DIVE DAY FIVE: WHEN MONKEYS FLY -- OR GET CAUGHT IN RIPPING CURRENTS

Monkey Beach

You'd never be able to tell it from looking at these images of nudibranchs (above) -- some of the tiniest, most colorful and beautiful creatures in the sea, but this dive, at Monkey Beach gave us all we could bargain for. How? With an unexpected and ripping current that challenged us.

This isn't supposed to happen during a checkout dive -- usually your first dive when you arrive at a resort, just to get comfortable, check your buoyancy and weights, etc. But this short ride outside of Sabang Beach -- once we descended -- threw us for a big-time loop.

Drift dives are fun, as you let the current just carry you along. So why'd I feel like on this dive, we were being rushed across the Pacific? Still, Vic, or dive leader was able to herd all of us back to him where he inflated the orange safety sausage for our boat captain to spot us and haul us back into the speedboat. Nice dive -- and a helluva wake-up call.

Dive Buddies: Jim, Mike, Brittney, Rick,
Dive Guide: Vic
Max depth: 60 feet
Total Bottom Time: 60 minutes
Water temperature: 78 degrees Farenheit
Exposure Protection: 3mm shorty wetsuit
Air source: Enriched Air Nitrox 32% oxygen
Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009.