Gillmanoids Invasion on Halloween

Friday, 30th
Dive 103: Lucy's Reef, Raya Yai
Max Depth: 22.8m ; Bottom time: 52 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 20-30m

Dive 104: Bay 2, Raya Yai
Max Depth: 23.4m ; Bottom time: 53 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 20-30m

Saturday, Halloween's Day
Dive 105: Koh Doc Mai
Max Depth: 20.7m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 106: Shark Point
Max Depth: 17.6m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 107: Anemone Reef
Max Depth: 15.2m ; Bottom time: 58 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Comment:
the gang from KL came to dive :-) Sophi, Mogan, Sabrya, Remar, Ian, Maggie, Marc. Ivy, Andrew, Alicia & Ashima invaded Phuket dive sites. somuch fun and really good dive conditions for the 2 days... Photos of the dive trips are posted on our Picassa website. Click here to view.

September OWSI Program

Dive 094: Bay 1, Raya Yai
Max Depth: 23.1m ; Bottom time: 41 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 30m

Dive 095: Bay 2, Raya Yai
Max Depth: 6m ; Bottom time: 16 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 20m

Comment: OWSI Program open water training dives with Peter Wong, Assistant Instructor from our friendly dive center partner, Sunny Cove Singapore. Our DMT, Freeze, and TDI tech instructor, Arndt came along to Raya Yai Island to assist in the course.

Raya Yai Island

Tuesday, 21st July
Comment: A windy day stirred up the sea that rocked the boat during the our crossing from Chalong Bay to Raya Yai East Coast. We were alone on the Andaman Eagle Wreck for the entire dive. We also had Lucy's reef all to ourselves for the second dive. Bent Stick pipefish were all over in the sand near the artificial reef.

Dive 080: Andaman Eagle Wreck, Bay 2
Max Depth: 27.7m ; Bottom time: 51 min; EANx: 32%
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 15-20m

Dive 081: Lucy's Reef, Bay 3
Max Depth: 23.7m ; Bottom time: 52 min; EANx: 32%
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 15-20m

11th April: Raya Yai Island

Dive 037: Staghorn reef
Max Depth: 12.8m ; Bottom time: 22 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 038: Siam Bay
Max Depth: 10.6m ; Bottom time: 43 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-10m

14th March: Raya Yai (East coast) on MV excalibur

Dive 025: Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 21.3m ; Bottom time: 55 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 15-20m

Dive 026: Lucy's Reef
Max Depth: 16.4m ; Bottom time: 58 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 15-20m

Comment: A day trip out fun diving with my buddy Mike D from VN. Carey (from VN) & Rainer (a Phuket Expat) also joined us for the "boys day out" on sea Bees day trip boat. I haven't dive with Mike since our last dive together in Nha Trang back in 2004, so the day was quite special for me. Carey was one of my OW students back in 2002, and it was great to also drop in with him. Sunshine, blue skies, flat sea and clear water made the day as perfect as it can get. And since it was Mike's Birthday, the celebration continued late into the night ;-)

28-29 December: RFA & Gillmanoids Dive Festival

Sunday, 28th December
Dive 142: Raya Noi (Marina Bay)
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 36 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 10m

Dive 143: Raya Yai (Bay 5)
Max Depth: 17.9m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 10-15m

Monday, 29th December
Dive 144: Koh Bida Nok
Max Depth: 11.8m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 145:Koh Bida Nai
Max Depth: 12.8m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 15-20m

Dive 146:Koh Doc Mai
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 43 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5-10m

2nd - 3rd November: Eve's Jr Advance Course

Comments: Eve & her friend Collette completed her Jr OW course with me in November 2006. Eve returned this year to continue on to her Jr Advance level, and was joined by Neng and Tu as our second instructor. We did the course over 6 dives, in two of the best dive destinations locally, Ko Bida Islands & the Raya Islands. Eve saw her first shark, a 1m Blacktip, yellow tiger-tailed seahorse, 5 different species of nudibranchs, green turtle, and she took some wonderful photos of a swimming reef octopus (see photo below) on her first day in the Bida islands.
Chris, our DM joined us on the second day as Neng dive buddy. Raya Noi rewarded us with 30+m viz, school of hundreds of yellowtailed baracudas, yellow-lip seakrate, and wonderful coral gardens in Banana Bay. Her last dive in Raya Yai was memorable, we found swimming bluespotted stingrays, 2 beautiful Ornate ghost pipefish, a nudibranch I'm still trying to identify, and the locally popular bent-stick pipefish. She's now a proud Jr advance diver at 14, just 1 more year and we can go deep, to check out her "narcosis tolerance :-)" View more photos at my Facebook album.

Sunday, 2nd: Phi Phi Islands

Dive 116: Ko Doc Mai
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 51 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 117: Ko Bida Nok
Max Depth: 15.8m ; Bottom time: 60 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 118: Ko Bida Nai
Max Depth: 14.9m ; Bottom time: 55 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-10m

Monday, 3rd: Raya Noi & Yai Islands

Dive 119: Banana Bay, Raya Noi
Max Depth: 21.3m ; Bottom time: 53 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 30-40m

Dive 120: Raya Noi Bay
Max Depth: 14.9m ; Bottom time: 58 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 30-40m

Dive 121: Bay 2 to Staghorn Reef, Raya Yai
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 52 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

16th - 17th September: Specialty Instructor Training Program

Tuesday, 16th: Raya Yai Island
Dive 99: Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 27.4m ; Bottom time: 42 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 100: Home Run Reef
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 57 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5-10m

Wednesday, 17th: A-S-K Triangle Area
Dive 101: Anemeone Reef
Max Depth: 25.3m ; Bottom time: 59 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5-20m

Dive 102: Shark Point
Max Depth: 18.2m ; Bottom time: 52 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5-15m

Dive 103: Ko Doc Mai
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 5m

27th - 28th August: Alistair Jr Advance Course

Wednesday, 27th: Raya Yai Island
Dive 92: Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 15.8m ; Bottom time: 42 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 15m+

Dive 93: Home Run, Bay 1
Max Depth: 13.7m ; Bottom time: 41 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 15m+

Thursday, 28th: King Cruiser - Shark Point Area
Dive 94: King Cruiser Wreck
Max Depth: 21.6m ; Bottom time: 23 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m+

Dive 95: Shark Point *
Max Depth: 14.9m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m+

Dive 96: Koh Doc Mai
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 39 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m

Comments: Alistair, a Gillmanoid's Sea Star original member dropped in for a couple days of diving. He hasn't dive since his 4th dive after his jr OW course, so there were lots to be done for his Jr Advance. Unlucky for Alistair, he got me as his instructor :-), so now he saw how Sophiya got tortured during her time diving with me in Phuket.
The weather was a lot wetter this month, with rain on and off during both of our diving days. The occasional wind stirred up the sea for a bit of bouncy boat ride. Alistair did very well, handling some of the more challenging conditions: current, thermocline, low viz etc. at the King Cruiser Wreck & Ko Doc Mai. He saw his first shark (2 leopards), and sorta overcame his fear of "BiG FiSh" though i'm not sure if he'll swim up close to anything larger than his arm :-) More photos of Alistair's trip is located at my Picassa Album.

14th - 16th August: Gillmanoids Invasion

Thursday, 14th: Phi Phi Islands
Dive 86: Shark Point *
Max Depth: 15.8m ; Bottom time: 37 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m+

Dive 87: Ko Bida Nai *
Max Depth: 14.3m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 10m+

Friday, 15th: Raya Noi Island
Dive 88: Raya Noi Bay
Max Depth: 15.5m ; Bottom time: 49 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 40m

Dive 89: Banana Bay
Max Depth: 14m ; Bottom time: 49 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 40m

Saturday, 16th: Raya Yai Island
Dive 90: Andaman Eagle Wreck* & Bay 2
Max Depth: 24m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m+

Dive 91: Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 13.1m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m+

Comment: Can't get any better for the monsoon season this year! We had a great 4 days of fantastic weather for diving. A leopard Shark swam at us minute after we descent at Pinnacle 1, got the kids excited immediately. Alex & Gary were doing their fish ID adventure dive, so one easily recognized. First day back in the water for Sophi, newly nick-named Twerp, she saw 2 leopard sharks & hung out with a Green turtle for a few minutes. Raya Noi on the second day was spectacular, I haven't seen 40m viz in a long time. It's a drift dive for the group, where we also saw the "Moiseys" doing their OWC skills in clear blue water. Alex & Gary got the opportunity to dive the Andaman Eagle Wreck on the third day, their first wreck dive. Good viz & nice current extended our dive easily, as we drifted lazily across Staghorn Reef for the group last dive of the trip. More photos of the trip is located at my Picassa Album.

19th - 21st July: Wreck & Deep Courses

Danny led Richard through his specialty training dives for Deep and Wreck at Racha Yai Island. Conditions were spectacular again, with the guys having a great time going through all of the tasks and skills. Brendan joined the courses as a DMT and responsible for some awesome photos of the Andman Eagle Wreck in Racha Yai, Bay 1. Check it out in Brendan's Picassa album.

6th - 7th July - Racha Yai Island

Sunday, 6th July
Dive 79: Bay 1-2 *
Max Depth: 12.8m ; Bottom time: 42 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m+

Dive 80: Bay 2 - Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 10.3m ; Bottom time: 47 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m+

Monday, 7th July
Dive 81: Home Run Reef *
Max Depth: 18m ; Bottom time: 43 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m+

Dive 82: Staghorn Reef *
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 42 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m+

Comments: After almost 4 weeks without Scuba, I got my "nitrogen fixed" again thanks to Livia Vo (from Texas by way of Singapore), coming to visit us for her referral OW course. The first week of July has been spectacular, beautiful weather, calm breeze, flat sea, and unbelievable visibility. Patrick Lee (from Singapore) joined in on our second day of the course to finish off his dive 3-4. Want to see how nice the trips were? check out the photo album at picassa below:

Open Water Course 7th July

22nd - 23rd May - Racha Yai Island

Thursday, 22nd May
Dive 73: Bay 2, Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 17.3m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 10-15m

Dive 74: Bay 1, Andaman Princess Wreck
Max Depth: 22.2m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 28c; Visibility: 10-15m

Friday, 23rd May
Dive 75: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 27.1m ; Bottom time: 38 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 76: Bay 3, Lucy's Reef
Max Depth: 20.1m ; Bottom time: 48 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 15-20m

Comments: Much better weather in the last few days, with the wind calming down, and the sea is flat. making a very enjoyable trip for our returning diver, Kelly O from Santa Cruz. Visibility was still quite murky post full-moon, thus 5-10m were the norm for the wreck dives. At the safety stop, we hung out with a school of neon fusiliers, getting cleaned by a couple of Cleaner wrasse, Click here to see the short video clip. Condition improved tremendously at Lucy's Reef, blue water and good sunlight for more opportunities to swim lazily with a school of yellow-tailed barracudas. More photos of the 2 days diving are posted at Picassa, click the link below:

Racha Yai 22-23 May

20th May - Racha Yai Island

Dive 71: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 26.9m ; Bottom time: 37 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5-10m

Dive 72: Bay 2, Andaman Eagle Wreck
Max Depth: 26m ; Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 5m

Comment: a new wreck sunk recently in bay 2 off Racha East coast. She's a wooden sailboat, sunk in 26m, near the cement blocks area, creating a new attraction for Racha Yai. More photos will follow when condition improve.

May Day, 2008: MSDT PREP

Dive 62: Scuba Cat Wreck Bay 2, Racha Yai Island**
Max Depth: 31.9m ; Bottom time: 35 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m
Comment: Spectacular Visibility for our deep dive. The wreck is in great shape. With very mild current, we had no trouble spending our full 20 minutes exploring the hull and the inside.

Dive 63: Do Little Do Bay 3, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 17m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m
Comment: Must see TV... check out the action scene between "kung fu Joe vs Johny trigger fish" below:

25th - 26th April: Open Water Course

Friday, 25th April 2008
Dive 58:Bay 2 Staghorn Reef, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 15.2m ; Bottom time: 44 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20m

Dive 59:Bay 1, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 8.5m ; Bottom time: 54 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 20-30m
Comment: A bit windy today thus creating some swells on the east coast of Racha. The dives though are till fantastic. Ed, Maria & Courtney were all under weighted in the first dive, thus took a while to sort out before we finally descent and start the dive. Second dive was mostly skills demonstration, though I did spot a short-nose bent stick pipefish at the end of the dive.

Saturday, 26th April 2008
Dive 60:Bay 2, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 18m ; Bottom time: 46 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m

Dive 61:Bay 1 Home Run, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 22.2m ; Bottom time: 50 min
Water Temp: 30c; Visibility: 30m
Comment: Spectacular weather today, sunny skies & a little cool breeze. The OW students, Ed, Kanade & Courtney, started to get this divin' thingy :-) superb buoyancy control, and the condition was excellent for their adventure to their deepest depth of the course, 18m. I went with Maria to find the eluded Ornate ghost pipefish down near the wreck in Bay 1. We were rewarded with a good 10 minutes alone with this beautiful creature. See the photo album for the course below (click on the image):

Openwater Course, 25-26 April

Monday, 21st April: A day with Emily & Tim Aiken

Dive 56: Lucy's Reef, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 13.7m ; Bottom time: 60 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 20-30m
Comment: Emily logged her 50th dive, woo hoo! With about 2 months in between the my last dive with the kids, they are now 2 veteran divers, with enough "bubbles" under their belt. The long 2.5 hours boat ride to the East Coast of Racha Island gave me plenty of time to listen to travel stories, and answering as best as I can, all of Tim questions on marine life :-). See more photos in the album for the day, click on the photo below:

Aiken, Tim & Emily

Dive 57: Bay 2, Racha Yai Island
Max Depth: 13m ; Bottom time: 75 min
Water Temp: 29c; Visibility: 20-30m
Comment: Both Tim & Emily logged their longest bottom time for a dive. Tim & Emily wanted Ornate ghost pipefish, bent stick pipefish, flounders, and of course a seahorse for their last dive in Thailand. Well, Bay 1 of Racha Yai didn't deliver all. However, a peacock flounder arrived in time to check one of the list. Tim did spot the Nudibrach (center photo below) that took me a couple of days to ID (Risbecia pulchella). Till next time, we'll see about the seahorse & Ornate ghost pipefish when they return for their advance course.

Easter Sunday, 23rd: Racha Yai Island

Dive: 35
Dive Site: Staghorn Reef
Max Depth: 33.2m
Bottom time: 40 min
Water Temp: 29c
Visibility: 15-20m
Activities: Deep dive with Danny, logging his deepest depth in the sandy bottom of Staghorn Reef. We touched 33 meters, mild thermocline, and fantastic viz to help us navigate back to the reef.

Dive: 36
Dive Site: Home Run, Bay 1
Max Depth: 22.8m
Bottom time: 46 min
Water Temp: 29c
Visibility: 15-20m
Activities: Practice Marking the re-location of the Andaman Princess wreck out side the bay. A mild thermocline keep the temp around 28 at depth. An easy current drifted us for the rest of the dive, giving Danny the opportunities to spot the usual reef suspects for his photos collection. A small pod of Bottle nose dolphins cruised pass the boat & hung out for a good 10 minutes near bay 1.

Wednesday, 27th: Racha Yai Island

Dive: 24
Dive 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: 25
Dive 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.

Sunday, 24th: Racha Noi Island

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.