2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide - 28

The 13th Annual FWSA Scuba Diving Trip will be held in the Philippines in the fall of 2024. We'll be sailing on Big Beth - aka, the pride of the
MV fleet, on our diving adventure. photos courtesy of Roatàn Charter unless otherwise credited
FWSA 2024 Philippines Dive Trip
by Randy Lew
Dive Trip Leader, FWSA
We are going back to the Philippines! The
2024 FWSA Dive Trip will be October 19 -
November 2, 2024 to Marco Vincent Dive Resort
in Puerto Galera and Buceo Anilao Beach
& Dive Resort in Anilao!
Puerto Galera
Puerto Galera is a soothing vision of
shimmering seas surrounded by lush mountains.
It is considered one of the most beautiful
and developed beach resort communities in
the country.
The Puerto Galera diving area stretches
from White Beach right around to Coral Cove.
It is part of the Verde Island Passage and
named by some scientists as the center of the
world's marine biodiversity. There are over an
estimated 3,000 marine species including a
hundred new species discovered within the
last few years.
There are more than fifty dive sites that
are an interesting mix of sloping reefs, coral
gardens, deep pinnacles, shipwrecks, channel
dives, muck diving, drift dives and sea grass
beds. The range of depths means that the
scuba diving is great for open water students
right through to technical divers.
Due to the large tide difference, especially
around the full and new moons, the
drift diving can be an exhilarating experience.
Canyon's is the best place to enjoy the
ride. You can see schools of jacks, sweetlips,
fusiliers, snappers, and batfish all feeding in
the nutrient rich current. Occasional larger
visitors like eagle rays, Spanish mackerel and
great barracuda often cruise by. The second
and third canyons are covered in amazing
soft corals. These delicate corals offer a kaleidoscope
of wonderful colors that will
blow you away.
There are notable ship wrecks around
Puerto Galera. The Alma Jane is the most
popular; she was sunk in 2003 and lies in
100 feet of water. This wreck has a large
school of photogenic bat fish. You can penetrate
this wreck easily as there is plenty of
natural light to guide you through the cargo
holds. The holds are full of Cardinal fish, and
you can see the male carrying its eggs in its
mouth. There are some really nice soft coral
growth on the outside of the vessel where
you can see many shrimp and crab species.
There are three wrecks in Sabang Bay
which are full of marine life like leaf scor28
Far West Skier's Guide 2O23 - 2O24
The waters around Puerto Galera are noted
for their beautiful surroundings and the variety
of sealife that can be experienced.
photo by Randy Lew
pion fish, stone fish, and harlequin
shrimps. Around the east side there are the
remnants of a Japanese patrol boat from
World War II. In Manila Channel you can find
a wreck that is lying on its side and has got
some nice sponges and a resident frog fish.
You can have all this fun in Puerto Galera
without even visiting the main diving attraction
which is Verde Island. It is hard to put
into words just how good it is. There is a wall
of fish that make it hard to see the reef. This
is my favorite dive site in the world and I
would say it has the most fish per square inch
than any other dive site I have ever visited!
We will be staying at Marco Vincent
Dive Resort.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL 2O24

2023 - 2024 Far West Skier's Guide

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