Dive: 24Dive Site: Racha Yai, Bungalow Bay
Max Depth: 14.3m
Bottom time: 54m
Water Temp: 28c
Visibility: 10m
Activities: Naturalists dive with Jisook. Sea condition remained green, and colder than usual. Tried to locate the Cement Blocks "artificial Reef" in the middle of the bay, but was not able to. Highlight of the dive is a swirling school of the yellow tailed baracudas & a couple of blue spotted stingray in the deserted sandy bottom of this bay.
Dive: 25Dive Site: Racha Yai, Staghorn Reef (*)
Max Depth: 13.7m
Bottom time: 52m
Water Temp: 28c
Visibility: 20m+
Activities: U/W navigation dive with Jisook, assisted by Danny Pilling, my new jedi! She did exceptionally well, kick counts, turns, and completed all skills with no mistake. Quite cool! Nice mild drift took us from Bay 3 into Staghorn corals field. Danny wanted a picture of Nemo, and was rewarded with more than he could shot. I did not bring camera for this dive, as I had reel and a bit of swimming to do with the navigation practice.
Dive: 21
Dive Site: Racha Noi Bay, East coast
Max Depth: 30m
Bottom time: 54 min.
Water Temp: 26C
Visibility: 20m+
Activities: Adventure dive with Jisook, deep dive. Cold and green were the condition in Racha noi today. It was 2 days after full moon, so we expected strong current. However, it was a mild water movement, moving N to S, but thermocline dropped the temperature from 28c to 26c, making the deep dive quite short at depth. Marine life of interest: a gang of butterfly fish hovering without a care in the world plus the usual reef fish chilled out on top of hard corals & swam in between the crevices of rocks & boulders.
Dive: 22
Dive Site: Banana Bay, East coast
Max Depth: 20.7m
Bottom time: 52 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 20m+
Activities: A drift dive that lost its luster. So much for the tide table helping us predicting the current. A moderate drift was expected, but we were surprised with zero current! Spent a good 10 min. getting my nails manicured by my fav red-striped cleaner shrimps. Jisook got worried when we bumped into a "really" huge giant morray toward the end of the dive, massive dude about 2m long and as wide as me!
Dive: 23
Dive Site: Racha Yai Home Run Reef
Max Depth: 21m
Bottom time: 43m
Water Temp: 28c
Visibility: 20m+
Activities: Jisook & I went to the wreck off bay 1 on the East Coast of Racha Yai. It's an old wooden boat, the Andaman Queen, now is splited in half. On the way to the wreck, we spent 5 min. with a Mantis Shrimp, taking a stroll in the middle of the sandy bottom. The wreck was full of yellow lined snappers. A pair of cuttle fish, turned ivory in color, slowed us down on the way back to homerun reef.
Dive: 19
Dive Site: Stag Horn Reef, Bay 2 (*)
Max Depth: 12m
Bottom time: 41 min
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Activities: Tim & Emily third dive of the Jr OW Course. So far, they are amazing. Tim has such enthusiasm toward diving that made me feel so excited again in being an instructor. He preferred to do everything on his own, and was willing to try anything in the water. Emily, shy at first, but was warming up to diving toward the end of the course, was still quite nervous with any skills that required putting water in the mask. She performed the mask flooded & clear perfectly, so brave of her :-)! Jennifer & Alex Aiken, the kids' parents, joined us for fun dives with Kenneth leading the way. Marine life of note: Giant Morrays, Mantis Shrimp, western clown fish, huge bearded scorpion fish, and the usual reef su
spects hung out over the field of staghorn corals.
Dive: 20
Dive Site: Bay 1 to 2 (*)
Max Depth: 8.5m
Bottom time: 47 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Comments: Current picked up and the kids last dive for the course became a drift dive! Both performed their final skills beautifully, especially Emily having to remove & replace her mask at 6m. We drifted, and both of them attached to my hip (literally) for the entire dive :-) (see photo below) Teaching kids to dive is one of my passion. Tim & Emily had shown me why I love sharing the joy of the under water world to the future of our planet. It's an honor for me to certify Tim & Emily with the ability to Scuba Dive (with their parents supervision still of course), and I am so looking forward to dive with them again in the near future.
For Emily: You are very welcome & thank you for the very cool secret message :-)! I decipher it without looking at the answer... Scuba diving requires a safe descend using a regulator so you can see a beautiful lionfish!!!!
Dive: 17Dive Site: Kata Beach, North
Max Depth: 8.5m
Bottom time: 37 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 10m+
Comments: Jr Open Water Diver Course with Tim & Emily. Today was their first open water dive, and i must say, the kids are fantastic. Both stuck right by my side during the dive, adjusted their buoyancy well, and kept from touching any marine life. Jennifer Aiken, the kids' Mom, also joined us for a fun dive along with Kenneth, SSD DMT, came to assist me with getting the kids to the dive site. Marine life of note: school of yellow-lined snappers & yellow tail barracudas, a masquerading common cuttle fish, mullets feeding in the sandy bottom, bearded scorpion fish changed itself to white.
Dive: 18Dive Site: Kata Beach, North
Max Depth: 5.4m
Bottom time: 22 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 5m
Comments: It was the skills dive! Tim & Emily were anxious to do all of their skills for the dive, our "Pro Tech, Aquaholic" T-shirts on the line if they complete the skills without any repeating. Both were awesome with showing me what they have learned, and the reward were waiting when we sat and logged our dives today.
Dive: 14Dive Site: Ko Bida Nai, Phi Phi (*)
Max Depth: 22.5m
Bottom time: 48 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 20m+
Comments: Dive with Mogan to Fantasy Garden, saw a blue spotted stingray and leopard shark immediately after swimming out of the swim through. The garden was covered with school of yellow-lined snappers, common lionfishes hanging and hiding from the current behind giant gorgonian sea fans, and barely seen the school of resident pickhandled barracudas in the blue. Current went mad, where I can't tell if it was head north or south, we were trapped in between both, inside the bay, like a washing machine!
Dive: 15Dive Site: Shark Point
Max Depth: 15.8m
Bottom time: 48 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 10-5m
Comments: Sophiya's 50th dive! And remember that white eyed moray eels rock in my previous logged dive? well, they are still alive and kicking. Back scatters, low viz, and loads of water movement made the dive quite challenging for my young jedi. Though she still logged one of her longest dive yet...
Dive: 16Dive Site: Ko Doc Mai, West side
Max Depth: 11.5m
Bottom time: 28 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 10-5m
Comments: Surge, low viz, and just difficult condition for us to enjoy the dive, ended it early half way through for safety reason.
Dive: 11
Dive Site: Anemone Reef, Phuket (*)
Max Depth: 15.5m
Bottom time: 36 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Comments: Sophiya and I were first on the dive site, before PP Scuba dropped in. Sophiya saw her first shark, leopard, that was bigger than her. She got excited, but back scatters prevent her from taking a decent shot. The viz was quite good, and I bumped into Henry Gills, from PP Scuba, under water like I always tend to see him.
Dive: 12
Dive Site: Ko Bida Nok, Phi Phi (*)
Max Depth: 13.1m
Bottom time: 47 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Comments: At 12m for most of the dive, Sophiya and I saw the usual reef fish, common lionfish dominated the dive, with a few baby western clownfish so adorable & small, we can't even focus our camera on it. Another leopard shark and a green turtle made their appearance, but too deep for my young jedi to approach (around 18m deep).
Dive: 13
Dive Site: Ko Bida Nai, Phi Phi (*)
Max Depth: 13.4m
Bottom time: 49 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Comments: Sophiya used up her battery for her camera on the last dive, mine emptied out in the first minute into this dive. So, we settle in for just enjoying the wall off the east side of Bida Nai. Blue ring angel fish, another gorgeous nudibranch (magnificent slug), and a playful green turtle (1m long) that hung with us for a good 10 minutes. We watched him try to wedge himself in between a table coral, probably attempting to relieve an itch on its shell :-)
Dive: 9
Dive Site: Bungalow Bay, South (*)
Max Depth: 11.2m
Bottom time: 48 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Activities: digital Photography dive with Sophiya, my 10 years old Scuba Sea Star from Gillmanoids in KL, Malaysia.comments: Sophiya came with her own digital camera, she saved up and bought it herself. We spent quite a bit of time in the shallow area, getting great time with a giant morray, a pair of nudibranches that I couldn't find a name for, and great wide angle shots due to good viz and no current.
Dive: 10
Dive Site: Bungalow Bay, North
Max Depth: 11.8m
Bottom time: 49 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 10-15m
comments: Sophiya gone banana for a coral crab :-) she hovered upside down for a good 2-3 minutes, trying to get the perfect shot of the elusive crustacean. I'm still not sure if she got the shot for it or not, but it was fun watching her doing something that not many dive instructors can do, even on their best days. See Mogan, her dad in the back ground, hovering to watch this priceless moment!
Alice & her husband, Paul came pass us during Alice's second open water dive for her course. She looked more comfortable now under water since her first dive with Somporn, our most experience Thai instructor. The feast after the trip at Rawai Beach, and the sunset view from the After Beach Bar were spectacular.
Dive: 6
Dive Site: Ko Doc Mai (*)
Max Depth: 27.1m
Bottom time: 54 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
Activities: Private buddy dive with Michael, a guest from the Twinpalms Phuket Resort.
comments: windy and huge waves for the morning ride out to the dive sites. The wall was excellent, very mild current, decent viz, and the usual suspects appeared as always. By the soft coral wall, a school of big eyes trevallies (50-60cm) cruised through, seen them that big for first time here at this dive site.
Dive: 7
Dive Site: the King Cruiser Wreck (*)
Max Depth: 24.6m
Bottom time: 34 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
comments: wind died down a little bit, but the waves were still quite large creating a bit of challenges for the exit. The wreck was fantastic, we were the only boat there with just 6 divers. Nudibranches were out and about on the starboard side, spotted them easily today. A new school of juvenile yellow lined snappers moved into the center of the collapsed area, making it quite difficult for divers to navigate through.
Dive: 8
Dive Site: Shark Point (*)
Max Depth: 17m
Bottom time: 46 min.
Water Temp: 28C
Visibility: 15-20m
comments: Tide changed and current picked up heading south from pinnacle 1 to 2. The "white eyed moray eels" rock was incredible. There are now about 100 eels living in the crevices and cracks, common lionfishes moved in below, and glass fish are still in abundance, objects of lunches for the rest...
