“Just seen the article in the newsletter about rhinopias – didn’t realise that they were so rare or such a big deal to spot. I saw a pair of them last year in November. I didn’t have my camera with me but Hugh Moore did. Only 1 of the photos is clear & in focus but I’ve sent the others so that you can see the pair of the fish.”

But…the plot thickens! We went out there again and this time we found the second one. So now it’s confirmed that there are two in the area…BUT……IT GETS EVEN BETTER. Pete found another one at a completely different dive site!! So now there are at least three!! Peter Webster from Vision Divers, Melbourne Australia took the photo below. He caught it at just the right moment!

Alli couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw this little tuft of fluff moving along the bottom. With magnifying glass and camera in hand and a bunch of other divers with her, they got to see the extremely rare hairy octopus. It’s a small octopus, reddish brown in colour, covered with long and branching skin filaments, mimicking a tuft of Algae about 2 cm. Supposedly it’s only known to be found in North Sulawesi, but surprise surprise they are here in Puerto Galera too!! It’s been an amazing month for new critter findings in the area. Stuff that is only supposed to be in Lembeh is actually here too.

Please mark this on your Calendar and book in for what will be a fantastic and very special weekend here. We’re hoping we can get a good crowd of many of our friends who have been part of Asia Divers over the past 25 years to come over and help us celebrate. All perhaps a bit older and a perhaps a wee bit wiser…ha ha ha

 Event: Asia Divers 25th Anniversary Party

Date: Friday November 2nd to Monday November 5th

Activities Planned (so far!):  We will have a special dinner at El Galleon on Friday night. Saturday, Verdi Island trip and our local dives. Saturday night will be the big party on the The Platform. The theme will be “60’s Night” then from there we’ll continue on to the Point to carry on the party. We’ll be announcing the winners of the Photo contest and also the raffle that night. Sunday will include a couple of options of golfing, diving and perhaps a sunset cruise. We’re still putting the plans together, but it is already shaping up to be a great weekend. Please contact us soon and let us know if you can make it.

All are the eLED type, bright and with long burning time. Depth rating

is 500ft/150m for all lights, manufactured in USA.

The C4 are powered by 4 C Alkaline batteries that burn for 8h if you run

the light on high and almost 16h on low. The light output has increased

significant from previous model to 275 lumens on high.

SL4 runs by 4 C Alkaline as well but burns for 10h. The light output have

more then tripled to 400 lumens comparing to last years model.

The rental favorite SL3 has an increased light output from 98 to 125 lumens

and the 3 C Alkaline batteries gives you 32h burning time. With this burning

time the SL3 is perfect for rental use as well as personal use. Don’t need to

carry spare battery for your weeks diving holiday !!

Mini Q40 is a great little back-up light or for day dives to light up holes and

under overhang. Gives you 77 lumens and burn for 4-5h powered by 4 AA

Alkaline batteries.

We have many photographers coming to Asia Divers because of the great photo opportunities here. They can get shots of many weird and wonderful creatures, along with of course all the beautiful corals and fishes. Thanks to Stewart Clarke from Dubai for sending us these two fantastic photos and a good write up on them. I suspect Stewart will be eager to enter our 25th Anniversary Photo Competition! Details for that will be out real soon.

The Blue Ring

This shot was taken on at The Boatyard, a relatively new dive site that we had been informed had great potential for critters due the muck diving nature of it. We had already found two giant frogfish on the main wreck there and had decided to have a search around the reef that fringed the dive site. After finding numerous shrimps, nudibranch and crabs we were getting to the point where the dive was almost finished then out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight flash of blue on top of a small coral head. Looking closer I found this little fella perched on top of a yellow and blue sponge. Then came the decision of either informing my fellow photographer buddy or being selfish and taking my own shots with the chance that the Blue Ringed Octopus could disappear in a second. I chose the former and the next five minutes were spent in the joyous company of this amazing creature, it was only when he started getting a little bit feisty that we called it a day and returned to the boat with beaming smiles and full memory cards.

The Bug Eyed Squat lobster – Munida olivarae

This shot was taken on another dive at The Boatyard (quickly becoming a personal favourite site). We had decided to concentrate more on the reef this time hoping to bump into our friend from the previous day, instead we were treated to a wide array of shrimps, nudibranch, tiny lionfish and of course this wee critter. I had stuck my head under a small rock overhang to take a closer look at a small lionfish when the lobster decided to stick his head out to see what all the fuss was. I love the eyes on this guy and he reminded me of Marty Feldman, a comedian from the 1970s (think Igor in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein movie). It just goes to show that the closer you look at what is around you the more chance you have of finding some truly amazing little critters with Asia Divers.

We’re all very excited because Asia Divers celebrates its’ 25^th Anniversary this year! During 2012 we’ve got some special things to mark the occasion and one of them is to run a photo competition. We think it will be a fun challenge for many of our photographer friends and it will also give you a chance to be recognized for your talent.

Details and prizes will be announced very soon, so keep your eyes on our Blog!

Cocos Island (Costa Rica)

We still have 1 spot (male) left for Allan’s and Tommy’s trip to Cocos Island (Costa Rica) April 28-08 May, 2012. This is probably the best dive destination if you like big stuff at one single location. Schooling Hammerheads, Galapagos Sharks, Hunting Whitetip Reef Sharks, Mantas, Lots and Lots of Schooling Fish and you never know sometimes the largest fish in the world shows up. DON’T MISS THE CHANCE ! Contact tommy@asiadivers.com

For some weeks now we have been witness to the construction of our new pontoon, which has been taking shape on the rocky shore next to Asia Divers. Like a giant meccano set it has slowly but surely materialized in to a marvel of engineering. Our new 12m X 12m Pontoon had been built on a wooden temporary scaffold and needed to be lowered so that it could be launched on the night of January 10th on the high tide. Allan came up with an ingenious way to remove the scaffold and lower the entire pontoon in preparation for the launch. Sand bags were positioned  as temporary supports, allowing the scaffolding to be removed, then the sand was slowly released from the bags lowering the pontoon to the ground. It’s just like ancient Egypt!

We are all thrilled with the new pontoon already. Because of it’s size, all of our boats can be tied up to it, which makes it easy to load up the boats with equipment and divers, even when the dive shop is very busy. No more waiting for a boat to leave to bring in another one! Check out the new ramp as well. It’s a very easy access from the pontoon to the pier.

Want to try something new? Tech Asia is going full speed ahead into 2012 with a packed program of Wreck diving activities, Scooter courses and dives, and all levels of Trimix training. One or two spots still exist on trips overseas to fantastic wrecks such as the HMS repulse in the South China Sea, and HMS Hermes in Sri Lanka. Have a look at their calendar here