Dive 79 - 80: Pulau Hantu

This will be my third time diving at Pulau Hantu, and my second time diving with the Hantu Blog. The day began bright and sunny, but approximately 15-20 minutes before our departure from the Republic Singapore Yacht Club, dark clouds and gusty winds took over. I was apprehensive if the dive would even take place!

We set off nonetheless, optimistic that sunny weather would meet us at Hantu. However, the rain followed us and it stayed with us till the end of our dive trip! Diving at the maximum depth of 8.8 - 9.6 M, the water temperature was at a comfortable 28-Degree Celsius for both dives. It felt almost like soaking in a warm tub on a cold rainy day! What's more captivating is the wonderful marine life just under the surface.

One of the few things I've learnt from my dive trips to Pulau Hantu is that a torch is useful to search between the coral rubble, under rocks and all around. This red swimming crab was spotted hiding between the rocks. Swimming crabs have a distinct last pair of flattened paddle shaped legs, and this enables them to be excellent swimmers. Unfortunately, the rocks were blocking half of this crab. They can be rather aggressive too, especially the ones I've encountered during my inter-tidal walks. So I'm quite pleased that this crab was happy feasting and not too bothered with me snapping away.

A blue spotted ray was also spotted under a slab of rock not too far away from this crab, however due to the silt I could not take a clear picture. Moving slowly but carefully under these murky conditions allows time for the sediment to settle and to avoid stirring up the silt.

Next spot, was this pretty blue Dragon Nudibranch (Pteraeolidia ianthina). Pretty as it may seem, its likely to be poisonous! Nudibranch means "naked gills" - the gills of these slugs are exposed, like feathery tuffs waving gently with the current.

My next find was literally HUGE - for a slug. I've not see any Phyllid Nudibranchs as huge as this, in my 80 over dives. It's almost the size of my torch!

A close up shot, boasting how toxic it can be with its bright and striking colours.

There were quite a few of these sponges (Porifera) spotted. It still amazes me that sponges are actually animals. Sponges are filter feeders and they feed by filtering the plankton rich water through the many holes on them. Unlike most sea creatures, sponges are not very mobile, hence many of them produce a variety of bad tasting chemicals to deter their predators. Some others have microscopic glass like spicules that may penetrate your skin and cause discomfort if you happen to grab one of them.

When I saw this Feather Star or Crinoid, I immediately thought of the feather duster I have at home. Like how my the feathers on my feather duster picks up dust efficiently, the feathery arms of the Feather Star waves gently in the water to filter out food and bring them to its mouth located in the centre.

Even though I've seen these Clownfish (Amphiprion Sp.) many times, they are still very entertaining to watch, as they dart about protecting their young ones and their tuff of Anemone.

This had to be my best sighting for the day - a turtle! It was hiding under a rock, possibly resting. I had initially thought that it was a fish, but when the silt settled this lovely turtle was revealed! It darted away briskly and into the murky waters, when it realised that there were six pairs of eyes peering right at it.

Overall, it's was a great dive, with the good company of divers from diverse backgrounds, ranging from aquarium hobbyists to, my dive buddy - Abigail from WWF. Will certainly look forward to come back for more dives at Pulau Hantu. 

Click here to view the photo album.