Discover the Delights of Bintan Black Coral
IF YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR DIVING OR WOULD LIKE TO CULTIVATE ONE, YOU DON’T NEED TO GO TO DISTANT, COSTLY RESORTS, WHEN THERE IS BINTAN BLACK CORAL JUST A SHORT TRIP AWAY.
Would you like to enjoy a dive weekend but don’t have the time to fly anywhere? No need to fly, just take a 45-minute ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and you are at the Indonesian island of Bintan. On the east coast of the island are beautiful white sand beaches as alluring as any on the planet.
EXPERIENCED INSTRUCTORS
Bintan Black Coral is a marine tourism facility which offers basic Kelong stay, fishing, snorkelling, kayaking island hopping, and scuba diving. Here you can take dive lessons from certified instructors Douglas Yeo and Pak Rio. Douglas Yeo, with 27 years of experience, was nominated for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2018 for his part in assisting in the rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team who were trapped in the cave in Thailand. Pak Rio is a passionate diver, known as a man of few words, but a man of action.
You can do fun diving or take a diving course under DIWA Certification with the certified operators and instructors, and you can become a dive instructor yourself. Douglas is encouraging locals to take up the profession. “It can be life changing,” the Singaporean states. “I’ve seen young men who had no direction in life suddenly find something that gives them a purpose, a passion and an income. As certified divers they become guides and instructors.”
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
Douglas is very concerned about the environment and has taken action to improve and protect it. “We built a concrete seahorse, not just as an attraction for divers, but to demonstrate that they are important. We don’t want fishermen harvesting them and selling them in the markets.” A concrete mermaid has also been created, but if you can catch a real one…the market is yours. These serve as artificial reefs and more will be inserted off Trikora Beach.
Turtle eggs can be found in local markets. Douglas and his team began a project in 2016 to protect the eggs that are laid there. The eggs are protected until they hatch and the babies make it to the sea, and not to the market.
Every year, at the end of the September, Douglas, Pak Rio and a host of volunteers do a beach clean-up. Tourists are welcome to join in.
MICRO ENVIRONMENT
For divers there are not only statues to view, but clownfish (you will have no problem finding Nemo). Along with the seahorses there are yellow tailed barracudas, the colourful sea slugs (Spanish Dancers) and more.
For those who would like to get into diving, White Sands Island, with its calm, clear waters, is the perfect place to be introduced to the sport. And you couldn’t find better instructors than Douglas and Pak.v