Towards the end of January, Bonar informed me and Zen that they are planning to go to Makassar for a dive trip. We then registered as a waiting list as the seat was limited to 13 persons only. There are already 8 people in the waiting list. Towards the end, most of them were cancelling their trip due to various reasons. Finally there were only 6 of us confirm to go to Kapoposang. Alex was appointed as the new team leader or organizer replacing Nita. Henry and his wife Tina also joint to extend their honey moon. Zen also finally confirmed to go in the last minutes after a conference call with Henry and me. Andreas from Surabaya also joint. Andreas always dives with his underwater camera and camcorder. Couple days before the trip, Alex informed us that another three divers from Makassar will joint also to make the trip merrier.
On Thursday morning 20th of March 2008 which coincide with public holiday, we embark on the journey to Kapoposang. Contrary to my previous trip with NGI, in this trip, one of the divers brought spear guns. I initially have a bit of objection with spear gun as it might hit one of us. But soon after catching several fish, the next lunch or dinner the fish was served fresh and looked delicious. I then change my perception of spear gun. Actually, I am now thinking of purchasing a spear gun. Henry at the end of the trip while waiting at the airport lounge was contemplating to purchase a spear gun after a serious discussion. I took a spear gun in action as depicted above.
At the first dive, we are confronted with several sharks. Henry said it was black tip shark. However, the shark made several quick movements near us. The spear gun then must be pointed to the sharks as a self defense. We quickly leave the site, to search for fish. Henry’s wife was a bit shock after the incident. She then refused to dive early in the morning after that as the first dive of the day always at the Shark point.
On the day two, a remarkable event also occurs. Being diving at below than 40m or nearing 50m, Andreas said at dinner the night before that he wanted to go to 50m deep to make a record of his own. So, once submerged, we went down to 40m and a bit more. Since I brought a camera, I stayed at around 45m. It was my deepest dive so far. Zen was handed over by Andreas his camera and camcorder. He stayed at 47m, which is his deepest also. Henry and others were at 50m or so. Henry was breaking his own record also at 54m deep. Andreas however, was diving straight to the bottom reaching up to 81.4m deep. All of us were stunned by his action. At the boat everybody were shouting. My ear was a bit hurt since they were shouting near me. Soon at the dinner we learnt that Andreas has taken a lot of specialty including deep dive. We realize later he was a dive master with a very fit body. The visibility was also conducive as we can see nearly 50m or more with no current.
The last dive was quite interesting as a lot of fish, a rather large fish were seen. After catching up a fish, the blood invites several sharks in less than 10 seconds. The fish then quickly tied up to a rope and send to surfaced with a gas balloon to be picked by surface boat. The current was quite heavy. I left the site rather early since I nearly reach decompression limit.
The chef was quite good; we ate sashimi, steam fish and lobster. I ended gain weight nearly, 3kg in this trip. The bed room was equipped with air conditions ensuring enjoyable sleep. The cottage was quite relaxing. I forgot the routine office activity for a while as the only communication available was satellite phone. Overall, it was quite enjoyable diving trip.
Photos at Henry's multiply
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