Sipadan · Malaysia · Wall · Reef
West Ridge
Black coral on the wall, resident groupers and turtles
Area photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0
West Ridge is a wall on the west side of Sipadan Island, dived as a 10 to 25 m swim along a face carrying black coral. Current is none to light and visibility runs past 30 m, so it is a site for stopping and looking rather than holding station. Turtles and the resident groupers are the constants, and reef sharks are what the site is known for.
Where it is and how deep
4.1152° N, 118.6250° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive works the wall between about 10 and 25 m, and with none to light current you set the pace rather than the water. That is the character of the site: nothing pushes you along the face, so the depth you hold is your own decision rather than something the conditions make for you. Get the buoyancy settled on the descent and the rest of the dive is a slow swim.
The face itself carries black coral, and the ridge is broken enough that the interest is in working close to the rock rather than cruising a metre off it. Visibility past 30 m means you also spend part of the dive looking outward into the blue instead of at the wall. With no current to fight there is time to frame a shot properly, which is the other reason the site gets dived.
Turtles are constant here and the groupers are residents, so they are usually the first thing a guide points out. Sharks are the other draw and the site is described as a good place to spot them, so it is worth keeping half an eye on open water rather than staying nose-down on the coral. The dive finishes in the shallower part of the band, where the light current makes the safety stop straightforward to hold.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Groupers
- Reef sharks
- Napoleon wrasse
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Sipadan: Diveable year-round; a slight dip in visibility can occur during the November–February monsoon.
Questions divers ask
How deep is West Ridge?+
The normal profile runs between 10 and 25 m along the wall. Divers stay in that band rather than following the face down.
Do you need advanced certification for West Ridge?+
It is listed for advanced divers, though the same source calls it suitable for all levels. The current is none to light and the normal profile runs 10 to 25 m.
Sources
- West Ridge Dive Site — Divezone
- Sipadan Dive Sites — Scuba Junkie
More dive sites in Sipadan
Thousands of barracuda wheeling into a tornado that darkens the sun
Soft coral in pastel lemon and antique rose, and turtles by the dozen
Wall
Lobsters, frogfish and pipefish on a deep macro wall
The deep corner, where rare hammerheads pass at 40 m and beyond
Wall
A cracked deep wall under a shallow coral garden
Wall
Barracuda massing on a wall with no bottom in sight
Reef
Large table corals with turtles and whitetips over them
A limestone labyrinth holding the bones of turtles that never found the exit
Similar dives elsewhere
Shafts of light in a cracked cavern on the north wall
Whip corals along a drifted wall, with bumpheads passing
Reef top at 3-5 m over a wall that bottoms out at 20-25 m
_(8503849820).jpg){kind=link}
A vertical limestone wall falling from a 5 m coral garden to 35 m.