At the Edge of the World

Continuing a tradition that Mel and I started two years back, we went diving over National Day weekend. Two years ago, we went with three other ladies (one of whom was my wife) to Perhentian (via train). Last year, I took a dive with baby Dan. This year, Mel and I went to Sipadan.

Sipadan is one of the more unusual places in the world. Sworn by Cousteau to be the "best diving site in the world", it is a coral atoll sitting out from the edge of the Borneo continental shelf. It's a coral atoll the size of St Johns Island, but a wall that goes down hundreds of metres into the ocean. A sharp pinprick in the ocean, no less.

However, it is also an eco-tourism disaster these days. When Cousteau first discovered the island 3 or 4 decades ago, it was virgin dive site. It must have been awesome. Then the resorts came (inevitably). The sedimentation and pollution started, and the corals started dying. The more people flocked to see the wonders of Sipadan, the more they were killing it. And now, there are practically no living corals left.But the big fishes still come for some reason. We did catch the famous barracudas by the thousands. Absolutely overwhelming sight.



However, even for these majestic creatures, the dive guides commented how their populations are also dwindling....

I wrote in my journal some time back after a similar dive trip, that divers are sad sea gypsies. They roam the seas hoping to find a pristine dive site, only to be disappointed each time. If the corals are their lovers, they also know in their hearts that the more they see of her, the more they are killing her. Corals die if you touch them; so with each embrace, you are killing your own lover -- touch by touch, dive by dive.

Yet, the seas are hauntingly beautiful. I feel myself drawn to its vastness, and its majesty. If you have ever been in a small boat in choppy seas, you'll learn to respect it. Yet, we are killing it. We have killed the forests; and now we are killing the seas.

I do wonder if there will be anything left for Baby Dan to see when he grows up. Perhaps not. Perhaps all he will ever see of the creatures I've gawked at this weekend would be at the Underwater World. But perhaps (I hope vainly) that the seas are more resilient than we imagine.