One in ten thousand

Part 1: United nations of divers

There were 15 of us on the trip, representing six different nationalities with the largest contingencies from England and la France. Our friends from down under put in a spirited showing and everyone added a little something to the trip.

Seda and Faruk, who are engaged to be married, got on famously on the surface and somewhat less harmoniously (so it seemed to the rest of us) underwater. Faruk was often heard furiously banging away on his tank, catching everyone's attention except Seda's. Apparently they were 'getting used to each other' as it was the first time they had dived together.

The other couple on the trip was Bernard and Florence. They seemed to have underwater ESP, gliding along and reaching out for the others' hand at exactly the same moment, constantly aware of where the other one was. What wasn't so elegant was the way they managed to damage their equipment. I believe Bernard went through three o–rings… a relatively restrained performance compared to Florence’s destruction of three regulators!

To make the Singapore-based folk feel like we were coming from a relatively SARS-free country, Trevor joined us from Hong Kong. Once we'd established that he didn't have a dry cough or a 38°C temperature, we welcomed him into the party. Trevor taught us a thing or two about how he calculates his pressure group…throw a letter out and see if it sticks is how one person described it!

François had his own pressure-group trick. Somehow the rest of us always seemed to be above him during the dives and yet he came out with a lower pressure group. How do you do it, François? He also won the coveted title of Scabby Queen by losing the last round of the trip’s most popular card game.

Andrew's height was a source of much conversation, especially on the volleyball court where both teams eyed him up, thinking that he was a sure asset. Little did they realise that without his glasses, he can’t even see the ground. He did however have an aptitude for ze French card games. Florence, Bernard and François taught him how to play belote, a game that is possibly more challenging than our Scabby Queen, and by all accounts he was a bit of a star.

My roommate for the trip was Suzannah, who I have to say was excellent fun and a reliable dive buddy too (when she remembered to put her regulator in her mouth). She did nearly cause an international incident one night when she decided a group of Koreans had stolen her bag. With just a little prodding, Suzannah burst through the door to the Koreans' quarters, jarred them from a peaceful sleep and demanded they return her bag. No-one ever really knew if they had taken her bag, but they spent the rest of the trip apologising for any clouds in the sky or sand on the beach. Oh yes and 'the secret judges' awarded her the title of Bathing Suit Queen.

In comparison, I managed to get through the week without raising anyone’s eyebrows. Really there was nothing to report about my behaviour… although I did receive the following comments from a couple of anonymous contributors:

"Anna is not easily impressed. While diving, I would point out things I found interesting to other divers. On one occasion I pointed out an extremely rare nudibranch to Anna and she later scoffed at me for wasting her time on something so small. Later, I pointed out a mantis shrimp, but Anna was once again unimpressed. It still wasn’t big enough."

"Anna has an uncanny ability to identify fish. After spotting an unusual fish lying in the sand, she was heard to say, 'This is going to sound stupid, but it looked kind of like a crocodile.' We immediately realised she was describing a crocodilefish."

Mary's sartorial speciality was layering. She amazed us with her numerous wetsuits and lycra skins, all worn simultaneously. They must have added up to about 12mm for diving in the tropical waters of Sipadan where the average temperature was 29°C [You should see what I wear when it’s cold – Mary]. She probably needed them for her deep dives, more of which shall be recounted later.

Paul by contrast was there in his shorts and t-shirts for each dive, so maybe southerners aren't as soft as we northerners say you are! His affectionate side did show itself when he and Franck enjoyed a spontaneous and loving embrace at about 15m. Apparently they have history together…

Franck made a name for himself with his outbursts of affection, his 'sax instrument' and his penchant for turtles, all of which is beautifully captured in this 'ode to natural love' that a Sipadan turtle sent me.

Margaret also had a soft spot for turtles. She was extremely keen to see a female turtle come ashore at night and lay eggs, something that she'd failed to witness on her previous trip to Sipadan. She was out of luck this time, too. Every evening she went in search of them, the turtles decided not to appear. Unfortunately Margaret had to leave a day early. After she had gone, the rest of us went out on our first turtle walk of the trip. We strolled about 500m down the beach and found a turtle laying eggs on the shore.

Patrick will be familiar to you from previous trip reports. He has become a very keen diver, never letting the opportunity to do an extra dive go amiss… though it must be said that his enthusiasm was all the keener if Pete was gearing up. The two of them were neck and neck on the number of dives logged, and no way was either of them going to let the other get one ahead. Dawn dive, dusk dive, night dive? If one of them was going to do it, then the other would surely be there too.

Next page: A brief briefing

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