Seaventures Dive Rig Resort
Accommodation & dive service providers for Sipadan/Mabul fall into 2 categories; those based off-shore on the small islands of Mabul & Kapalai and the more budget friendly operations based on the mainland in the transit town of Semporna. Though more expensive, staying out at the islands offers the much more relaxing & cultural experience of sleeping off-shore sharing a coral cay with the local sea gypsies.
Seaventures is based on a converted oil rig that has been re-positioned 200 metres off-shore from the popular Paradise 1 & 2 dive spots of Mabul Island and occupies the position as the sole affordable, no-nonsense accommodation offering at the islands. Though it lacks the ‘Castaway’ glamour of the Water Bungalows at the pricier resorts, the Utilitarian rig fosters a great team spirit amongst staff & guests with a real focus on the essentials; stuffing you with plentiful food in between providing great dives. A welcome bonus of the off-shoring positioning is that while the guests in the expensive bungalows look out over a conspicuous bright blue & yellow oil rig, you will enjoy your evening beer watching twilight fade over an idyllic tropical island on one side and uninterrupted views of the distant mountains of mainland Borneo on the other.
All divers are met punctually from their flight by a company mini-van and whisked straight off on the hour’s drive to the harbour town of Semporna where paperwork is completed in their office. Here you are given plenty of time to unwind from your flight, check all your gear and visit the well-stocked local supermarket for last minute supplies before being taken to the comfortable and mercifully dry speedboat. Heading out through the mangroves & water gypsy villages made famous by BBC’s ‘Oceans’ documentary, the transfer can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour or so depending on the tide level, though with fantastic scenery and photo opportunities everywhere I consider this to be one of my favourite parts of the experience.
Arrival at the rig for the first time is great fun as you get your first experience of ‘the lift’. A solid wooden platform that is lowered from the main rig deck to the water level for entry onto boats, the lift will also submerge a metre or so to allow a simple flop down into the water for house reef dives. Definitely unique and always fantastic fun.
Accommodation:
The rooms here are basic, but comfortable. The rig is definitely aimed squarely at those who want to dive without too many extra frills, though in saying that I have always been able to have a piping hot shower and the air con was reliable; pretty much everything you could need. I have always stayed in a double room but there are also dorm rooms with shared facilities on offer & a couple of more ‘deluxe’ rooms, though I haven’t seen the inside of them.
The main deck is split roughly into half with the dive deck and cold showers at one end with the bar and eating area occupying the other. There is also a sun deck on the top level which was being fitted out with wooden decking when I was there in May 2013. The view from either of these is fantastic at night with giant schools of bait fish hanging out in the floodlights of the rig, mingling with batfish & desperately trying to avoid marauding Barracuda.
Food:
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner are catered on the rig along with some mid-morning and afternoon sweet snacks. The food is a mixture of ‘westernised’ Asian dishes presented in Bain Maries with plenty to go around. Lots of Chicken & Beef dishes, plenty of Vegetables & a lot of Fish – I don’t eat Fish but I’m informed it was always really nice. The food is catered for the whole rig and can get a bit bland but if you recall where you are and the cheaper price point over the over resorts then you really can’t ask for more.
Diving:
Diving starts EARLY for Sipadan if you’re lucky enough to snag a pass (I have had a 100% success ratio over 10 days of diving, though both were in the off-season). 3 dives are conducted at Sipadan over the course of the morning with breakfast, snacks & drinks supplied during the surface intervals on the island. You are usually back at the island by around 13.00 in plenty of time to relax and in my case get in a couple of house reef dives. The journey out to the island and back takes around 20 minutes and while being windy due to the speed of the dive boats is not uncomfortable.
Those that do not go to Sipadan – in the case of my last trip we chose to go to the local islands for most of our stay – have 2 dives in the morning at Mabul & Kapalai with surface intervals back on the rig and then another after lunch. The farthest site on Mabul is a maximum of 2 minutes away by boat & Kapalai just 10 minutes. The added bonus of diving the local islands is you usually get into the lunch before the Sipadan boat(s) return.
The rig has 3 large, comfortable dive boats each equipped with sufficient horses on the back to convey anywhere up to 10 guests & staff quickly & comfortably. Note the boats are never over crowded so you will always have plenty of personal space to gear up without bashing each other and the guides/boat guys ensure kitting up is as painless and amusing as possible.
Finally, the house reef. As one of the finest features of the Seaventures rig I feel a thorough description is definitely warranted in this review. The area directly under the rig is a flat and sandy floor at approximately 16 metres depth with a selection of cages, boats and even a western style toilet lying around. Perfect conditions for a whole host of Nudibranchs, various Scorpionfish, Stonefish, Crocodilefish & all sorts of other invertibrates. Away from the edges of the rig’s 6 legs the seabed raises a few metres and is studded with small bommies; careful searching in this area will bring up yet more Nudibranchs and assorted critters in addition to quite a few isolated Sea fans – a recent discovery of a Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse on one of these fans had me searching all over the place. A school of small Barracuda regularly patrols this area too, especially when there’s low vis so it pay to always keep an eye above you. Fish fans also have reason to be happy under the rig with a couple of large schools of Striped Snapper, plenty of Batfish, innumerable other small fish & a couple of monster Groupers. Be aware of the currents under here, but time it right and with nice vis and a manageable current you’d be forgiven for thinking you were flying.
