Black Tip Reef Shark In The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Another exciting days diving in the TARP Park!!!!!!!!!

We were at the end of our dive and just about to do our 5 meter safety stop when suddenly Jo spotted a shark swimming along in front of us quite close to the reef, I had just put up a "safety sausage" (which is a marker buoy used so that boats know you are about to surface).

So as we all swam off fast to get a closer look i was still holding on to the safety sausage and trying to swim at the same time. (i must have looked like a right melon)!!

Anyway as we got closer we discovered it was a Black Tip reef shark noticeable by the black tip on the main dorsal fin (as you can see from the picture taken by Richard).

The shark was about a meter and a half long, It's the first time I've seen a shark like this in the wild and we are lucky because it's quite rare to see one, However it is just one of the many amazing things you can see whilst diving in Borneo.

I will update again soon.
James,

Padi Nitrox Course

Dive Downbelow have just installed a new Nitrox station and now offer the Padi Nitrox course and tank rental !!

So over the past 2 days i have been completing the course along with 3 others. The course consists of reading the Enriched Air manual, completing the 2 knowledge reviews and then a final exam (which isn't as bad as it sounds), on the second day we learnt how to analyze the Enriched Air in the tanks and then we went for 2 dives using Enriched Air (Nitrox).

I really enjoyed doing this course and now it's nice to have the option of diving with Enriched Air.

One of the good "perks" with doing this instructor internship is that all additional courses i do are at cost price plus 5%, which really cuts down on the overall price.

Here are a couple of pic's taken through out the day.

James,

What Happens After Diving

Last night we went out for a meal with some of the guests after the days diving to a local restaurant called Jeff D' Corner.

After that we went for a few drinks around the pool and had one to many Pernod's. Im sure it won't be the last time.

Only a short post because i can't remember much else but it was a good night!!!!

Clock in again soon
James,

Giant Sting Ray

Just returned from one of the best days diving so far.

We were diving one of the dive site's in the TARP Park, it was a normal dive that Richard was guiding but about half way into the dive i heard Richard bang on his tank. This isn't unusual and is used allot to gain the attention of other divers but this time i noticed that it was much loader and sounded more urgent so i looked up and as i did there was a huge sting ray swimming along in front of us. It is the biggest thing i have seen underwater it must have been 6 feet long with a tail even longer. It come quite close to us and then turned and swam away, none of us could quite believe it.

All the guests enjoyed the dive as nobody had seen a sting ray quite this big.

Luckily i had taken my underwater camera with me but the pics don't do the size of it justice but it was the best i could do!!!!!

Anyway here are the pics,

James

P.S. Richard is close to the camera so make's it look smaller.

Special Open Water Course

For the past few days i have been assisting Richard the managing director of Dive Downbelow to teach an open water course to Jussi an amputee. Which was a really good experience and also great fun.


It was a challenge getting over some of the obvious problems but that being said it was easy enough to adapt the skills required for Jussi to pass the course with flying colour's.


Jussi is a really great guy which also made it easier and a pleasure to teach him, he really is an inspiration to people.

It was a great oppertunity to help on this course and it would not have been possible with out Dive Downbelow and the internship program they offer.


Here is a couple of pics that Richard kindly gave to me.

James.

(me left & jussi right)

Introduction

I have decided to create this blog to follow the progress of the Instructor internship that I am currently taking 6 months out to complete with Down Below Marine & Wildlife Adventures .

Down Below are based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. With a beach house located on Pulau Gaya which is one of the Islands that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (TARP).

Down Below also have a Dive Shop and Classroom wich is based in the City of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Complementing the Island based Dive Centre within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park - together the two facilities make up a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre.

Keep you posted, James.