"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content of a sedentary life on the surface, I will always be haunted by thoughts of being drenched elsewhere"….
I have been silent about the devastation of this paradise called Tubbataha Reefs, I just can’t believe this is happening with all the modern navigational equipments a watercraft must have, much less a US navy ship! And what are they doing in the Sulu Seas?
I dove in Tubbataha Reefs almost two years ago – a dream I fulfilled, thirteen dives in underwater paradise not everyone had the opportunity to experience. I can’t believe such destruction. Needless to say, they can not put back again what was destroyed. How disheartening!
It’s hurting every minute to resist not to howl my loudest yelp about the sad circumstance that has hit Tubbataha Reef. As of this writing, the damage to the national marine park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and nominee for the New 7 Wonders of Nature — is at 1,000 square meters. That’s almost a fourth of an acre of Mother Nature’s work of art — all a hundred years in the making — gone to smithereens. All the king’s men and horses can never put those brittle reefs together again!
Nobody wants this thing to happen, yes, but everybody wants to know what’s the business of the USS Guardian out there in that part of the Sulu Sea and how could a state-of-the-art minesweeper gets to be so blind as to scrubbing fragile reefs! Whatever, all eyes now on the extrication. Man and machine. The longer this tonnage…
For when God possesses the dreamer, He will mold the dream and it will be right… Verdell Davis
Like a Bootcamp
During the four-day expedition with maximum of four dives in a day, life become like a series of order – time to wake up and eat, specific time for dives, surface intervals and personal time for rest. Time management is still necessary, you don’t want everybody waiting for you when the chase boat is ready leaving. Weather is unpredictable, in a matter of minutes the waters become choppy. The departure of the three speed boats from HCA is in sequence as scheduled.
For safety, all divers in each chase boat shall descend and ascend together – so when we got into the waters on a roll-back entry, with our masks ready and regulators on, DM Wally always said, “On my count – one, two, three!” Splash! And I heard that in all my thirteen dives. 😛 Other buzzwords we had are as pleasing like, “Food is ready!” from the kitchen staff and a sumptuous buffet is before us. Or when the divers got back from the waters, you could almost hear everybody asking, “What did you see?” and what followed are passionate descriptions of the sightings.
While Venusians have explored diving and many have excelled, the Martians still dominated it. It’s not for the faint-hearted as they say. So it wasn’t strange that there were only six (Memey & Pia from Manila; Natisha from Canada; Ma’am Nana, Doc Candy and me from Mindanao) of us out of 25 diver guests. I was thrilled with the thought of being one of these special and adventurous people.
Diving is never a place for an “ooops”, definitely no errors allowed so following basic rules is purely no-nonsense. Any untoward incident may lead to end the trip, without doubt a total disaster for all of us!
Eat, Dive, Sleep, Pray & Love
We eat at least five times a day, there was such abundance of food complete with dessert – like what about ice cream in the middle of the sea? 🙂 I still have to limit my food intake though. And the dives were such like a buffet – it was my first time to have four descents in a day, really wet! And sleep is almost instant after long day of dives, no such sleeping late like when back home. Rest is all about sleep during the cruise.
I believe there’s one thing common to all of us in the boat – pray – everyone was praying for a good weather every day. Because the weather in the area can be so unpredictable, the rains and the waves may come any time. Nobody would want the cruise to be aborted due to bad weather. And we were privileged to have three priests right in our group – Fr. John, Fr. Aldrin and Monsignor Nene – so we didn’t miss the Sunday mass which was being officiated by Fr. John. It was such a deep and solemn celebration. Somehow, with three diving priests with us, there was such an assurance of daily prayers for all our safety.
The excitement of getting into the waters and breathing deep down or discovering the unknown are just coating of this incessant aquatic adventures. It’s more about passion of the marine world, the life beyond the depths – just pure love for these creatures, wondering and watching in awe all these wondrous forms of life. I know I’ll never grow tired of my dive quests, the God of the sea never seems to exhaust incredible sights in his kingdom. And as a water person, I promised myself I’ll go on diving until I grow old when my gnarled fingers could still hold and operate gadgets or my wobbly legs could still kick for my fins.
We had the opportunity to sit down in dinner with one of our co-diver guest during the cruise – one of the three “father & son” team. He chattered about all the incredible sightings we had in the reefs full of passion and have felt same sentiment with him and as if to close his little speech, he declared he loves diving. Angel and I watching him, without batting an eyelash almost in unison declared solemnly, “We too!”
One Great Dream
Two brave souls dared for this great Tubbataha dream, I know now nothing is ever extreme with one’s aspirations. All I needed was an ardent spirit, determined heart and one good friend who shared same deep passion for the great marine world. It was another living proof that God is ever faithful to His promises!
We waited enough for this mission, our ultimate trip away to a paradise not everyone has the opportunity to savor its grandeur. A world away, apart from the maze of crowded cityscape to a place of tranquility. A place where there are no structures but water everywhere, aquatic nature in all its purity.
Tubbataha – where a brave and passionate diver’s dreams come true!
Life in the Great Beyond 
You must be logged in to post a comment.