Blenny galore

Day: Saturday, 7 April 2007 - Day Dive
Crew: Myself, Ein Ling, Stephanie, Takako (Instructor) and Hassan (Boatman)
Dive Site: Cement Wreck@MV Tung Hwang
Viz: So-so ~ 5-8m
Max Depth: ~28m
Dive Time: 30m & 30m
Had a tough time deciding to go or not to go. In the end, dive thirst won over couch potato. :P

More prepared than i was the previous dive, i took SEASICK pills before i left the house. The only problem this time was i forgot to put the tube of pills back into the box. So already late, i grabbed and chucked the empty box into my bag. When i met ling at the dive centre, i asked if he's taken seasick pills and he'd better.

Steph: "Takako gave him some ginger powder".

The last time i had ginger sweets or what-nots i still threw up real bad, so i said "Here, u'd better take this seasick pill"

Ling: "JOKERRRRRRRRRRRR........ what is this?"
Me wondering what's wrong, took the box and turn it upside down, nothing drop out "Oooh, how come eh?!"
Ling: "Such a joker.. bring box but no pills"
Hahahahaha.

Apparently the sea was much calmer during the weekdays, i dont understand why is it always better the week before or any time other than the day we dive. It wasnt that bad but still..

The ride to Cement Wreck took about an hour, we anchored and dived straight down to 28m. The water was cold, really cold. I wore bathers, a tank top AND a wetsuit, and i felt cold.I couldnt help but wonder if Ling is freezing cos he only had a top and board shorts on. OOh, the tingle.

While Steph and Ling was doing their 1st Advanced skills, i was poking around clams and mollusk shells then something darted by. A blenny. If you're wondering what's a blenny, remember Gurgle from Finding Nemo, that cutesy little fish with whiskers.They are extremely shy and will flee at the slightest movement. I tried my very best to limit movement, 'cept i cant hold my breath without risking my lungs exploding and those bubbles scared them too. It was darting left and right, up and down and when i was about to give up, it perched itself on a coral with such poise that u want to squeeze the life out of it for being so cute.
Just when you think, ahhhh perfect! i raised my camera, focused, ready to just click that button, it zippity zip away. But he wasnt very smart, he zipped right into a shell. Kekekeke...i had him cornered.

You might think its cruel scaring a blenny like that. I think they like the chase.

It takes a bucketful of patience and timing to shoot a blenny. Esp if you're hovering over a wreck. You have to wait, position your camera, hold it, and wait some more for them to take a peek at you.They are definitely a challenge to shoot and well worth the wait.

And a couple of gems from this wreck.
.(L-R) scrambled egg nudi and to-be-id.

Ever wonder exactly how big are these nudis?

That's one about the size of a rice grain compared to my index finger. It can get ridiculously small. They're so beautiful and it's a pity sometimes we swim right by without noticing it.

The first dive was over real quick then it was serious bingeing on junk food. People say you burn lots of calories when you dive, i tell you it cannot compensate for the amount of food we eat while doing our surface interval. Ein Ling surrendered to seasickness, ginger powder doesnt work, and passed up the 2nd dive.

After an hour of warmth under the scorching sun, we dipped into chilly waters again. Thought it would be better, but Takako had her arms around herself signalling COLD the entire time. About 10m deep and not even 5minutes into our 2nd dive, i realised Stephanie's missing.

Steph: "i dunno why but i was getting further and further away from you, Takako, then suddenly i felt heat on my back" And she was already on the surface.

Something to report is the resident octopus has moved again! Last year, he hibernated at the side of the wreck, this time he's moved back to the good ol' funnel. He cut a small chunk off one of his tentacles. No idea what he's been up to but he must be eating alot. Getting pudgy there.
And there were tons of fish trapped in a fishing cage. None of us brought a knife with us and could do nothing. It was a pretty sad sight to see them ramming against the cage. Helpless, that's how i felt.
Happy with my dive, i'm so looking forward to reef dives this week.