Takes years for a coral to grow

What a waste!

That was my initial reaction after learning that more than 50 meters of corals off Lagundi Reef in Talisay City were damaged after a Chinese cargo ship M/V United Majuro ran aground during maneuvering.

If flowers are for gardens then corals are for dive spots. I don’t know if you could imagine a dive spot without corals. Well, let me put it this way…it’s like a garden without blooming flowers!

For allegedly wrecking the corals, ship captain Chen Guang Ming spent two days in jail, paid P5,000 fine, then later on offered $10,000 “for the rehabilitation of the destroyed part of the coral reef.”

Believe me it’s more than the money. The damage is beyond words. It would take over five years for an inch of coral to grow! That’s why as a scuba diving instructor, I would always tell my students to strive hard to perfect their buoyancy so that they won’t destroy corals in their path even during training dives.

Environmentalists are suggesting that Talisay City should take half the blame for the mishap because they failed to put markers or buoys along the reef, thus the ship ran aground.

I say the captain misread the chart (if he was looking at any) while maneuvering off Lagundi Reef. If he was looking at the chart, he’ll know that he was threading shallow waters. Captain how could you? Running your ship aground is a mortal sin for a skipper!

* * *

A scuba diving instructor forgot his bags in the trunk of a taxicab last Saturday. The bags contain a brand new BCD (Buoyancy Control Device), a laptop and some other things. The instructor was so disheartened and has been absent from work after the incident.

The taxi driver, after reaching home, found the bags. He asked his wife to find any contact numbers and she did. Inserted in the bag is a calling card. She tried calling the number but it was no longer in use.

She traced the instructor to a certain dive resort in Moalboal but they told her that he was already in Mactan working for a new employer but couldn’t tell her any specific information. She then tried calling the Department of Tourism to find out if they have listings of scuba diving instructors. They have none.

She then tried the internet and browsed PADI. She found a name and called his numbers. Instinctively, the instructor didn’t answer. However, after three tries he did. The wife of the taxi driver then told him that they found the bags of Mr. X. It so happened that this instructor, and the other who lost his things, were friends!

As any other lost and found story, this one had a happy ending though. Tuesday night, after four days of trying to contact the instructor, the taxi driver finally found the owner and returned the bags.

This is the not the first time this taxicab driver returned things he found in his car. There were two other incidents. I tried my best to convince the couple if I could disclose their names but they said no. They would rather remain anonymous.

I hope this THANK YOU is good enough. I’m glad to know there are still people who has the courage to do what is right!

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