May 2008 - Usukan Bay Wrecks and the Gaya 50m Deep Wreck - What a Trip . . . .
Question - What uses 4,991 Litres of Oxygen, 80,000 litres of Air and Nitrox ranging from 23% to 70% at depths from 30 to 50m ?
Answer - A dive trip organised by Mark Tuttle of Panaga Divers of Brunei and Nigel Goring of Brunei Sub Aqua Dive Club.
We had the great pleasure, and honour, of entertaining a group of highly experienced and professional divers from Panaga Divers and Brunei Sub Aqua Dive Club. The divers were Mark Tuttle, Brigitte Dale-Pine, Nigel Goring and their guests / friends Tino De Rijk and his better half Rita Oosterbaan - Sorry, almost forgot myself Billy Hammond. The group spent the week diving the Usukan Bay Wrecks located off shore on the western coast of Sabah near Kota Belud. The wrecks range from 28 to 40m in depth, in open ocean with currents varying from very little to being a human flag. They also visited the relatively un-dived Gaya Wreck located very close to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in 40 to 50m of water. The average bottom times were 70 minutes using high levels of Nitrox and Trimix all supplied by Borneo Dream.
The divers used a combination of twin sets, two 80 CuFt. cylinders banded together and state of the art Ambient Pressure Diving Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreathers. All wrecks were shotted and dived with the upmost safety in place. The dive boat was skippered by Joanne Cotterill, support was from Ron Boddy with sumptuous lunches provided by Bev Hulme.
Sometimes you have just got to dive, relax and enjoy yourself. We started the week diving the Usukan Bay's Rice Bowl Wreck with glass like sea conditions and no wind or current. Visibility was stunning at 20 to 25 metres plus. The wreck was breathtaking and great to explore with interesting things to discover and experience with every fin kick.
The second day took us to the back of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) just outside Kota Kinabalu. The journey from our marina (Sutera Harbour) to Gaya Wreck takes about 45 to 50 minutes. The wreck, as usual, is located using our on board GPS and Fish Finder/Chart Plotter and shotted with a 25 to 30 Kilo weight and buoy. One of the crew goes down first to confirm the location and the divers just follow down. 60 to 70 minutes later after some decompressions stops everybody is safely back on board.
Day three took us back to Usukan Bay and this time the current was a lot stronger but everyone had a very good day and will remember their visit to Sabah with Borneo Dream for some time. For more information on these fabulous wrecks have a look at . . . . Click here.
All images and video is by Tino De Rijk and his better half Rita Oosterbaan - Thanks ;-)
Many thanks to Panaga Divers and Brunei Sub Aqua Dive Club
