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Another very proud episode in my diving career. I was privileged enough and extremely fortunate to have spotted 2 juvenile Whale Sharks at Panglao, Bohol, Phillipines in Jan 2010. The very first sighting of Whale Sharks at Panglao EVER! As they were juveniles, I had a very strong suspicion that they accidentally strayed into Panglao's waters. Panglao is a location where there is heavy boat traffic, and these gentle giants would normally eschew such congested and noisy environments. And to my great surprise and jubilation, one of the whale sharks I encountered, was spotted in another location, Oslob, in mid May 2013! I am incredibly elated that the shark is alive and well, as these magnificent creatures are mercilessly hunted for the nefarious and ever growing sharks' fin industry. The researchers involved tracked me down in April 2014! Once again, it is indeed very thrilling as an amateur underwater photographer to have my photos credited and uploaded onto an International Database such as whaleshark.org

My Whale Shark Encounter number is 342014123836 and is identified as P-573. He's a Male and as of May 2013, has grown to 6.5 metres! 

To demonstrate the excitement, magnitude and importance of this match here are the fast and furious e-mails between all parties involved:

2 April 2014

Hi guys,

I found a picture online of a whale shark taken by "Roger Won" on the 11-Jan-2010 of a

whale shark in Alona.

We've visually matched the individual shark to one in our database (lamave.org) and I'd 

love to add it to the international database (whaleshark.org) but I wanted the author's 

permission. Is it one of you guys or an old client perhaps?

Many thanks!

Gonzalo 

3 April 2014 

Hi Gonzalo,

Roger is an old customer of ours.. Please contact him directly for the permission..

He has been CC'd with this mail..

Regards,

Liza

Philippine Fun Divers, Inc.  

This was one of my proudest moments in my diving career, I discovered a Lembeh Sea Dragon while diving at Wreck Point. It was a wall dive, hence to be able to zero in and spot this miniscule creature amongst the vastness of the coral encrusted precipice is a miracle in itself. I furiously banged my tank to get the other divers' attention. I tried my very best to get at least a few focused shots of this tiny critter, and was rewarded with ONE perfect shot. I knew getting a clear shot was the only way to corroborate my find. When the other divers turned back to where I was at, I pointed out the Lembeh Sea Dragon to them, an old German couple nodded their heads and gave me the OK sign. The other divers and even the Dive Master who has been leading dives at Puerto Galera for 12 years, kept signing, "WHAT? WHAT?". I carefully and patiently pointed the Lembeh Sea Dragon out to them. The other divers could not even make it out and just assumed it was a filament of sea algae and finned away. The Dive Master examined it closer and finally gave me the OK sign. Upon surfacing, only the elderly German couple and I were super excited! The 3 of us have all seen a Lembeh Sea Dragon before, as the couple had dived in Lembeh on a previous dive trip, and we knew instantly what it was. The other divers were completely clueless and baffled pertaining to what we saw. The Dive Master brushed it off and insisted that it was a pygmy pipefish, which it most certainly was not, though it belonged to the same genus. The 3 of us were trying to explain and convince the other divers, including the Dive Master, that it is a very rare find, and we are familiar with the animal's unique appearance and distinctive spinal protrusion. Once we returned to land, I showed the entire dive shop my photos. Unconvinced, they searched on Google, and it finally dawned on them that it was indeed a very exciting brand new find in Puerto Galera! And I was honoured to have been featured on their blog and newsletter. As an amateur underwater photographer, there is nothing more gratifying than having your photos published! Copy the link to view their blog in it's original form.

http://blog.asiadivers.com/another-great-week-at-asia-divers-for-ccd-dive-club/

The screen grabs:






And my original photos:

Dear Mr Won

Thank you for your email dated 7 December 2012 to Singapore Airlines concerning our in-flight service.

We are sorry to learn of the experience that you encountered while traveling from Munich to Singapore on flight SQ327.

The matter that you have highlighted has been referred to our Customer Affairs Department for their immediate attention.  A thorough investigation is currently taking place and we will update you on the status in due course.

Mr Won, thank you once again for writing to us. We look forward to serve you better in the future.

Yours sincerely
Customer Service Executive
Singapore Airlines
 
Dear Mr Won

Thank you for your online feedback of 7 December 2012 regarding your experience onboard flight SQ327 from Munich to Singapore on 6 December 2012.

Mr Won, we are sorry to learn of the disturbance caused to you due to the child running along the aisle. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

We recognise that the general ambience of the cabin can be further improved for our passengers and have conveyed your feedback to our Cabin Crew Manager so that our crew will be reminded to exercise greater vigilance and care when there young children traveling on our flights. We definitely hope that our passengers can have a peaceful and pleasant journey onboard our flights. However, we seek your understanding that ultimately, our crew would have to rely on the parents to pacify their infant/children and can only assist them, as necessary.

That said, we are concerned to learn of the unpleasant encounter between you and the other passenger onboard. We note from your feedback the intended course of action by the other passenger concerning this. Thank you for highlighting this to us, Mr Won. We have taken note of your kind gesture to provide your assistance, if required.

On a happier note, we are glad to note that our crew had impressed you onboard. We will certainly convey your note of appreciation to the Inflight Supervisor and Chief Steward through our Cabin Crew Manager. I am sure that they will be glad to know that their efforts are well appreciated.

Once again, Mr Won, we apologise for any disappointment caused on this occasion and we hope to welcome you on our flights again soon under more pleasant circumstances.

Customer Affairs Manager
Singapore Airlines Limited

Dear Mr Won

Thank you for your email of 7 December 2012 about your recent travel experience on SQ327, from Munich to Singapore, on 6 December 2012.

We are sorry to learn about the incident onboard the flight. We note your comments that an unaccompanied child was running along the aisle and this disturbed your rest. We also note that our cabin crew members highlighted this to the mother of the running child several times.

Singapore Airlines, as with most other airlines, does not place restrictions on children and infants travelling in our Premium Class cabins. We seek your understanding that we are unable to restrict parents from bringing their children and infants on their travel.

Nonetheless, we recognize the importance of a pleasant journey for our passengers. Our crew members could have made a greater effort in providing feedback to the parents so that the child could be better managed. We will highlight this matter to our Cabin Crew Performance Manager who will remind all crew members to exercise greater initiative when handling similar situations in the future. They will also be reminded to be more sensitive to the needs of passengers at all times.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with details about the incident onboard, Mr Won. We apologise for the inconvenience caused on this occasion. We look forward to welcoming you onboard our flights again.

Yours sincerely
Customer Affairs Manager
Singapore Airlines Limited