Reef Survey @ Pulau Satumu Aborted.....
Yesterday, BWV ReefFriends had a reef survey to be conducted at Pulau Satumu. The day started with overcast sky at the marina and as we make our way to the island, we could see that rain had started to fall over the horizon.
We also get to see a big waterspout forming behind Pulau Sudong.
and soon the boat hit the heavy downpour and the visibility was limited that we can't see any of the islands nearby!
Fortunately, as we reached our destination, the rain eased up but the sky still remained cloudy and dark.
The first dive went smoothly with manageable currents. Then when Gina and Kee Seng jumped into the water to start their second dive, they had a hard time with the currents. Gina managed to reach the bouy but Kee Seng was swept away far from it. Fortunately, he managed to reach the seawall for safety before being swept out of the reef.
The currents were just too strong and at time, we even see mini whirlpools forming. Looking at the situation, Jeff decided to abort the dive for the our safety. But before that, he and Gina had to fight the currents to retrieve all the transect tapes and the buoy. And here's when they surfaced. We have to use a buoy line to pull them back to the boat.
Thus, we were left with a partially done deep transect and have to come back on another day to do the recording.
And here are some pics taken during the first dive.
Hard Corals;
This looks like a Cyphastrea sp.
I spent quite some times figuring out this coral. It's a Carnation coral (Pectinia sp.) after checking with Jeff. I was doubting because it did not have fluted projections that I came across with most Carnation corals.
This one looks like a Platygyra sp.
Think this one could be a young Mycedium sp.
The thing behind the transect tape is a huge Moon coral (Diploastrea heliopora)! It was more than a meter wide and high!
Unfortunately, we also came across a big overturned coral along the tape.
The Feather Stars were out and about and they are really big!
And a beautiful Tube Anemone along the line too.
We also get to see a big waterspout forming behind Pulau Sudong.
and soon the boat hit the heavy downpour and the visibility was limited that we can't see any of the islands nearby!
Fortunately, as we reached our destination, the rain eased up but the sky still remained cloudy and dark.
The first dive went smoothly with manageable currents. Then when Gina and Kee Seng jumped into the water to start their second dive, they had a hard time with the currents. Gina managed to reach the bouy but Kee Seng was swept away far from it. Fortunately, he managed to reach the seawall for safety before being swept out of the reef.
The currents were just too strong and at time, we even see mini whirlpools forming. Looking at the situation, Jeff decided to abort the dive for the our safety. But before that, he and Gina had to fight the currents to retrieve all the transect tapes and the buoy. And here's when they surfaced. We have to use a buoy line to pull them back to the boat.
Thus, we were left with a partially done deep transect and have to come back on another day to do the recording.
And here are some pics taken during the first dive.
Hard Corals;
This looks like a Cyphastrea sp.
I spent quite some times figuring out this coral. It's a Carnation coral (Pectinia sp.) after checking with Jeff. I was doubting because it did not have fluted projections that I came across with most Carnation corals.
This one looks like a Platygyra sp.
Think this one could be a young Mycedium sp.
The thing behind the transect tape is a huge Moon coral (Diploastrea heliopora)! It was more than a meter wide and high!
Unfortunately, we also came across a big overturned coral along the tape.
The Feather Stars were out and about and they are really big!
And a beautiful Tube Anemone along the line too.
2 Comments:
Hello there.
Quick question. How did you get a permit to dive at Pulau Satumu/ Raffles Lighthouse.
Do you know how to get there (hiring boats, and where).
Thanks for the information.
Best.
Jade
Hi jade,
as far as I know, permit from MPA to dive at Pulau Satumu will only be given to researchers who are conducting their research there.
The area are near the live-firing islands, so it is a restricted area and thus, it is out of bound for leisure diving.
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