Pointing Fingers

It's the easiest thing to do when something goes wrong.
It's the quickest way out of something we are unsure of ourselves.

Recent press releases and forum discussions about our local operators having their boat detained for not having appropriate permits and more recently the sinking of another boat ferrying over 30 passengers is without a doubt an ugly scene.
Why are fingers being pointed though?

As a consumer, we expect to get what we pay for.
As an operator, we give what we can within our means and limitations without compromising standards and procedures.

It is not the first time accidents have happened to us, but these are the things we believe everyone involved in the dive industry should consider carefully..

Divers perspective:
Does the Singaporean consumer 'ask' for such services to be rendered?
Bargaining is not wrong, but within reason. That reason is for divers to understand what actually goes in to a sound dive operation. The same can be said about diver education.
eg1: Looking for a new dive location. That's what diving is all about isn't it? However, there is no cheap alternative when it comes to an expedition requiring heavy logistics, as in the liveaboard case. More about the operator's responsibility soon, but the point is, no demand on cutting corners, no supply.
eg2: Looking for a quick and economical getaway. Who doesn't want that? However, as a customer, we want to also demand for minimal safety measures and procedures no matter what. Once we do that, prices will make a whole lot of sense.
eg*: Open Water Diver is enough, as long as I get the card. That ticket is your licence to act responsibly and also involves a statement of understanding we signed to maintain proper buoyancy control and obey local diving laws and regulations. Pay for your diver education. It's the least you can do for conservation and caring for your environment. We are ambassadors of the underwater world, we should continue learning about it.

Recommendation:
- Find out the minimum requirement for a dive operation to run its show locally. eg. boat procedures and laws, oxygen first aid available, insurance, and certified & renewed dive professionals managing the divers.
- Cheap not necessarily means bad. Find out through reliable sources if the operation you choose would be the one for you and meets local standards.
- Every dive we do should be a special experience. There are operators who care for these needs.



Operators perspective:
Do we buckle under pressure?
Hell ya. As in planning for any dive, there are enough natural factors to shut down your perfect dive, there isn't a need to discount operational procedures or training standards. The same goes for trying to run the perfect dive business.
Singaporean dive operators have had a myriad of battles to fight just to survive, at the same time try to maintain an image befitting of an operation which takes care of lives. We do not want to dig up the past but we do want the consumer to know that maintaining a dive business is taxing on the owner's time, money and physical well-being.
As mentioned before, there are enough 'natural' factors to shut down a dive center/resort/liveaboard, there should not be a need to discount the price it takes to ensure diver safety and more importantly fun! It may not be appropriate for some operators to offer really cheap deals, even if there is no money to be made, but can they be blamed for providing what the customer wants?
eg1: The dive professional(instructor/divemaster) is a job often looked upon as one with much free time and associated with a care-free life. On the contrary, it is one of few 'out of the box' jobs which demands responsibility, integrity and intelligence to carry out its duties. The dive professional needs to be both mentally and physically fit to accomplish his/her job effectively. Much of the dive pro's planning and training is not seen by the consumer.
eg2: The dive center/resort/liveaboard requires constant maintenance of its facilities, equipment and personnel. It's not just about the cost of a trip or a course.
eg*: The Singapore Underwater Federation has new council members who care about the industry and its future. It is an ungratifying voluntary responsibility but the people holding up the federation are doing their best to enforce the National Operational Code of Practise.

Recommendation:
- Divers can check with the SUF for a list of dive operators who have pledged to adhere to the code and what it is.
- Divers can check with AISTA or the individual training agency (eg.PADI) on training issues.
- Operators can consult with the SUF council members on how to implement SOPs or training standards and requirements.



The article written by a Singaporean woman in the Straits Times 2 weeks ago really hurt. Generalizing Singaporean dive operators as unreliable and offering uncomfortable dive experiences does not deserve a space in the local newspaper, especially since the writer obviously has no clue about the rest of Singapore's dive operators who are doing a good job and offering worldclass training and services.

Let's work together so that "Uniquely Singapore" applies to the diving community as well.
Pay for the services offered by an operator who does not compromise standards and procedures.

You know, all we really wanna do is DIVE!


Beaver
PADI CD-99087

I declare the Malaysian Dive Season Open!

I think many divers were a bit apprehensive about heading off to the east coast of Malaysia this past weekend after hearing reports of the sinking of a dive boat in rough weather the previous weekend. Seems the monsoon had a little more energy left in it, and caught many divers off guard. However, the Malaysian Meteorlogical Service lifted its high wave and wind warning for Tioman early in the week, and by Saturday morning we were cruising across a flat sea under sunny skies towards this South China Sea gem and anticipating a great weekend of diving ahead.

Here are some memorable moments and sightings from the weekend.

At Chebeh:
A group of about 6 very large golden trevallies and a couple of turtles were spotted. Debby even found a couple of empty shark casings, and shared this unique find with the rest of the divers. Those babies are out there somewhere!

At Seafan Garden:
Stick pipefish were the highlight of this dive. While many gathered around Debby for a good look at the one she had found, Ken had one all to himself nearby and I am sure was thankful for his solitude to get a couple of great photos of the one he found.

At Rengiss:
This site never fails to perform! While I had wanted to take everyone to check out the progress of the Pahang Royal Reef at the beginning of the dive, we were immediately distracted upon descent by the flurry of fish action. I was completely entranced by the massive school of chevron barracudas that surrounded me at the beginning of the dive, and seemed to carry me over the reef to greet a group of its larger cousins, the great barracudas! Then the silhouette of a very large (1m+) star puffer caught my eye from above, only to be distracted again by the puff of silt below from a blue spotted stingray. The barracudas remained nearby for some time, and when they got bored of us, the friendly batfish took over as our escorts. A couple of large cuttlefish waved their tentacles our way as we cruised along the edge of the reef slope, and Ken and his open water students were visited by a very large potato cod. It was great to see the smiles of excitement on all the divers faces upon ascent as they recalled the sightings, their faces awash in the golden glow of the setting sun. What a beautiful way to end the day! One sad discovery, however, is that the very large table coral near to the cart has not survived the monsoon, and has been broken at its stem. I only hope it was natural, and not the result of some divers' carelessness.

Night Dive at Salang:
Another hot favorite! Jimmy's keen eyes picked up what Ken and I thought to be a flathead...but once we moved on, Debby gave it a closer and "more thorough" inspection. Annoyed by all the sudden attention, the apparent "flathead" made itself more visible, and low and behold the full body of the demon stinger was revealed! Well, I thought that would have been enough for Debby to start frantically waving her flashlight to call us back...but NO!!...Debby reserves that action for the minute and almost imperceptible urchin shrimp! Geez, Deb, all that effort for something I cant even see! Ha! Good dive all around...but by this time, hunger had got the best of us.

Marine Park:
Wow! Good viz on early Sunday morning for the Marine Park, and because we were early, we had the site virtually to ourselves. A couple of very large tusked wrasses were hanging out around a couple of the wrecks, and a few baby morays were tucked into the rotting wood hulls. Lots more barracudas here too, both around the wrecks and under the pier. The rabbit fish were a little too hungry, and even though I thought I made it very clear to them that I had no food, one decided to have a taste of my middle finger.

Burong:
Current from the right. Current from the left. Current from above. Hello, this is supposed to be slack tide? Oh well, tucked in behind the wall, we managed to spot a variety of different nudibranchs and Ken spotted a couple of large morays hiding out among the crevices. Had the conditions been better, it would have been nice to check out the life around the large seafans and seawhips at 18m and below. Next time.

Congratulations to Rudy and Andrew for completing their Open Water courses! Welcome to the wonderful world of the deep blue sea! Looking forward to seeing you enhance your knowledge and adventures with the Advanced course.

Thanks to Ken (our intrepid leader for the weekend), Debby and Jimmy for their great assistance, and to Linda, Su Lin, Kwong Hwee, Claudia, Cynthia, Ian, Andrew, Rudy, Jon and Terror for making it fun and memorable.

I declare the Malaysian Dive Season Open!

Cheers!
Johari
PADI DM#479744