23 thoughts on “SCUBA Diving, Anyone?”

  1. Hi Jeffrey

    I’m interested but can’t find my PADI cert after so many moves locally and across continents.

    Yes, Spore water is too murky to dive. Are you planning shallow or deep diving? I don’t have a wet suit.

  2. Eleanor, you can log on to the PADI website http://www.padi.com and there is a ‘C card’ tab. Click on ‘replace my C card’ and go on from there.

    Generally, I prefer shallow dives for the simple reason that dive time is in inverse proportion to depth and I like spending as much time underwater as possible. Also, coral life disappears after 10-15 m. I’ve done some deep dives though, mainly wreck dives up to 60m.

    I find tropical waters too warm for wet suits. I prefer ‘Polartec’ suits. It’s a fabric something like lycra and is bouyancy neutral. I bought my suit in a similar material called ‘Aeroskin’ in Australia but I’m sure it’s available in Singapore.

    Diving season is coming up soon and let’s get together more SCUBA kakis.

  3. Hi Eleanor and Jeffrey,

    I am also a scuba diver-2nd class.

    I attend the BSAC Club Instructor Exam (with the cert you can teach in oversea’s BSAC club)held in Penang Swimming Club, Penang. Failed my pool instruction (the somersault is not done properly due to the bouyancy adjustment)but passed my class lecture and written exam.

    Not satisfy, Back in Singapore I took the exam again under Singapore Underwater Federation and became a one-star instructor but I can only teach in Singapore Clubs.

    I even work part-time in a salvage company to clean the barnacles off the bottom of the ship.

    BSAC is Britsh Sub-Aqua Club in short. My BSAC diving club is in Crawford C.C., now known as Kampong Glam C.C. In the past, The training pool is either Toa Payoh or Queenstown. Some of the diving pioneers are still there. If you go there, just ask for the mother and son diving team and the pioneers will know.

    Eleanor:
    If you are interested in the wet suit may be you try mine (now up in the shell)whether it fits you. It was tailor made from New Zealand with good neoprene and air frown in.
    The suit has a long sleeve jacket, sleeveless
    jacket, long pants, hood and boot.

    Jeffrey:
    May be I know you by sight. If you are interested you may loan my aluminium air cylinder and my regulator is direct feed with octopus to the tank, depth gauge, buoyancy compenstor, pressure gauge and mouth piece (must check if it works properly as I have not used it for a long period as this concern life and death). If you spear fish underwater then I also can loan you the spear gun.

    Above is some of my diving experience and many more to go.

    We must get together to talk about DIVING.

    Cheers, Bessie Lam

  4. Bessie, I too was from BSAC. That was branch 854 which was originally with the YMCA then became an independent club and I believe it’s now defunct, after their club house at Farrer Park caught fire.

    I laid of diving for a while because of an overseas stint in Brunei and when I came back I found that they had changed their grading system. I was trying to reactivate my qualification and made contact with BSAC at Crawford CC. The person I know there is Linda Hannnington. Is she still there?
    But after a while I decided to convert to PADI.

    Thanks for the offer but I have the full set of equipment less tank. I keep my stuff in Bangkok because where I dive nowadays is Pattaya and Sattahip. I don’t recommend anybody making a special trip to dive at these places as in terms of water quality, I put it one notch above Singapore. In my case it’s because I live in Bangkok and that’s about where you can go for a weekend dive.

    If we do a trip near Singapore, I’ll just lug my dive gear back.

    Certainly, well meet one of these days together with Eleanor to talk about diving but why just talk? Let’s plan a dive trip.

  5. Hi Jeffrey,

    Me too from BSAC 854. Yes, Linda is my neighbour, she stays in Tower 1 & me in Tower 2.

    Remember our batch went to Pulau Aw and there is a shark by the name Uncle Sam.

    Remember Diving Officers, Soh Chee Peng, Denise and Mr HW Khoo who owns a yacht.

    Remember Betty Lim, she is my diving buddy. There are only 4 ladies in our batch. 1 is June, she is a doctor and the other lady can’t recall her name. We are the 2 ladies with specs.

    The guys are Bala, Jimmy, Michael, Raymond, 2 tall guys, etc. Let me refer to those photos and check if I can remember you. I will email you the photo and you can check whether I am correct

    Yes, why not. I have to check all my equipments are in working conditions before the trip. Otherwise, I have to rent a regulator and the BC. Mask, flipper and weight belt are still usable.

    About your photo, keep your fingers cross.

    Cheers, Bessie Lam

  6. Wow!..three of you can go diving,poor me can only snorkle for ikan bilis!..haha
    I always admire divers, i hv phobia in the deep sea,even just snorkle at Great Barrier Reef…but thats just for fun!very funny, i almost ‘drowned’ & grap someone’s back forgot that i had a life jacket on me!..apa macam?..LOL so embarrassed!

  7. Hi Bessie,

    I really admire you, not only can you dance, you can even dive, that’s very brave of you. Like Nor, I only can do snorkling, and in not so deep water as I always imagine there will be big white shark in the ocean…he..he..

  8. Norlinda, Suzhang, snokelling is the first step to SCUBA. It’s easy to get qualified as a recreational SCUBA diver. The basic open water course take 3-4 days.

    On the other hand, if there is enough people, we can do a combined SCUBA/snorkeling trip. There are may places that are suitable for both.

    Many times after a dive I just ditch the tank and go snorkeling in the shallow waters. It’s a change and good to be free of the tank strapped onto your back.

    Bessie, I remember the ‘old guard’ at branch 854, most of whom have hung up their fins. HW Khoo? I think you mean Khoo Soo Seng. I met him last year when a mutual friend was having a diving slide show.

    P. Aur and a shark named Uncle Sam? It rings a bell. I may have been on that trip.

  9. Jeff..
    Thank you for your encouragement to both of us
    As i said, i might consider take any challenge on land but not under the sea…like Sue,saya pun takut shark, furthermore we cant see whats around even within few meters!
    After Steve Irwin freak accident…i lagi calibot!..sori

    Bessie…wah!…in person, u look so ‘fragile’gentle but dinno u hv passion for great ‘dangerous’ hobby!

  11. Yew Kwong..
    saya tak tahu awak cakap apa? maybe i too sleepy oredi lah..want to tido now zzzzz
    btw..mana dia? sudah lari ah? ..oh, now i know what u mean…U go cari dia lah…kesian, maybe sudah merajuk..tell him better dont dive too deep leh…hehe

  12. Hi,

    Nor, Susan, I love outdoor sports especially sea sports. I think it is the interest and passions that play an important part in any form of sports and hobbies.

    I just love the underwater world. it is beautiful and you forget what is happening above you once you are down there.

    Jeffrey, The only night dive is done in P.Aur if you can recall. Yes, he is Khoo Soo Seng. Can you arrange with them to get together for old time sake. Should there be a diving gathering or BBQ for 854 divers please do inform me. The club still have this on going event.

  13. Nor

    Steven Chan hd gone 2 help out at Steve Irwin’s pte zoo after tat incident happened. So tats y he hd MIA so long. He is an animal lover. Rite?

  14. Let’s get things going for a SCUBA/snorkelling trip. I guess for starters we can go to Tioman/Aur. Any suggestions for dates? For me, one ‘must go diving’ weekend is the Good Friday/Easter weekend.

    I’m a bit out of touch with the diving scene in Singapore. Anyone with good contacts for trips?

  15. Hi Bessie & Jeffrey

    Sorry for the disappearing act. I was a little busy last week.

    Both of you are pro divers unlike me, an amateur. Bessie, it’s so sweet of you to lend me your wet suit. Thank you. I should be fine without the wet suit if I stay above 10m.

    Yes, Easter long weekend is good but I may need a refresher course before my next dive. How do I go about it? The last time I went diving was so long, long, long time ago. It would be nice to revisit the colourful world beneath the sea.

    Soh Chee Peng, that name sounds familiar. Was Judith his girlfriend then? If so, then he was my diving instructor from YMCA. He had so much problems diving with me then because I kept floating inspite of the tank and the 20-lbs weight belt on my waist. I’m like an Indian rubber ball, float easily.

    Please give me ample time to prepare. I would need new diving gears. Do I pick them up from those shops on Beach Road? Bessie, perhaps you can bring me there one day to shop?

    Looking forward to the trip. Sorry no contact for trips.

  19. Hi,

    Eleanor, I use to buy my equipments from Sealand Sports-Orchard Rd(may be no longer around). Yes we can arrange to meet and then proceed to Beach Rd dive shops as I haven’t been to those diveshops there before and am very keen to look around and up date myslef on those high-tech equipments.

    Have not met his girlfriend before. During our course training he got married. I email you Soh Chee Peng’s photo. I have a spare set of basic diving gears if you want to try them on before buying a new set. Save the money for the trip.

    Jeff, going thru all the photos I still can’t figure who you are. There are a few guys but forgotten their names. Have you given any lectures in the class before on Exhaustion & Exposure and Air Cylinders & Air Endurance? Cos a signature, Jeffrey Lim, is signed against these 2 lecture-columns. Will email those photos to you soon but not all as some of them are badly taken/blur.

    I have contact Suat Choo. Do both of you know her? There will be 3 trips to Tioman from March to June 2008. Will inform both of you once I have the itinerary. Cheers

  20. Hi Bessie

    Rec’d the photos. Thank you. I think that guy in the photo was Soh. Yes, heard they both married different partners. There were also an Albert, a chubby Benjamin and one of the Ang swimmers.

    Sure, I’ll try your diving gears and if they don’t fit, then we’ll go shopping, ok? Let’s meet up for tea after the Lunar New Year, yeah?

  21. Hi Eleanor,

    OK. Yes, I know of a Albert Lee, still have his old contact but can’t remember how he looks like.

    We must bring our diving photo albums along in our tea meeting so that we can identify who-is-who. All in I have 20 diver’s records with old office and home contacts.

    See you soon, Cheers

  22. Bessie, yes, I used to help in classes in 854. Remember, we were a non-profit club and everybody chipped in here and there.

    Sea-land is still at Lucky Plaza as I was there just this afternoon sending my regulator for servicing.

    No, I don’t know Suat Choo but I’m making some arrangements for the Good Friday weekend at P. Aur. I think P.Aur is a better diving destination than P. Tioman, especially over a long weekend. P. Tioman has too many non-diving ‘tourist’. On the Good Friday weekend some years back it was chock-a-block with people and the island actually ran out of food! Every restaurant closed because they had no more supplies.

    I hope to get all the details of the trip confirmed in a week or so and I’ll post it here.

  23. Here it is :

    SCUBA diving trip, Pulau Aur
    21st March to 23rd March 2008 (leaving on 20th March night)

    $430 quad sharing
    $450 twin sharing

    Non-divers (snorkellers) less 20%

    Price include 9 dives, bus transfer to Mersing and back, all meals on P. Aur, tanks, weights, boat and dive guide.

    Please register your interest.

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