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A giant manta ray glides through open blue water at South Point off Sipadan island.

Sipadan · Malaysia · Wall · Drift

North Point

Twenty or more grey reef sharks off the ridge on a single dive

Area photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0

North Point is the northern tip of Sipadan, where the current splits and speeds up around the corner. A ridge climbs from 40 m to a peak at 12 m and falls away on both sides, and grey reef sharks gather off it in numbers.

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Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of North Point: typical dive 12–25 m (40–82 ft), deepest point 40 m (130 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit12 m25 m40 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

4.1188° N, 118.6283° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Divers drop onto the ridge and descend to its shoulder at 25 m, hooking in there with a reef hook to watch the grey reef sharks; counts of 20 or more on one dive are common. Bumphead parrotfish shelter in the ridge's lee when the current runs hard, and divers do the same, tucking behind the ridge while the water rushes past.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
Month-by-month season rating for North Point
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairPrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodFairGoodGoodGoodFair

Season follows Sipadan: Diving runs all year; March to May brings the calmest seas and clearest water, while wind and rain can cloud it from December to February and in August.

Know before you go

  • The current is often moderate and occasionally strong enough that divers must shelter behind the ridge.
  • The point is exposed to swell and wind, so the boat ride out can be choppy.

Dive videos

Diving at Sipadan North Point · willgriv on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Do divers need a reef hook at North Point?+

It helps. Divers hook in on the ridge's shoulder at 25 m to hold position in the current while the sharks pass.

Sources

  1. Sipadan dive sites — PulauMabul.com
  2. Sipadan Island diving sites — Dive The World
  3. Dive sites — Seaventures
  4. Pulau Sipadan coastline — OpenStreetMap

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Coral Garden

Dozens of green turtles feeding along the edge of the wall

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Hanging Gardens

Soft coral in pastel lemon and antique rose, and turtles by the dozen

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Lobster Lair

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Mid Reef

Packs of bumphead parrotfish, sometimes 40 strong, grazing the table corals

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South Point

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Staghorn Crest

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The Drop Off

Barracuda massing on a wall with no bottom in sight

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