Dive time: 00:48:00
Max depth:  20.7 metres
Temperature:  29 C
Visibility:  30 metres
Buddy:  Jose
Surface interval:  02:46:00

For amazing fish life, this has to be the best site on Sipadan.  Especially when the current is strong, as it was with this dive, it just brings through the big schools of barracuda for an absolutely stunning sight.

We saw a massive school of jacks just out from the wall in the blue, and just as we were ogling at this school of silvery fish, we swam straight into a few barracuda, and then more barracuda, and then I looked up to see the biggest school of giant barracuda that I’d seen here yet.  We floated straight into them as we were carried along with the current, so with some finning, we were able to stay put and just marvel at them circling around, the school breaking up and then reforming again.  This is the sort of thing that just sets Sipadan apart from the other sites that I’d dived over the last few days – more “oh WOW” moments!

We swam over the ridge into the valley of dead coral and there were white tip reef sharks everywhere we looked, resting on the bottom or gracefully skimming over the bottom to find their next rest spot.  There were also several turtles, and a titan trigger fish hunting for its food in the sand by blasting it with jets of water.

On our safety stop, we saw yet another turtle cruising along the reef and occasionally popping up the surface for a breath, and napoleon wrasse – beautiful with its strikingly marked face.

What a perfect way to end a fantastic trip to Sipadan!