DIVING IN HONG KONG 

If you think Hong Kong is surrounded by murky waters and there is nothing to see, think again.  Andrew Couch, Mandarin Diver's PADI Course Director tells us the best and worse places todive, what you can expect to see as you are cruising the underworld, and what makes diving a great outdoor sport in Hong Kong.

 

"By far, two of our most favourite dive sites for beginners and open water students are Nine Pins Island Group and Shelter Island.  They both offer protective coves and sandy bottoms, surrounded with a perimeter of diverse coral and anemonepatches," enthused Andrew.  "Many of our students are surprised by the variety of sea life they encounter on their dives.  With an averagevisibility of 6 - 10 metres, we spot plenty of crabs, cuttlefish, octopus, clown fish, soft coral, juvenile sweetlips, juvenile barracuda and grouper. Many of our divers are often exclaim 'why do people say diving in Hong Kong isbad?  That was awesome!'"

 

"Of course, our student divers and fun divers are a lot more cheerful in the summer months when the water temperature averages 28 degrees Celsius.  The dive season in Hong Kong generally runsfrom April - November of each year.  Outside of those months, we find that divers enjoy the generally clearer water even if it is slightly cooler, these diver obviously enjoy the thrill of a chill," said Andrew.

 

According to Andrew, Hong Kong also has alarge pool of experienced divers who are eager to explore more than the common weekend dive sites frequented by the recreational dive community in Hong Kong. As Mandarin Divers is also the training home of a niche group of technical and adventure divers, they also run trips to more distant sites such as the Oil Rigs and Pedro Blanco.  "Situated 60 miles from Hong Kong in deep open water, Pedro Blanco and the Oil Rigs offer the perfect weekend getaway for adrenalin junkies looking to practice deepdives, run amok on Rebreathers or become certified Advanced Nitrox divers.  This market of extreme diving is definitely growing in Hong Kong and the surrounding region." Mandarin Divers has become the foremost centre in Hong Kong for both experienced and up and coming Technical Divers with particular specialty in the application of Rebreathers.

 

Aside from the weekend and holiday fundiving trips that Mandarin Divers operate, they offer a wide range of scuba courses for both beginners and the experienced.  

Basic PADI Open Water courses start at HK$3,750, and students can progress right the way through to Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Divemaster and a completerange Instructor level training, depending on their enthusiasm andinterest to pursue diving as a professional career.  On the technical side, Mandarin Divers specializes in a host of technical and specialty courses, with an opportunity for training and certification dives tobe conducted in Hong Kong or the Philippines.  For those looking to have a holiday and learn to dive all at once, Mandarin Divers also runs overseas trips and dive courses with affiliated centres in Puerto Galera and Cebu in the Philippines. 

 

"Diving is a great weekend sport in Hong Kong.  People come aboard, forget about the everyday stresses of work in Hong Kong and just enjoy the sunshine and time in water.  Our regular divers who join us for fun dives on the weekend range from school teachers, to lawyers, investment bankers and a wide circle of occupations.  They all come from different walks of life, but have one thing in common, and that's the love of diving.  The ocean is one of the world's greatest escapes," Andrew sentimentally ended.