Sipadan Water Village
will be our home away from home, June 11 - 26, 2005. What is so special
about this time frame is that it's "Photo Week 2005", with photo
pros Jim Watt, David Fleetham, and Murray Kaufman. . You can read more
about the photo pros on the Photo page.
The resort is called a "water
village" because it is built entirely on pilings, connected to the
shore by a long pier. There are a total of 39 cottages, which include
ceiling fan, hairdryer, tea and coffee-making facilities, and private
shower. The accommodations are reminiscent of Roatan with cottages built
on stilts over the crystal blue waters of the Celebes Sea. For pictures
and additional information about the resort, click on the Sipadanwatervillage.com
link at the bottom of this page.
The geographic location
of the island has in it the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the richest
marine habitat in the world. The waters are abundant with over 3000 species
of fish, unusally large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles, which
use Sipadan as a mating and nesting ground. Pelagics such as mantas, scalloped
hammerheads, whale sharks and eagle rays are often seen on dives, and
the macro life has to be the best in the world. Sipadan is a photographer's
paradise and has been voted one of the top ten dive destinations.
Sipadan Water Village
Resort Sdn. Bhd. (280548-M)
TB226, Lot 3, 1st
Floor, Wisma MAA, Town Ext. II
P.O. Box 62156, 91031
Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia
Tel: 011-60-89-784227
- Fax: 011-60-89-784228
Emergency: 011-60-89-752996
Below are maps indicating some of the
dive sites on each island. There is a website that provides details about
each of the dive sites on Mabul, Sipadan, and Kapalai. The site name is
Starfish.ch/dive/Borneo.html; and you can get there by simply clicking
on the link at the bottom of this page.
-
Mabul Dive Sites
Sipadan Dive Sites
Kapalai Dive Sites
The dive package includes:
airport meet and greet in Tawau
roundtrip/return land and boat transfers - Tawau to resort
cottage accommodations
all meals and snacks daily
taxes
diving includes:
- 3 daily boat dives - Mabul, Kapalai,
and Sipadan Islands
- night dives available at additional
cost
- shore night dives (unlimited)
- use of tanks, weights, and weight
belts
Additional information:
DAN's Malaysia phone number 05-930 4114
There are 2 hyperbaric chambers in mainland Malaysia, and one on Sipadan
TRIP REPORT BY "ALBATROSS"
ON DIGITALDIVER.NET
SIPADAN WATER VILLAGE
6/18/03
This is one of the most
well-written and comprehensive trip reports I've ever read. I don't think
a single important detail is lacking. Once you've read Albatross's trip
report and seen her beautiful photographs of Malaysia marine life and
the Sipadan Water Village, you'll feel like you've already been there.
You can view Albatross's
trip report by clicking on the SWV icon below.
GURU BESAR WISDOM
"Life's journey
is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather
to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting...holy shit...what a ride!"
"Can't we all just
get a bong."
"Diving isn't dangerous. Drowning
is what's dangerous."
"Learn from the mistakes of
others. You won't live long enough to make
all of them yourself."
"Always try to keep the number
of ascents you make equal to the number of descents you've made."
"I don't
know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please
everybody."
"The regulator is just a big
valve at the top of the tank used to keep
the diver cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the diver start
sweating."
Some of the Marine Life
In
Mabul, Sipadan, Kapalai
Watch for additions
to the slide show
DEBUNKING THE MYTH
OF THE
MAN-EATING SHARK
by: Andy Codalbu
The September issue
of "Sport Diver" magazine has a one-page article about sharks
and the tragic myth of these so-called "blood-thirsty beasts."
Of course, "we divers know the truth," but what about non-divers?
I won't be publishing the entire article, but I would like to share
a few paragraphs from the article.
"...shark attacks
are about as rare as flash floods in the Sahara desert. Yet the
media continues to feed the myth, convincing more and more people
that sharks are dangerous. While non-divers are running (swimming)
from Jaws, divers are flocking to islands in the Caribbean such
as Roatan and the Bahamas to take part in increasingly popular shark-feeding
dives. These dives not only provide an adrenaline rush, but also
impart education about the integral role sharks play in our marine
ecosystems. This kind of education is needed to stop the myths and,
more importantly, the heartless hunting of sharks, which is threatening
their existence."
"The tragic
consequence of misconceptions about sharks is not that people stay
out of the water. It is that nearly 15,000 sharks are killed every
day, amounting to over 5 million every year, and hardly anyone cares.
For every human killed by a shark, at least 1 million sharks are
hunted, stripped of their fins, and most commonly, thrown back overboard
to die."
Playing the theme
song from "Jaws" on this veteran divers' site is for effect
and humor. But, these alarming statistics caution us of the sad truth,
which is the imminent threat of extinction of many of the species
of these magnificent creatures.
Please take the time
to peruse some of the web addresses below. Along with Dr. Bob Whorton's
"A Gathering of Giants," these organizations and personal
web sites will offer more insite, and perhaps provide answers to the
impact this will have, not only on the sharks, but on our marine ecosystems.
[I am now stepping
down from my soapbox. Thank you.]
AND HOW YOU CAN
HELP SAVE THE SHARKS
TRULY, THEY ARE THE REAL VICTIMS!
"A few people
can make a difference"... Alex "The Sharkman" Buttigieg
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