In August 2023 I did a three week long dive trip to the Philippines with my friend John. We spent the first week at Anilao staying at Buceo Anilao Dive Resort.

There are dozens of dive sites located within 20 minutes run from the resort.

Unfortunately we had a Super Typhoon hit the northern Philippines when we were there, so the Coast Guard banned all boats and diving later in the week. This dive site was one we visited on the day that the typhoon really started to blow and we were recalled back close to the resort to this site which was mostly protected from the wind.

Mainit Corner is located about 600 metres south from the resort around the point of the peninsula. A GPS mark for the dive spot is 13° 40' 58.260" N 120° 53' 38.976" E (using WGS84 as the datum).

A satellite photo from Google Earth that shows the location of the dive site at the bottom, red marker. Buceo Anilao Resort at top left.

We had to come back across the passage from Maricaban Island in quite rough seas but the banca handled it okay. When we arrived at Mainit Corner, there were plenty of other dive boats sheltering there. In the end, at any one time, there were at least 12 boats here. Amazingly, on our dive we only saw one other diver!

The reef near the bommie	nembrotha

The dive site consists of a bommie that breaks the surface off the southern point of the peninsula. The dive boat anchors a short distance to the east in about eight metres of water. It is very calm here as we are out of most of the wind. However, it is a bit of a shit fight with the various boats coming and going and some run into each other as they drag anchors.

Featherstar shrimp	Juvenile sweeetlips

Once we enter the water we drop to eight metres and spend the next 10 minutes around this depth. The wall is very nice with gorgonias, sponges and sea whips on the coral. After this we drop down to 20 metres and head north into the bay. Over the next 15 minutes we drop to 24 metres before coming back up to 16 to 18 metres. We then head back towards the boat getting shallower as we return.

There are lots of nudibranchs and an amazing number of nembrothas. WE see lionfish, two juvenile sweetlips, and some yellow-spotted boxfish. We also see anemones and clownfish as well as some cowfish. On the way back we see a harlequin shrimp, starfish shrimp, featherstar shrimp and pufferfish. Some of the nudibranchs are ones I have never seen before.

The tiny white anglerfish	Pygmy sea horse

After a bit over an hour, we are back under the boat for our safety stop. This was a really good dive. Water temperature was 29C in August and the visibility was good, around 15 metres. After the dive the wind was still blowing but our trip back was not too bad. After the dive, they hauled the three dive boats out of the water and high up the beach. This was the last dive we could do for three days and the last boat dive.

MORE PHOTOS

The tiny white anglerfish	Pygmy sea horse
The tiny white anglerfish	Yellow spotted boxfish