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A great dive experience, Malapascua, The Philipines

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3 Top Things to do during quarantine for a Scuba Diver

The world has come to a halt. Wherever you are in the world, you are facing the same issues: confinement, travel bans, and no scuba diving. DevoceanDivers Team in Malapascua is facing the same and is getting together (with social distancing) to list the top 3 things to do during quarantine, if you are a scuba diver.

  1. Review your dive theory with the Padi elearning manual that you received during your last course.

During your Open Water Course in Devocean Divers (or any PADI divecenter), you were offered the option to get the elearning manual online instead of the paper manual. You have then received an email from PADI, redeemed the code and created your PADI profile. This allowed you to access your PADI library in which your Open Water Manual is located.

As the Open Water Course is an intense 3-4 days Course with about 6 water sessions, you have received a lot of information in a short time. It can be a good idea to go back to the basics with time on your hands and scroll through the material that you have received along with your Open Water certification. You might be surprised to spot details that you had already forgotten!

Here are a few questions for which you might have to open your book to find the answers:

From what altitude does a diver need to start applying different rules for diving?

What is the ascent speed to not exceed?

How do you calculate your maximum bottom time, using a dive computer, rdp or e-rdp?

If your last course was the Advanced Open Water Course, you will find the e-learning manual in your PADI Library (except if you chose the paper book version). During you AOW Course, you were required to read the chapter Thinking like a diver, Deep Dive, Navigation Dive and 3 other chapters linked to the adventure dives that you chose to perform. Now is a good opportunity to discover the other chapters that are contained in the manual. Have a look at the Underwater Naturalist chapter, to learn more about the ecosystem and the reefs, scroll to Wreck Diving, to learn about the hazards of such dives, or go to the Drift Dive chapter to review safety procedures in dives with current.

And if those chapters stimulate your curiosity, and you want to know more about Deep diving, Night Diving, or Shark conservation, contact us to learn about the different specialties that we offer in Devocean Divers.

  1. Take the next step and sign up for an elearning course

You are a diver, and dream of the end of the crisis to jump back in the water.

Now is the good time to advance your knowledge and step up into the league of advanced knowledgeable divers. If you are Open Water Diver, learn more with the Advanced Diver elearning course. If you are AOW diver, join the Nitrox divers and learn why you can stay longer and how to calculate your maximum depth.

The quarantine allows a good amount of time on your electronic devices, and you can access your PADI library on your phone, tablet or computer. Once you have the material, you are not yet committed to one divecenter. You can choose in the future where you will do the practical part of the course. Send us an email and we will give you all the details needed.

 

  1. Check out some of our videos!

During quarantine, as we can’t escape our home environment, we need to evade creatively! Our team here in Malapascua has been working on helping you refresh your skills… dry!Do you remember how to control your buoyancy with the fin pivot or the hover? You will find fun videos on our Facebook/Instagram page to see skills demonstrated by our team with “special effects” allowing them to produce dry skills. As soon as we can get back in the water, it will be Devocean Divers’ pleasure to show you those skills in the water again.

But if you are a more advanced diver, and that you are not interested in the performance of diving skills, have a look at our pictures and videos from our underwater world. And maybe you might become interested in learning the technique involved in the shooting/editing of underwater photos or videos. Let us know if you would like to know more we can put you in contact with our professional underwater photographer.

So if you are feeling bored at home, remember the top 3 things to do:

-open your PADI library to REVIEW

-signup for an advanced /Nitrox/other course to LEARN

-view fun videos to ENJOY being part of the diving community.

Stay safe and positive. We shall blow bubbles again soon.

 

PADI Pros facing their fears in Malapascua island

 

Keep your friends close, but keep your anemones closer.

Here at Devocean Divers Malapascua, we LOVE Sharks! Especially the graceful Thresher sharks of Malapascua. We are lucky to see them come out to greet us every dawn at the nearby underwater plateau, Monad Shoal.  Our PADI Instructors and Divemasters have made quite a few dives during their careers and they love the ocean and its inhabitants so much they made it their office! But, these fearless dive pros also have their small underwater phobias.  In this blog, we meet Devocean Divers Instructor Eleanor and find out what she fears most underwater. Read on to find out more….

Eleanor is from China and she teaches our Chinese students so that they can learn in their native language. She also has amazing English so she also teaches to divers from everywhere in the world.

She goes out diving with Thresher sharks almost every other day, at sunrise. And she has no problem coming eye to eye with these magnificent creatures. As the sharks slowly patrol the reefs, they allow cleaner fish also known as Damselfish to nibble at their streamlined bodies, removing parasites, dead skin and even cleaning wounds. The sharks are not shy as they parade their elegant tails in front of the awestruck divers and at times they even swim through the air bubbles from the scuba divers.  We love sharks! Sharks are our friends! … 

After the spectacle, the divers make their way back to the dive boat. But on the way back, while gliding over the underwater plateau, Eleanor could come eye to eye with her phobia!

Is it a blue-ringed octopus? We see those a lot in Malapascua too. Mostly we meet these special creatures during night dives. Magnificent creatures! but once they start pulsing their blue rings it’s better you keep some distance. Blue-ringed octopus, as small as they are, are considered the second most poisonous creatures in the world.  No, Eleanor is not impressed by this deadly reputation of the octopus.

Seeing the little critter actually makes her smile and feel excited.  Coming back from a dive with super happy students who saw a “BRO” is a massive reward for any instructor. Most divers have never seen a blue-ringed octopus until they come scuba diving in Malapascua so you can imagine how thrilled they are to be able to put that in their diving logbooks.  Blue-ringed octopus… check!

One of the most common fish in the sea and famous also with many non-divers is a small fish that lives in an anemone. It’s fearless! As small as it is, it won’t even consider swimming away from something 100 times its size.  This fearless fish, known to most as Nemo, but really it’s called a Clownfish.. this is what Eleanor fears the most! Are you kidding me? No, we are not!

Once during a PADI open water course in Malapascua, Eleanor wanted to show her student, a Nemo. Of course the student had never seen these fish in their natural habitat before. The Clownfish wasn’t very welcoming when it came out to greet the visitors.  It swam high over the anemone, eye to eye with the divers, and then it attacked! The little clownfish actually bit Eleanor on the wrist! That pinch completely shocked Eleanor – and it even drew blood! So now, after this incident, Eleanor is very cautious of approaching these little creatures! Eleanor says, “We are still just visitors in the underwater realm and should respect the life underneath the sea. No matter how big or small or cute”. Even despite this biting incident Eleanor still thinks clownfish or Nemo’s are still the cutest fish in the ocean! Check our divesites and ask your instructor where you have the most chance to see these little cool fish!

If you ever come diving in the Philippines and want to take your next PADI Course or join us for Diving in Malapsacua it is an amazing experience – not only do we have resident thresher sharks, we have an abundance of critters too including frogfish, blue-ringed octopus, ghost pipefish and, of course, Nemo!!! Until then, stay out of bubbles and keep clear of the anemones.

Not yet a diver? Why not learn to dive in Malapascua? Our friendly and professional team of PADI Instructors will introduce you to our underwater world and you’ll become a certified diver!

For more information or to make a reservation, fill in our online contact form or email us at malapascua@devoceandivers.com and we’ll get right back to you.

We look forward to scuba diving in Malapascua with you soon!

7 Reasons Why You Should go to the Philippines Yesterday

This post was actually copied from the blog page of one of our PADI dive master trainees, Sadie. Her blog site is jetsetsadie.com for those of you that ‘SHOULD’ be interested to see what else Sadie wrote about during her travels and adventures. For those of you still indecisive whether or not to visit Cebu, Philippines and dive with Devocean Divers and the thresher sharks of Malapascua… here are the 7 reasons of Sadie.

1.Charming Locals

In many places that you travel to, if it touristy at all the locals only see you as a way to make money. In the Philippines, you don’t get that feeling. If you were lost all you have to do is ask someone. I once asked a local where a good place to eat was and he drew me a detailed map to where his favorite place to eat was. If it were the other way around and he was asking me where my favorite place to eat was I probably would just give him the name of the restaurant, or ignore him completely. Not only that, but it seems as though they want to get to know you. Whereas in other places you will visit they are only trying to get money out of you, or they’ll give you the answer you want, instead of the correct one which can be infuriating.
devocean-divers-malapascua-4       groupie-devocean-divers-malapascua       bounty-beach-devocean-divers-malapascua-w

  1. Picturesque Beaches

I’ve been to many beautiful beaches, but none compare to the ones I saw in the Philippines. Out of the many I’ve visited here are my three favorites. Similon Island right off of Oslob it’s 1500 pesos for the boat ride but if you get a 5 people on the boat it’s only 300 pesos for an amazing day trip, just be sure to bring some food and water. Once you’re there the water is crystal clear and turquoise, and the beach is brilliant white sand. Another beach to visit is one of Panglao’s main beaches, Alona. On Alona beach you’ll find many holiday makers, bars, restaurants, and masseuses. If you continue down farther towards the end of the beach, you’ll find that there are very little people. The water here is very warm and clear, along with the white sand and 60 peso beers from the nearest dive shop, you can’t go wrong. If you want a relaxing day while in Malapascua you can take a trip over to Kallangaman island. The boat ride to the island is 2 hours, but don’t let that discourage you. The snorkeling here is great, and is one of the most picturesque beaches that you could visit. Most dive shops offer this opportunity and it includes lunch, snorkeling equipment, the island fee, and boat ride over for only 1500 pesos. We went with Devocean Divers, and I would recommend them hand over foot for this tour, along with any other diving needs that you may have.

  1. Diving

Personally I have only dived in one place in the Philippines, which was in Malapascua. That being said my two travel partners dived in Moalboal with Cebu Dive Shop. There are a few famous dive sites in Moalboal. Neil and James went to a few of them and came back recommending two. White Beach which is where you can see sea turtles and macro (large shoals of small fish and sea critters) and the Sardine run which is located right off the shore. Here there are millions of Sardines swimming around you with predatory fish diving in amongst them to feed, a truly amazing dive and one that I’d love to experience. We went to Malapascua later so that I could do my open water course, and for the guys to do their rescue course. James and I arrived a few days before Neil so we took to going around and finding the best dive shop for us. We ended up deciding on diving with DEVOCEAN DIVERS Malapascua because they made us feel at home and like part of the family. I liked it here so much that I actually decided to do my advanced course, and may even return to do my rescue and dive master training here. With that said I did nine dives here and my top three have to be Gato Island, Dakit Dakit, and Monad Shoal, but you really can’t go wrong. Every time I went down I had to remind myself that it was all real.  Gato Island is a day trip which consists of 2 dives, here you may see some White Tip Reef sharks in the swim through cave, tons of macro and maybe even a pygmy seahorse. In Dakit Dakit you’ll see plenty of fish like the Cuttle fish (one of my favorites), Damsel fish, Angel fish and Razor fish. In addition to this the coral here is just mind blowing. Monad Shoal is famous for being one of the only places that you’re able to see the Thresher sharks. Normally these sharks live 200 m down, but they come to this one particular area to be cleaned by other fish. Keep in mind that this is a deep dive so you do need to be trained in deep diving by either finishing your advanced course, or by doing an adventure deep dive.

4. Affordability

Coming from America I thought flying to the Philippines would be crazy expensive, but from Seattle it’s only $568 for a round trip. Once you’re there almost everything is cheap. A nice meal with a couple of courses and a drink will run you about $6, but just an average lunch or dinner will only cost about $2 or $3. It’s so affordable here that if anything cost more than $3, it became “expensive”. On average a room or dorm bed will cost about $8/ night for a midrange room. If you travel as a couple the price gets cut into half, which for a budget backpacker can’t be beat.

  1. Less Tourists

For many travelers this isn’t important, and it’s not the presence of other westerners that is the problem. When a place becomes full of tourists the prices skyrocket and it becomes a bit seedy, not to mention you usually lose the culture and gain a bunch of drunk tourists. In the Philippines you don’t experience this, unless you go to Panglao, but even so it doesn’t even compare to Kuta, Bali. In Malapascua there were quite a few westerners due to all the diving, but it never felt that way. Everything was still affordable, and wasn’t overrun by resorts and holiday makers. Oslob and Moalboal also weren’t touristy and the locals were all charming.

  1. The Scenery

All throughout my trip, whenever we would take a bus I would fight to have a window seat. The hills that look straight out of Jurassic Park, and the small villages. It’s definitely worth scoring that window seat. If you can’t seem to obtain a window seat on your way there, then just head to Bohol for the chocolate hills, manmade forest, or hanging bridges. They all can be done with a tour or you can rent a motor bike and head there yourself, with the latter being the cheapest option.

  1. Waterfalls

No matter the island or city you’re in there are usually a few waterfalls to visit. However, we only had the time to visit one, Kawasan Falls. Even though we only saw one, I couldn’t say enough about the tour. For 1000 pesos or $23, we got a bus from our hostel, lunch, a bamboo raft on the first level of the waterfall and dives off ledges ranging from 5-12m as well as a water slide and rope swing. The waterfall itself is amazing, the waters are a bright blueish turquoise, it’s almost eerie how blue it is. You can get these tours anywhere, but we chose the shop right next to our accommodation, Marina Hostel.  My only piece of advice is to ignore TLC, and go chase those waterfalls.

Malapascua Island

Malapascua Island

Diving isn’t only about what you find below the surface

Divers head back from an awesome dive at Chocolate IslandDivers walk down the beach towards the boat as strangers. The boat crew and dive guides carry the gear and air cylinders. Two newly certified divers seem a little nervous about their first fun dive while a life-long diver exudes confidence and marches towards the boat. Others seem to be each in their own mind focusing on the dive ahead.

The gear boxes, marked with each diver’s name, are placed under the bench and the respective diver sits above them. The engine roars to life and the anchor is lifted. The Divemaster gives a boat briefing, showing the location of the coffee, fresh water basin, and emergency equipment. He lightens the mood by pointing out the toilet as well as the kitchen, asking divers not confuse them! A polite chuckle from the divers breaks the ice. The outrigger pulls away from its mooring and the group heads towards the dive site.

As the sun breaks through the morning clouds, a diver goes to the front of the boat to catch a few rays. Another diver follows suit and strikes up a conversation about travel in the Philippines. Two other divers make their way to the coffee station and begin to debate the best recipe for instant coffee. While one diver believes the magic is in the amount of sugar, the other jokes that it’s really in the way you stir. In the end, it’s the local guide’s mixture that receives rave reviews and he is declared the winner. Their laughter can be heard well above the noise of the engine.

As the outrigger approaches the dive site, the Divemaster instructs divers to start gearing up. A girl travelling on her own breaks the renewed tension by joking about how much she hates putting on her wetsuit. While it keeps her warm in the water, it always seems so tight above the surface. Divers nod and laugh in hearty agreement. The buddy check between divers warms the air even more. No longer strangers, they are now in teams of two, ready to support one another below the surface. With the Divemaster’s exciting briefing about where they will go and what they might see, any lingering nerves dissipate. Diver after diver takes a giant stride into the blue.

The dive goes exactly as planned and as each diver climbs up the ladder, the volume of noise on the boat ascends as well. “Did you have a good dive?” the Divemaster asks. “Yes!” they exclaim, almost in unison. “Did you see that Blue-ringed Octopus?” a diver asks another. “Yep, it was so cool!” she responds. “Wow, those two Flamboyant Cuttlefish were really something! Are they always together?” a diver asks the Divemaster. “Yes, most often,” he replies. As they remove their equipment, divers compare how many Frog Fish they each saw; one saw three while others spotted four. Air cylinders are secured, the outrigger is untied from the mooring line, and the engine roars back to life. The boat heads back to the dive shop now full of excitement and laughter. It’s as though they’ve known each other for years.

As they disembark the boat, divers continue to compare notes. While the dive guides and crew unload the boat, divers sit at the picnic tables outside the Devocean shop and fill in their log books. “What was that funny-looking fish fluttering over the sand?” the newly certified divers ask the group. The veteran diver explains that it was a “Cuttlefish”. The veteran diver follows up explaining that the pygme seahorse they saw was rare and even he had only seen it once before. Two divers who brought Go-Pros with them show their fellow divers some of the photos and video footage they got of two Boxer Shrimp that appear to be mating. Laughter envelops the group. As they comb through the acquatic life encyclopedias, they share diving stories about where they’ve been or where they are going. Before they depart Devocean, they trade contact information and add one another to Facebook. Not only did the divers make lasting memories below the surface, but they also found life-long friends above.

News this Week: Life-long friends after diving with Devocean Divers

IMG_4524Today, Devocean Divers bid farewell to a happy group of 10 divers from China. Over the course of 3 days, they did between 5 and 10 dives each and left with huge smiles on their faces. These divers came to Malapascua Island for the same reason so many others do – to see the majestic Thresher Sharks. And we can’t blame them! After their first dive, they were completely charged up, full of laughter and excitement. If the Threshers were not cool enough, they also saw an Eagle Ray! Along with many memories, they also took home many photos of the Threshers (one they snapped, below)!

One of the many amazing Thresher Shark photos snapped by the group

Many Chinese divers want to visit places like Malapascua Island but without knowing enough English, it can be challenging to coordinate transportation and accommodations in a country like the Philippines. That’s where Devocean Divers’ partnership with Chinese-based Diventure came in. Together, with the help of Team Leader Abby, they were able to bring the group to Malapascua Island for a fantastic dive adventure. Abby said that in addition to Devocean Divers efforts below sea level, they appreciated that Devocean helped organize transportation and made sure that everything ran smoothly while they were on the island too.

IMG_4530In addition to helping the group travel to Malapascua Island, Abby said the group enjoyed diving with Devocean Divers because the local guides know the sites very well and always showed them the best aquatic life. This group saw it all including, Thorny Seashorses, Frog Fish, Whitetip Sharks and of course the Threshers at sites such as Monad Shoal, Gato Island, Kalanggaman Island, Chocolate Island and Deep Rock. A few of them also took in a sunset dive at Lighthouse reef. Above the water, the group was memorized by Malapascua’s beauty and laid-back vibe – a stark contrast to the Chinese cities where they live.
13442013_1044135295655142_1778473269_oAmongst the ten group members, there were only two couples. The rest were perfect strangers when they arrived at Devocean Divers. When asked whether this had changed over the course of diving together for three days, Abby replied with a resounding, “Yes. They are friends for life now!”

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To find out how your group can dive with Devocean Divers, visit: www.devoceandivers.com/inquiries

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Photos: Photo credit goes to the group

Divemaster trainee: It all started with a few fun dives

IMG_4516

Over the next month, Devocean Divers will be training Meagan, a former Canadian government communications director turned year-long backpacker, to be a certified PADI Divemaster. Under our expert instructors, she’ll learn the theory, water skills and practical application it takes to lead safe, professional, and fun dives. While she completes the program, she’ll blog about her experience. Here’s her first post. Enjoy!

Two weeks ago, I arrived on Malapascua Island to find white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and friendly Filipinos everywhere I turned. After searching out the highest rated dive shops on Trip Advisor, I decided to go with Devocean Divers. Not only were they rated five star but they also had great prices and I was greeted with a warm smile and welcoming handshake by the Dutch owner himself, Marcus. As a recently certified Advanced Open Water Diver, I merely set out to get a few more dives under my ‘weight’ belt. Little did I know, Malapascua had much more in store for me.

My first dive was at Chocolate Island where the aquatic life is just as sweet as the dive site name. Guided by Divemaster and local expert Rickniel, we immediately came upon a huge black Frog Fish. Next he found us a Thorny Seahorse, a Cuttlefish, a Box Fish…and the list goes on. I worried about getting a sore neck from constantly having to react to the “ting, ting” of Rickniel’s pointer. This was a great first dive that wet my palette for the main event – Thresher Sharks. The next morning, I awoke at 4:30am and set out for Monad Shoal with Devocean to see these majestic sharks with their long tail and big eyes. We had at least eight sightings and even saw two at once. The fun wouldn’t stop there, however. Over the next few days, we saw an octopus during a night dive at Dakit Dakit, the adorable Harlequin Shrimp at Gato Island, and even a Hairy Frog Fish back at Chocolate Island. Malapascua was delivering in spades.

I quickly realized that a few fun dives would not quench my thirst for all that Malapascua had to offer so upon returning to the dive shop, I signed up for my next set of courses – Emergency First Response Provider and the Rescue Diver course. Over the course of a week, German Instructor Steff led me through the rigours including performing CPR and rescuing a non responsive diver from the sea floor. While challenging, these were undoubtedly the most rewarding dive courses. Although I hope I never need to employ these skills, I am now a much more confident and aware diver.

With these courses behind me, my next thought was “What now?” I contemplated continuing my travels around the Philippines but I just couldn’t bring myself to pack my bag. Instead, I found a place to stay for a month and sent a request to Cebu City for an extension of my tourist Visa. Today, I opened the crisp new cover of a Divemaster Manual. For the next month, I’ll call Malapascua home. I’m excited about the steep learning curve ahead but I know I’m in good hands at Devocean. I hope you’ll come along on the journey with me!

Diving with thresher sharks

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  • 3 Top Things to do during quarantine for a Scuba Diver
  • Learn to Dive in the Philippines

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