Seaventures Dive Rig Resort

Seaventures Rig is a one-of-a-kind dive resort situated on a converted oil rig. Upon arrival, diving equipment and people were lifted to the main deck using an open elevator. We were well-received with a cold drink and a thorough briefing. The main deck housed the dive center, restaurant, bar, and offices, providing refreshing breezes and panoramic views of Mabul and stunning sunsets.The modest accommodations were located on the three floors above the main deck, while the deluxe rooms required climbing a rabbit warren of stairs to the fourth floor. The air conditioning and wifi worked perfectly, the beds were comfortable, and the private bathrooms were "wet" rooms where the shower drained across the floor.A notable convenience was the camera room on the main deck, eliminating the need to carry cameras to the top floor. This room was continuously monitored by CCTV and remained unlocked.The meals were served buffet-style and offered a delicious variety of hearty and healthy options. On one memorable night, a special BBQ with fresh fish was organized as a farewell for a group, accompanied by live music. There was always someone attending the bar, ready to answer any questions and keep the keys safe.One of the highlights of the resort was the house reef, where the checkout dives took place and where divers can freely explore at their own pace. Navigating the reef was easy with numbered support columns and excellent visibility. The marine life was interesting, featuring juvenile species, macro life, and unfortunately, some newly discarded waste that had not yet become part of the habitat.

Seaventures Rig in Borneo, Mabul and Sipadan Isl., Oct 2013I think staying on the Seaventures oil rig is a pretty wonderful and unique experience for the right person. Overall, the rig is massive so it isn't really comparable to a liveaboard boat. For couples and for people with lots of equipment, the rig is much nicer as you have all the space you want and it is a bit like a floating hotel (even though it doesn’t move at all) in terms of accommodations. With that said, the rig isn’t new (more wear and tear than I expected) and the accommodations are targeted at the budget oriented diver compared to some of the resorts on nearby Mabul Island (200m away).FOODThe food was good and they had a dessert cooler, deluxe drink station and snacks during the day between meals. The food was served buffet style and overall the quality and variety was higher than I have had on any of my budget oriented liveaboard trips.STAFFOverall, I think the staff did a great job. They greeted you with a drink on arrival and worked hard to take care of all your needs. I found the divemasters to be truly excellent. They kept positive attitudes and didn't try to overly control divers as so many less experienced divemasters do. They were happy to point out tons the small macro life around Mabul but if you weren't interested, they let you be.The only negative experience I had with a staff member was someone in the gear rental shop. After arriving, I went to get a regulator and I was a bit shocked how old and worn the reg appeared. I normally rent gear when I dive and I have rented gear in many different countries and this may have been the worst condition regulator I have ever rented. I asked to change to a different reg which the staff did quickly but there was no obvious difference. When I wasn't thrilled with my replacement reg, the staff person said, "If you don't like the gear, bring your own." This obviously isn’t a nice thing to say and it upset me a bit. However, besides the occasional funny diaphragm sound (above water only), I didn't have any problems with my reg but my low pressure inflator hose gave off a steady stream of bubbles the entire 4 days of my diving. Besides this one experience with the gear rental staff, I think the staff did an excellent job of being polite, super prompt, anticipating my needs, and trying to show me a really great experience. I should also mention that I was a single traveler and they put me in my own room without any additional cost and they only charged me a half-day gear rental fee for the first and last day, which for me was beyond what I expected.SIPADAN MARINE LIFEIn terms of the diving, this was the best diving I have done so far in my life. As background, I've been diving 8 years and have logged 160 dives so far. For me, a few things made this trip the best yet. First, I have never dove with such a massive school of jacks. The jacks were always there and they would let you swim through them without any bother. The first few experiences with the cloud of jacks was mesmerizing and I suspect I will forever remember this experience. Second, we got close to a big school of barracuda, which was wonderful (although I did not see the barracuda tornado which Sipadan is famous for). Of course, the turtles were plentiful including a Hawksbill and the sharks were even more amazing. I can't be sure how many sharks we saw because I don't know if they swam away and came back or we just saw new ones (maybe 10-20 sharks on one dive). But the sharks (white tip and gray reef mainly) were .5-2m in length and would let you get pretty close (< 3m when they seemed to be sleeping). Personally, this was the first time diving with such a strong concentration of large predators so I was in heaven.MABUL MARINE LIFEFor Mabul Island and other nearby sites, I feel like it was a feast of macro things. We could see tons of different nudibranchs, flatworms, pipefish, leaf scorpions, dragnets, pygmy seahorses, shrimps, crabs, and more. The divemasters were super experienced and had no trouble finding tons of macro life. There were also some wonderful blue-spotted rays and giant morays to enjoy.SIPADAN PERMITSInterestingly, the government strictly controls the number of divers that are given permits for Sipadan each day. And yet the staff worked hard to maximize opportunities and bend corners whenever possible for us to dive Sipadan as much as possible. For me and most of the people in my group, we were able to dive Sipadan 2 of the 4 days we were there. For comparison, Seaventures only guarantees 1 permit/day with a 4 day visit. So, if you are planning a visit to Sipadan, I would suggest you do some research ahead of time so you know what to expect.UNDER THE RIGThe last thing I will say is that the diving under the rig (house reef, available anytime you want with a buddy) was surprisingly descent. There isn't much coral around the rig or the nearby Mabul Island so folks have placed all sorts of artificial structures to help attract marine life. Yet, there were often schools of fish and lots to look at only an elevator ride away. And how many times in your life will you be able to swim on to an elevator platform waiting below the water line wearing all your scuba gear, and wait as it lifts you directly out of the water. Simply awesome!

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.

The Seaventures dive rig is exactly that, an ex oil rig brought to the area and planted just offshore from Mabul island with prime access to some of the best diving in the world. If you are after a trip to fit in as much diving as possible then Seaventures sums up the ethos of 'eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive,eat, dive, sleep'. Yes that's 4 meals a day and four dives if you have the energy for it! The DMs and instructors are a really friendly bunch and very professional in what they do in organising dive days and trips out to Sipadan. Underneath the rig, on the house reef you can find a huge variety of life from Ribbon and Moray eels, huge schools of fish to the more intriguing stone and scorpionfish. For macro photographers it's a dream come true as you can dive the house reef as much as you want for free and there is plenty to see here! Just a short boat ride away you also have all of the amazing man made reefs around Mabul island. It's obvious that the reefs are all well looked after and support a massive range of life including cuttlefish, octopus and oh so many Lionfish! Just one tip to be aware of, avoid booking in the Asian school holidays as the rig is very popular during this time, meaning fewer opportunities to get to Sipadan and more crowded dives. Take a short boat over to the island in the evening to play basketball with some of the friendly local kids, grab some food and watch the sunset at the end of a long day, with a beer in your hand and a smile on your face. Happy days.