Malaysia Liveaboards: Messages

A good time to dive is at dusk when Mandarin Fish perform their courtship dance in mid water.

The damage caused by the mine is clearly evident. The bow now faces towards the stern. Much of the aft area is still recognizable and the propeller blades can just be seen in the sand. Care should be taken when penetrating the wreck. Live ammunition shells and depth charges are present. Wine bottles, cutlery and shoes are scattered around. Fish life is all over the wreck. Encrusting coral, clams, barnacles and spiny black urchins cover much of the wreck. Scorpionfish and lionfish are numerous. Schools of fish include snapper and sweetlips.

The Sugar Wreck, or MV Unistar, sank in 2000 and now lies on her starboard side in 18m of water. She is a 90m cargo ship and penetration is possible into the engine room, the wheelhouse and the cabins. The propeller is still in place at the stern. Coral growth is already impressive and many schools of fish have taken up residence in and around the hull. Schools of snapper and trevally patrol outside the wreck. Lionfish, scorpionfish and stonefish can all be seen as can moray eels and bamboo sharks. Barracuda are often seen in blue water. Leopard sharks can be seen resting in the sand around the wreck.

Barracuda Point, at the eastern most tip of Sipadan Island is another Sipadan favorite dive site because of the sheer number of fish here and most divers want to do this dive site several times during their stay at Sipadan. Huge swirling schools of chevron barracuda can be seen in the currents. Schools can be so big that divers can swim up the middle of the funnel like swirl.

This is one of the best places in the world to get photographs of barracuda. Large schools of jacks can also be seen here. The pelagic fish like the strong currents at Barracuda Point and divers should be wary of down currents. Grey reef sharks can be seen cruising the reef and manta rays make occasional visits.

Much of this dive site is a wall dive although there is a 20m deep ledge where white tip reef sharks rest on the rubble bottom allowing divers to get very close for photos. As on all Sipadan dive sites there are dozens of green turtles and the humphead parrotfish can also be seen.

Ribbon Eel Garden to the south of the house reef is a good place to see ribbon eels and other critters including many nudibranchs.

South Point is the best Sipadan dive site to see hammerhead sharks. It is possible to see schools of hammerheads but they are usually seen at 40m or below. Hammerheads like the deep water and strong currents. When the waters are a little cooler they may be seen shallower. It is a similar story with Thresher sharks which can also be seen here and also prefer deep water.

Currents can be strong here so South Point is typically a drift dive with many divers choosing to move away from the wall and stay deep for as long as possible. For those not lucky enough to see something as exciting as a hammerhead or thresher shark the wall still has plenty to offer and of course you will see green turtles and white tip reef sharks plus schools of jacks.

Just to the south of the Drop Off entrance, at 20m depth is the entrance to the Turtle Cavern. The cavern, which is actually a series of interconnected caves, is sometimes referred to as the turtle tomb because of the number turtles that have got lost inside and drowned. Their skeletons make an eerie sight. On the entrance to the cavern skull and cross bones signs warn of the danger to divers. The caverns can silt up quickly to reduce visibility and only those properly trained should consider entering. Several off the Sipadan resorts run short courses to guide divers into the caverns.

Sometimes great diving comes in the most unusual of places and Seaventures platform is one of those. A couple of kilometers of the north east coast of Mabul Island is a decommissioned oil rig that now acts as a budget resort for Sipadan/Mabul divers. It is certainly unique but rather ugly to look at, at least from above the water. Once underwater however, the steel structures create a muck divers wonderland and this dive is often the highlight of a stay at Mabul.

If you stay on the platform you can descent the oil rig elevator to sea level and dive below the rig as often as your computer will allow. If you stay on Mabul or Kapalai the platform is just a minute’s boat ride away. Conditions are calm with minimal current, visibility is average and the maximum depth is 17-20m. This is an easy dive for all levels of diver.

So what can you see here? Schools of fish fill the gaps between the pylons, much like on a wreck or cave entrance. Frogfish and leaf fish are common amongst the debri as are various and colorful nudibranchs and sea slugs. Ornate ghost pipefish are numerous too. Lionfish hunt in the shadows. Scorpionfish are well camouflaged. Giant moray eels are one of the bigger species seen here. Seahorses are also spotted, including the elusive pygmy seahorse. No bigger than a finger nail, you'll need a good macro lens if you want to get a good photo.

The largest island of Pulau Gaya has several nice dive sites where reefs are home to schools of juvenile fish as well as anthias and damsels. Macro divers will enjoy hunting for nudibranchs and gobies. At Pulau Sapi you can find cuttlefish, octopus and crustaceans like crabs and shrimps. Leopard sharks can be seen at Pulau Sulag as can triggerfish and turtles. Turtles are also found off South Reef at Pulau Mamutik, including hawksbill and olive ridley.

The Kuantan Wreck is located about 12 nautical miles from Kuantan and is laying in 23m of water on her port side. It's an easy dive with the shallowest part of the wreck at 14m. The wreck is 80m long and 10m wide and is covered in coral and encrusting sponge.

Moray eels, scorpionfish and lionfish can be found on the wreck as can schools of snapper and batfish. Leopard sharks are often seen here plus large stingrays and turtles. Barracuda can be spotted in the blue. There are also two very large groupers resident here. The large propeller is still intact at the stern.