Back in Korea after spending two weeks in Subic Bay, Luzon. Had a lot of fun in Subic and I’m going to have to go back to dive the wrecks I haven’t gotten to yet. So much ocean, so little time and money.
Dive Shops:
I’m told there are three shops in and around Subic Bay.
1. Johans
These are the guys I dove with. They have three instructors; Johan (the owner), Paul, and Steve (I think). Did my AOW with Johan and Nitrox with Paul. Did not do any courses with the third instructor who was on vacation most of the time I was there. In addition to the instructors, there are two divemasters; Wing, and Henry. Both of them are very good in the water and Henry is amazing with air consumption, man just doesn’t seem to breath. If you do any courses with Paul, tell him that you stubbed your toe and can’t dive and then laugh when he gives you the rest of the story. Food is alright to good, rooms are livable.
2. Blue Rock
Did not do any diving with these guys so I can’t comment on that, will say that the food is spectacular.
3. And a third somewhere in Olongapo that I didn’t get a chance to visit and know nothing about.
Pros:
Lot’s of wrecks (main reason I went)
Warm Water
Lots of wrecks (it bears repeating)
Cons:
Low visibility
Not much marine life
Another thing to be aware of is the fact that the closest (working) decompression chamber is in Manila. There used to be one on the former base but they tell me that it’s fallen apart from lack of maintenance.
Some of the wrecks I dove were:
Which is the only armored cruiser that can be dived. It’s in a shipping lane so the visibility isn’t so good, I will say that it’s fairly interesting to be going through the gloom and then suddenly come face to face with a giant gun.
Depth: 28m on the first dive, 28.5 on the second.
Visibility: 8m on the first, 2m on the second.
Water Temp: 25c – 28c
Marine Life:
Rays
Barracuda
The clamshell doors have fallen off and are sitting upright in the sand, very cool.
Depth: 32.2m
Visibility: 8m
Water Temp: 28c
Marine Life:
Rays
Barracuda
Depth: 23m
Visibility: 8m
Water Temp: 28c
Barges
Lots of marine life compared to most of the other dive locations in Subic, only the San Quentin could compare.
Depth: 16m
Visibility: 14m
Water Temp: 28c
Marine Life:
Clown Fish
Lionfish
Sea Cucumbers
Japanese Patrol Boat
Depth: 22.6m
Visibility: 2m
Water Temp: 28c
Marine Life:
Lionfish
El Capitan
Cargo ship built in Oregon (my home state) that went down in shallow water. Very cool dive, cargo bays are open and can be swum through.
Depth: 21.1m (The ship is on it’s side, the hull starts at 5m)
Visibility: 8m
Water Temp: 28c
Marine Life:
Giant Clams
San Quentin
The Spanish sunk this boat during the Spanish American war in an attempt to block one of the channels. The wood has all rotted away leaving only the metal parts of the ship. Lots of marine life, for Subic.
Depth: 15.9m
Visibility: 15m
Water Temp: 28c
Marine Life:
Giant Clams
Clown Fish
Lionfish
Sea Cucumbers
Commentarii de Peregini 