Tuesday 27 May Pulau Bidong

 

The major attraction was diving the sunken boats of Vietnamese refugees who fled their homeland when the Communists came to power. The boats they arrived in were scuppered to prevent them being forced to put to sea. At the height of the influx I understand there were 40,000 people clinging to this small island.

We arrived from Terengganu late afternoon with a brisk easterly blowing. It had been a smart three hour sail but the east winds now made the recommended anchorage to the south of the island uncomfortable so we looked for a place further up the west coast. Unexpectedly we came across the University of Terengganu research vessel and it's satellite vessel on one of five mooring balls. They indicated it was OK for us to pick one up for the night.

Out of courtesy we went ashore to ask formal permission to stay overnight and received the warmest welcome from the team who were there with a film crew. Yes, we could use their mooring ball and yes, enjoy the diving with suggestions where to go.

Next morning we loaded the dive kit into the dinghy and headed to wreck bay. It's impossible to anchor the big boat here as the seabed is littered with wrecks and fishing debris and there is a fish farm in the centre and metal structures like something from War of the Worlds on the seaward side which are fish farms used to raise Australian Groupers.

futuristic fish farm structure

Twelve metres below a mooring ball we found the first wreck, a metal boat of about 70' and from that a line of wrecks, one wooden hulk, but mostly metal fishing boats. It was fascinating to see this piece of recent history and unlike wreck diving in the UK you could see 20m and the water is warm. And of course they are home to many, like a hawksbill turtle foraging in the hold of one boat , a large grouper hanging around under the hulls and a fish trap with groupers and parrot fish caught inside. It didn't take too long to turn the trap over, find the door and allow the poor fish the chance to swim to freedom.

In the afternoon we did a second dive on the wrecks with Pete and Margrete from 2XS but the tide had switched and visibility wasn't as good.

From wrecks we moved on to pristine coral gardens. Our initial reaction was 'this is OK' but the more we saw the more treasures were revealed; gin and tonic clarity, no current and absolutely gorgeous coral, sponges and fish, a small sea snake searching for grub while seemingly oblivious to us hovering above.

Ashore we visited the remains of the site where as many as 40,000 Vietnamese refugees lived in an area the size of a football pitch.  The buildings are gone but on the headland there are memorials erected to the people who came, some who died, here in their quest for freedom.

Bidong was worth a three day stop and we could have done more exploration diving if we hadn't had to beat feet to Borneo 440miles across the South China Sea for the next rally event.