To blue dive, or not to blue dive?

The eternal question. For the uninitiated, to do a "blue dive", is to leave the reef/wall and swim out into to open sea. For a Sipadan divemaster, there are many pros and cons in making this choice.

The cons of blue dives

Sipadan can produce very strong currents. These currents are not confined to the wall. However, by the wall, you do have some reference as to how strong and what direction they are going. In the blue, you lose this perspective. In essence, it increases the chance of not finding the wall again when you try to return.

At Sipadan, this is very important. The coral is so beautiful, and you will inevitably see sharks, turtles and numerous reef fish species in this area. The financial cost of diving Sipadan, which only has limited permits per day, is much higher than your average dive. People travel from all parts of the world to dive this world top ten destination. To spend the whole dive in blue water, and not see any fish or marine creatures is, well, unthinkable. So why would we even consider it?

The pros of blue dives

The reason we would take this gamble is the chances of seeing something truly spectacular. Most of the hammerhead shark encounters that we experience are in the blue. That doesn’t mean that you can’t see them by the wall, but you do have a much greater chance in the open water. In fact, many of the sightings by the wall follow quickly on from having returned from a blue dive. Possibly because the divers have attracted the sharks by their presence. Also, it provides you with a chance to see the the holy grail at Sipadan, a big school of hammerheads. This phenomenon has become increasingly rare, as shark numbers have declined rapidly due to over fishing.

Of course, hammerheads are not the only attraction out there. We have had sightings of other sharks and rays. Especially devil rays, between October and April each year.

There is also the surreal feeling of diving with no reference point. Likened to diving in space. This can be a disconcerting feeling to a newer diver. Without a reference point, a divers brain can become anxious, nervous or have a feeling like vertigo. To the more experienced diver, it’s a feeling of freedom, expectation and excitement. You either love it, or hate it. The secret for the newer diver, is to focus on something strong, and reliable in front of you. Your dive guide?! We have our computers and compasses to give us our reference.

Now we do not see something in the blue on every trip, far from it. In fact, I would say maybe as few encounters as one in ten. However, if you are lucky enough to have one of those special encounter, it raises the bar considerably. It’s the difference between “that was a great days diving” to “oh my god, that was the best dive of my life”!

Happy Bubbles!

By Divemaster Simon