Redang 09

At the jetty, waiting for the boat to come.
Everyone’s feeling groggy after 10 hrs bus ride.

And we’re here!

At our resort, preparing for first dive!

Off we go! First dive of the trip: Shore dive
what an experience! The tank is FREAKING heavy.

Under the seaaa,

Under the seaaa~

Happy people after dive!

The things we do…

1)      Drive the speedboat

2)      Act cool

3)      Fight on ship wrecks

4)      Then descend into the black unknown of the ship wreck.

5)      Take photos at the big lovely heart at the More More Inn

6)      Discover cute diving quotes

7)      Left our mark at Redang (spot the sticker)

Not to mention all the eating that we did.

Finally, time to go home.

Till the next dive!

ADEX ‘09

“Save the sea, be a diver!”

That was the message being brought across to divers and non-divers alike at the Asian Dive Expo (ADEX) 2009, held at the Marina at Keppel Bay from 23^rd to 26^th April 2009. As the diving exhibition placed particular emphasis on marine conservation, the SMUX Diving Team was given a platform in the Environmental Quest Corridor.

The team used this platform to educate the public on the impact of neglect on the marine environment, on how our actions adversely affect the ocean and their marine life, and how dependent we actually are on the oceans. Another feature was the reef checks that we conduct in Reef Alert, our team’s annual conservation project.

ADEX also had various operators exhibiting, varying from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), diving operators, diving magazines, and dive sites being featured. It was a good experience walking along the aisles, talking with divers with similar interests, ranging from conservation to photography, or even the basic enjoyment of underwater treasures. This was definitely an event not to be missed by divers!

Open Season Dive ‘09

TIoman dive was an excellent get away trip from school. Although the journey there was cold as it rained during our boat ride, the Ramly burgers awaiting at the shore made up for it.

The first day of dives ran rather smoothly. I took the openwater course and was pleasantly surprised to discover that diving turned out to be easy! It was even easier then stepping from boat to boat at the jetty. Furthermore, it’s possible to dive with a semi-blocked nose and ear. Submerged underwater allowed me to perceive reality differently – time seemed to stand still, everything seems so near, but when you reach it and turn around, the people you left behind look really small.

However, it was annoying to have other people landing on you when their buoyancy control goes haywire in the quest to attain Floating Buddha status. Nonetheless, it was easy and definitely fun to take revenge on others!

The second day of diving was interesting. Beginning with the fresh faeces on our first dive to the stormy conditions we faced when diving to our dive boat abandoning us due to unforeseen circumstances, it was one great adventure after the next. Sadly the time came when we all had to leave Tioman, but not before ??-ing (taking away) the legendary roti bomb of Tioman.

The best part about diving is that I didn’t feel tired in between dives, perhaps a little cold, but nothing a little sunshine on the boat deck couldn’t cure. However, I was extremely exhausted the morning after returning from Tioman, but that’s probably because there’s no more dives. For now.

By Hu Jinjie

Open Season Marketing IC

The Crew Story

Why does the SMUX executive committee call themselves the Crew?

Here, we bring you an excerpt from Shawn Tee, President of the 1st Crew and the story behind it.

Underwater Hockey Clinic

Underwater Hockey Clinic was held on the 16th January, a Friday afternoon. Our aim was to promote our weekly dose of air-diction at the SMU Pool. Armed with fins, snorkels and the underwater hockey sticks, a rough number of fifteen participants went through what it was like pushing the 1.5 kg puck underwater. 

After getting the basics right, we brought on the challenge. The game goes like this. There are two teams, roughly five in each team. Basically it is similar to playing Hockey on land, where players swim towards the centre of the pool where the puck is. The players then hold their breath and dive down to the bottom where the puck is, and try to score a goal over at the opponent’s end. The winner of the game is the team who scores the most points.

It was an intensified duck-diving to the bottom of the pool, puck-snatching, fin-slapping moment. Despite being first-timers, many interesting strategies and techniques were applied. The game started off with everybody rushing over for the puck. That aside, it was interesting to watch the many acrobatic turns mad, and how the players held their breath and shot the puck right into the goal from a distance. 

The workshop introduced us to a few new players in the game, who have been familiar faces in the big challenge since then.