diving diary潛水日誌

The best hard coral in Hong Kong - Tung Ping Chau 東平洲

I heard for a long time that Tung Ping Chau has an abundance hard coral near its pier.

Tung Ping Chau is one of the most remote diving sites in Hong Kong. It is not often that the diving operators in Hong Kong offer this diving site.

On 17th September, I dove there. We took one and half hour to travel there from Wu Kai Sha Pier. I planned to have three dives on that day. Before I entered to sea, the captain showed a map, which has an area marked as special region. Then I went there first to explore what special it was. This area is a sandy bottom with some sea anemones and clown fishes. I don't understand what the meaning of special is.

Then I stuck into my original target in second dive. When I saw the area of hard coral garden, I have rated that it is the best hard coral living area in Hong Kong. Many different hard coral species and even families grow together in very heathy condition and cover a large area. I was very enjoyable of this dive and didn't want to return.

When I have surfaced, they yelled me to return the boat at once. I wondered whether an accident happened. I asked them what happened to yell me. They said that they would change dive site because this dive site had nothing.

Oh my god, it was because they went to a wrong area. I told them I saw the most beautiful hard coral area in Hong Kong, but it was too late. The boat was starting to travel and leaving Tung Ping Chau.

I was very angry that they even didn't do a little bit research about the dive site.

I was the only one who saw the beautiful hard coral.

I found that it was a so call instructor's suggestion.

We travelled in such long distance and time because of its beautiful hard coral. All this effort was wiped out by such a no sense hopeless instructor.

Platygyra carnosus

Favites pentagon

How much pressure will remain in tank when you can't breath from your regulator?當氣瓶沒氣時。

If you still remember what you have learned from your diving course, the intermediate pressure of the first stage is about 10bar. It means that a balance type first stage will supply 10 bar to second stage no matter how much air remains in the tank.

Will first stage supply air when tank pressure below 10 bar?

The answer is yes.

When tank pressure is below 10 bar, the piston will open freely.

At a result, the tank can be drawn to 0 bar.

伙頭墳州現紅潮

星期日(2016年8月28日)在伙頭墳州(Bluff island, Hong Kong)潛水，下午看到一片紅。

游埋去看，原來不是平時由水藻引起的紅潮.。

而是一大群蝦在schooling. 數量至少過萬，球有5 至6米大.。

泳姿是一直向前，而不是平時的shrimp 般向後彈。

可惜我部video 沒電.。在斷電前影到的畫面.。

暫時不確定品種，我覺得似krill.

看書本說, krill是全球都有的，只是我未試過在熱帶水域看到，所以品種有待引證。

krill

Sardine run 2016

因上年未能看到sardine, 是一條都看不到。所以今年再來一次，以完成看一次的心願。
重回一樣的lodge,建築物沒改，staffs沒變，只是manager 變了，所以有些管理方式是攪了新意思。有些staffs 還認得我上年來過。
而run sardine run 的operator, 絕大部分staffs都一樣，而我來之前指定要求的boat keeper,真是預留了給我。他是非常有經驗，後來證實他真是名不虛傳。

Boat keeper-Emil

我是參加了今年的第三round sardine run. 只有2條快艇，我船只有5人，分別有3個香港人及2個法國人。我學了一句非常易學的法文－sardine.

原來英文，中文，法文都是讀sardine. 我是在他們說法文時發現。
我也教了他們說幾個易學中文，分別是'沙'，'鯊'。

另一船是大陸客，很多人都說大陸好多假野，我都半信半疑。今次證實所言非虛。他們不慣乘快艇，要吃暈浪藥。但2天都沒效，那2個香港人給了他們日本藥試試，真是即時有效。之後香港人對他們說，你們自己知便好，不要回去傳開，要不是這藥會給買斷市。

Lodge 與沙灘間的河

出發時，快艇要經過一條河才到沙灘，上年過時，水深及腰，另外河床是石底，但今年變成給沙填平了，水只是到腳踝。好像是有人填平了，我以為是他們人工填平。問他們，他說是天然的。我不太相信，再找當地的村民再問，都說是天然，是那些沙給吹到那裡。那，天真是好照顧我們。

今年天空的雀非常少，所以今年沒有百鳥插水的壯觀情景。dolphin 數量都是少了。頭幾天，快艇南北穿梭，都找不到游得淺的sardine.去到尾2那天，終於在一海灣找到一群sardine, 不過未吸引到大群dolphin or bird 來hunting.

我今年並沒有帶SCUBA器材 , 只帶了spare air,今次有用了，看到有一群dolphin在游泳，我立即帶spare air下水，這樣可以在極近距離和dolphin 游了一會。如我想摸牠們，可以由頭摸到尾。