650 diving without dj TT_TT

Yes. This was the Hantu dive my A650 went to without me. Why? Because the MS camera went kuku..... And dj was stuck at home.... *lol*

Oh well. Hantu sure never fails to deliver, even if it's almost 0m vis and 24 deg! ^_^

Click for the rambling...

Haiku spammed on Flickr~

divejunkie here is back from her unannounced hiatus ^_^ Photos are slowly being updated on Flickr again (yesh, KS n zhu-ge, I *still* owe you guys quite a few shots....) And it seems the budak is on a roll today! Using his words, I have been "haiku spammed" on Flickr~~ Probably the first day I'm receiving so many comments on Flickr! Here the the photos and haikus (all done by the the duck since I am most definitely not so literally gifted.... Overall I like the light-hearted spin on my recent intertidal trips to Cyrene and the RF refresher at Hantu ^_^

WARNING: All haikus are presented in their entirety, so be prepared getting a taste of duck's sense of humor and outspoken-ness..... Some don't really make sense w/o the original captions so click on the photos to get to the original Flickr photo pages ^^

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your star comes up short
it went for a nip and tuck
and now moans its luck


don't count your sea stars
before they hatch to harbour
evil schemes that suck


the humanity!
can't stars have sex on the beach
with some privacy?


see this sordid scene
it costs just a sand dollar
you shameless fella


you sure tis the spot
to bake and burn our bodies
under the hot sun?


five folks in a boat
plus a fishy friend with cam
who forgot the ham?


i deem this pic foul
it flatters not what's in truth
a fine feathered fowl


what a bad morning
to have herps hounding your day
with flashes of ray


your dull little star
might be a knob or two short
of its set of chips


emo is nemo
for soon he'll wake to find
he's now a she-mo


you having fun guys?
aren't you too young to engage
in tentacle porn?


is that a hole there
in the bottom of the boat?
oh we are so sunk


my stars and garters!
i forgot to bring along
my hat and putters


finger me not sam
or you shall taste the flavour
of sand-blasted ham

Click for the rambling...

Reef critters in action!

Flickr has just gone the way of Photobucket and launched video hosting, so I decided to give it a try with some of my better underwater videos of our local critters in action. Quality's not too shabby, so may consider this as an alternative for my shorter videos. Stuff more than 90 seconds short long would still need to find their way to Youtube.
First up is this video of a banded sea krait hunting in the shallow of Hantu waters. How did I end up there? Got distracted while in the middle of searching for my buddy's lost mask during RF training early last year.


Don't blink lest you miss it! More feeding in process. These are barnacle feet grasp tiny zooplankton from the waters. Yesh, those feathery things that keep popping in and out are barnacle feet, while the barnacle's head is firmly burrowed inside the calcium carbonate skeleton of this Galaxea sp. coral

Click for the rambling...

Seems like the clear waters are here to stay!

Well, at least for a while. ^^ With the invigorating leisure dive on sunday under my belt, we were back at Hantu on Wednesday for work. Namely, "rescuing" loose fragments of coral that would otherwise be smothered or damaged by all the wave action.... The visibility was still stunningly good (even today at the coral nursery where it tends to crappiness but that would be a story for another day since my UW camera casing is still drip-drying....), and there was new things to see as usual! We weren't as deep this time round, so the surge made things a little tricky at some points....

Just as I was reaching for one loose fragment, this young-ish reef cuttlefish was just minding its own little cephalopod business when a hand reached in its direction.... Like any sensible little cephalopod, it starts to act defensively by rearing up and flaring its tentacles, reminding me of an elephant trumpeting away.... And if I remember correctly, this one's probably a female since the "skirt" around the main body lacks a distinct margin right at the edge. And when some other diver goes too close for comfort, it starts to change color while easing itself away from us.....
Nearby, there were a couple of small but brightly colored flatworms as well. First time I'm seeing this particular pattern and coloration. The one of the right also looked like it was burrowing into the blue sponge that I spotted them on! Maybe they're some spongivore version of the coral acoel worms?
Am starting to think that this Tambja sp. has been assigned to be the hospitality i/c for Hantu. Just keep spotting it! Don't remember coming across it elsewhere yet....
Most unusual of all was this half-flatworm that was just gliding about. Looked like it got torn/eaten rather recently, with white guts(?!) dangling out as it went around its way... *yikes* Don't know about its chances of survival....

Click for the rambling...

Power packed Easter at Hantu Blog anniversary!

4 days after the anniversary, am still elated and energized from the series of dives we did on that day. Debby has already put up both a video log and photo blog entry of that day, and so has my bionic eyed buddy, CH. Now's my turn for my take of the day! *(^-^)*

The day started off seemingly like a regular day, with some of the guys reading the newspaper on our way to Hantu. Except that 7 guys and 5 girls were celebrating their Easter Sunday by going for a series of Hantu Blog anniversary dives!
Debby's blog entry shows photos of just how clear the water was on Sunday. That really was a HUGE and pleasant surprise for the 12 of us, with the storm the previous day and the overcast skies...

In we went, and how apt it was that the first critter sighting was this little Tambja sp.
The one we saw on Sunday
And guess what? I first saw this species during last year's Hantu anniversary dive!!! And with the same dive buddy too~~ Cool, eh?
Last year's one
Both CH and Debby have covered most of the things that we came across over the 4 dives done (plus this year was my turn to have my camera run outta juice), shan't talk too much about the stuff seen. Will just highlight what IXUS managed to capture before it died-ed....

First 2 dives yielded many many nudibranchs since our buddy pair plus guide made up the sexy seaslug seekers! Shall leave it to you to decide if the slugs or the trio of humans are the sexy ones ^^ Here's some of the other adorable sluggies we saw: One of the more unusual was this small Janolus sp. that was really very well camouflaged in with the sand, as you can tell from these 2 shots. Debby managed to snap a shot of it on a barrel sponge here, and you can see the features more clearly.
Facing the camera

And now fleeing from the onslaught of cameras
Other interesting nudibranch happenings included this Gymnodoris rubropapulosa being caught in the act of laying down its precious little ribbon of orange eggs. and another individual of the same species making a meal of a Chromodoris lineolata... The blue dragons (Pteraeolidia ianthina) were out in force as usual and this one was caught having a little "breeze" on a hydroid. Despite seeing a number of Hypselodoris emmas, this particular one really showed its mantle to us gigantic divers by giving me a quizzical look!
Testimony to the brilliant visibility (even at 14m!!) were these shots of gobies. Those of you who have encountered these bottom-dwelling fish would know how skittery they can get towards movement. But with the good visibility, I could stay a comfortable (for them) distance away yet manage to snap a few shots.

But the real star of the dives was this frogfish. First ever frogfish I've ever seen in fish-ness person, and it's while diving in our very own waters! No need for exotic overseas places! *w00t* Poor bloke was probably a tad bit traumatised byt all the excited divers taking turns to peer and oogle it~~ Do hope it continues to stay around!
We stopped on Hantu for a longer surface interval for lunch while Debby and a couple of strong men went back to get tanks for the 2 dives. This meant a much needed snooze time for a couple of tired young men while the rest of us went wild set out to do a mid/high tide intertidal walk.
No, no suicidal thoughts were entertained during this time. We're just divers who just can't get enough of marine life or the sea!
Here's also when Mr Sun started to peek out of the clouds. IXUS died-ed like 15 minutes into the 3rd dive, so I'll just end here with a shot of the gorgeous sunset we saw before doing the night dive. What a way to spend Easter Sunday! (Photo by JeeMee Goh)
Wanna see what I missed snapping? Here are the photos taken by:
(1) Hantu Blogger
(2) JeeMee (above water shots)
(3) CH

Click for the rambling...

Once Upon a Tree: Tides and Coastlines Episode 06 - Hopes & the Future

Oh no~~ We have reached the end of the series. Definitely a fast 6 weeks it has been! This very last episode starts off with Dr Nigel Goh talking about the role of NParks in the conservation of our wild places, such as to minimise the impact of development. All said in an orange and black wetsuit aboard a diveboat. Why? Because in this last episode, the audience is actually brought underwater into Singapore's wonderful murk! Times are changing such that there is a more proactive approach to conservation, as compared to the traditional method of protecting. The coral nursery project is one such example where we as humans are taking a more active role in (hopefully) reversing the damage done to our environment. Nigel takes on a really optimistic attitude that the coral nursery is setting the stage in preparation for the day when our waters regain some of its clarity that has been lost over the years of development. I certainly hope that this would actually happen!

Then comes a short mishmash interview of sorts of a group of children, all less than 10 years of age! How good it is to hear from the mouths of the babes on what they like about the sea and ocean, about what they think of sharks, crabs, octopus, killer whales and such.

Following which, BOTH hosts head over to Pulau Hantu where Debby shows them around. At the intertidals for Shawn, and getting wet by diving right into the action for Sue-Lyn! This is an extra thrill for me since I am still high from the brilliant series of dives we had at the Hantu anniversary on Sunday. ^^
(Photo taken by JeeMee Goh)
Not much surprise here since the filming of both portions were blogged about, but I do like the portion where Debby highlights the ecosystem services rendered by coral reefs, such as serving as a nursery ground for many marine animals, and acting as a natural coastal protection.

The ecofootprint reducing section did a quick sum up of all the previous 5 episodes, from reducing trash to taking the initiative to volunteering... And what's the message for this very last episode? "The future is tofu" (What the?!) Basically quickly highlights TofuTech that you can wear your tofu and eat it. Alternative resources for us to use, and the re-thinking of how we use natural products I guess. Shawn ends with a positive, forward looking note on how there's a legion of youth that's ready to go out there and share with others about the marine aspect of our natural heritage, and it's not just the earlier generations just reminiscing about times long gone of pristine waters etc. It does seem that Singapore has started on the road to becoming island people from the people that live on an island that we were. Do hope there really is a cascade effect and even if not everybody finds going out to wild places and sharing their piece of cake, even just reading up and being more environmentally conscious of your actions goes a long way!

Here's the pre-show blurb as usual on the WildFilms blog. And a special treat from me.... A sneak peek on some of the people behind the scenes camera and action. Kudos to these folks for putting in the many months of work to get this informative short series out!
Alvin and Yean filming from the back of the boat

And even from the top of the boat!

Am sure that anyone who has dived in Singapore before would agree with me in saying that it's no easy feat to film underwater with all the sediments floating around! Cheers to Alvin for the nice underwater footage!

Setting things up and all for the "easel scenes"... (Photos by Khoo Minsheng)

Discussing things over with the director (Photo by Khoo Minsheng)

Director, sound personnel, video guy all need to go down to the intertidal. With the equipment and all! (Photo by Khoo Minsheng)
And this was only a part of the outdoors filming. Goodness knows how many more hours were spent looking (and re-looking) at the footage, editing, and deciding on the final cut. And with this, it's a wrap!

Click for the rambling...