Layang Layang Blues

Bad Weather

2008-05-15T17:01:00.003+08:00

Just a weather recap for May.

On 1st to 3rd we got hit by the tail end of a typhoon west of Philippines at the same time as cyclone Najis hit Myannmar (Burma) in Bay of Bengal. Then on 10th to 12th we got hit again by tail end of typhoon Rammusan west of Philippines again. Immediately following this on 13th until now we are in the middle of a tropical depression in South China Sea. Another tropical depression at the same time west of Philippine. God is great.

Not a good time to be in paradise at the moment. This morning the 2nd flight got delayed and almost could not land. The pilot could not see the runway. He was circling the island and was trying to decide if he should return to KK. When he saw a lull(60 seconds) in the raging storm, he landed. Took off KK 30 minutes later in the storm. What a pilot.

Dives for the day was only in the lagoon. The seas was too rough for the dive boats to go out of the atoll. Boarding the dive boat at the jetty was an adventure by itself. Guess the only hammerheads we'll be seeing is in the gift shop of the resort. Still raining at this moment. Even the plants have overdosed on wind and rain.

Now for the good part. We still have wifi, food and mobile phone service. Forgot, beer and wine too.

We will be holding a candle light prayer tonight for good weather ASAP. Failing which we will just have to switch it off.

Hello All 2008

2008-05-03T13:22:00.004+08:00

We are back. Better late than never.

For the past couple of months we have been very busy. Greater number of divers per day compared to previous years. The number of happy divers still outnumber the unhappy divers. So far so good. From all the previous postings, we guess you will surmise who the unhappy divers are. Unfortunately some want their money back by running down the resort. Can't win them all and definitely no money back.

Schooling hammerheads are regularly sighted with 22.5 mobulars (pygmy devil rays), mantas, silvertips, threshers and the rest of the underwater marine gang.

The weather was fantastic with sunshine almost everyday until 3 days ago. The guy upstairs decided we need to get wet before we actually get wet. We have been asked by guests to switch off the bad weather until they leave (we will try to oblige as soon as we contact that guy upstairs).

We have started 2 new blogs on the weather and the sightings. You can go over there to check up on the latest.
layanglayangsweather.blogspot.com
layanglayangsightings.blogspot.com

The resort have wifi permanently available. BYO laptops, iphone, pda and it will be free. NO COMPUTER available for rent in the resort. We have mobile phone coverage/roaming available as of this year. If you want to use local numbers, then make sure you get telco CELCOM (013 or 019). It is not owned or operated by us, so if it does not work, don't whinge to us. if you feel that an island so out of the way should not have mobile coverage, you are behind time. Just switch it off, at least you have a choice.

We have also started a facebook group (maddy is the admin). If you are looking for your friends or want to join up, do a group search for Layang Layang Island Resort (at facebook, not google or yahoo please for the internet unsavvy). Hope you find a friend there and if you don't, we will not think the worst or pathetic of you. Friends like us are not easy to come by, heh,heh. We will start twittering one day. And when we do, we will be twits just like any other twits.

We will try to continue posting on this blog when something interesting comes along or happen. We will also try to put more better quality photos if and when we get our hands on it.

Ciao ciao until ..........
ps. the aircraft for this year looks like a puffer and seats 12. Oh, and the price of oil just went up, we guess you know what that means.

Goodbye All Until 2008

2007-08-31T13:46:00.000+08:00

Forget the weather, the sea conditions and the typhoons. We are closed from today (merdeka) until the 28th of February 2008. Officially we will be opened on the 1st of March 2008. See you guys and gals then.

It has been a great season but like all good times/things, it has to come to an end. We had some fun times, fun divers, fun divemasters, fun staff all around. But we also had our little shares of ass....... All in all, it wasn't too bad. For those of you that came this year, we hope that you had a good time. We know some of you were disappointed with your expectations. A lot of you were surprised with your unexpectations.

So whatever it is, we hope to meet up again next year or sometime in the near future if possible and if not, good luck to your other dive trips. Some of you have read about this place and have always wanted to try it. Please do it and not let the price faze you. Afterall, how many places are there left in the world that you can get a guarantee of annual Schooling Hammerheads. Even if you failed/fail to see it, at least you can tell your diving friends that you were under water at the same time and in the same vicinity of the awesome schooling hammerheads. The catch word is "guaranteed annual Schooling Hammerheads" but nothing about guarantee for you to see it.

For those of you that haven't been back for a while, we still exist. If you are reading this, then you must be one of the divers that likes us. Thanks.

The six month break is to let the island, corals and the marine creatures destress. Also to do some work to the resort to make it better for us to work in. Bye and take care.

From all of us here in Layang Layang Resort.
ps. Between the last post and today, there were some sightings of the schooling hammerheads but no photos.

More Mobulars

2007-08-18T12:34:00.000+08:00

Wx- Sunshine and everything fine. Sea-quite calm

Typhoon Sepat didn't affect us too much. Unlike the previous.

We can safely say that the mobulars are here the whole season. Remember that small 2m whale shark? He/she is still around. Must be the good vibes we have been sending out (Layang Layang do not serve or eat whale shark, hammerheads and all the other sharks fins....ping).

We are coming to the end of this season. We will try to upload and post as many photos/videos as we can. We will all be shouting MERDEKA on 31st cos we'll be leaving the island.

Corrupt video. Too bad guys

HammerHead School In August

2007-08-15T16:28:00.000+08:00

Wx-Sunshine with with passing showers, Typhoon in Phil. Sea-1M+

So, Who says there aren't any schooling hammerheads in Layang Layang in August? The photos may not be that clear, but the bottom line is evidence and witnesses. Thank you.

These Photos are taken by Tsukamoto Osamu from Japan with a canon camera.

The bottom 2 photos by Maria Nalon from Italy sony camera.

ANOTHER BUNCH OF IDIOTS

2007-08-12T11:08:00.000+08:00

Wx- get your body burned time. Sea-bloody flat. No wind

Not much marine action going on UW. When the sea gets calmer and the dolphins come out to play, we will let you guys know.

We have a bunch of guys from some Govt Ministry playing around with a remote model airplane (UAV). Bigger than the normal hobby types. From what we can see this bunch of guys doing, it reminds us of an old chinese saying "nothing to do but shoot aeroplanes". And if you don't know what that means, go ask a cantonese friend that's older than you.

And not to be outdone another bunch of idiot divers went down to 60M. A.....holes looking for 6x6x2 holes permanently. We won't name the countries they are from (all being equal fools). And all for what? Horse Eye Jacks. Yes my friends, JACKS.

Then as if to reinforce that there is such a thing as Decompression sickness/illness, a diver gets hit. Could not medevac him out cos it was 5 pm when he got hit (remember? runway no night lights, pilots happy hours in KK and no other aircraft available). Sent him out 0830 next day and in Labuan GH by 10.30 and warded in for observation. Next stop will be the chamber. Lucky the chamber was available and we had to fly the chamber crews from KK to Labuan to run it. Looks like he won't be able to fly back to Australia by day after tomorrow. Hope he had travel insurance to cover his ticket. And that's all folks.

Your life is in your hands or brains, ACCIDENTS do happen and we are not GOD's gift to the fishes. We are only diving to enjoy the wonders of the sea and NOT trying to find out if we are stupid enough to join the sea permanently.

Disclaimer: If you don't like what you read here, don't read. We won't blame you if you feel it is you we are writing about. Thanks.

Layang Layang Wide Angle 2007 Winners

2007-08-11T12:29:00.000+08:00

Wx-Still good with loads of sunshine. Sea-calm

Wide Angle
1st Bradley Graeme Australia
2nd Leander Wiseman Australia
3rd Tsuneo Taniguchi Japan
4th Kim Yu Woong S Korea
5th Gerritis Remco Netherlands
6th Sylvie Grall France

Mobulars Galore

2007-08-08T12:53:00.001+08:00

Wx- Sunny and a bit windy, Sea- choppy 0.5-1m

We think a break from the Photo Comp would be a good time now. This group of mobulars was spotted yesterday. They didn't stay too long to get a better close up. Well, better than nothing and at least have proof they still hanging around.

Video clip courtesy of kriss.

We will get back to the wide angle winners soon. Thanks.

Lucky Photo Comp Weather

2007-08-07T07:23:00.000+08:00

WX-sunshine and everything nice, sun tan time. Sea- 0.5m

We had bad period for the past 10 days, it was raining cats, dogs and elephants. Howling winds and overcast skies. Still it was diving time for some of the stout hearted. For those that were feeling down, we feel for you all. That's Layang Layang for you. Totally unprdictable

That means that the period when we had good weather was during the Photo Comp. Damn lucky for the divers then.

Sightings of mobulars, jacks and the usual suspects. One lone hammerhead was sighted but no picture to prove it.

These are the winners of the 2007 Layang Layang Photo Competition Macro category.

1st Bradley Graeme Australia
2nd Takeko Taniguchi Japan
3rd Matthew Lawrence Australia
4th Tsuneo Taniguchi Japan
5th Kim Yu Woong S. Korea
6th Mitsuo Higure Japan

Layang Layang Photo Comp 2007

2007-07-27T12:41:00.000+08:00

Wx-rain in the morning, sunshine afternoon then rain at night. Sea-flat

That's it. These are some of the selections that we have put up for you all to have a look at. Over the week end I am sure you will find some to your liking and some not so. We will post the winning photos later, that way you have an idea why these particular photos got prizes.

Actually the competition this year was quite fun. Some contestants were really quiet and you will not see them except when they dive or are having meals. Some will just show all the photos they took for the competition. And some others joined the competition to improve their photography. At the end of it all, just a bunch of guys that like to dive and have photos to remember the trip by.

More Photos from Layang Layang Comp

2007-07-26T12:42:00.000+08:00

We will let the photos do the talking. Thank you.

Layang Layang Post Photo Comp

2007-07-25T14:30:00.000+08:00

Wx-Rained this morning, now sunshine and everything nice. Sea-almost flat

More photos. Hope you all like them. As you can see, Layang Layang is not just about hammerheads only.

Layang Layang 2007 Comp Photo Entries

2007-07-24T10:49:00.000+08:00

Wx- Not too bad, a bit overcast but other than that it's fine (can still get sun burned) Sea-0.5m

Now that the competition has ended and the contestants have left for home or to more diving holidays we wish them, congrats to all the winners and bon voyage to all the rest. Until next time.

These are some of the photo entries for the wide angle and macro

We will be trying to post the more of the photo submissions over the next few days. You all can try to spot the winners. Reason why we are doing that is to let you guys make a comparison between a winning photo from the rest. That way you will have a bit of an idea what to do when/if you enter a competition.

It may also give you all some ideas how to compose photos with the camera that you own (provided you don't flood it).

Layang Layang Photo Comp 2007 End

2007-07-23T14:37:00.000+08:00

Wz- Still damn hot. A bit of wind blowing up to cool off the land. Sea-0.5 to 1M waves. Vis-not bad

OKOK. Hammerhead school of 8 again. This time some of the photo participants saw them but not within taking photo range.

The competition ended yesterday with the prizes ceremony. This video is to show you the number of participants and also the prizes. A lot of Nautica (8) watches, Nikon camera (2), free trips to Maldives, Layang Layang, Redang for 2 guests and some other stuff.

Notice we added a pretty girl to tend to your flight phobia. And the amount of luggage divers take with them that we have to stuff into every nook and cranny in the aircraft. All the prize winners.

We will post the winning photos as soon as we get our hands on them. Just to tease you, the 1st prize photo was taken at the resort jetty inside the lagoon. Until you see the photo, you'll know what we mean.

Teaser Shots

2007-07-21T13:55:00.000+08:00

Wx-damn bloody good.

Just a couple of picts, courtesy of Ms. Leander Wiseman. These photos are not being submitted for the competition.

Will try to get you more photos from various contestants (that is if they are willing to give us some). If you like their photos, all you have to do is ask and we will link you to the photographers. Bye.

More Layang Layang 2006 UW Photo Comp

2007-07-19T17:29:00.000+08:00

Wx- Still damn good.

Wide angle
1st Leander Wiseman Australia
2nd Supachai Thailand
3rd Leander Wiseman Australia
4th Kim Yu Woong Korea
5th Philip Yoo Korea
6th Harima Osaho Japan

Layang Layang UW Photo Comp 2007

2007-07-19T09:06:00.000+08:00

Wx-Sunshine since the 15th. Calm seas and no wind, damn good for diving.

The competition has begun and may the best diver win. Looks like the competitors are bloody lucky. Last week we had the worst weather of the season and now it's flat calm with sunshine. Couldn't be better than that for the competition.

We will post more current photos as the competition progress.

Last year we had OMEGA watches for 1st prize for Wide and Macro with a lot of other stuff thrown in as well (7 days live aboard Maldives). No idea yet what this year's prizes are.

These are photos and winners for Macro 2006 UW Photo Comp.

1st Philip Yoo- Korea
2nd Leander Wiseman- Australia
3rd Harima Osaho-Japan
4th Graham Boys-UK
5th Kim Yu Woong-Korea
6th Leander Wiseman-Australia

Hammerhead School Video

2007-07-10T21:31:00.000+08:00

Wx- Just as bad as yesterday, maybe even worse. Heavy rain the whole day with very strong winds

This is a video taken with a normal Canon camera by Robert a few days ago. The mobulars is taken by Richard. Thanks guys for the evidence.

So who says there no schooling hammerheads in Layang Layang in July? Never posted on youtube before. Hope it works.

More Rain

2007-07-09T08:29:00.000+08:00

Wx- BBQ rained out last week end on 29th, Monday 2nd to Friday morning sunshine. Friday afternoon until now, strong winds and heavy (really heavy) rain but the BBQ proceeded as planned. Sea condition - calm when sunshine, 2-3m waves when rain and wind hit.

That's the weather situation for the week. The photo competition starts next week. Just hope it will not be raining by then.

Rain or not, the sightings were quite good underwater. Manta and mobulars earlier in the week. Hammerhead schools for the past 3 days. Please check with your favorite Dm in Layang Layang for confirmation. Mark the dates and ask them.

Kuching - Sarawak is having their 10th Anniversary Rainforest Musical Festival next week as well. (We have no idea what this has to do with Layang Layang at all. Just added it in to fill up the empty space we guess.)

No pictures until next week when the photo competition begins.

Of Rain and Hammerheads

2007-06-29T12:24:00.000+08:00

Wx- Rain almost everyday. Sea condition dependent upon the wind speed. UW- vis dropped slightly during the raining periods. Current is normal

What do you do when you are having a beer with friends by the pool after the last dive of the day, enjoying the sun, waiting for sunset and it starts to rain (really pissing on you) with some wind blowing in your face? Stay put, ignore the damn rain and continue enjoying the beer (mad dogs and Englishmen). What's a bit of rain when you are having a cold beer (drenched cold beer).

It has been pouring rain 5 out of 6 days of the week. Sometimes as long as 3 to 4 hours. And we still got our BBQ night in once a week, but subject to change of day due to weather

Baby whale shark still cruising around. Last sighting was yesterday. The hot layer of water is almost gone. Corals returning back to normal. No damage done. hammerheads schools and mobulars still sighted. Jacks, white tips, dogtooth and the other stuff still around.

Next month is the Photo Competition again. Should have more interesting stuff to talk about then. Take care and bye. Pictures courtesy of azumi

Reefs Life Besides Hammerheads

2007-06-18T08:35:00.000+08:00

Wx- Heavy rain in the middle of the night. Followed immediately by hot scorching sun in the day. Sea condition calm and flat one moment , then big waves the next. Water temperature is getting higher near the surfaceand turning brownish. 30-31c at surface to 1m below. Under this layer is blue at 28c, then at about 30m is the thermocline.

Some of the anemones are turning into gold. The last time we had this situation was in 1997, when we had the El Nino. When they change to white, that means we are definitely in Nino conditions. Good luck to all the reef with a shallow bottom. With the experience we had from the last Nino, Layang Layang should be okay. Part of the shallower reef will get some bleaching but will recover within 3 months. The bleaching will not be in a large area. Just little patches here and there. The reason why Layang Layang recovery will be fast is due to the cold currents coming up from the deep to balance the surface. This is not scientific mumbo jumbo, just what we went through from the last time. So don't hold it as gospel truth.

For the past week, we have been siting the baby whale shark. The mobulars are still around but are in smaller groups of 10 to 15. HH siting are irregular but could be found in single, pairs and group sizes of about 7 to 10.
When we have the flat calm sea, we are sometimes able to swim with the spinner dolphins.

REMINDER:
1. Make sure you clear your safe deposit box and your room and have everything with you before you get on the plane and leave the island. The aircraft will not turn back if you leave your passport, dive computer, watch, girlfriend/boyfriend or whatever else behind. You will have to stay in KK until we send it out on the next flight or you can charter an aircraft to fly you in to collect it yourself.

2. Listen to your DM briefing. Especially your entry and exit procedure from the dive boats. Remember, the boat captain cannot see through the boat. Always ascent and descent where you can be seen by the boat captain. DO NOT chase/swim after the dive boat from below or on the surface. Let the captain bring the boat to you.
A SPINNING PROPELLER IS DANGEROUS ONLY IF YOU ARE NEXT TO IT.

Thank you and have a nice holiday.

Quickie

2007-06-07T08:18:00.000+08:00

Just a quick post.
Wx- have been switching from sunny days to passing showers every other day. Sea conditions about the same as the Wx.

That 2m whale shark have been hanging around here for quite some time. Almost a month. The same goes for the mobulars. As for the rest of the regulars, they are still around. HH still around but not that regular. No photos to show at the moment. Will post all the photos as soon as we lay our hands on it.

Photo competition again next month. Anyone can join, in fact last year one of the guest joined for the fun of it with his sony camera and won a Sony powershot. BBC film crew was here for 2 weeks to do some filming for their documentary.

On a negative note. Never leave your camera, dive computer or small items lying around regardless if it's in the rinse tub or on a table top. It's just that there are too many new guests everyday. If it goes missing, it's your own fault. Don't expect sympathy from us if you lose your stuff. We can search all our staff but we can't search the guests. We can also vouch for all the staff but not all the guests. We are not saying that it happens all the time. In fact about twice in 12 years. We do have guests that lose their camera during a dive in the water and that happens more often.

Do you leave your bag next to the check in counter at the airport, go for a drink at the bar, come back to the counter to find it missing and blame the counter staff? And then go home and tell everyone that the airport is not safe and the staff are not sympathetic?

Thank you

New Picts

2007-05-31T14:00:00.000+08:00

How To...... BSpert

2007-05-17T12:37:00.000+08:00

Get qualified as a BSpert.

Upon recognition, you will be able to join an elite group of professionals and the benefits befitting this group.
1. Have a large base fan club synonymous with the Beetles
2. Member of leading edge research group on environmental impact from fartulation
3. Unlimited supply of biofumes to combat global greenhouse effects
4. Unlimited W.C. facilities to the spontaneous excretion/secretion of biofuel
5. Be on the leading edge of BS R&D. Stand apart from everyone else.
6. Be revered as the expert in BS vocalisation diving
7. Granted special privileges. Be abhorred and shunned by fellow divers
And much much more........

To qualify, please select the multi choice answers to the questions below and submit to this post. You will be informed of your results as soon as the panel of judges review your submission. Do not be disappointed if you do not qualify, keep trying, you will succeed one day or be ignored permanently.

This is a 2 part Questionnaire.
Part 1
Question 1
If you see a school of hammerhead, what will be your 1st reaction?
1. Are they grey reef shark?
2. Better swim after them before the rest of the group realise.
3. Ignore the computer beeps.
4. All the above
Question 2
Now that you have seen hammerheads, how will you see them on your subsequent dives?
1. Demand that your DM go to the dive site you choose, at the time you want, the depth that you want and the group that you don't want to dive with.
2. Complain to the other divers that the DM is inexperienced, unfriendly, unresponsive to suggestions and too safety conscious (because the DM banned you from diving after you went to 60M).
3. Complain to the manager that the food is bad, service is lousy and the room next door make love too loud. Demand that they provide you with an opposite gender so that you can do her/him louder than next room.
4. All the above
Question 3
What effect does the weather contribute to Hammerhead sightings?
1. You will have a better chance to see them when it is dark and cloudy, if not then when it is bright and sunny.
2. The water temperature must be 25c to 29c, Vis must be clear blue or green.
3. The boatman must wear pink and be a bhai
4. All the above
Question 4
How does the number of divers in the water contribute to the sighting of hammerheads?
1. Too many divers make a lot of noise breathing and scare the Hammerheads away except me.
2. All the divers chase after the hammerhead before I get a chance to chase
3. They all follow the DM and I have to swim in front of DM
4. All the above
Question 5
Which is the best method of ensuring you get a photo or footage of the hammerheads?
1. Keep chasing and shooting until a)out of air, b)out of hammerheads or c)until unconscious.
2. Swim through all the stationary divers in front of me and ignore the DM
3. Make a lot of noise if the other divers are faster than me
4. All the above
Question 6
How do you get the attention you deserve from the other divers in the resort, to the fact that you are special as far as hammerheads sightings are concerned?
1. Do not let them know that this is your 1st time seeing hammerheads.
2. Do not let them know that you were scared shitless when you 1st saw them.
3. Do not let them know that this is the 2nd day you are on the island, just walk around arrogantly as though you're god's gift to diving and get your partner (regardless of gender) to pander after you.
4. Bribe the DMs and the resort staff to keep quiet (after all "Malaysia Boleh")
5. All the above

End of Part 1
In order to take part in Part 2 Questionnaire,
a. you must have a.75% correct answer
or
b. submit your answers by post
or
c. answer at least 1 question

Definition of BSpert- refer to previous blog

Hello Y'all

2007-05-17T11:12:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since the last blog. Miss us? truth be told, we forgot about the blog. Before we continue, let us tell you about the weather for the past couple of weeks.

WX- Wind direction changed to South West 2 weeks ago. Switched back to North East 2 days ago. Rain in the morning, hot as hell in the afternoons. Waves fluctuating between flat calm to 1m. Currents still manageable. Vis is between 20m to 40m depends on the weather.

Don't really have that many new pictures to post here but we'll try to tell you what we have seen and heard, before we start whinging again.

We had sightings of Threshers, being cleaned (two of them together). The normal schooling hammerheads and their personal cycles. 48 or 50+ mobulars depending from which angle you were looking and counting from. And today, whale shark again. All the other mundane stuff (pygmy sea horse, schooling jacks, white tips, grey reef, manta, ghost pipes, dogtooth, marble ray and so forth.....) are still around. And before you go ballistic, the word "mundane", we copied from our learned diving guests.

A bunch of divers diving with our numero uno DM have been sighting HH everyday, whale shark, thresher, mobulars..... The other divers were so jealous that they jumped ship to join them. Reason for changing was DM and divers on the other boat were lousy shits.

And speaking of some of our learned diving guests' "knowledge of the specific behavioral pattern, the methodology in sighting the schooling hammerheads due to their mating and feeding habits" not to mention " the preferred depths, temperature, salinity and visibility" of the water. We guess the guests know better, since they have seen schooling hammerheads (when they were watching Nat Geo). Dived in Layang Layang on numerous occasions (3 times a day, 2 days in a row), they are now qualified Hammerhead specialists. Oh, not to forget, they paid a lot of money to be here, therefor they know better than the other cheaper paying guests. And our DMs must listen to them but not the other cheaper guests. Hammerheads will show up at 7.30, 11.00 and 4.30 when these learned divers are here. We guess god made these learned divers special (a special pain in the butt to everybody else).

What do you think we should name them from this day forth? We know about bull sharks, we even know the name of male cows and Guiness famous logo, a bull dog. Our suggestion of a name is "BSpert diver", what say you? Now, the next question coming up is "how do you recognise one/group regardless of gender he/she/shim or race/colour/nationality/religion/politics as a BSpert?"

And if you do decide to come here to our paradise, don't get dung splashed by following a BSpert around and don't turn into a BSpert please. We have enough BSpert secretions to fill our swim pool already. Thank you and have a good dive holiday soon.

Human Missiles

2007-05-02T12:06:00.000+08:00

Wx- very good for 1 week and then rain for 4 days, now back to hot sun and calm seas

Some characters in human never change. Everyone seems to forget that a hammerhead is a SHARK. Divers swims off into the blue as fast they can chasing after the hammerheads. One day some unlucky diver is going to get bitten by one in defense because the HH thinks it is being attacked. We wonder if the same divers go to Africa and chase the lions, hyenas, leopards..... when they see them.

Next, we wonder if any diver ever think that they are special (god's gift to diving) and can't get bent. They were taught all the rules and regulations regarding being a safe and responsible diver. But when they see a hammerhead, they throw all rules and precautions away. Aiyah, the lure and hazards of hammerheads.

Another thing, divers argue over the funniest matters. A deck chair. Can you believe this? What happened to all the nice people anymore? We know where the blame lies. It is because they never saw the hammerheads, right?

We spotted 2 whale sharks at different locations at the same time. They hung around and played with the divers (lucky buggers). Schooling hammerheads periodically. Ever read or heard about a German guy that came to Layang Layang and discovered the 7 theories of finding hammerheads? We met Mr. 8,9 and 10 later, down here. We are going to set up a board so that all the potential hammerhead researchers/theoreticians can contribute to it (HOW TO FIND HAMMERHEADS).

We have also met some of the nicest divers in the world. They come here to be on holiday. They don't care what they see as long as they can dive. They are so relaxed that they are the ones that see everything. And they have no theories about anything except chilling out.

We had dolphins coming into the lagoon to play a few times. Hasn't happened since 1997/8. Thresher, mobulars, mantas, jacks, dogtooth, pygmy sea horse ....... All still around.

As you are well aware, we are in the middle of Golden week. A lot of repeaters from Japan. We also have a good mix of HKers, German, French ...... making up about 50% of total divers.

That's it for now until next time. Hope you enjoy the frivolities of your fellow divers. All pics by etsuko, kurt and seok.

Ps. There were these guys in the pool playing football. Trying to do heading with a beer can full of water. Of course, you guessed it. One of them have to have 3 stitches on the top of his scalp. And he was lucky to have a surgeon here for holidays to stitch it without charge.

Some Things Never Change

2007-04-10T12:06:00.000+08:00

Wx- Bloody fantastic as far as we are concerned. For some it may be too rough on certain days, and for others it's normal.

We have not written for 2 weeks is because we were too busy minding the shop. Also there were altogether too much stuff to write about. We decided to do it in one go.

Before we get to the picts, here are some snippets that you might be interested in.
Queries from guests.
1. Wants a discount for not being able to get on internet at midnight for 30 minutes. (But sir, it's free). How much discount do you give for something that is already free?
2. Do the hammereheads show up at 7.30am or 7.42am or 7.18am or 8.12am or 10.54am?
3. Do not want to see other divers around because "we paid to come here".
4. What time do the hammerheads wake up?
5. How come we don't see the hammerheads but the other boats sees it all the time?
6. "We know where the hammerheads are", (but sir, you only just arrived yesterday for the 1st time in Layang Layang)
7. Why is it so hot in Layang Layang?

For those of you that have been here before, you know what we mean. For those of you that will be coming here soon, please excuse us for being simpletons.

The last pict is of a diver that was on his hands and knees trying to get the girl to marry him (he succeeded). And that is only because she saw the hammerheads.

Another change of aircraft. The stewardess is gone. You now have a burly Russian engineer serving you a dose of facial expressions exercises.

Thank you for being patient.

Good Week

2007-03-28T16:59:00.000+08:00

WX- Still PERFECT

Schooling hammerheads and mobulars daily plus a thresher thrown in for good measure today.

Reminder! Remember, we only serve compressed air, no fancy stuff like trimix or nitrox. Recreational divers max depth is 40 meters regardless of status like instructor, professional photographers or videographers, course directors, beginners ......... or whatever nationality. All have equal opportunity of getting hit. No deco chamber, no doctor, no ambulance or taxi here. Only you and your god if you do get hit.

Other than that, have a nice dive. Don't forget that the fishes don't need air like you do. AND don't chase the fishes. Thank you.

Hammerheads Galore

2007-03-26T16:22:00.000+08:00

WX- Perfect

Hammerheads schools sighted on both ends of atoll at the same time. They started coming back yesterday morning.

Those divers that left were a bit unlucky for the past week. If you're here only for the hammerheads, you'll be totally disappointed if you don't see them. So, the only way not to be down is to not bother with them.

If this was a zoo, we'll be millionaires mate. If we can guarantee them, we'll be billionaires. Look out for our ferraris, porches, mercs and the cub chai.

CALLING ALL HAMMERHEADS - WHERE ARE YOU?

2007-03-25T10:09:00.000+08:00

Wx - It rained all night on Friday night and most of the day yesterday until 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the sun put its hat on and shone gloriously for the rest of the day.

So thankfully no wash out for the BBQ and wow what a feast, we can certainly give the aussies a run for their money.

First thing in the morning yesterday, 3 dive boats set off for The Point to try and catch sight of the elusive Hammerheads. Sadly visibility has been pretty poor this last week, around 15-20 metres and sometimes less, compared to 40 metres plus. One group managed to get a glimpse of one Hammerhead in the distance about 15 metres away but nothing more. In another group the DM saw two out in the blue and gave chase but to no avail and in the end came up having seen absolutely nothing, since the current had taken them far from the reef. But that's the way it goes sometimes! C'est la guerre......

A few guys and gals decided to take a trip out to Bird Island yesterday at 11am by boat which is when high tide is, so that you can set foot on the island. There are a huge number of birds, all terns and boobies with their eggs, which sometimes just roll into the water. The boobies rather interestingly make a nest from shells and coral, whilst the terns make a scrappy little indentation in the sand. Another way of accessing the island is just to kayak there. Don't forget your camera if you go!

Both non-diving and diving guests have been pampering themselves, getting massages and reflexology. Don't forget to tell Albert how hard you want it, or you might get more of a pummeling that you wanted! jy

ps. Hammerhead school on 1st dive after your plane took off. Check with peter and paul

Hammerhead Wish

2007-03-23T19:37:00.000+08:00

Wx - It has been hot and sunny with calm seas this past week until this afternoon when we had a rain shower.

It has been so good to welcome back old friends from last year who all arrived on Tuesday's flight having visited last season at different times. It was double take x 4 and the staff could almost not believe it as they recognized virtually everyone who stepped off the plane!

The larger plane continues to bring in plenty of supplies and guests are enjoying the delights of fresh fruits and food. A new pastry chef arrived yesterday and set to work straight away to make a birthday cake for one of the japanese party, whose last night it was. They (and we) had so much fun. There were plenty of celebrations for 100, 200 and 300th dives and one by one they all went into the pool. Following suit were all of the Dive Masters who didn't escape the ducking. One last surviving dry DM gave the chasers the runaround the resort grounds, like a scene from The Keystone Cops, before finally succumbing and jumping in with cigarette in one hand and managing to keep it alight!

The school of Jacks is still around letting the divers swim right amongst them as they swim round and round - a truly great experience. We are also graced by turtles swimming around the the reef and dive bombing into the deep. The large school of Bumphead Parrot-fish are also in evidence. On Wednesday one of the groups was lucky enough to see a huge Manta ray swimming out in the blue, it did one sweep to and fro taking a good look at us and then went on its way. At the same time a little Devil ray came by and also did a tour around the group - FANTASTIC! The pair of pygmy sea-horses are still attached to the fan coral at D-Wall - make sure you bring a magnifying glass!

Today was a day for Marble Rays - a family of four, swam slowly around 40m and then later in the afternoon we saw one pretty big one nestled and resting in a nook, that was just about big enough to house it.

Tonight we had 6 people on the Shore Dive and they all had a great time pottering around at the end of the day, careful not to trespass into Navy waters. The area under the jetty was teeming with sea life - 2 large puffer fish (and we mean large!), banded shrimp galore, pipe-fish, octopus, 2 absolutely stunning nudibranchs, a flaming flatworm, a couple of morays, lion-fish in all colours and sizes.

Tomorrow is BBQ day - so fingers crossed - no wash out!jy

Just Our Luck

2007-03-18T19:24:00.000+08:00

Wx- It has been very hot and sunny for the past few days. Sea conditions- flat calm like mirror.

The Hammerheads are still around in their usual schools. Was gone for a couple of days earlier but they are back now. Still no photo evidence to show for it. MAYBE we'll get some next week. All the other fishes are around as well as a small school of bumphead parrot fish.

Had our BBQ last night and half way through, it rained cats and dogs. Had to choose the BBQ day to drench us. 2 months of no rain, and had to be BBQ night. Someone sure love us last night. Til the next BBQ then. Bye.

Class Room of Hammerheads

2007-03-14T21:37:00.000+08:00

Wx: Still very very very good.

The school of hammers were still in class today during our morning dives. Unfortunately the bell had not rung for them to be let out onto atoll playground.
One hammer was playing truant and was spotted by a group of divers.
All our divers today were lucky enough to see three pygmy devil rays gliding along the edge of the reef. Great vis as usual….

The third dive is normally quite relaxed. However, the tide changed during the dive, bringing up a big school of jacks, followed by a school of chevron barracudas, followed by a school of big dogtooth tuna, followed by giant trevally and a turtle taking last place. Not a bad sight for the 3 minutes safety stop for one group, after spending the dive cruising along admiring the nudibranchs, morays, octopus,leaf fish and the coral reef.mp

Excitement (we think)

2007-03-12T09:27:00.000+08:00

Wx- still very very good.

The excitement never ends, here at Layang Layang…Not only do we have lots of action in the deep blue sea – hammers, pygmy devil rays, HUGE dogtooth tuna’s, marble rays and the school of jacks… We also had our own fire…
Forest fires are a yearly occurrence in other parts of Malaysia.. But this was Layang’s first. Thankfully no fingers got burnt.. only the grass.
The wind blew the fire towards the runway, and all the way around the football pitch, leaving the area intact for the staff to enjoy their afternoon sporting activity.mp

REMINDER: If you smoke cigarettes or cigars, make sure to throw the butts away in a safe place. Not in the field or garden. It is very dry on land now, we appreciate all the common sense applied by all. Thank you.

Hammerheads Galore

2007-03-09T20:29:00.000+08:00

WX- Still bloody good. Perfect for star gazing?

Say a bit more on the Hammerheads. A couple of schools again. Clear vis, shallow(30m) and no self propelled missiles yet.

Other stuff are the grey reefs, bumpheads(numbers increased compared to last year), blotched ray, white tips under the same rock and..........

Other, other stuff. All you hammies out there can contact the hammies here at 9M4SDX.
Just to clarify for you divvies. Hammies are Ham Radio enthusiasts/hobbyist. They love to do their thing with some dives thrown in. At least they got 1 more thing to do on the island then the divvies do. On top of that, hammies sounds like a bunch of hammerhead hunters then divvies, right? And if you don't know what a divvie is, don't ask.

Hammerhead School

2007-03-09T07:34:00.001+08:00

Wx-Still damn good

The single hammerhead yesterday must have came and checked out Layang Layang for the main bunch. Pronounced it fit and ready for the Hammerhead show to begin. 3 schools were sighted. Need we say more?

Hammerhead

2007-03-07T19:04:00.000+08:00

Wx- damn good

At last we get to see A hammerhead. At least we know they are around now. We were getting a bit worried that they might not show up until later because of the weather change(el nino or whatever else they want to call it). Other stuff spotted are eagle ray, mobulars leopard shark and our beautiful reef with their spectacular fishes.

The migratory birds are not back yet. What we have at the moment are the leftovers(the old,injured,lazy.......) from last year. The main (or regular) bunch should be arriving soon unless they got delayed by the weather pattern like the hammerheads.

We love the new plane chartered. It's so much bigger and we can bring in the ice cream anytime.

Thresher

2007-03-06T17:14:00.000+08:00

Wx-HOT, sea-calm, vis-30+m, current-mild

Thresher in the morning with manta and others spotted. Sea moth and the usual in the afternoon. Schools of barra, jacks and fusiliers about.

Full load of divers arrived today. Underwater photos supplied by our good friend Dr. Kurt again. In case you don't know, he is compiling photos and publishing a Layang Layang coffee table book. Will let you guys know where you can lay your hands on one next year.
That's it for now.

New Aircraft

2007-03-05T21:15:00.000+08:00

Wx-very bright sunshine, sea-0.5m and calm, currents-mild, vis-30m.

As far as the undersea goes, it's still great as long as you're in it. Same stuff for the past couple of days. Manta, mobulars, turtles, white tips...............

Now for the interesting part. Those of you who have been here before knows the size of the teeny weeny plane that brought you to the island. This year we have a big plane, and it comes with a stewardess too. There is only 1 entry and that is from the rear.

Forgot to mention, there isn't any loo on board. Make sure you do your thing before take off or you will have to do it in a bottle. cheerio.

Manta

2007-03-04T10:58:00.000+08:00

Start of the new season diving is underway.

Sea-1m, wx-sunshine, wind-NE, current-strong.

For a 1st day start, we have sighted manta, the usual school of jacks, white tips, eagle ray, mobulars and all the other little critters. The corals are still in their pristine condition.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of fishing lines entangled with the corals, carried in by the currents during the closure months. We are in the process of clearing them up as and when possible. Whoever is coming can help, they can bring along a pair of scissors and cut the lines as they dive. Or they can merrily just dive.

No pictures just yet. Will have to wait for some to be donated before we can post them. As this is only the start of the blogging for the 2nd season, we will get into stride to keep you updated on the jolly going ons here (both above and below the sea).

Meanwhile have a good day and stay stress free.

Hello Everybody

2007-03-02T19:07:00.000+08:00

WE ARE BACK!

First arrivals today but unfortunately we won't be able to let you know whats underwater til tomorrow.

It's sunshine and everything nice so far. Sea is a bit choppy but otherwise everything great. No rain for the past 3 weeks so everything top side is brown. For the sun and burn crowd, PERFECT.

Until tomorrow then. By the way we are now using a bigger aircraft than last year. An Antonov from Russia but with Pratt & Whitney engines (don't you feel safer already?). It's either a 22 seater or 40 seater, depends on the charter company. Let you all know once we have a better idea.

ps. pass the info on that the blog is back in business

Good News

2006-08-16T09:12:00.000+08:00

Wx- perfect, Sea- perfect, Vis- perfect.

The weather has been great the past few days, sunshine, calm seas and everyone smiling.

Whale shark, manta and mobulars for the past week. This year has been really great. We had mantas, whale sharks and mobulars the entire period. As for the rest of the pelagics, we hope to see them again next year. They have performed well for us this year and can finally take a break for the next 6 months.

Well, the season is coming to an end. It has been great posting this blog. We learned a lot from this. Some good and some not so good. Some very sensitive people, some fun people and then some idiots too. But overall it was fun along the way. We'll do a last post on our national day on the 31st of August. It is called "MERDEKA" day. In case we don't do it or are too lazy to do it, we wish you all the best and maybe meet up with you all again one day.

We will be monitoring this blog until next season to see if you guys want to have the get together. Keep an eye on this blog next season, we are opening in March and hopefully we will be here to keep you posted.

Meanwhile, we will try to get all the photos together for our last post. Til then goodbye, good luck and save hard (work less).

Bad Weather

2006-08-08T11:40:00.000+08:00

Wx- Raining cats, dogs, mice and elephants. Sea- Choppy

Weather currently very bad due to the typhoons passing by in Philippines. If you notice the weather in Southern China, we are also getting the tail end of it. Go to www.weather.com and you will know what we mean.

As for the Photo Competition, the response was very positive and almost every contestant won something. In fact 1 of the diver that was here on holiday entered for the fun of it and won a Sony Powershot using his own Sony camera with the plastic housing and no strobe. Some of the photos were very good. We are sure you will get to see them in Asian Diver and some other magazines in the next couple of months. Can't get our hands on the photo to post it, maybe better luck next time. As luck and mother nature would have it, the weather during the competition was sunshine and calm seas.
You would never believe the amount of macro stuff you can find in Layang Layang. Even the Dms were surprised with some of the macro creatures.
Our 2 bit comment on the photo competition - not all judges are alike in their taste. Some have better natural talents than others. But all in all very well behaved and abided by our diving rules.

Guess not many friends of Layang Layang out there interested in a get together. Anyways, we still have some time to see what the response is like. If you are too lazy to sign up with bloggers but would like to give some suggestions, you can always write to our blog writers email address (that is if you know who we are).

The marine life since the competition until now have been mobulars, mantas, jacks, whale shark, marlin, couple of Hammerheads and the regulars. Bye.

FRIENDS OF LAYANG LAYANG

2006-07-27T09:00:00.000+08:00

Here is a proposal to all you nice people and friends. Let me clarify what constitutes "friends".
1. Must have been here at least once and know at least 1 DM by name.
2. Hammerheads have not been and will not be a "be all or end all" for their Layang Layang holidays.
3. Must be cute and sexy or look like hunks (catchword- cute & look).
4. Must know how to relax or smoke cigars or drink wine or salsa or belly dance or read a book and chill out.

We want to organise a get together for you all at the same time (if possible).
We plan to do it next year 2007.
We need your clever ideas on how to make it work for you all.
Please suggest the dates, number of days, what you like to do (sarong party?), how many people (group size), who are the Dms you want to meet up with, what kind of activities (treasure hunt, workshops, photo comp.....) and so on.

This get together, if and when it turns to reality is NOT organised by the resort. However, we will endeavour to negotiate a reasonable discount for those really interested to make this work. Please make your suggestions by taking a bit of trouble to register and comment (the little box at the right hand bottom corner). Please feel free to suggest/comment, the "Idiot Registration" do not apply for this post only. Please leave your name and email address so that we may communicate directly with you.

We have at least 6-9 months to do this (only if you all want to). Bye.

Photo Competition

2006-07-27T08:35:00.000+08:00

Wx- hot sun, clear skies and everything nice. Almost perfect for competition.

Photos posted here are not from the competitors. They are from kurt, again. He is not in the competition, he has gone home. Will try to keep you all posted on the competition when we feel up to it. And by the way, make sure you are certified and know how to dive before you ever enter a UNDERWATER photo competition.

Another reminder to all UNDERWATER photo enthusiasts. We are dealing with an environment called water and pressure. Please check your 'O' ring before, during and after you have closed the housing. Even the most meticulous of us do forget when we are excited and in a rush. We can tell you this for a fact, it is expensive and frustrating when it happens to you. Ce la vie.

Hello All

2006-07-20T10:36:00.000+08:00

It has been sort of an interesting week so far.

Wx- Strong winds and choppy sea then sunshine, windless and hot. Now it is cloudy and overcast but calm sea. Vis- varied from green to clear blue and now dark without the sun.

Sightings for pelagics were 2 schools of hammerheads, mobulars, mantas and a whale shark yesterday. A lot of pygmy sea horses, ghost pipes and leaf fishes.

Kurt is back and now we have more photos to post. All these are from him, using a nikon with a seacam housing. Notice there are no rear shots? Phtographers out there, you ever wonder why?

The underwater photo competition is next week. The weather and vis for next week will be................. (someone better organise the bomoh quick, just in case).

We have an idea that we want to run it by you guys (only if you think you are a Friend of Layang Layang). We will tell you what it is on the next post.

We'll try to get more photos of the other types of underwater life for the next couple of post. Hope these photos satisfy your visual appetite. Until next post(soon), cheerio.

Weather Change

2006-07-12T11:38:00.000+08:00

Wx- calm sea, hot sun one week, then rough seas, strong wind the next. Vis- subjected to surface conditions, varies between 15m to 30m. Currents- normal with tide.

Another week closer to the photo competition. We are all interested to find out when the contestants submit their pics whether it will be tail shots or spectacular. If you think that the rules will change for the competition, think again. All recreational diving rules and the reef protection policy applies.

As for the sightings of the week, wellll, good and not as good. Everything still around regularly except for the hammerheads. So far only one peep of the school this week.

As you have noticed, the postings have been few and far in between. Blame the weather. We think that you all might get overdosed from it and slag off work. This way, you can continue to work honestly without having to get a dry diving fix. Pics are even more rare nowadays, so don't expect too many. Check out google earth if you miss us. Spot the bloggers contest is on. One beer for spotting the guy with the hammerhead suit. Bye.

Back Again

2006-07-07T09:08:00.000+08:00

Stand-in guest writers for “on-holiday” editors. Thanks for the support!
BACK …………. 30 June to 06 July
Wx- strong wind (passing typhoon in Philippines) and big big waves earlier in the week, past 3 days flat calm seas.

This week a mix group from Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Denmark & Netherland on 2boats. Weather improved to calm flat sea with clear sunny sky. Moon & stars twinkle brightly above us.

School of hammerheads came back on July 05 morning for a quick show & then disappeared into depth. Lucky divers from only one boat saw them ………….. this proved sighting really depends on your luck (sigh!!!! You know which boat we were on …… not the ONE).

Dolphins sighted once riding waves of choppy sea rather than swimming along our boat. Pygmy seahorses tried to hide but we found them again!

Dogthooth tunas, manta rays, devil rays, jacks, barracudas, sharks (white tip & grey reef), leaf fishes & ghost pipe fishes were around to support the show. PTW

Another Surface Interval

2006-06-28T17:09:00.000+08:00

It has been quite a quiet week, depending on whom is judging it.

Wx- sunshine earlier but the wind and rain started hitting us about 4 days ago (we heard the same happened for KK and KL). Sea- from flat (earlier in the week) to 2m for the past few days. Vis- always the same, better when the sun was shining.

Pelagic sighting is about the same as in the past. Single hammerhead, mobulars, manta, dolphins, grey reefs and horse eyes. Corals still look good but nobody seems to be interested in them except the DMs.

REMIINDER- we do not have a doctor on the island and that goes for the ambulance as well. Please do not only be careful with your dive profiles, accidents do happen on land too, like breaking a bone, jog til you drop, gooie stuff coming out of your ear or something like that. Any accident that requires a doctor or hospital. If you should decide to tempt fate or the great one above, make sure you have a fully paid up insurance policy for evacuation and all other cost involved. About 15k and the likelihood that the aircraft is not available at the time you need it most.

We just had a guy that broke his thumb in 2 places while snorkelling. HAH, you wondering how it happened right? That is why they call it an accident, because you cannot imagine it ever happening to you while doing something so simple. Or the time when another guy broke his arm just because his "friend" wanted to throw him in the pool. You noticed it is only the guys that have "accidents"? We will tell you how it happened if ever we meet you, plus a lot more stories if you want to listen, laugh and learn.

Until the next story, goodbye, good luck and take care. Bye.

Latest

2006-06-19T11:28:00.000+08:00

Getting lazy so it is going to be a few days post at one go. Unless it is something spectacular for that day.

17th - Wx-rained the whole day, Sea-calm, Vis-so so
We still managed to get a BBQ in. 1 manta and still a lot of reef life.

18th - Wx-overcast, Sea-calm, Vis-same same
4 mobulars and definitely a lot of reef life.

19th - Wx-hot, sunny and humid, Sea-mirror flat, Vis-improved to 30m.

1 hammerhead, manta, whale shark and a pod of spinners. Another 22 thais on the island again. This is really turning into aq regular mini Thailand on a weekly basis. Bye.

Quiet Days

2006-06-16T15:17:00.000+08:00

Wx-earlier 2 days were sunny and hot, today is rain and cloudy, Sea- flat calm

Mantas everyday. On some dives, even 2 mantas swimming together. Definitely manta time now. These sightings do not happen often in Layang Layang. Guess it must be due to the change in world climate (theorectically speaking).

If you want to know exactly where Layang Layang is located, get this to help you. Hey, maybe you can see us waving at you with our bikinis and g-strings.

Contributions of new photos have been slow due to the excitement underwater. Will have to make do from our earlier collections. Photos from kurt and asther. Bye.

Three In One

2006-06-13T12:31:00.000+08:00

11th, Wx-Still cloudy, Sea-still a bit choppy, Vis-20m and thermocline

Pelagics for the day are 10 mobulars, 1 whale shark and 2 boat load of divers.

Preparing for mini Thailand again tomorrow. Our Fishery department have finished their reefball relocation. Hopefully we will see lobsters and all types of macro marine life in the lagoon one day. Maybe a new dive site for last dive on day before departure?.

12th, Wx-Overcast morning and sunny afternoon, Sea-more choppy than day before, Vis-same as yesterday.

Hammerhead school for group of lucky divers and they are the only divers in the whole of Layang Layang for the 1st dive.

Mini Thailand checked in today and have only one wish, hope and demand. You've guessed it, the one and only elusive hammerheads.

Today, Wx-Cloudy, Sea-calm, Vis-20+m

1 hammerhead, 1 manta, 4 mobulars and a lot of mating jacks. That can only happen in the sea. As far as on land goes, the only creature mating are the bloody cats.
Don't feel sorry for the cats, there are about 100 of them running around. And DON'T feed them if or when you are here. You feed them, you take them home. A lot of suggestions on how to lower their population but nothing that is kind and simple yet. If you have an answer, now is the time to practise your nature preservation and conservation bit with kindness to animals in mind.

Photos courtesy of kurt, again. Nobody seems to be contributing lately except him.
One of the reasons why the post are 2 in 1 and 3 in 1. One day it's going to be 200 in 1. Maybe we will get more photos after the competition in July. Bye.

Windy Day

2006-06-10T17:03:00.000+08:00

Wx- Strong wind with 1m choppy waves. Vis- 20-30m due to upwelling with underwater temperatue about 26-28c.

Mobulars, jacks, tunas and a lot of corals(hard and soft). BBQ, world cup football and F1 on land. All in all a quiet day but hopefully the night will be interesting.

Photo taken by asther some time ago. Not every evening is like that but then again, who knows. Maybe when you are here you will be lucky enough to witness this sunset for yourself. Would like to post the starry night sky photo but it's too dark and you won't be able to read this post. Bye.

Cloudy Day

2006-06-09T14:01:00.000+08:00

Wx- Serious downpour in the early morning, cloudy and humid for the rest of the day.

We were wondering if the flight coming into Layang Layang was going to be delayed or cancelled again. Good on the pilot (MAS), it was on schedule with a bit of detour along the way to avoid the rain.

Ever wondered how a down current works in Layang Layang? Come here and we will tell you the why, where and how but not the when though. We had it today for 2nd dive. No big deal if you know what to do, it is part and parcel of diving knowledge.

This is the sequence of photos(kurt's) to show you what to expect when you first arrive in Layang Layang. The land shots are much more different, we will post those another day. bye

Quiet Day At The Office

2006-06-08T21:14:00.000+08:00

Wx- Sunny as usual, a bit of breeze and sea still flat

Not much pelagic action on the 1st dive, 2nd dive is totally different. 1 hammerhead, mobulars and tunas, if you are only interested in is pelagics. Dolphins on the topside again. 3rd dive is serious macro/close up photography time.

These photos are more colourful than the pelagics, don't you think? they are supplied by Kurt using a seacam with a nikon slr.

The birds are gone. Must be all the weather changes in the world or something. The bird numbers are even lesser than previous years. Maybe they caught the bird flu or something and became fish food along the way. Great news that, less bird flu flying around.
ps. we'll put your name, camera and photo on the blog, IF you hava nice shot from Layang Layang (for free).

Two in One

2006-06-07T08:53:00.000+08:00

Yesterday
Wx- flat sea, sunshine and very hot.

Very quiet day in the water as far as the fishes are concerned.

Reminder to all current, going to take up and future potential professional underwater photographers and videographers. You know that thing that you put the camera into that is made of plastic/polycarbonate/metal? In other words called a camera housing. They are rated for a certain maximum depth for a very good financial reason (oops, forgot about the watches, underwater torches and whatever other else that you take underwater). They have a rubber "O" ring that needs to be checked and greased before you put the camera in and go diving? Do not forget to do that. Two divers found out that the housing can leak if not inspected before diving (bye bye camera).

Also we are sure you know what is the meaning of explosion, right? Do you know the meaning of implosion? One diver found out while underwater at a depth that exceeded his depth and the housing specs the meaning of the word (the practical and loud way). The implosion sound was quite loud. Try it, you might find it quite spectacular. The fishes thought it was fish bombing and had a good laugh out of it (while they were swimming for their lives). Now you know the reason for that loud sound underwater.

Today
Wx-flat sea, hot and sunny with no breeze at all.

Manta, snorkelling with dolphins and more pygmy sea horses. Hopefully we will have better photos for you guys. We have Dr. Kurt Syrcula (the guy who wrote "Diving in malaysia") here taking photos for a coffee table book of Layang Layang.
But meanwhile this will have to do.

For the guys, we will post a photo of the mistress diver. Guys will love this, until then just fantasize. Bye.

Another Day Another Dollar

2006-06-05T23:48:00.000+08:00

Wx- Sunny and hot, Seas- calm

This is going to be a short one. 1 hammerhead came back twice so that means 2 hammerheads, right? So 5 mobulars came back 3 times and a whale shark came circling 4 times, you try to figure it out. That is what happened and that is it. Bye.

Slow Day

2006-06-04T21:52:00.000+08:00

Wx- cloudy with slight breeze, Sea- calm

Not much happening, 1 hammerhead, mobulars, dolphins and the biggest school of horse eyes in the world (according to one DM). But we all know there are bigger schools in the world seen/unseen, right? At least she is happy but don't know about the guests though.

Forgot to mention, our Fisheries Department of Malaysia personnel is here to check on and reposition their 1 year old reefballs (artificial reef)in the lagoon. So far no spiny lobsters yet for harvesting.

Another DM birthday today but a bit toned down as most of the staff are either on holidays off the island or have gone home for a better life (traffic jams, exhaust smoke, increased petrol price.......). Wish you were here eh? Next time then.

Same Same Again

2006-06-03T21:10:00.000+08:00

Wx- Sunshine in the morning and passing shower in the afternoon, Sea- a little bit choppy but considered calm for Layang Layang standards.

Sightings of 2 hammerheads (only 2, so boring), pod of dolphins, mobulars again and manta. Don't take it as the norm for Layang Layang diving. All the rest of the corals, trevally, sea horses, ghost pipe fish are still around.

As for the birds, we have not been to the bird island often enough to tell you the chicks progress. But, why do you want to go suffer the bad smell and look at those chicks when there are other old(matured) birds and young chicks walking around in their bikinis (and they don't smell as bad too)?

The resort staff had a day outing as well. Some went snorkelling and others went diving. Only problem was, the divers complained that they did not see the hammerheads. In their limited diving opinion, it was a bad dive and they want their money back. We wonder where they picked that up from? Recognise any of them that served you when you were here?

Now that the blog has started again, let's see how long it will last before another break. We have been logging a lot of stats of the various pelagics over the years. We will definitely try to post that when the time is right. But then, we are also afraid that you will take it as gospel and overindulge in your expectations and fantasy. Bye.

Thresher And Whale Sharks Again

2006-06-02T17:48:00.000+08:00

WX- very very hot and sunny. Sea- flat calm and not even a ripple(look at the photo).

The whale shark was sighted again along with the thresher. A couple of stray hammerheads. Not many divers around at the moment (about 25). Quiet in the resort and nobody is complaining about crowds and all. In fact, it is getting too quiet. Hope some fun divers come along real soon or the DMs are going to complain that they don't have enough pressure looking for Hammerheads.

Nothing out of the ordinary as far as divers go. July should be fun as the resort is hosting an underwater photo shootout. The prizes are not bad. If you think you can take a photo, maybe you should try it. But make sure you don't shoot the tail end. Bye

We Are Back

2006-06-02T08:33:00.000+08:00

Hello all, miss us?
Before we go any further with the news, please read the following paragraph.

All future and potential IGNORAMUS are reminded that this is NOT an OFFICIAL BLOG. We can and will write anything and everything (funny or otherwise). This blog has nothing to do with the company that manages the resort. If you don't like the subjects or the links or the people contributing to this blog or find it offensive you can piss off. And if you still think we are writing about you in this blog, then you must really be paranoid. YOU have a choice, DON"T READ THIS BLOG. We are only writing this blog for divers who wants to know the daily news on whats happening in Layang Layang Island.

We have a problem trying to summarize all of 20 days happening. So you all will have to bear with us on this long post. Another problem came up with the post. This was yesterday's post. Blogger had a problem.

11th- Not much happening except for a whale shark that came head on to a couple of divers. The photos you see of the whale shark was taken by Yasuaki and Yoshie san from Japan. Lucky buggers. Forgot to mention about the 5 mobulars as well.
12th- Hammerhead school and mobulars
13th- Wind change, some very lucky Thai divers that got to see Hammerhead schools on their first day. Most everybody saw them as well. Good day, even better for the DMs (pressure off).
14th- Low preesure in the weather or considered mini typhoon. Not too bad, only about 1-2 meters waves. Hammerheads again and more pygmy sea horses as well.
15th- Hammerheads school, mobulars, overcast sky but still very diveable.
16th- Hammerheads, 9 pygmy sea horses. Overcast sky and heavy passing showers. At least the plants are happy.
17th- Whale shark again and thresher. Sunshine and the sunbathers are out with their colourful bikinis.

18th- As promised to the female divers, this photo is of the potential Dms. Underwater, 1 thresher, 1 mobular, 1 hammerhead and a lot of sunshine.
19th- Hammerhead school, very flat sea and still alot of sunshine.
20th- This is getting tiring, we'll combine the whole damn happenings in one go as of this day until 31st May.
What we got are hammerheads, thresher on a couple of days, mobulars, dolphins, mantas on other days. generally, sighting of all these stuff are quite regular. For the hammerheads, they come and they go. if you are lucky they hang around a couple of days in a row. It rained cats, dogs, oliphants and 1 whale shark on the 23rd but flat seas. Then it got really really hot for the next couple of days. Sightings of the pelagics were about the same but in lesser numbers. We had dolphins with the divers underwater a couple of times. We had a surface sighting of the Melon Headed Whales on the 30th. And on the last day, 1 whale shark, 3 hammerheads and dolphins again. That's it for the past 20 days.

Wx-bloody hot and damn sunny, Sea-flat calm like a mirror

As for today (today just became yesterday), some divers leaving tomorrow and had their last dive. They were happy to see 4 hammerheads and to have seen quite a lot of stuff for the past couple of days but still wish for better.
On the 2nd dive which they can't go, the other divers comes back to rub salt in their wound. They saw manta. Hammerhead school, thresher shark, mobulars and dolphins all in 45 minutes of diving. Better luck next time for those leaving is all we can say.

PS. Thanks for being patient. We'll try to keep you abreast of everything as often as possible.

IDIOT REGISTRASTION POST

2006-05-11T12:14:00.000+08:00

IDIOT REGISTRASTION

Let us clarify our blog.
1. This IS NOT an official company (Layang Layang Island Resort) blog.
2. This IS a private and personal blog.
3. Whatever is written, posted, linked, commented is at our discretion.
4. Whatever posted that you disagree, do not condone or find distasteful is at your discretion.
5. Do not take it personally unless you feel you are one or two of the silly idiotic people mentioned in previous and future posts.
6. If you have a problem with this blog, comment in this blog or post.
7. We have all the rights to advertise, link to advertisement, link to people that has advertisements and make money (should we decide to).
8. This blog is for happy divers. HAPPY DIVERS!
9. This blog has no commercial value (yet), it is meant as daily news for all the friends we know and will know.
10. (saving for another really idiotic clarification)

If you so desire, you can be registered as an officially certified idiot by making a comment (right hand bottom corner with the little envelope) on this post. Do not feel embarass, you are not the first. That honour goes to another. You will also not be the last.
So please feel free to comment (remember-right hand bottom corner with the little envelope).

Surface Interval

2006-05-10T19:40:00.000+08:00

Damn good weather and we hope it stays the same for as long as possible.
It has been a fun filled 2 months of blogging but it's also time to take a break. We are having writers' block/blog. If you notice, we have been writing about the same fishes for 2 months and it's getting a bit bor............. for us. To all the contributors of photos, stories and laughter, thank you very much. As for the others, we hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. And the few others that did not enjoy it, switch blogs.

We hope this photo will keep you thinking of us. This shot was taken by a HK/US diver (very nice man) not too long ago. It is of another diver celebrating his birthday in his birthday suit on his birthday/night. That's what we call open minded and whatever else that comes to your mind. Think happy thoughts and dive for fun.

ps. like arnie once said, "we'll be back".

Only One Hammerhead School

2006-05-09T20:23:00.000+08:00

WX-Another great day, sunshine, calm seas and good vis (we think).
One school of hammerheads.
Russians leaving tomorrow. 25 Thais coming this Saturday. We guess it's 'tom yam' time. We got to make sure the ice cream is eaten last (famous saying-last in last out).

Are you wondering how many comments we will get for the previous post? So are we.
Do you girls really want the hunks photo?

Clear Skies

2006-05-08T17:45:00.000+08:00

Wx-Clear skies, sunshine and flat calm seas. Diving weather.

Like the caption says. No worries of flight delays, missed connecting flights, disgruntrled guests and NO FLIGHTS. How ironic, that we have a beautiful day for everything today and no one is arriving or leaving the island. When we really needed good weather like yesterday and the day before (40 arrivals and 60 departures), the plane gets delayed and cancelled. Ahh..., someone up there really like/dislike us we think.

OK. Back to the diving, the wind is slowly but surely changing from a North Easterly to a South Westerly direction. That means the diving over at the Valley end will get choppier if the wind decides to pick up. The vis will also be affected. Only one sighting of the school but then you know there are lots of other stuff to look for. For example like jacks, mobulars, grey reef, millions of other reef fishes and the pygmies.

That's all folks unless you all want something more specific. Bye.

Rain Again

2006-05-07T17:49:00.000+08:00

Wx- Rain whole day. Seas calm.

First off, NO hammerheads today but dolphins. As for the rest of the others, they are there.

Well, we almost had another group of Japanese that could not their connecting flight in KK to go home. The aircraft touched down on the island and immediately it started to pour 3 months worth of rainfall. Everyone ran for cover including the pilots.

After the rain slowed down at about 2 pm, it's boarding time and the pilots discovered a flat tyre. Now we have to locate the pilots of the spare plane in KK and fly over the spare tyre. Lucky for us/them the weather held up until they arrived at about 3.30 pm. Was it mentioned, this delayed flight is the 2nd flight, supposed to have taken off at 11 am? Getting worried about your connecting flight home if you ever come here, eh? You should be, if you have a connecting flight too close to our estimated arrival time in KK. This is the second time in a row this year that we had to delay or cancel a flight due to weather. It doesn't happen often but then........ Happy holidays.

Ps. We do not get involve or reimburse for an act of god (meaning, you pay for your missed connecting flight/s and all other expenses incurred).

Heavy Weather

2006-05-06T14:12:00.000+08:00

Wx-Rainfall and heavy clouds everywhere except Layang Layang. Sea Calm.

The weather was good and bad today. In the morning weather was sunny but there was a thunderstorm developing in KK and half way to the island. We were supposed to have 6 flights today but only 5 was completed before the heavens opened up in KK. The pilots did not want to fly the last flight for safety reasons. 7 Japanese stranded on the island and missed their flight home to Japan. They will get connected tomorrow hopefully. Goes to show how remote we are and the weather controls everything, including what you see or don't see underwater.

Back into the water and so, what's new you ask? Nothing except for same old school of hammerheads, 2 pygmy sea horse (a sudden increase of 100%) and 15 Russian divers. Lucky devils saw the hammerheads too and on their first dive.

Only topside shot of the orca. For the rest of the body underwater, just imagine the white patches and bloody big mouth.

Until next time. Bye.

ORCAs

2006-05-05T13:57:00.000+08:00

Wx-Heavy passing shower on the 2nd dive. Hot and sunny after.

Hammerheads, dolphins and all the other stuff.
(Use a magnifying glass if you have to)
This year has so far been exceptional. We had Thresher, Oceanic white tips, Sperm whales, Whale shark, Pygmy sea horse and now ORCAs(check dictionary). The hammerhead schools kind of pale in comparison. So far most of the divers we have for the past 3 months have also been exceptional fun people. Except for the odd few. The Dms feel so good that they are willing to pay to work here (please note that this is an unsolicited assumption).

For those divers that's been here before and had snorkelled with them(orca), you know the feeling. There is nothing in comparison when you see a mammal that size and reputation right next to you. It's definitely better than 7 years of good.......

Sorry, no photo yet. The diver that had the photo wanted payment for it. Goes to show what humans are all about. There is nothing wrong with that but ........ good riddance. We can show you an old photo but it's never the same. What a turn off and all because of monetary gains. Anyway, CHEERS to all the other good folks.

Pygmy Sea Horse

2006-05-04T19:44:00.000+08:00

Wx- Still very hot and calm seas.

The excitement for the day is a pygmy sea horse (for the Dms at least). At Wreck Point, about 18 meters depth, hiding in a 1 meter sea fan, We do not have any good pictures yet, but hopefully we will get it tomorrow.

As for the famous Hammerhead schools, they are around as usual. Three groups of lucky divers saw them on all three dives of the day, at different times at different sites. Sites that all the 'know alls' think are the most boring dive sites. We guess they 'know' a bit more now than before. Mobulars sighted again. Seems to be a regular feature nowadays. That's it for now.

Don't you guys out there wish these hot chicks are your DMs?

Not to worry girls, we have not forgotten you. We are saving the hunk photo for another post.

Yesterday's Post

2006-05-04T07:51:00.000+08:00

Wx-Bloody hot, in other words damn good sun tan.

Sighting-Same as the day before, the usual line up. Exception, dolphins in abundance.

You want to know what a good time diving holiday is? This picture speaks a thousand words.

Good company, great weather, nice dives and NO EXPECTATIONS. Cheers.

Weather for Divers and Ducks

2006-05-02T17:55:00.000+08:00

WX-Heavy rainfall and grey clouds for the whole day. But flat seas. Vis- very good.

90 divers on the island but only 20 saw the school and another 20 saw one. By now we guess you know what we mean by 'school and one'. Percentage of sightings are high but unfortunately some divers have zero percentage. Make sure you're in a group of divers with high percentage in luck or else, better luck next time.

All in all, not a bad day. Divers might consider looking at the reef fishes for a change. It's quite pretty, really. Think of it this way, if there were no reef, no reef fishes, no reef fishes means no reef predators, no reef predators means no big big big fishes (pelagics). And the pelagics need the reef fishes to do a bit of cleaning for them from time to time. We take it divers are aware of the cycle of life underwater. Or it will the birds for them.

The know alls are still in the blue trying but the other divers near the reef are the lucky ones. Good luck.

Labour Day Hammerheads

2006-05-01T21:32:00.000+08:00

WX- The best you can find in Layang Layang (If you think this is self promo, IT IS).

All that can happen in a day(must be the Labour/Labor Day holiday), happened. Scary part is, expectation for tomorrow will be greater. In other words, all the hammerheads you can see, all the mobulars and everything else. Call it self promo if you will/want but this is Layang Layang (the last frontier in Malaysia for dive excitement).

The same old diver problems(the know alls) but WHATS NEW? Everyone thinks that Japanese golden week will be 100% (120 divers) full (including us), It's not true, we(DMs) are having the time of our lives. Too bad for the divers that came last week (what to do), we don't have an air tight contract with the hammerheads (or god). Generally speaking, having your own boat, own DM, own dive time does not mean you will get to have the hammerheads to yourself. LUCK is everything (theoretically speaking).

Ps. don't take it personally if you think we are writing about you. It's you that's taking it personally. Selamat.

The Day After Perancis Balik

2006-04-30T19:18:00.000+08:00

WX- Great weather again. Seas a bit choppy, otherwise fine. Current very strong.

Would you believe it. It's all about luck and timing. We had about 35 French nationals plus some others nationals in the resort for 8 days. About 10 of them saw the hammerheads once in all that time. The day after the the Perancis leaves, most if not all the others plus the new arrivals see the school on their first dive. ALMOST all except for those that think they know where the hammerheads hang out after diving here once before (the know alls). Ahhh.... what clever divers they are. So Des Ne.

We just had some comments from some divers that left Layang Layang not too long ago. The bottom line is having a jolly good time on holiday. Diving and (especially) the hammerheads is but an excuse for a well deserved holiday away from the daily grind of going to work. See you guys on the ski slopes.

Cameras and Camcorders

2006-04-29T21:57:00.000+08:00

Wx- Back to hot and sunny today. Great for suntaning again. Calm flat seas.

Sighting-again as usual the normal culprits. Hammerheads, schooling jacks, dolphins, dogtooth ....... (curiousity, how do you do an underwater hand sign for school of jacks?).

Reminder for those with cameras and all. Do you know that the modern camera or camcorder have a time out after 5 minutes or so? We have divers coming back complaining that they did not take a photo or filmed the hammerheads and exciting fishes because they thought they were filming or taking a shot when they pressed the button. It's like the stories of those days when you ran out of film at the moment you needed it most. Also, can you remember to close your mouth in awe and take the shot. Another reminder, if you chase the subject, you will only get tail shots and a scolding from other divers when you chase the subject away. Be considerate and think of others before you swim off like a missile.

Word of advise, make sure you secure your camera/camcorder to your body. We just had a severe case of missing camera at depth (like 2000m). Sayonara.

Wet Wet Wet

2006-04-28T20:35:00.000+08:00

WX-Very wet. rain the whole day. Vis underwater very good. Sea calm.

Like the weatherman says, very sunny. In reality, rained the whole day. Trust the weatherman for accuracy.

Manta up close and personal. Maybe thresher (according to guest), marble ray, and a bikini clad DM. Efeects of the French divers on him. Oh, forgot, a school of hammerheads for the divers that arrived today on their first dive. Some divers are just born lucky. Too bad messieurs and madames, better luck next time.

Question. Do divers have childish tantrums or is it only just a specific nationality? Bon voyage.

Mobulars and Friends

2006-04-27T19:38:00.000+08:00

WX-Great for diving, sunshine, calm seas and just a light breeze.

12 Mobulars, 5 Suspect oceanic white tips (as reported by guests), 1 Ferrari whale shark (did not hang around, just swam off as reported by DM), 1 very big shark (yet to be identified but suspect to be Tiger by DM) in the deep, 1 hammerhead (definite), a school of hammerheads (definite 3 only maximum), 1 leopard and 1 ghost pipe fish. Water temperature is warm at the top and cold at depth (20m onwards).

Reminder. When you drink alcohol, don't drive/dive. Regardless of whether it's half a glass or not, red/white wine, beer, gin tonic/bitter lemon, jd, vodka or whatever we forgot to write. (What happened during the dive operation briefing???) And if you do drink before the dive, make sure you continue to enjoy it because you're not going to dive for that day. Next, if the DM stops you from diving, don't blame the waitress for serving you. It's not her fault. Divers are supposed to be responsible for their welfare as well as their buddies. On that note, have a safe dive and enjoy the undersea or pool side.

Ps. If you can salsa, please teach everyone else so that we may enjoy the exercise. Thank you.

Another Day in Our Paradise

2006-04-26T21:03:00.000+08:00

Wx-Sunshine and everything nice. Calm seas and mild currents.

Water temperature and visibility almost extremes. Cold at depth and hot at the top. Visibility green at depth and brown/red on top. We are not scientist but a rough idea would be that the cold waters currents rose to the surface and compressed the upper layer to the top with the planktons included. Can somebody enlighten us if that was the scenario?

Sightings still normal with the hammerheads. We guess the water visibility and temperature has no effect on their behavior pattern. So, theoretically speaking the stories about hammerheads likes and dislikes are about as good as theories.

Spinners playing around after yesterday's storm. Some lucky divers got to dive with them for 15 minutes. Fortunately or unfortunately, they did not get to see them fornicating.

All in One

2006-04-25T14:08:00.000+08:00

21st to 25th Wx-Sunshine and calm seas until today, heavy rains in the morning and choppy seas but diveable.

For the past few days, we have regular sightings of Hammerhead schools, Mantas, Mobulars and all the usual stuff. We are now waiting for the Orcas, Mola Molas and Tiger to show up. NOT all the divers in-house have seen the elusive hammerheads. Pressure is still on for the DMs. We still say luck has everything to do with the sightings.

Also we have a group from France (33), this place is turning into mini French town. Last week was Hong Kongers and next week will be Japanese. As for the other Europeans, they have been turning up regularly every year but in smaller numbers. All we need now are the Timbuktooans to show up to make it really international and interesting.

Trivia, do you remember on the MAS flight from LLR to BKI and got security check as you board the plane? We have some new security staff certified by MAS to search you now. Recognise anyone? The guys who made you the Hammerheads on the bed.
Au revoir.

Yesterday and Today

2006-04-20T15:19:00.000+08:00

Wx-jolly good yesterday

Only 17 mobulars, 3 turtles, 2 mantas, 1 hammerhead and a couple of leaf fishes on a coral head.

15 divers from HK had a sarong party theme night. The mixture fom the group comprised of 1 american, 2 japanese, 3 indonesians and 9 hongkongers. Nice party bunch and a lot of attempted salsaing. Been here 4 times, so we guess they know what they are doing.

Wx-heavy thunder and a sprinkling of rain in t6he morning today. Humid in the afternoon.

Quiet underwater as far as the pelagics goes. Hammerheads must have gone off again for another shopping holiday. We are praying that they come back soon. Wind still blowing from north east.
Currently about 80 divers and will begin to climb again after this week end. That's it for now. ciao.

Surprise of the week

2006-04-18T12:13:00.000+08:00

Wx-very hot and very fine for past 3 days.

No posts on previous 2 days because we do not want to bore you with the same story (no hammerhead sightings). Until today that is. we guess we are beginning to develop the same syndrome as all the divers that come to Layang Layang (hammerheads or bust).
Main gripe is no hammerheads means no good dive, no good divemaster and want their money back. Get real ladies and gentlemen, we don't have a secret switch for the hammerheads, we do not have a contract with them that says they must perform when YOU are around, we do not have a line to god either. We are only human and our job is to divemaster, show you stuff we know and can control. HAMMERHEADS, THRESHER, WHALE SHARKs, MANTAs are not bolted down in the water. We know you pay a lot of hard earned money to be here, WE WANT to show everything you expect but...........

Praise be to god (in normal circumstance, we are not that religious), there are a lot of other divers that do not have that mentality or expectations. We thank them for making us happy just to know them as happy people. Hip Hip Hooray.

On a lighter note. Have you notice the sunset when you are in Layang Layang? They can be so spectacular. We heard tell that some people will travel all over the world for a beautiful sunset. Hey, the stars are great too. makes you small when you look up and try to count them.
ps. we welcome you all with open arms regardless.

Good News

2006-04-15T17:40:00.000+08:00

Wx-same as yesterday and still looks good. Good enough for BBQ.

Hammerheads must be thinking about easter eggs as well. They are all over the place on the 1st and 2nd dives. Manta too but it was deep. Mobulars and thresher again. As for the jacks and all, they are still at the same place as before. Overall, today was a good day. 120 divers in house but it does not look or feel as though there are that many around. We'll see what happens during the BBQ. If they are missile eaters or not.

Spot the King, if you are Malaysians, you should. The other gentleman is our FT Minister who controls the land the resort is on. Name the person way back there in the background and get a free beer. Make it 2 if you know the full name.

Questions to answer when they get off the plane, "where are the hammerheads?" - IN THE WATER. "where in the water?" - For those of you who know us, you can answer on our behalf, right? Thank you.

Turtle Stress

2006-04-14T17:16:00.000+08:00

Wx-great as always, everything perfect for a great diving holiday EXCEPT......

Underwater creatures turned up for their expected performance on schedule. We guess our contract with them was an offer they could not refuse. Bottom line is so far so good. We only hope that the manager for the hammerheads and friends will not get a better offer from somewhere else.
EXCEPT some divers are still swimming like missiles chasing after them and depriving the relaxed, concientious, considerate, safe and responsible divers from a chance of witnessing the hammerheads.

EXCEPT we had a diver from Hong Kong that grabbed hold of a turtle underwater and shook the shit out of it. He was banned from diving but we think banning him was too mild. We wonder what would happen if we got hold of his son and shook the shit out of him? Look at the photo closely and you will see what we mean.

ps. For your information, Hong Kong divers are not the only ones. For all you know, tomorrow may be another diver from a first world country or worst still, could be the guy next to you. Ahhhh humans, aren't they fun. Cheerio.

New Chicks

2006-04-13T14:59:00.000+08:00

Wx-same as yesterday and rain is now on the wish list.

Hammerhead school sighted but not as prolific as a couple of weeks ago. As for the other great stuff, they are still around. eg.
silvertips, jacks, yellow fins, baras, ghosts, pristine reef......

Our feathered friends have been back for a while now. Unfortunately, we were so engrossed with the HAMMERHEADS that we forgot to mention them in the previous posts. Chicks are up and running. This year they were back early, we suspect they might not be the original flock as the numbers are smaller. Wind is still blowing North East. We will let you know if and when another flock arrives. Try this site for more infomation.

Hammerheads Back from Leave

2006-04-12T17:11:00.000+08:00

Wx-very,very,very hot, Sea-flat, vis-30+m, Currents-zero

At last, some action in the water. They were sighted at about 30-35m. Maybe wrote too fast. Knocking on wood and the keyboard, just to be safe. All the HHs must be back from their shopping holidays. Just hope there isn't any fishy travel fare or something. If they go off somewhere for another cheap holiday, we'll be screwed/hammered (most probably on the heads).

The weather is very,very,very hot and dry. For sun tan and all, great. How's the weather in the city, don't you wish you were here? Sometimes we wonder whether certain divers are lucky or unlucky, they can only get to see the Hammerheads when they extend their stay. Others don't see it even if they stay for 2 weeks and some get everything in 6 days 5 nights. How long and when is a good time, you figure it out. Bye.

More and Less

2006-04-11T17:47:00.000+08:00

Wx-more sun, Sea-less waves, Vis-more further, Current-less strong

Mobulars 17, Hammerheads 1 school, Ghost pipe fish 2, Frogfish 1 and a lot of new divers. More divers and less sightings. Now that we are beginning to get more divers, the opposite on the hammerheads (LESS). For those who are arriving in the next couple of days, we wish it could be different. You will hear us telling you that we wish you were here last month. This line sounds familiar? Hey, we may be wrong and you will see everything.

Word of advise, please read an earlier post on the profile of hammerheads in the archive. DON'T EXCEED 40M. NO doctor, NO ambulance, NO decompression chamber, NO heroes alive and NO good saying sorry.

Reality check, have a good dive holiday, enjoy the undersea world. Remember, the guy above is in charge of the hammerheads, not the DMs. Enjoy.

Back To Normal

2006-04-10T17:08:00.000+08:00

Wx-very very hot, Sea-1-2m, Vis-30.25m,

From 7th to 9th, we had Our Royal Highness, King of Malaysia on the island. Diving continued as normal but the blog..... well, what can we say. Anyway back to the good news, the Hammerhead schools came back yesterday and today. We hope they will last through the easter period. The mobulars, marlin and jacks as always. Will write more when more news come in.

Mobulars and Threshers

2006-04-06T17:38:00.000+08:00

Wx-hot, Sea-very choppy, vis-30m, Currents-all over the place

14 mobulars and a thresher for the day. All the other stuff still doing their thing.

For some trivia, the Agung (King) is coming for a visit. Lots of their support staff trying to make themselves important by sitting around, drinking coffee, watching tv and hiding in their rooms. Support staff-90, VIPs-30, Agung-1, hours spent in the resort-22, actual hours seen by anyone-6. Bye.

Hammerhead Holidays

2006-04-04T14:33:00.000+08:00

Wx-great weather for additional tanning, Current-very, very strong.

As the title says, we think the SLF have gone for a group package tour to somewhere. Whats left behind are the stragglers that could not afford it. Ones and twos cruising around the reef. Thats about it. Disappointment galore. What to do? Diving and LIVING goes on. Currents are very strong.

Starting tomorrow, we will be having 150 guests and by this week end it will be 180. Good and bad, 50 divers and 130 non divers. Back to normal of about 70 divers by Monday. Numbers starts to increase from easter week end to 120 divers until 5th May. If you choose your time right, you will be part of the statistic. It's an experience not to be missed. You will never ever complain that there are too many divers after this.

We had a tsunami underwater sensor installed off the reef somewhere at 400m. The sensor records water movement at depth and transmit every hour to a collection centre in KL. It sounds like a bunch of dolphins having a discussion underwater when it is transmitting. See ya soon.

Past 3 Days

2006-04-02T14:29:00.000+08:00

WX-great for sun tan. Today-cloudy and choppy

Hammerhead schools for the past 3 days. All sighted 25-30m. Still lots of missile divers. Lots of complaints about the missiles but none willing to lose out or change.

Especially so for the (no idea how to shoot a fish head and only tail shots) photographers. Divers who (had only 3 dives in Layang Layang, stayed 2 nights and know where all the hammerheads hang out) think they are better than the Divemasters mentality. Then in the end, they blame the divemasters for not showing them the hammerheads.

Oh, when will they ever learn? NEVER.

Hope you have fun next time turning your divemaster blue. But be careful when the divemaster unleash their secret weapons (photo) and turn you blue and black. Cheers

Another Day

2006-03-30T17:00:00.000+08:00

Wx- hot, sunny, flat calm, 30+m vis and nice

Hammerhead school still around. 2 comments posted, don't really feel like answering them but hey.....

1st comment - your answer is in an earlier post. See you soon. And don't ask "the" question. We hear it more than enough everyday.

2nd comment - where does it says that the post and the photo must match?

Please don't make your comments mundane. Life is too much fun to be wasted answering sfaq and comments. Ciao.

Great hammerhead

2006-03-28T21:01:00.000+08:00

Wx-passing shower and cloudy, Sea-choppy 1m, Vis-good, Current-mild

The great hammerhead was spotted at 5m on top of reef at wrasse in the afternoon. As for the rest of the scallops, they were at their usual hang out.

Trees got watered for the first time in 6 weeks. Now we have got some real work to do cutting grass. All these while with the hammerheads and all, we thought we were on holiday as well.

Did you know MAS is flying for us ? Yup, every tuesdays and fridays at T1 with a 11 seater at the usual time. On other days, it's at T2 with Sabah Air on their 6 seater. Watch your weight with the barangs. If it exceed, you'll get charged or worse, it will not come on the same flight as you. Don't moan to the resort about it. It is NOT their fault. And if you don't see the Hammerheads, it's NOT their fault either. Cheers.

Daily hammerheads

2006-03-27T20:44:00.000+08:00

Wx-sunny, Sea-choppy 1-2m, Vis-30+m, Current-mild

It's been 20 days and they have been showing up daily. So far so good. Hope it keeps going for as long as possible. No real complaints yet. Except for the "I wish it was a bigger school and nearer" line.

Anyone who recognise the spot where the blotch is, will get a free beer. Cheers!

Something New

2006-03-27T07:37:00.000+08:00

The guy who took this photo had no idea what it was. What do you think? Look at tips for clue. This was taken yesterday just after the SLF school.

Mikkel got to go back to U in Frankfurt. Bon voyage.

Normal Again

2006-03-25T18:09:00.000+08:00

Wx-sunny with NE winds, Sea-1 to 2 m, Vis-20 to 30 m green, Current-mild, U/W Temp-28c

Another normal day in Layang Layang. Sightings are mobulars, blotch ray, jacks, thresher, hammerhead school, hawksbill and the nesting yellow margins. Corals still there with the reef fishes.

Just a note, if you have the new Mares dive comp, read and bring it along for your dive trips. They have a tendency of locking up. We don't know the reason why and would like to read the manual to find out.

If you still have that question about when is a good time to be on Layang Layang, when you are here is all we can say. Reminder for the photo enthusiast. Don't chase the poor creatures away and deprive the other divers of a sight. Not all divers are trained chasers and missiles. Ciao.

Sperm Picts

2006-03-25T08:39:00.000+08:00

These are the Picts that we got. Still trying to do some enhancement to make it better. These will have to do at the moment.

Vis was greenish and 20m. They were spotted above water about 1 km off the Valley at 8.30 am. Stayed around with us for about 30 mins and then disappeared. Most of the divers had cameras, but they forgot what it was for. That's why not many photos. Can't blame them for being excited.

Will post better picts if we get them. If it's only blue you see here, too bad.

SPERM WHALES

2006-03-24T12:09:00.000+08:00

Perfect weather.........

Photo of the witnesses (The Sperm Hunters)

Only 3 sperm whales. School of hammerheads and nesting yellow margins. Wish you were here? Not everybody saw them or swam with them. Only 15 divers had the rare opportunity. Some photos taken but not that great. BUT it is still evidence, right?

We'll post the photo later after we try to enhance it. What a great morning.

Peace at last

2006-03-23T20:51:00.000+08:00

Wx-really hot, Sea-1m, Vis-30m, Current-flutuate

Like the title says, peace, no missiles, no SLF, no happy DMs and lots of yellow margins. Marble ray is about the only excitement in town.

Question from soon to be guest on the island. End April whats it like? Answer from DMs, what do you like? We will make it happen for you, we have a direct line to 'you know who'. Honestly, your luck is as good as ours. If we can tell you what you will see end April, what the heck are we slogging away getting wet? We'll be rich by now for every dollar(US$) with our prediction on dry land. If you want a guarantee, look west, the sun will rise and east, the sun will set.

To make a long answer short. WE DON'T KNOW!

By the way, diving is fun. Cheers

Same Same Plus

2006-03-22T17:09:00.000+08:00

Wx-very hot and sunny, Sea-0.5 to 1m, Vis-30 to 40m, Current-mid to strong

Hammerheads again. Fortunately for some others, they got to see a manta, 4 mobulars and an oceanic white tip besides the jacks, yellowfin tuna, bonito, baras, leaf fish, frog fish, ghost pipes and the torpedo diver.

Season for the missile divers is back and picking up. Don't tut tut, we are sure you guys have done it too. We learn as we get fatter and try to kick back, slow down our kicking then watch the topedos going into the blue show. Right?

Enough of that, we understand what you have to go through to enjoy your diving holiday. Just make sure when you do that, to be able to fin faster than the creature behind you. You're allowed 1 time only. Enjoy.

Hammerhead School Again

2006-03-21T17:24:00.000+08:00

Wx-sunny, Sea-0.5m, Vis-30m, Current-medium

The SLF/hammerhead school is still around. They were sighted at about 25m depth.

If you guys out there find this site useful, don't forget the beers when you get here. For those who has been trying to answer their friends and students' questions, refer them to this site. That's what this site is all about. The only value of the site is to make sure you know that nature is in control and not the DMs. So don't go shouting you want your money back because you did not see the SLF/hammerhead. Cheers.

Hot Day

2006-03-20T17:21:00.000+08:00

Hot and sunny today, slight breeze, calm seas.

Just like paradise. The trees are growing well and the grass is cut. Muffins for tea and everyone is cool.