A dive site closer to home at Sisters’ Island

LAURA ELIZABETH PHILOMIN Today Online 11 Nov 15;

Scuba divers itching to get underwater without leaving Singapore can now consider Sisters’ Island Marine Park, which opened to divers on Sunday.

Home to a variety of marine life such as sea stars, hard and soft corals, giant clams and clown fishes, the dive site is located at Pulau Subar Laut, or the Big Sister’s Island, which is a 20-minute boat ride out.

Signboards that serve as station markers underwater will guide divers around the two 100m loops about 6m and 15m below the surface. Divers are given underwater educational resources, which they use in simple biodiversity or water visibility surveys. Visibility underwater ranges from 1m to 5m depending on weather conditions — when TODAY visited, visibility was about 2m to 3m and there were strong currents.

Dive windows will be regulated by the National Parks Board (NParks) and interested divers can sign up for limited slots by contacting any of the approved dive operators listed on the Sisters’ Island Marine Park website.

Ms Magdaline Yeo, a recreational diver for 15 years who was part of the first group of divers to visit the dive trail on Sunday, said her dive was “surprisingly enjoyable”.

“I didn’t think there was going to be such biodiversity around and about in Singapore ... And I’m actually quite happy NParks put in such stringent requirements because you can see that it’s quite delicate and definitely needing people who have a bit more experience, with buoyancy especially,” said the 37-year-old architect. LAURA PHILOMIN