We finally got to go diving together in 2025! After two reschedules and nearly having to cancel, we were able to find a week that fit the schedules for work, life, and the liveaboard. We returned to Sipadan, the same place we went last September in 2024 when we dove for a long weekend on the Seaventures Dive Rig, only this time we went for a full week on the Celebes Explorer 9 liveaboard.
We were originally supposed to go in May on a trip arranged by our good friend Francis whom we met at Seaventures last year. May is the ideal season for weather, visibility, and sea life in Sipadan, so we were disappointed to miss both the season and the chance to dive with Francis again. Francis, if you are reading this, we miss you and are looking forward to diving with you in 2026!
First, the Sipadan Big 3…
We arrived in Tawau and were met by Tom, our host and divemaster for the week. We quickly learned that all the other scheduled guests had cancelled, most likely because of Cat 5 Typhoon Ragasa, and we would have the boat to ourselves for the week. We are grateful the company and crew sailed with only 2 divers for the week. The weather was beautiful and the seas were calm for the entire week with all the energy pulled north as the Typhoon crossed the Philippines and on to Macau – reminiscent of our first dive trip to Belize when Cat 5 Hurricane Dorian was in the eastern Caribbean leaving the seas in Belize swimming pool smooth.
Low season and calm seas gave us a couple highlight reel close encounters without any other divers anywhere nearby…
We enjoyed one of the upper deck rooms with bow and starboard windows and a door that opened up to the outside. The crew was very attentive, and the food was good with several dishes to choose from at every meal. Tom is a great divemaster and planned our schedule and dives to avoid the crowds which we appreciated.
The combination of the latest iOS upgrade and Sportdiver app upgrade changed the way the triple lens feature works on the Sportdiver, so I spent a fair amount of time getting frustrated by not being able to get to macro mode for shooting the tiny stuff. Videos frustrated me some as well, but that was usually operator error framing videos up into the light with lots of floaties. I think we’ll stick with the Sportdiver for video and upgrade to a TG7 one of these days.
We managed to find a few new kinds of nudibranchs along with several common types…
We saw mantis shrimp for the first time and managed to get a video of one of the color critters…
One of my favorite photos from the trip is this wide mouthed shot of a big moray eel… I think it was yawning but the official story is that it lunged at me as I deftly snapped the photo and escaped with all my fingers.
We anchored in Semporna for the last night of the trip and gave the kitchen crew the night off after a week of keeping us well fed. We ate at a seaside seafood restaurant and were lucky enough to meet Tom’s wife and one of his daughter’s who is going to school to be a chef. They are a great family who all pitch in to help with the Celebes Explorer experience in front of customers and behind the scenes. If you are reading this, thank you again!
Dinner was Malaysia sweet and sour fried fish, or Ikan Masak Tiga Rasa in behasa melayu (the Malaysian language). I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of the coke can still featuring the fun names… this one’s for you Bri!
If you are still here reading until the end, maybe you are yawning like the eel. We hope you enjoyed sharing a bit of our underwater fun!
Sending love from Penang, Scott & Ryan
P.S., we are furnishing more of the house now and are looking forward to sharing updates soon.
amazing video and photos. Looking forward to April 2026!
Amazing photos as usual! Miss you guys and hope to get together with you soon!