Infinity2018

PHILIPPINES XMAS DIVING
St.SomeTimes
Vol 211 December 2018
Diving on the Live-a-board Infinity out of Cebú
Contents
............................
PAGE 2
Arrival in Manila
............................
PAGE 4
Back in a developing
nation - feelings
............................
PAGE 6
Liveaboard Basics
............................
PAGE 8
Infinity - Maiden
Voyage or not?
............................
PAGE 12
Underwater Pic s
............................
PAGE 13
Five Star Diving
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PAGE 16
Nudibranch Heaven
............................
PAGE 17
Best Clown Photo
I’ve Ever Taken
............................
PAGE 17
Map of our Diving

Manila Airport has
Beef Enpanadas
and Beer - All I
Really Need
No Plan. No Idea of What
Was to Come
The flight from Saudi to Manila was
a real treat. Yes, I could afford to go
first class, but I don’t work that way. I
wouldn’t have any stories.
The Airbus 330 was packed to the
brim. There must have been 200
Filipinos and just one white guy. Ring a
bell? I’ve been the odd one out so
many times it’s hard to remember
them all. Filipinos are generally small
people. I had no leg room. However,
when the Alpha flight attendant came
around and asked if I needed to move,
I declined. I don’t always like special
treatment. She didn’t ask the really tall
Filipino in the seat directly in front of
me if HE wanted to move! So i stayed.
It was an aisle seat. Good. I planned on
drinking all of the plane’s beer. (It’s not
easy going months without beer!) My
seat was right near the bathrooms.
That’s an Ok tradeoff for drinking a lot
of beer on a flight, especially since an
attendant came by every 10 minutes
and sprayed vanilla in the air.
I even dealt with the seat back not
adjusting. It was against the wall. Uggh.
Fine until the tall dude put HIS seat all
the way back. Yes, I was in the Holiday
spirit! Everyone was speaking a mix of
English and Filipino/Spanish. It was a
clean, cramped flight. There was beer
and easy access to the WC -bathroom
-washroom.
Expect the Unexpected!
I was just fine when they served
beer after the
first hour. It was
a long wait, but
rules dictated no
alcohol while still
in Saudi airspace.
I was reading the
most recent Jack Reacher book,
sipping a beer in my cramped
upright position. I was perfectly
happy. Then the lights dimmed.
The Filipino to my left, well, one
over decided to watch a movie.
(This international plane didn’t
have ANY multimedia - no center
screen, no individual headrest
screens, but pantomiming
attendants for safety.) Luckily for
some, there were 110/220v plugs
under the seats.
As the lights dimmed, Dummy # 2
GIVE ME UNLIMITED
BEERS AND AN AISLE
SEAT CLOSE TO THE
BATHROOM - THEN
I’M PERFECT.
plugged in his supersized Galaxy
Note to share a movie with
Dummy # 1 next to me. It wasn’t
the movie or the screen that
bothered me. It wasn’t the lack of
headphones. I plugged myself into
my own headphones, ready for just
such an instance.
What I did not expect…dummy #
2 had a red and blue “blinking”
charge cord. Our entire row was
flashing alternative red then blue
like the beginning of “COPS”. Uggh.
The entire flight was dark except
for the crime scene of row 59! I
kept my cool and waited to see
what might happen next. Breathe
in, out, in, out.
The final straw was an hour later. I
literally reached over Dummy #1
and slapped Dummy # 2 on his
head. Why? Because both he and
dummy number
1 had their
blankets over
their heads so
they could
SLEEP! WTF?
Problem solved.
The guy stared
at me for a
moment and
then followed through with my
request to stash his blinking terror
in the seat pocket.
The rest of the flight continued for
six hours without a hitch. The little
dude, dummy #1, actually
apologized at the end of the flight
and said “Welcome to the
Philippines!” That was pretty cool.
Unexpected and cool.
“WELCOME TO THE
PHILIPPINES!”
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Can you find the Candy Crab?
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NATOQUE INTEGERIS VIVER FRINGILLA VIVERRA FERMENT TEMPOR PAGE 3

A “feeling” and Looking Back on
Life in the Developing World
Low Expectations
It is now 2018, almost 2019, and the
feelings have returned. Memories of
South East Asia are being relived.
Diving days are rehashed and brought
to the forefront of my mind. My first
night in Cebu cost me $25 for a small
room before I board the yacht. Here is
the room.
✓ Cold Water Shower
✓ Dirt Roads
surrounding it
✓ I Bought Smokes
from a Woman’s
cinderblock “store”
in packs. She usually
sells them a smoke
at a time. The off
duty cop was my
decision maker on
what kind of smokes
to buy for the local
divemasters.
✓ The room included
“free” air con - a
step up from what I
usually pay for
✓ First time ever…the
room included “free”
toiletries - two small
squares of soap and
two “dental” kits - I
paid for a double
bed.
✓ Cement floors
✓ Shoddy electrical
✓ Sorry, Jason, no bed
bugs included this
time
La Di Dah. I forgot to continue the
story of the trip. The plane was on
time. We boarded at 2:30pm for our
3:00pm departure. I had been drinking
San Miguel Light since arriving in the
Domestic departure area. They sold
them in cans behind the counter with
Beef or Chicken empanadas!
We boarded and sat in the plane for
an hour an a half! Don’t ask. Even
though it was all in English, I couldn’t
get more of the story than bits and
pieces of mistakes in reservations and
seating. My seat was “scrunched”
again and my knee or shoulder would
be “nudged” every time someone
went to the bathroom. By 6pm (not
4pm) I was standing in line behind
some Spaniards for a taxi. I was happy
because my bag had arrived at the
same time I had.
We stood in line for about two hours
for the taxi. Why? I don’t know. It
seems like the Philippines is all about
waiting. Maybe it’s just “island time” all
over again. I didn’t mind. No one was
telling me I couldn’t eat pork or drink
beer in line.
There were two lines for taxis. I
instigated a discussion with the couple
in front of me because they were
“misfits” like me…”white”. The girl
spoke English but her boyfriend didn’t,
so we spoke both. While the dude and
I talked about their 15 day trek
through the Philippines, the girl went
up and asked why there was a short
line (not moving) for the expensive
Yellow Taxis and a really long line for
the “White” (cheaper) taxis. According
to the juvenile police officer, the short
line wasn’t moving because there
aren’t any “Yellow” taxis. Hah. We
were in the correct line. The comment
of “welcome to the Philippines” came
to mind again.
Henry, the “White Taxi”
Diver
No, he wasn’t white. He was a Filipino.
Imagine, I had no idea where I was
going. That’s why I stood in line and
took a metered taxi from the airport.
There is a reputation to uphold. If
tourists - say a white dude fresh off
the plane from a long trip with no idea
where the Express Inn Macatina is - go
missing, that’s bad for overall business.
Hence, Greg in a long line for a Taxi he
can trust more than a random “flag
down a ride” kind of minibus or taxi. I
really had no idea where I was going.
(Travelers tend to actually do this
quite a bit.) Did I mention that I always
ask no less than two other sources
(information desk or friendly local families
I talk up during the trip) about taxis to
trust.
Finally, the Hotel
Many single guys might take the
opportunity to go “see the sights” or pick
up some skanky local “companion” when
they are in a big city in South East Asia.
Not me.
I was totally “bushed” when Henry finally
dropped me off. I sat for twenty minutes
on a bench while the front desk guy
managed to order take out for the guests
two in front of me. The restaurant was
open so I ordered two beers while the
front desk took care of a few more people
at an “island” pace. Once I got my room
key, it was bed time. I’ve lived in South East
Asia long enough to know about what
lurks out at night for American Expats. No.
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Infinity Basics - A Liveaboard
Take off your shoes, say
goodbye, say hello to full
service on the ship.
The service starts immediately. I
was picked up by the minivan and
introduced to the owner of the
ship. He had made a point to come
and get us from our hotels. He
was apologizing profusely for being
late, but this is the Philippines and
two days before Christmas.
Taking off your shoes is the sign of
diving. We were shown into the
main galley to await our initial boat
briefing. The ship was in action like
a beehive. Everyone was doing
something - loading supplies,
unpacking gear, ferrying back and
forth from the landing.
Boat Briefing and Basics
Every ship has it’s basic rules. No
shoes. Don’t block the view of the
captain if you go onto the
foredeck. If we are moving, don’t
be alone on top. Stay off the dive
platform if we are moving. The
food is here for you. Ask for
anything you need. Let the cruise
director know if something is not
being done to your satisfaction.
Nic, our cruise director let us
know all of this while we sipped on
cold beers. His first rule was drink
and eat anything you want, but
don’t expect to dive if you abuse
the rule.
We were set to dive an average of
three dives a day. If we didn’t have
to travel in the night, we might be
able to do a fourth dive at night.
Most likely, we wouldn’t.
The schedule is generally to wake
between 6 and 7am for a light
breakfast and dive briefing. First
dive is max 30m and for 60
minutes or 50Bar/500psi. Then
comes big breakfast with eggs,
bacon, and the works.
Second dive is about an hour later
following another dive briefing. The
second dive is shallower for the
same dive time. Lunch is usually
followed by an extended surface
interval.
The third dive briefing is around
3pm which means we are in the
water by 3:30 and back on the
boat by 5pm, which is widely
considered “beer o’clock”. The chef
sets out a big spread dinner at 7pm
and the ship is already moving to
the next destination.
Nitrox and Dive Skiffs
Nitrox was included in the initial
price! Divers not certified in
Nitrox can take the course. Three
out of ten divers chose to learn
nitrox, so all of us were on the
same gas mixture! Pretty cool.
The dive groups remained the
same throughout this trip. Nic
either got lucky or just planned it
perfectly. There are two dive skiffs
to take us into the reefs. They hang
on the back of the ship while
traveling. Once at a sight, it is so
easy to jump into the small boat
and backroll into the blue. Reminds
me of the “black ops” divers you
see in movies. It was more surreal
because both boat drivers carry
shoulder walkie talkies and wear
“ninja-like” facemarks to protect
them from the sun’s rays.
The Black Ninja was our
follow boat captain. The
other boat was a green
ninja.
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Turtles Everywhere
✓ Some of our dives, like at Apo Island, were full of
turtles. At one point, at a Safety Stop (5m for 3
minutes at the end of each dive), I saw six turtles.
That dive, everywhere you looked was another
turtle. Perhaps it was all of the beautiful sea grass in
the sandy shallows. Perhaps it was just the right
temperature. Perhaps the sandy bottoms are
preferred for turtle play? We all had a lot of fun
with photos and videos of these gentle creatures. It
sure is great to see them so plentiful.
Basic Conditions and PUFF-Daddy
✓ Most of our dives were between 30 meters (99ft) and 20
meters (65ft). The water was a balmy 27°C/81°F. Very
rarely, we would hit a current, but the dives were
generally nice and calm. All the dives were drift dives,
meaning the boat would follow us wherever we went.
Easy diving all around.
✓ This was a HUGE puffer fish that greeted us at the top of
one reef. Look at those eyes! She wasn’t bothered by us.
I think she was too busy being pregnant.
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The Sardines Run
Have you ever seen the BBC Blue Planet special hosted by
David Attenburough? There is a great part where they show
the sardine run in South Africa. We got to experience the
Sardine run in Moaboal,
Philippines. Amazing.
Our ship set anchor off of
White Beach in Moaboal
for our third dive of the
day. It was rainy and
overcast. There were
Philippino boats
everywhere along boueys
and snorkelers jumping
from the boats.
I really didn’t feel like
diving in such a populated
place. All I could think of
was trash and poor viz
with a lot of humans
around. Oh well, I jumped in anyway. Dan and I followed
Kokoi down to about 20m and I was right, the viz was
pretty poor. In fact, as we hit the coral wall that lines the
bay, there was no sun at all. I figured it was the pollution.
There sure were a lot of fish though. There were schools
coming at us, below us, and all around us. Once I finally
looked up to where Kokoi was pointing, it was darkness.
But it was moving darkness. The darkness wasn’t polluted
water or silt. It was a never ending bait ball of sardines!
Incredible. I have never seen anything like it! They moved in
waves, twisting in and out, gyrating like the swarms of
sparrows in the sky.
The sun would be blocked for minutes at
a time, until a snorkeler would dive in
and temporarily split the swarm. Then a
random diver, like Dan, would swim into
the bait ball to try and get video
coverage. Too bad the viz wasn’t better. It
had been raining for a few days and was
pretty murky both in the shallows and at
20 meters. We drifting along in the slow
current for about 30 minutes before the
sardine run disappeared.
We were keeping vigilant for a thresher
shark. They are known for hunting
around the bait ball from time to time.
However, it’s well known that only the
very lucky divers ever experience a
thresher sighting. No matter, just seeing millions of sardines
at one time is exciting enough for me.
NOTE: the bottom picture is mine. I added the top picture
after a careful internet search. It is important to see the
enormity of the experience. What I could photograph in
such poor viz is nothing like we experienced with our own
eyes. The clear picture above tells a better tale.
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Infinity’s Maiden Voyage out of Cebú?
Transition Time
The Infinity was originally in
Thailand with a different owner.
I’m not sure, but several of us
onboard were discussing that it
seemed to us, that this was the
first time out.
The crew is local. The captain has
been transversing these waters for
over 10 years. Our Ninja follow
boat captain (also first mate) has
been doing the same. Both of the
main DMs were local and great
guides. But it was a transition of a
new ship to an experienced local
crew and a new (yet experienced
and foreign) cruise director.
As of December of 2018, the
owner had only had the ship for
8months. Like I said, transition
time.
New Everything
The boat was freshly painted. The
dive gear was just out of the box.
(Still in boxes the first night.) The
two galley girls were unpacking
brand new cutlery and plates. The
designated camera room was
storing all the boxes. It looked like
the new owner had a pretty hefty
Amazon bill from the diving and
kitchen sections.
Just a “Feeling”
As it turned out, I still don’t know
if this was the maiden voyage.
There were a couple of things that
happened that might not have
happened on a more seasoned
vessel.
A Short List of Hiccups
We certainly did not leave on time.
The ship advertised 11am
departure. I was picked up at 4pm.
We didn’t leave until well after
nightfall. The desalinator
malfunctioned after the first full
day of diving so we had to redirect
to a port and resupply fresh water
from two water trucks. Oh well.
We had some great diving. Maybe,
just maybe, these two were part of
a maiden voyage.
The third interference was an act
of God, a tropical storm. We were
set to do a fourth dive on our
third day, but the Coast Guard sent
out a level 1 tropical storm
warning. We were several ship
travel hours from the main port so
the captain called off the dive and
headed back to Cebu.
If we had stayed at the dive site
and the warning went to level 2,
that would mean no sea travel. The
ship would have to stay at the
remote dive site and several of our
divers would miss their planes
home. The captain erred on the
side of caution and took us home.
Thankfully, the storm warning was
lifted the next day. We traveled
South of Cebu for our planned last
day of three dives.
Proof in Pictures
December 22-29 was an excellent
dive trip aboard the Infinity. I was
impressed. The proof is in the
pictures. I took several hundred
pictures and put together a 12
Air and Nitrox compressors
are right on the back. Easy
in and out. No tank
changes. Absolute bliss.
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It’s rare to shoot one, much less two
clownfish, looking at you.
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All of the pictures, except the bait ball on pg. 09 and the shadow of me diving on pg. 14 were taken with my Nikon AW130. Some were with a flashlight
(torch) and many weren’t. I can only identify the fish. I am still learning the nudies and the corals. There is also such a wide variety of clownfish that I
haven’t had the time to explore their identification yet. Hey, I still need something to do on my subsequent dives. Thank you Julian and KoKoi for helping
PAGE 12

minute movie of the best video
clips. If you ever want a fantastic
experience diving, go INFINITY.
The Infinity is Five Star Diving
✓ I’ve done a wealth of diving and the dive part of this five
star resort is exceptional. They help with gear, know the
sites, lead dives with safety first, cater to your dive
experience, and treat you very well. Their dive gear was in
great condition (brand new, actually) and the tanks were
filled consistently to limits/nitrox levels.
✓ We dove the dive briefing plans with little modification.
The follow boats were always there to get us right away.
You cannot expect much more from a dive experience.
Nic is a newly appointed Director, but the dive crew
delivered a great experience. I cannot wait to hear about
the Infinity once Nic and his -already- great team has had
more time together.
My Dive Buddies, My Diving Group
✓ ThA big thank you goes out to Kokoi (photo next
page). He really knows his trade. The first day he
promised a frog fish. Nope! But the last ten minutes
of the very last dive, he delivered. (page 9) Kokoi is
one of the best dive guides I’ve had the pleasure to
dive with.
✓ My dive buddies Clint and Dan are excellent divers
and underwater videographers. All of us dove well
together, looked out for each other, and returned
unharmed. I had a lot of fun sharing vids and pics
from our dives with these guys. I’d dive with them
again anytime.
PAGE 13

Always Have Your Head “On a Swivel”
✓ Clint took this picture of me. It’s rare that I ever
have a picture of myself diving, so thank you Clint.
Each dive is different, but one rule rings true - keep
alert and look all around you. This means a full 360°.
You may be looking at a wall and get passed by a
whale shark in the deep. Sharks, rays, whales, and
schools of rays tend to stick to the deep blue when
they are in schools. It happens.
1cm? It’s Called a Pygmy Seahorse
✓ This is what I am talking about when I mention the
dive crew was excellent. They know what to look
for. This little guy was in a Fan Coral with a flat
radius of about 4feet. Imagine finding this little
creature in that size of a coral. I had a hell of a time
getting this photograph with my little Nikon AW130
in one hand and the “torch”/flashlight in the other. I
found that my macro shots are a lot more focused
when I use a torch instead of the useless flash!
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NUDIBRANCH HEAVEN
The best sightings underwater are not always sharks and the bigger animals. Nudibranchs are basically beautiful slugs,
flatworms, and alien creatures. There are so many forms, I had to consult a book to start classifying them. I haven’t seen
so many since I was in Borneo. This page honors Kris, Steve, and Ed.
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Sardine run of Moabaol.
Tropical storm caused us to
dive to the East for our last dives.
Pescador Island was
incredible for sea life
Sumilon Island was good for
3 dives! Awesome.
Apo Island was incredible for
turtles and Marine Life.
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