Diving in Mindoro, Philippines

I had a weekend trip from Manila to Sabang Beach in Mindoro and I had there two relax dives with South Sea Divers.

Dive #: 237

Date: 27.4.2013

Place: Philippines, Mindoro, Sabang Beach, Sabang Wrecks

Depth: 19,5m Average: 14,9m

Dive time: 49min

Visibility: 20m

Sea Temperature: +30C

Equipment

Bottle: 12L/200bar (air) Wetsuit: No wetsuit, only shorts Weight: 5Kg

Camera: Canon PowerShot G15 + Ikelite´s housing

Dive Center: South Sea Divers

Price: 2200PHP/41,20€ (2 dives)

Our dive spot was Sabang Wrecks. There are three small wrecks very near the beach. 

Giant puffer.

Engine.

Another wreck.

Black frog fish on the wreck.

Wreck.

Pipe fish on the bottom.

Bright colors.

Star fish.

Dive #: 238

Date: 28.4.2013

Place: Philippines, Mindoro, Sabang Beach, Coral Cove

Depth: 25,9m Average: 14,6m

Dive time: 51min

Visibility: 20m

Sea Temperature: +30C

Equipment

Bottle: 12L/200bar (air) Wetsuit: No wetsuit, only shorts Weight: 5Kg

Camera: Canon PowerShot G15 + Ikelite´s housing

This time our dive spot was Coral Cove. The place is full of different kind of soft coral and lots of reef fishes.

Sea cucumber.

Black ribbon eel.

Black frog fish.

I have seen electric clam only ones before in Bunaken in Indonesia, so it was interesting to see it finally again. 

Some kind of trigger fish. I have never seen this before. 

We saw two different sea snake on the dive. This one is just going up to breath.

"Nemos". It´s always great to see beautiful clown fishes. 

Sea cucumber on feet.

Nudibranch.

Almost transparent glass shrimp on the anemone.

Dives were very relax and it was great the dive again after two months. I had also some problems. I forgot the flash diffuser of the camera housing to home, so I couldn´t use flash normally. The lens port of the housing blocks the flash so badly, that it´s impossible to take good macro photos with the flash without diffuser. I got the slave flash from the dive shop to use and it was very simple to click to single hand tray. When camera´s own flash fires the slave flash detects the flash and fires in the same time. It needs lots of practice and It was not so easy to take good photos with the slave, because the photos easily overexposed. The real external flash would be the best option.

During the weekend happened also something which divers never want to hear or see. Serious dive accident. Just before my dive on Saturday when we were still on the dive shop we heard there has been a serious dive accident on the next dive shop. I don´t know the detail, but anyway one French woman died. Which makes the case even worse there was just 2-3 days before also serious accidents where two divers died. I heard some rumors for all of these accidents, but  only rumors. Not facts. Everything would be only speculations and it doesn´t help anybody. Very sad cases anyway.

Where ever you dive, dive safely!

Regards from Manila,

Mika