DEMA, then you'd get to see the video... i even come out in it! (wahahahahaha) hope they don't edit that out
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Originally Posted by f3nikon
