 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
*NEWS* |
March 2005 Similans Live-aboard Friends Trip
Leaving the morning of the 17th March 2005 - most set off to fly down to Phuket from Bangkok early morning to stock up on diving spares and treats for themselves from Dive Supply in Patong, Phuket - now renamed "Water World" before the departure that evening. All of the guys met at the airport at 17:30 where we all boarded minibuses to head for Tesco Lotus to stock up on some favorite nik naks and drink. All is supplied on the boat but peoples personal favorites were demanded also. We made it to Tap Lamu (the pier) and the boat for a little after 20:00hrs where we were given the boat briefing and assigned to our cabins. All stashed their bags, showered and headed for the main deck for some food and a few drinks as we set sail for the paradise Similan Islands. On waking at approximately 07:00hrs on Friday 18th March the 1st dive was to be the glorious East of Eden. This is a wonderful "trial" dive in the Andaman Sea where we can get all equipment configurations inline, check our buoyancy and feel comfortable underwater. East of Eden is a wonderful site starting at just 3-5 meters - we can group and get settled and then hit the 30 meter mark for a stunning dive wish such an abundance of coral and marine life. As soon as we descended we spotted a black tip reef shark and a beautiful turtle. We were blessed with grand schools of large fish and rays all over the sandy bottom. All of the guys said on surfacing, "even if we have to turn back now - the trip has been worth it!". The second dive was taken on the Reef on the Rock. This was a pleasant dive with a reef shark present, a turtle, more moray eels than you expected to be in the ocean and such colourful corals.
Opting for a sunset dive instead of a night dive we headed for the shelter of Honey Moon Bay. A nice dive with all enjoying what thy saw. After the dive we all ate dinner and relaxed speaking of the day behind us. The cards came out and a few beers were cracked - a great 1st day.
Sunday 20th we dove Koh Tachai and then on to the famed Richelieu Rock. What diving! No matter how many times I dive Richelieu Rock it never fails to impress. With literally a couple of feet of rock breaking the surface at low tide the dive goes down to 40 meters. There is so much life from schooling barracuda to the smallest of sea horses and ghost pipefish. Rosie and Desiree saw a Manta Ray but it was a way in the distance. I promise that next time I shall remember to replace the memory stick in my camera before diving - duh! We took the 3rd and night dive on Richelieu rock also before heading back to Koh Bon for the helter of the bay for the night.
Monday 21st we took the morning dive on Koh Bon in the Surin islands and then headed back to port (Tap Lamu) via the Boonsung wreck. We had heard that there was a lot of damage to the old tin dredging wreck that lay just 14 nautical miles from the port due to the Tsunami of December 26th 2004. The wreck had been literally split in two. The top and bottom were separated with a fair distance between them - it just showed the awesome power of the ocean. The visibility on the wreck was not the best but still a good dive. I was very curious to dive the Similans again to see just hw much damage was caused by the Tsunami. The damage was only slightly noticeable underwater with only a few corals disturbed. I missed them but some said they had seen pegs where some sea fans had been righted and reset into the ground. The most notable damage to me was on heading back into port. We had left Tap Lamu (just south of Khao Lak - the worst affected area of Thailand) at night and hence not noticed the damage. On returning it was a different story. You can see the 2000 tonne navy vessel below that was just picked and placed on land over 200 meters from it's original mooring. Most of the tree lined shore showed signs of a Tsunami of huge proportions also. The photo of the flattened sea fan below was about as much of the underwater devastation that could be noticed.
Overall a superb trip "again". The diving was superb as was the company. I say it every time but it's the guys on the boat that make the trip for me - a great time indeed. Many thanks to all of the guys that came along. The evening of the 21st we hit the town in Phuket for a meal and a few drinks - a good night out. Please click here to see other random photos of the entire trip.
|
What
a dive trip!!! The March 2005 Friends Live-aboard trip lived up to the usual trips
that we run - being absolutely superb. This trip we had a few of the guys form
the last trip (hence the name of the trips - "friends trips"), but
also a great deal of the newer interns also. The attendees were - 
