Sipalay Campomanes Bay
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Dive site in sipalay/Campomanes
| 1 | KEVIN'S REEF Excellent house reef with an old big anchor at 9 meter depths. Max. depths 25 meters. | up to 25m | |
| 2 | A-ROCK Nice coral rocks surrounded by white sand. Depths 10 to 18 meters. | 10-18m | |
| 3 | GRAND CANYONS Really great canyons to dive through like a labyrinth. All at 6 to 15 meters. | 6-15m | |
| 4 | DISNEYLAND Very exiting dive site with coral blocks and white sand. Plenty of lions fish. 5 to 12 meters. Excellent for night diving with lots of night active marine life. | 5-12m | |
| 5 | TOSCANA REEFN An other very nice house reef like a drop off | 6-28m | |
| Wrecks: | |||
| 6 | COCA-COLA WRECK The Crew of Easy Diving found a new wreck in Sipalay after a search of nearly one year. On January 30th 2004 we found in the bay of Campomanes a freighter that sunk some 25 years ago. the freight was bottled softdrinks. We know now how Coca-cola bottle looked like 25 years ago as the freighter was a Coca-Cola freighter although everyone believed it has been a Pepsi freighter. This was a astonishing adventure. We will continue examining and mapping the wreck. | ||
| 7 | MS JOJO Freighter from the 80's. Excellent condition. Topmost level at 20 meters Max. depths. 33 meters. Plenty of big lion fish to be seen. | above 22m, below 33m | |
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Getting there
GETTING THERE
The cities of Bacolod and Dumaguete are gateways to Sipalay City . It is 4 to 5 hours by bus and 3-hour drive by car from Bacolod .By Air
MANILA - BACOLOD
Philippine Airlines : 3 flights daily
Website: www.philippineairlines.com
Contact No. : 434-1596
Air Philippines : 2 flights daily
Website: www.airphilippines.com
Contact No.: 433-9211 to 12
Cebu Pacific : 3 flights daily
Website: www.cebupacific.com
Contact No.: 434-2052 to 53
MANILA - DUMAGUETE
Cebu Pacific : 2 flights daily
Website: www.cebupacific.com
Contact No.: 434-2052 to 53
CEBU - BACOLOD
Cebu Pacific : 2 flights daily
Website: www.cebupacific.com
Contact No.: 434-2052 to 53
View !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mountain view, toward campomanes bay , now we got an idea how big this bay is .
Sanctuary
SIPALAY CITY - Three more marine sanctuaries are being eyed
to be established in this place known as the jewel of the Sugar island of Negros,
following the successful establishment of a marine protected area at the
Campomanes Bay, in 2004.
Almost eight years after being declared as a marine
protected area, the 66-hectare Campomanes.marine sanctuary is now famous for
its abundant underwater community permeate, which attract more domestic
tourists and foreigners, Aquaculturist Leo Chua, who is in-charge of the
protected area, said.
Small fishermen , who are allowed fishing through "
pamunit, “”hook and sinker” outside the marine sanctuary , said they catch
eight to 12 kilos of fish in a whole night, as fishing nets are prohibited in
the area.
Before its declaration as a marine reserve area, all kinds
of destructive fishing methods were being employed by fishermen, and residents,
almost 24 hours a day. Determined to restore the richness of its marine
bio-diversity, the city government declared it a protected area. It was not an
easy job to educate the displaced fishermen, estimated at 100, Chua admitted.
The displaced fishermen were provided with livelihood
assistance, such as small boats and fish cages, to support their families,
while being enlightened on the importance of preserving the protected area, he
added.
Those who were destroying the area, are now serving as its
protectors, by acting as eyes and ears of the roving Bantay Dagat personnel,
Chua said.
With its success, Chua said the city government is planning
to establish more marine sanctuaries in Brgys. Cartagena, Maricalum and IV, all
in Sipalay City, which will cover an estimated 80 hectares.
Mayor Oscar Montilla said yesterday that fishermen in
Hinobaan and Cauayan are enjoying abundant fish catch, because of the strict
implementation of fishery laws in Sipalay City.
About 17 Bantay Dagat personnel headed by Wennie Patenio are
patrolling the marine protected and coastal areas of Sipalay City, by using a
yacht and three high-speed pump boats, 24 hours a day.
Sipalay City, known for its diving sites, clean and powdery
brown sand beaches, and hidden lagoons, is getting more popular among European
tourists.
Montilla said they recorded about 50,000 European tourists
visiting Sipalay annually, because of its nature attractions.
Sipalay has 42 diving sites, that includes the ship wrecks
of SS Panay and MS Jojo located at the Campomanes Bay. Its entrance is a wide
expanse of coral garden with various species of corals and fish.
Montilla said another event of the Triathlon competition, a
similar sport activity to what was held in Sipalay City in previous months,
brought more than a thousand tourists to Sipalay City, will again be held in
the place this month.
Sipalay is also known for its kilometers-long powdery sand
beaches, which is ideal for swimming, snorkeling and other water-related
activities, as well as for its hidden lagoons. Tinagong Dagat ( Hidden Sea),
which is dotted with dozen of islets and covered with lush vegetation, salt
water lake in Matlag and a fresh water lagoon, are also among the tourist
destination areas in Sipalay. * GPB
History
HISTORY
Sipalay--born in the wanderings of Bornean datus hundreds of
years ago; rejuvenated in the flight of Visayan freemen in the 1800s; nurtured
in struggles to be independent by the ancestors of those who still try to do
public good to this day-- has never been a stranger to hard times. Twelve years
ago when the woes of the municipality seemed without solution, the people of
Sipalay, like their forebears, rose again to the occasion and, with indomitable
spirit, strove to overcome. And overcome they did.
Under the leadership of Basilio Debuyan, the village slowly
took its form. Houses were constructed in rows of newly-built roads. A church
and a plaza were likewise constructed. A Catholic Priest from Iloilo City
visited once a year. Debuyan became the first Cabeza under Capitan Mayor at
Isio, about 52 kilometers north. The happy and prosperous condition of the
community was short-lived. The Canman-og River , later changed to Naga River
and presently called Sipalay River brought havoc and destruction through flood
and inundation. Little by little, the place was swallowed up until the church
and the plaza were likewise carried away by the flood. The people decided to
transfer the place to a flat land across the river to the north. The selected
area was a forestland. It was Debuyan himself who felled down the first Narra
tree. The former site is now known as Sipalay Diotay. It stands today, a
sentimental reminder of a once happy and prosperous village.
When the Americans arrived in the Philippines , Sipalay was
already a full-pledged barrio of the Municipality of Cauayan . The barrio was
the biggest and the most progressive district in the whole community. Debuyan
became the first Barrio Delegado under the American regime. During the early
1920s, a new feeling surged through the hearts and minds of the people. It was
their desire for independence, the urged to separate from the mother town. For
this purpose, a society, La Liga del Sur was formed. Prominent leaders of
society were: Don Severo Alejano, Mariano Mueda, Sr., Maximino Salveron,
Inocencio Debuyan, Sr., Amando Zaragoza, Basilio Debuyan, and Alfonso Custioso.
The separation movement was the cry of the southern districts and Sipalay
became its chief advocate. Reasons for the movement were: distance of Sipalay
from the Poblacion of Cauayan, 54 kilometers; no roads connecting the two
places and there seemed to be no efforts on the part of the town officials for
the constructions of same; the danger and hardship of the early travel; and the
much delayed mails often time, letters, dated a year ago arrived in Sipalay not
by mail-carriers but by policemen whose presence were considered quite an
event. The cry for the creation of a municipality south of Cauayan was not only
imperative but also reasonable.
Sipalay got its name from the old native phrase si palay
meaning 'there is rice'. Chinese traders, who were not able to pronounce the
'R' in the local word Paray are believed to have helped disseminate the name
Sipalay as rice abundantly grows in the area and is freely traded.
The original natives of Sipalay were the "tumandoks
", perhaps with Malay or Bornean roots . Immigrants from Panay Island
joined them later. These were families who ventured out to the sea to escape
the oppressive Spanish feudal system and found a new home in the paradise that
is today Sipalay.
With unflinching political will, its local officials
spearheaded by the Municipal Mayor then, led Sipalay to recovery and caused it
to raise high above the economic setbacks and bloody turmoil of a low intensity
civil war. Not only were revenue surpluses generated starting 1989, but also
for the next eight consecutive years, the surpluses continued to rise. The
peace and order situation, as it were, was somehow cajoled to a level allowing
people's lives and business to go back to "normal". Amazingly, some
investments, particularly in tourism development, flowed in.
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