DIVE CLUB 854

British Sub-Aqua Club Branch 854 - Singapore

Dive Trips in 1997

For 1997, Dive Club 854 organised several scuba diving trips outside the normal Sunday training outings. The overseas trips, listed chronologically, are:

DESTINATION DATES
Pulau Bintan, Riau Islands, Indonesia27 April
Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines11 - 15 June
Pulau Mapur, Riau Islands, Indonesia8 - 9 August
Pulau Bintan, Riau Islands, Indonesia23 August

Pulau Bintan, Riau Islands, Indonesia - 27 April 1997

Mana Mana Beach Club Pulau Bintan, or Bintan Island, is an large to the south-east of Singapore. Quite a number of new resorts have sprung up in the recent years on the northern shore of the island, and a few more are set to open soon. The Bintan Resorts are very accessible from Singapore, being only a 45-minute ferry ride away. In the early morning of 27 April, 8 members set out from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to the Mana Mana Beach Club to try out Bintan waters. It was the first time for every member in the group to dive in these waters and all of us were excited about it. At Bandar Bentan Telani Ferry Terminal over at Bintan Island, the passage through the customs was very smooth. A short bus ride took us to our destination. We met up with our dive guide, Peter Ho, did the necessary paperwork and moved our equipment onto our boat. Another 2 divers, Christopher and Avril, who were staying at the resort, joined the boat. Christopher and Avril eventually joined Dive Club 854 to become BS-AC divers! We decided that the northern shore of Bintan Island is worthwhile alternate destination for divers from Singapore looking for a day dive trip. Our experience at Mana Mana Beach Club, however, was to the contrary of views of the dive site: All the tanks that were brought onto the boat were leaking at the pillar valve joint, on the boat, air was slowly bubbling out. Secondly, at the end of the dive when we were put to shore, one of our members discovered that his VISA credit card was missing.

Location of Davao City in Philippines

Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines - 11-15 June 1997

Four members flew into Davao City to dive in one of the new sites opened in the Philippines. The Davao region itself was only recently opened to visitors. The original destination was supposed to be Redang Island in Malaysia. But for some reason, the operator cancelled all bookings just a week prior to the departure date. Immediately after that, it was decided to dive at Davao, the newest kid on the block. The four members flew into Davao on the 11th via SilkAir and had three wonderful days of diving (from the 12th to the 14th) with two dive guides, Junn and Jason Stephensen, from Davao Scuba Adventures.

Lunch at Battuta

Pulau Mapur, Riau Islands, Indonesia 8-9 August 1997

Pulau Mapur is an island off the eastern coast of Pulau Bintan of the Riau Islands in Indonesia. In the morning of 8 of August, 10 members set off for a 4-dive weekend at Pulau Mapur. To reach the island, the members took a ferry from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nonsapura, Batam. Then they took a short bus trip to the Nongsa Marina, from where they took a fast boat to Pulau Mapur. There they stayed at the Battuta Resort, managed by Ponggol Marina. The diving was good although, unfortunately, the visibility was not very good. It provided a good weekend alternative to Pulau Tioman.

Pulau Bintan, Riau Islands, Indonesia - 23 August 1997

Three members together with two friends went to try out the 1997 day trip dive offer by Hotel Sedona Bintan Lagoon. For S$85.00 (plus 10% service and 10% tax), the client gets two boat dives (with all equipment supplied) and a buffet lunch at one of the hotel restaurant. The return trip to Pulau Bintan from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal cost S$54.00. So altogether it comes to about S$160.00. All the dives were conducted in the waters off the hotel beach front. The visibility was only slightly better than in Singapore. There was however, plenty of fish life and coral heads, which are not often encountered in Singapore. A very good alternate day dive trip to Pulau Hantu, although it is pricey.

B/W map of Riau Islands (North)

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