The Pride of Mabul

Hi folks!

Sipadan Water Village Resort has always been a popular resort among avid divers with years of experience in the business and their expert knowledge and skill on fish-finding is known to be among the best in the world. Thanks to guidance from underwater photography guru and marine biologist and course director Mr. Yoshi Hirata, the resort has grown from not being just a normal dive resort but a tome of knowledge on the diverse marine environment around the Celebes Sea. And thanks to the seniors Alex, Leonard, Jimmy and Alan, this practise continues to grow and with their further guidance, new dive masters are trained not just to serve you as a dive guide but a fish finder and mentor as well.

If you are eager to learn about species of fishes, behavior and other snippets about the marine ecology in further details, Sipadan Water Village Resort is your place to be. The resort caters for reknown photo-jounalists, marine biologists and the VIPs in the dive industry simply because the dive guides here knows more than the others do in the area. Not only are the dive masters keen and ethusiastic fish finders who actively conduct research dives and share their new findings on a daily basis, they would extend an extra hand to teach you and guide you to know and understand more about fishes, corals and the sea in general. I would say that staying with them a week, you will learn what others can offer you in a month.

Recently, new species of nudibranchs has been discovered in Mabul and named in honor of their founders. They have made tireless research and knowledge development through detailed logs on the said species, and are recognized by scientists and nudibranch experts internationally for their achivements. Below are the pictures of the new species of nudibranch and their founders:

Rica's Polycera

Found by Rika Hirose (SWV Dive Instructor)
(Left: Posing a happy picture with Josey)

Richard's Thecacera

Founder: Richard Usah (SWV Dive Master)

Desmond's Trapania aka Blue Trapania

By: Desmind T. Y. Chong (Ex SWV Dive Master now Freelance Scuba Instructor in Thailand)

There is one more guy called Leonard Lai who was my mentor before and SWV Dive Instructor as well who also found a new species of nudibranch before the rest called Leonard's Tripania. I don't have the pictures with me now so if Leonard you be reading this blog, you can send me a picture of your Tripania for us to take a look at.

I bet there is more unseen or unnamed nudibranchs out there (since they are among the most diverse ones) so perhaps you can be lucky enough to stubble accross one during one of your dives, or increase your chances by diving with these people at Sipadan Water Village Resort where they live and work. If you manage to find and name one, there is no doubt that we will see your name in the credits of guide books in nudibranchs, in magazines and so forth. A boost of fame is never bad I presume.

So, Happy Diving!