Artist hangs herself from hooks in protest at shark treatment
Alice Newstead took the drastic action in protest at the practice of finning – where sharks are impaled on hooks, before their fins are sliced off to harvest meat for shark fin soup. The sharks are then thrown back into the ocean still alive.
A crowd gathered outside the Lush cosmetics shop in London’s Regent’s Street to see the 26-year-old impaled by hooks in her back and gasped as blood trickled down her back.
Miss Newstead said: “I am doing this because the demand for shark fin soup and other shark products is wiping out the shark population.
“I have had my torso, legs, arms, stomach and knees pierced before so that I could hang from them, so this is no big deal.
“Being hung from the chest is more painful than the back because it restricts your breathing, but as long as the piercer knows what they are doing then it is completely safe,” she said.
Shark finning has been blamed for pushing many species of the fish to the brink of extinction and since 1970, several species have been reduced by more than 90 per cent.
Miss Newstead, who was born in Northampton and lives in Watford, left her job as a Lush sales assistant in June, so she could work full-time as an artist. She performs with a group called Constant Elevation, whose members specialise in hanging from hooks pierced through their skin.”
HTMS Pangan Liveaboard Trip Report: Day Four
Written By James Thornton-Allan (Instructor) and Hannah Lusby (Diver)
James:
Opening my eyes I could hear the rain hitting the hull again. Another dark and wavy day awaited me. However Stewart shouted “It’s bright and sunny outside” which lead me leaping out of bed and running upstairs to greet the glorious day. Stewart is a liar, it was as I thought initially, dark, wavy and cold, Stewarts plow to get everyone out of bed worked, next time I won’t be so trusting. After a coffee it didn’t matter because it was time to dive. Hannah was destined to get a sink, not sure why a sink was so important, must be a woman thing, but none the less if she wanted a sink then a sink she will have. Arriving on the bottom we found a sink with a lovely brass tap. It proved a bit heavier then it looked. One of the honours of retrieving things is if you find it then you lift it. This lead to an onslaught of narcosis in Hannah so the item was lifted together. However I must thank Hannah for all the flapping about because it kicked up a 7.62 with a brass tip bullet, unfired and intact. I look back on my life and remarking 2 specific events that I thought were particularly dangerous one was joining the British marines and the other one technical diving, so it’s fitting I find this on one of my most frequented wrecks. Deco all done and back on board Jamie was going “awww that’s lovely, that would look great in my house” Hannah didn’t budge so it stayed hers. Everyone else was back on board and it was time to either head back to land or hit the pottery.
Arriving at the pottery site the waves were minimal and there was no current. We would be using the shot line as our descent line leaving the trident free to hover for pickups and drop offs. This is the quickest way to tech dive. The boat was broken into groups of 4 with 4 in, 4 ready and 4 support. It worked really well and everyone had a decent 15 minutes bottom time at 60 meters. 15 minutes goes by very quickly. I recall diving on local dive sites and think an hour has gone and only 5 minutes has elapsed. I guess time does really fly when you’re having fun. A few giggles here and there could be heard during the mad dash for pottery. Net bags topped to the brim with pottery we began our way to the surface. I was able to find a few really nice items under the surface of the site which still had glazing and very little marine life on it. Remarked as being one of the nicer pieces recovered so far.
Earlier in the year these pieces have been appraised in the UK at some great value as they would surely not survive the hundreds of years on the surface, only diving and retrieving them can they be displayed as art or as monetary value. Mine however will be split between Christmas presents home and a nice flower pot for the girlfriend.
This being the last dive of the trip it was time to drink beer, clean gear, swap loot and head home. Koh Tao could be seen in the distance although it won’t be until dark that we arrive.
I personally think this has been the best trip this season. Perhaps because all the instructors are looking for a bit of a break and wasn’t so intense as the past one. Perhaps it was because Hannah became a perfect technical diver, with a lot still to learn, but far more capable and confident in her conduct then I have seen in others walk off these trips. Or perhaps it was the another flawless trip conducted with support of the Trident and other technical agencies from Koh Tao that made this a remarkable and enjoyable liveaboard.
The way the weather is right now it appears this will be the last trip of the season until mid January. However the weather is lovely on the west coast (about 2 hours away) so we’ll be doing the next liveabaord over there.
Hannah:
We woke up this morning to the sound of more rain and wind, you who have thought it was monsoon! But there were bigger things on the agenda today, a sink! I had spotted a lovely porcelain sink yesterday on our second dive, which had now become our mission. OK, I realise that a sink to some my be a strange thing to want to bring up from the wreck but I had my heart set on it, so off we went.
Once we located it, James stayed outside and I went to pull the thing out, welcome to the world of narcosis! Once your focused on something and working to get something out, breathing heavily all the time the hit comes! But out it came! James then told me to take it to the down line before continuing our dive, but the sink proved a little heavier than I expected and the effects of narcosis where definitely impairing my judgement. So James came in and helped take it to the down line. Mission completed, up the sink went attached to lift bags on the down line, as after waiting for it to be recovered, it was safely on board the Trident, and what a lovely sink it is, with taps and everything. So from now on, when anyone asked if I’ve packed everything but the kitchen sink, I would have to say no, including the sink!
So with some lunch and a break, we steamed towards our second site; pottery, which pretty much say’s what it is, pottery, everywhere. Straight down to the bottom, bags at the ready and grab the pots. Our bottom time was fairly short ,just 15 minutes, but plenty of time to get some last minute souvenir before heading home. There was lots of laughing and flooded masks, and a very good and funny way to end a wonderful trip.
So we head now back home to Koh Tao. For me it has been the most fantastic 3 days. The diving has been amazing. To have such a learning curve in such a short amount of time is incrediable and I certainly couldn’t have done it, if it had not been for fantastic instruction from James. (Oh and thank you James to introducing me to yet another expensive hobby!). There also has to be a huge thank you to everyone at Trident (Jamie and Stewart). And of course all the boat staff who work so hard to make gearing up and getting back on the boat so much easier. This is definitely the start of bigger and better thing to come! When’s the next trip?????
Read more about the HTMS PANGAN
HTMS Pangan Liveaboard Trip Report: Day Three
Written By James Thornton-Allan (Instructor) and Hannah Lusby (Diver)
James:
I was woken periodically throughout the night. At 5 the boat started rocking, at 5:30 I could hear the rain hitting the hull, at 6 I could smell diesel and then knew we we’re going to have a challenging day of diving.
In the hull I couldn’t tell how bad the weather was until I came up into the dry room and everyone was hiding from the wind, 2 meter swells and sideways rain. Even getting a coffee was a mad dash topside and trying to stir a cup faster then I was getting wet.
Looking at the ships radar the storm surrounded the Trident and didn’t appear to moving in any specific direction. Perhaps this would be the end of the trip, when does safety override the completion of the diving?
No one wanted to go diving, in fact I think many felt robbed because they were even out of bed. In true tech form, after breakfast and a few cups of tea, a movie with Keanu Reeves about being a good cop or perhaps a bad cop with a terrible ending , everyone was rearing to go. The rain had subsided and the waves slowed down and it was off in groups of 4, down to the wreck below.
Surprisingly the visibility was good, the sea below the surface was calm. No current and if you hadn’t been topside before you wouldn’t even know there was a small storm. We we’re hoping to circle the wreck along the sand at about 60 meters. We didn’t get very far around it. We checked out the props and the stern area but got consumed with the radio found outside the wheel house. It was written in English which leads me to believe the Thai Navy probably had problems operating it, perhaps that’s why it went down with very little information, the poor operator couldn’t tell which one was the on button.
All the deco was done but getting back on to the boat was another thing entirely. The waves were making the trident jump like a bucking bull. The dive deck was rising and falling about 2 meters, crashing into the sea and throwing any unsuspecting diver back into the rough waters. With careful coordination and timing we all got back on board safely. There was no handing up fins or passing up gear, fins were looped onto our wrists and once we got on the ladder we got up as fast as possible with all 4 cylinders on. Hannah unfortunately broke a nail, not joking, she actually broke a nail while wearing gloves, but she learned a very good bit of experience and training that good conditions wouldn’t of taught her. Happy to be back on the boat and happy to be out of the rain. The TV was fired up and House put on. Let’s hope the afternoon pans out to be calmer.
Hannah:
When we woke this morning it really was Blackpool weather! Wind and rain going sideways, everyone walking in the drunken, sea legs kind of way. Diving started a little later today so we could see what the weather would do, so after a somewhat lazy start of bacon sandwiches, porridge, mugs of tea and a movie, everyone was ready to get wet. On the surface the waves were still coming in strong. Sea legs are useful things to have; especially when geared up, you want to be quick and well timed, waddle like a penguin and get the hell in the water. No time to natter on the surface, just in and down. Once under, there was no current and the visibility was far better than expected. We were taking in the full tour this time; our bottom time was 25 minutes, which got eaten up a bit by a radio we found on the sand, something to go back for on the next dive! Although 25 mins seems like a long time it’s amazing how quickly the time goes, the shear size of the wreck, and the constant preoccupation of finding something and trying to prize it free soon eats up your time.
Deco in this weather is a little less relaxing, the line is going up and down, and you can feel like being on some sort of fairground ride, but once you’ve found your place you can just relax into it and the minutes tick by.
On the surface, it’s all a timing game to get back onto the boat, as the back deck rises up and crashes down in front of you. There’s one thing getting up a ladder in rough seas with one tank on, but quiet another with 4 tanks on! Having first tried and failed to time the waves right I was pushed back out to sea, but no problem for Trident, Stew jumped in and gave me a hand to the ladder (thank you very much Stew!), then it’s a one, two, three and up and out I come – breaking a nail in the process. What a girl!!! Oh and then punching James in the face! (This was an accident!)
Then it’s back to the usual routine on board, people find places to lie down and sleep or watch back-to-back episodes of House or Prison Break. Lunch is served, which gives the eyes a break from the TV, then back to lounging position for an hour or so until your slot comes along. Then its’ off to get some loot!
James:
The waves have calmed down a lot, the clouds are breaking and the waves are settling down. The plan was to do a lesser bottom time but Hannah’s gas consumption was so good we extended it to 25 minutes rather then 20 minutes. We had two missions: recover a brass pressure gauge from the boiler room and recover a radio box from the sand. Hopefully we could get both done but not a concern if we ran short on time. We had some sort of curry slash chicken soup thing for lunch which was filling and tasted good but could have been a bit more variety. After which we jumped in and headed down to the wreck. The first mission was to recover a pressure gauge from the engine/boiler room. Hopefully the pressure gauge needle would be fixed giving us a greater indication of how it sank. As I entered I could see the gauge from a great distance reading zero. With not educational value we left that in place and exited the engine room. Arriving an the radio the idea was to see what channel or frequency the radio was tuned into and recover the whole item. Unfortunately the radio was very heavy and required some greater planning to recover it. This planning needed to be done topside so we went on an exploration of the wheel house. Hannah caught the sight of a sink, a very old style sink with beautiful brass taps. This sink is not attached to anything but is in a difficult area to penetrate. We decided we would discuss this option topside as well. The dive ended with a small penetration in the hull of the vessel giving Hannah even more time to explore the levels of the massive wreck. However our time was cut short and it was time to make our way back up with a total elapsed bottom time of 25 minutes. After all decompression was done we surfaced to be greeted by blue skies, finally. This meant there was a slim, a very slim chance we might be visiting the pottery wreck which would be done live (shot line only) so the weather needed to be decent at least.
Back on board it was shower and dinner time, everyone chatting about the various recovered items from below and then the Trident slipped into a quiet hum with just the generators grumbling and paper pages turning.
Off to bed early, tomorrow is early again with getting up at 7. We want to be done diving and on our way before lunch so we can either get back to land on time or so we can get to the pottery wreck on time. My hope is for a final dive on the pottery wreck but it’s not worth it at the cost of safety in bad weather.
HTMS Pangan Liveaboard Trip Report: Day Two
Written By James Thornton-Allan (Instructor) and Hannah Lusby (Diver)
James:
Woken by Hannah’s dreadful phone alarm at 7 am. It was time to have a wash and get top side and jump into our dive window. Things in the morning are always a bit slower then planned the night before. A lot of bushy eye’s and staring into coffee cups. Thankfully it was a dry night and the weather is a bit cloudy but still sunny and warm. After an hour or so on the boat it was our time. A dive briefing and some checking of gear and we were off making our way slowly down the line to the Pangan. Arriving on the wreck Hannah was able to identify which way to the bow right away. She pointed out the direction and area we were going to explore based on the briefing. We traveled to the bow looking at the forward gun, engine for the winch and the telegraph on the bow. We had a limited dive because of the standards with this being a training dive for her course. The point of this dive was to get used to the wreck, depth and exposure and a general awareness for navigation. We had finished exploring the bow area with 2 minutes to spare so we made our ascent, saying goodbye to Jez who was down there looking for portholes that had fallen out of the wreck and into the silt. Coming out of the thermo cline at 45m you could feel the increased warmth of the water instantly and with that you knew you were on your way back to the surface and in the clear, I could see other divers above on the deco station at 6m or mid line on deep stops. We completed our schedule in a comfortable 50 minutes runtime with an 18 minute bottom time at 50 meters. We had used a computer dive planner for our profile but both had double Suunto Vytec computers with gas switching so we had many sources of information and reference throughout the dive.
Back on board Mikey was furiously making breakfast for the 14 divers. A mix of bacon, hash browns, porridge, yogurt and fruit was waiting the watering mouths and bright eye’s of everyone sitting around. After breakfast is was back into the general activity of the Trident which is sleeping, reading or chatting away. We would have a 4 hour surface interval and skip the high noon current with a plan to dive in the mid afternoon breaking up the day.
Hannah:
Having had a lovely night’s sleep, we woke up at 7am for the first dive of the day. After a cup of strong tea and a jump in the ocean we where off, down to the wreck. With James leading the way, we made our decent down to the wreck. As this was my first dive on this wreck and at this depth the nerves where there, but as soon as we came through the thermo cline and could see the wreck beneath us all that went away. An amazing sight to be seen, no matter how many times in future I may dive different wrecks in the future, this is one feeling I’ll always have with me.
James:
The second dive of the day proved to be shorter then planned. A 68 minute runtime after we had a 5 hour surface interval. Essentially diving with a clean slate. The visibility on this dive was worse, about 10m as opposed to the 15m from the morning dive. The plan was to explore the wheel house and stern section. However we got pre-occupied with the engine room and rear gun placement that we didn’t get to see the entire stern. Even with a 25 minute bottom time there’s still a lot of wreck to cover.
One nice thing about this dive was the chance to introduce Hannah to ever tech divers dream; penetration and every tech divers nightmare; silting. This showed Hannah that a penetration might look like a good idea on the way in but not the best idea on the way out. This gave Hannah who was completing her final training dive (12) a chance to decide if she wanted to spend more time on penetration training or more time exploring the exterior. She decided she wanted to get some depth experience and explore the sand while circling the wreck. So the plan for tomorrow is deeper and longer exposing her to more now that she’s a certified tec deep diver.
Back on board it was back to the normal routine of sleeping and eating. Lunch was served as a jacket potato with cheese and baked beans. I protested about the baked beans as many had enough gas as it was but my complaints were not taken into consideration.
As the sun set and a light rain spell the boat slowed into a quiet lull, a peaceful and relaxing trip. Many were showing the signs of serious diving by napping or dozing off while the smell of roasted chicken rose from the galley.
For me, dinner will be short as I’ll be heading to bed straight away to get some rest for an early morning. The early the day the better the “vizz” and that’s what we want.
Hannah:
Second dive and final training dive of the Deep Diver tec course! The second dive brought the wreck into a much clearer picture. The dove was a great introduction to penetration diving and seeing just how much the visability on a wreck disappears once you kick up some silt, it disappears, believe me!
Back on the boat the weather was starting to come in. Everyone settles into a corner of the boat and reads and watches TV. It’s going to be an early night!
Read Tomorrow for Day 3
HTMS Pangan Liveaboard Trip Report: Day One
Written By James Thornton-Allan (Instructor) and Hannah Lusby (Diver)
James:
“Arriving at Dirty Nellys Irish Bar in downtown koh tao I was met by Hannah (Big Blue Tech) and her friend Helen (Big Blue Diving). They were quietly enjoying a drink waiting for everyone else to arrive and get on with the trip. Slowly everyone else arrived, found somewhere to sit and ordered dinner and a few drinks. We’re hoping to get on to the Trident early and be under way at 7pm. On this trip are 14 people plus support crew of local Thai and Burmese staff. The Trident owners Jamie Macleod and Stewart Oehl will be conducting the trip and supervising the diving for myself and Hannah (Big Blue Tech) and several others from various diving schools and areas of Thailand. The trip would have the usual suspects of trident including Wilco, Jeremy, Ayesha and Mikey. Several other certified divers, friends and students were joining us as well.
A large dinner and a few drinks and it was off to stock up with chocolate, junk food, cigarettes and new books. I bought a few books military related about snipers and war and found that the entire boat was already full of war books. Most people on the boat are into a very few things, drinking, deep diving, war history and telling stories. On board were already a few military people including myself and Wilco who are both former marines from England and Holland. If you know the Royal Marine Commandos you know the Dutch work close together, which makes for good banter onboard.
If you’ve been following this story you would know that Hannah has been working hard towards this goal. In every technical course there are challenges and skills to overcome and master. With Hannah it’s been problem free and smooth the whole way.
Hannah is originally from England and is a recreational scuba instructor in her own right. Looking for more to diving and bored with the same in same out she wanted something that would challenge her and accelerate her learning beyond what recreational diving has to offer. In reflecting back on her previous life as an account director for an advertising agency she has found a life far better then one offered in England and diving far better then one offered in Koh Tao.
Unfortunately technical diving changes you permanently, we’re sorry but there’s no refund for the shock.
Moving from the bar to the longtail boat which will transfer everyone on to the trident and eventually cast off and head towards the HTMS Pangan wreck located about 60 miles north east of Koh Tao. Thankfully most of the divers on board had already set up their gear on the trip from the day before. However the dive deck was busy with gas analysis, dive planning, gear checking and generally sorting out gear for the early morning dives.
Everyone is holding their breathe for the weather. It’s coming into monsoon season, which means it could absolutely chuck down at any minute. This isn’t your normal “oh it’s raining” rain but proper “my head hurts and I have to take cover”. Heavy rain won’t stop the trip but it will change the general enjoyment of the surface interval.
Once all the little bits were sorted it was time to enjoy a cold beer and slowly steam towards our wreck. A lot of people consider drinking before diving bad. I agree, but have a few beers the night before a dive is not that much of a concern. For those who are new to technical diving we insist a non alcohol environment but the great thing about technical diving is you’re self sufficient and an adult. If you drink then be prepared for the consequences.
With the dive schedule sorter we would be number 2 to enter the water tomorrow at 8 am. Which means up at 7 so we’re ready for our jump window. Missing that window pisses off everyone and sets the morning off on a bad note. So off to bed early and excited for some proper rewarding scuba diving and finally away from the excessive conservatism of recreational diving.”
Hannah:
“Having said goodbye’s to friends and family, we cast off from Maed Hadd and on our way to the beginning of what we all hope to be some great days of wreck diving. A quick torch check from the Germinator (James’s girlfriend Yvonne) on land and we were off. Steaming on towards our port or should I say wreck of call, we all enjoyed our first night on MV Trident. A couple of beers in the evening to relax into the trip. But no more for a while – safety first!
James has even found a book for the trip, thank god it has pictures and large print otherwise things could get nasty!
Who would think 5 years ago while sitting in my office in Manchester dealing with advertising clients that I would be sitting on a boat off wreck diving for 3 days, finishing my tec course. Wonders will never cease! A little bit different from going to Blackpool for the weekend.
So our gear is all ready, dive plans sorted and we’re ready for tomorrow. Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for good weather, although with the monsoon, rain is just part of the ride. Just hoping that it’s not the sideways, wind crazy hurting kind.
And Jez, who has been on soda water for the last 3 day’s (some random detox) has to decided in the wise words of any New Zealander to fuck it and have a beer!”
Read tomorrow about Day Two!
Padi / Dsat Tec : Technical Diving Koh Tao
This is an automated news update. It was written on the 23rd of October as we are away at sea wreck diving returning on the 27th.
New website and new Tech Features!
Tec Deep Diver
The DSAT Tec Deep Diver Course
The DSAT Tec Deep Diver course takes you past recreational diving and immerses you in the world of technical diving.
What You Learn
You learn about and understand the hazards and risks involved in technical diving, as well as how to prepare for and handle reasonable foreseeable technical diving emergencies.
You also learn how to plan, conduct and manage
- Gas-switch extended no-decompression dives
- Decompression dives
- Accelerated decompression dives using air and enriched air to a depth of 50 metres /165 feet.
Get College Credit
You may be able to earn college credit for the DSAT Tec Deep Diver course.
The Scuba Gear You Use
You use technical scuba diving equipment
The Learning Materials You Need
When you’re ready to go where few divers have gone before: begin by calling your Tec Instructor and thoroughly reviewing the Tec Deep course materials. The Tec Deep Diver crewpak will introduce you to Tec Diving lingo, emergency procedures, decompression and stage cylinder handling, and gas planning. The crewpak includes a manual, dive planning checklist and dive planning slate. The optional Equipment Set-up and Key Skills video on DVD is a great tool to help you practice at home in between your tec diving adventures.
To purchase this product, contact your local PADI Instructor, dive shop or resort.
Prerequisites
You must:
- Be a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
- Be a PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
- Be a PADI Enriched Air Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
- Be a PADI Deep Diver (or qualifying certification from another organization)
- Have a minimum of 100 logged dives, of which
· 20 dives must be enriched air dives
· 25 dives must be deeper than 18 metres/60 feet
· at least 15 dives must be deeper than 30 metres/100 feet - Be at least 18 years old
The Only Way To Return From A Dive – Special Boat Service
This is an automated news update. It was written on the 23rd of October as we are away at sea wreck diving returning on the 27th.
This is the only way to get back from a dive. To all our friends in the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service.
One Morning in the Life of a NAVY SEAL
This is an automated news update. It was written on the 23rd of October as we are away at sea wreck diving returning on the 27th.
One Morning in the Life of a NAVY SEAL
It’s three hours after midnight. The sky is moonless by now. The water is warm and crystal-clear by day, but tonight, 20 feet below the surface, it’s pitch black. Some nights we are blessed with comet-like, bright green showers of bioluminescence streaming off the leading edges of our hands as they grasp the attack board, a one-square-foot neutrally buoyant plastic “kickboard” that houses nothing more than a compass, depth gauge and stopwatch. But not tonight. Only pure darkness. Nothing to indicate our movement through the water but the pressure on our fins as we kick out a practiced beat that generates 100 yards every three minutes. Silently, we breathe pure oxygen through a compact, chest-slung re-breather. Not a trace of this two-man SEAL team on the surface.
Each leg of the dive is measured, then broken down into timed segments at a particular compass heading that is corrected for current. The times and bearings are memorized, and the driver of our pair focuses on our 20 foot depth and the compass. Tonight he has it pressed up against his mask to make out the faint glow of the numbers in the darkness. He turns to the next bearing when I squeeze his arm twice just above the elbow. Tonight we are diving into a harbor. There are five legs, the last of which should end with our heads bumping into the hull of a massive warship. Our compass should spin wildly out of control a few seconds before the thump. The steel from the hull drives it crazy, but it is a welcome sign that the target is very near.
On our backs we carry a bomb housed in a round, black, Styrofoam casing that makes it neutral in seawater. It looks like a large, chocolate-frosted birthday cake complete with a candle of sorts. Magnets lace the bottom of the mine. We carefully place it with fingers against the hull, lest the magnets make a deadly clanking noise. Then we light the fuse. The mine gives us an hour and a half before it blows a basketball-size hole in the warship’s engine room. The bomb will snap the shaft just forward of the starboard screw.
We find the engine room by running our fingers along the weld seam, like a long Braille line, from the back of the hull forward along the keel, counting the perpendicular welded intersections that indicate spars. Blueprints of the target have told us how far to go, then whether to turn to port or starboard to find the sweet spot. The mine is placed. The candles are burning. We press our backs flat up against the side of the ship, then push off and try to drift straight out away from the massive magnetic anomaly before we even think about trusting our compass. Then we reverse the headings and times to find our way out of the harbor and back to the sub that waits with its escape hatch light shining like a Motel 6.
BOOM!
Time to get some sleep.
Tekkie Update: Cat La Puma – PADI Tec Basics Specialty
As the season on the east coast of Thailand winds down, we’re catching up with some of our past students. We contacted Cat La Puma who completed her PADI Tec Basics Specialty with Big Blue Tech. When Cat came to us she was interested in specialties and was planning on doing some underwater archeology and needed some technical experience so she could stay down longer when surveying
After completing the course Cat left Thailand and now we’re seeing how she is and whats new
Q: Where are you now and what are you doing?
A: Ive currently just arrived back in Perth, after spending 4 months going through Africa and Europe (and diving of course), and then there was the 4 months in Asia before that
Q: What do you remember most about your technical diving experience?
A: What did i learn most? i suppose just gaining an awareness of my gear through the excercises we did underwater, and having a greater understanding of what i am doing and the possible consequences
Q: What plans do you have in the future for technical diving?
A: My plans? well im currently just trying to get up my number of dives so i can come back and finish my course 
you will see me again!
Q: If you’re not diving on a regular basis, why not?
A: And im diving semi-regularly, mostly because ive been backpacking so im not always near the coast, though im planning to head to belize to do my divemaster soon, so that should definately get my dive numbers up.
Cheers Cat, nice to hear from you again.
DSAT Tec Deep Course Liveaboard Trip
As we have completed the final local training dives on the Mv Trident with Hannah we’re now ready to head out to the Htms Pangan and a Very Very Very Old Pottery Wreck
Todays 2 dives were met with waves, rain and dark diving. The black clouds turned the water very dark. However and unfortunately on the bow was the best visability we have seen this season, albeit very very dark. The rest of the wreck was a dark limited visibility of about 1 meter. It makes for great training but not the nicest diving as the recreational customers didn’t appreciate it that much.
However we did see a very large Marble Ray lying in the sand next to the engine room which we’ve never seen in koh tao. Actually we almost swam into it because the “vizz” was so low in that area.
Tomorrow at 4pm we’ll be off for 3 days. During that time there’ll be no news or updates. A full Trip Report to follow soon after along with pictures.
In the meantime have a look at our PADI Tec Basics Specialty for those looking to get a nice easy step in technical diving.
We’re also starting a DSAT Nitrox Gas Blender course on the 28th. Contact us to enroll now.
Tesco Lotus Responds to Shark Fin Products
After writing about the sale of Shark Fin Products at Tesco lotus outlets in Thailand we contacted Tesco directly to ask for their say in this matter.
Here’s their Response.
“I am sorry that you are unhappy with our decision to sell shark fins in our Thailand stores.
Please let me assure you that we appreciate your concerns about animal welfare and thank you for taking the time to bring your comments to our attention.
Like many other retailers in Thailand, Tesco sells shark fin in its stores as our customers expect to be able to buy it. We know that we need to balance different cultural attitudes, in this case respecting the different traditions and values on this issue that exist in Thailand with the very important issue of sustainability and welfare.
This is why we will conduct a review and take expert advice to ensure that we source shark in the most sustainable way possible.
I have fully logged your concerns and I can assure you that your own comments, along with any others we receive, will be duly noted.
Thank you for letting us know your views. If I can help further, please just let me know.
—- Disclaimer —-
This is a confidential email. Tesco may monitor and record all emails. The views expressed in this email are those of the sender and not Tesco.
Tesco Stores Limited
Company Number: 519500
Registered in England
Registered Office: Tesco House, Delamare Road”
Please contact them yourselves. We can’t control local retailers but a major chain who packages and markets their products in english is someone we CAN.
Tesco Customer Service <customer.service@tesco.co.uk>
WWII submarine USS Grunion Found!
The technical team and our customers are enjoying a few days off before the next series of dives on wednesday. So with that we bring you another submarine. We have a lovely little world war 2 submarine off the coast of Koh Tao here called the USS Lagarto and it seems someone else has found one too.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (8 Oct 2008) — The Navy has confirmed the wreckage of a sunken vessel found last year off the Aleutian Islands is that of the USS Grunion, a submarine that disappeared during World War II.
Officials at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park at Pearl Harbor have been closely monitoring the efforts to identify the World War II vessel.
Charles Hinman, director of education and outreach at the museum, will join Navy officials and family members of Grunion’s crew at a memorial service in Cleveland on Saturday. The service will honor the 70 crew members killed on or about July 30, 1942.
Underwater video footage and pictures captured by an expedition hired by sons of the commanding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mannert L. Abele, allowed the Navy to confirm the discovery, Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny said last week in a news release.
The Abele brothers – Bruce, Brad, and John Abele – located the submarine near Kiska almost a mile below the ocean’s surface.
The Abele brothers contacted the USS Cod Submarine Memorial and Hinman, seeking help in identifying the wreckage. The vessel is lying at a depth of about 3,200 feet, and the very cold water and lack of significant currents have preserved much of the wreckage.
Hinman said he has been following the Abeles’ search efforts closely and is gratified that the Navy has officially identified the wreckage.
“That gives closure to the families,” he said.
The Grunion arrived at Pearl Harbor on June 20, 1942, according to Pacific Fleet Submarine Force records. It departed on its first war patrol June 30 and was ordered to the Aleutian Islands and patrolled westward from Attu between the Aleutians and Japan.
The USS Grunion disappeared on or about July 30, 1942 in the Aleutian Islands.
It’s official: Sunken wreckage is WWII submarine USS Grunion
The USS Grunion disappeared on or about July 30, 1942 in the Aleutian Islands.
On July 10, Grunion was reassigned to the area north of Kiska. During the next 20 days, the submarine reported firing on an enemy destroyer, sinking three destroyer-type vessels, and attacking unidentified enemy ships near Kiska.
Grunion’s last transmission was received on July 30, 1942. The submarine reported heavy antisubmarine activity at the entrance to Kiska, and that it had 10 torpedoes remaining forward.
There was no contact or sighting of the submarine after July 30, and on Aug. 16, Grunion was reported lost.
Abele was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for heroism.
Local Diving Completed – Obama Loves Wrecks
Yesterday was the completion of the local training for our DSAT Tec Deep student Hannah Lusby. From here on out it’s on to deeper waters where surface support is required to conduct this training safely. It’s fine to do beginner training on dive sites but without support the risk of an accident increases.
So on wednesday the 22nd of October we’ll dive the Unicorn Wreck aboard the MV Trident where we’ll use the comforts, support and crew to help conduct Hannah’s more difficult training in a safe and enjoyable manner.
Once that’s day is complete we’ll be off on the 3 day 3 night liveaboard to the HTMS (His Thai Majesty Service) Pangan to complete the course and do some experience dives.
Below are some images from diving yesterday at Chumphon Pinnacle.
In other news…unconfirmed… potential presidential nominee senator Barak Obama was key in helping the military come and identify the missing USS Lagarto back in 2005 because he was the senator of the state where the submarine came from. We couldn’t find anything on google.. mostly smear stuff about the election. If anyone knows a source for this story we would love to put it up.
Product Review: Halcyon Evolve
Here at Big Blue Tech we have many different types of technical equipment from double bladder wings to single, from fixed harnesses to comfort ones. Each one posses benfits and drawbacks. One of more recent purchases was a Halcyon Evolve Wing.
The Wing itself is perfect for technical diving in terms of lift and comfort. A very simplistic design compared with other bc’s
Looking at the wing a few aspects can arguably be a benefit or a deterent and that’s the donut design. The first time we dived with this wing we hated it.. having a balloon pressing on your backside on the surface was an unusual feeling from what we were used to. Also having attached an SMB deployment system on the base of out plates made the even more uncomfortable.
However we then started looking at halcyon as a minimilst design approach. We removed the SMB deployment plate and put them in our thigh pockets. Once that adjustment was made it was far more comfortable.
Another thing we didn’t like was the air shift when triming. OMS control this with bungees so the air is evenly distributed. But like anything, once used to it we were fine and actually prefered it to the OMS system.
Although in the end we liked diving with this ourselves there is one major feature still missing from halcyon products which is a dual inflation system as a backup. This means we cannot use this product for course work. In previous use of halcyon products on expeditions, the primary inflator broke and there was no backup option, had i been on OMS it would be no problem at all.
In our opinion it’s great for fun diving or expedition if you have a backup bc somewhere on board but other then that it’s not very practical. Event the dump valve is on this inside of the wing which leads me to wonder who was testing this.
Pro’s
- Light Weight, easy transport
- Streamlined and less pressure on backplat
- Simple and clean design
Con’s
- No Backup Inflation
- Donut design is weird to get used to
- inflator is cheap plastic (in thailand
- Dump Valve is on inside of bladder and not on exterior (facing the surface when horizontal
- One tank band hole option, no room for adjustment.
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DSAT Gas Blender Course Completion
Today is graduation of Hanna Lusby (also in the process of her tec deep course) and James Caliendo (Big Blue Staff) from their DSAT Gas Blender Course.
Albeit a simple 2 and half day course it certifies them to blend nitrox cylinders and allows them create nitrox for use at the resort.
The course started yesterday with theory about oxygen properties, hazards and a general overview of blending. We also added to the course some basic compressor maintenance and operation. There’s nothing in the gas blender course about filling air tanks or changing filters so we spent the afternoon working with air before nitrox.
Today we wrapped up theory with different types of blending methods and how to produce nitrox with our 2 available methods of continous flow and partial pressure. The afternoon was spent watching the students fill the nitrox tanks within 1% variation of the intended mix. Both James and Hannah did great and were working through the entire process of both nitrox and compressor operation without prompting. A bit of helium theory and some partial pressure blending and they were done. With an exam to follow they should be up and blending very shortly.
In fact, the tech team is out on the Full Day Trip double Chumphon Pinnacle morning with Hannah doing some more technical training… . So that all means James will be blending for the orders already. This is perhaps one of the few courses on Koh Tao where you can start making money back for the course few the very next day!
Below are some pictures from today.
Shark Fin Sales in Tesco Lotus
Big Blue Tech has just received a mail from a dive instructor working here in Phuket, about shark fin sales in Tesco Lotus Phuket.
These pictures were taken in Tesco Phuket on the 6th October 2008 and show 500g packets of Shark Fin freely available in the freezer cabinet. For anyone not from the UK, Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the UK.
Wondering what the big deal is? OK, first thing to do is watch the following link and watch to the end so that you can see how shark fin is obtained (and be talked through things by award winning director Ang Lee)…
As you can see, this is not exactly the most humane of processes, and I had to root around a bit to find a relatively tame video!! But before you fin them, you have to catch them, right? The vast majority of sharks are caught by long lining. Now, I’m sure that most of you buy tinned tuna that is ‘dolphin friendly’, i.e. not caught on long lines, as there was a massive public outcry that the by-catch on these lines (that are generally in excess of 20km in length) such as turtles, dolphins, sea birds and so on was a disgrace.
Companies listened, as profits were taking a big hit, and lo and behold tuna is now generally obtained from non-long lining sources. But the long lining continues in order to catch sharks, and so the ‘useless by-catch’ is still being caught. Oh, and by the way, the lines have to be baited (and 20km+ requires a lot of bait)….but what to use? One of the most common baits is illegally caught dolphin. Getting angry yet?
OK, back to the sharks. Once the sharks are on the long line, one of two things happens. Either they struggle, get caught up in the line and suffocate as they can’t move around to move water through their gills, or they get dragged aboard the boat alive, have their fins removed, and are thrown back in the water alive where they sink to the bottom and die. Slowly. At this point you may be wondering a couple of things.
Firstly…why do they throw away the shark? Well, shark meat doesn’t store well and is worth comparatively nothing compared to the fins. Also, it takes up lots of space on a fishing boat that could be taken up with lots more valuable shark fin.
Secondly…why the fins? Shark fin soup is a popular (and expensive) Chinese delicacy. It is sold in huge numbers in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, Seoul, and Tokyo among many others. In fact, have a look in your local yellow pages and you’ll probably find restaurants selling it not too far away from your home, wherever you live. It is often seen as a status symbol but is also popular in Chinese medicine as sharks are seen as strong creatures. Eat the strong creature and become strong yourself. Quite. Interestingly, shark fin is boiled and bleached before use to remove it’s natural (apparently unpleasant) taste and so shark fin soup will generally taste of the broth it is cooked in, usually pork or chicken.
Thirdly…is this legal? Well, yes and no. Any country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in their waters, and only 17 of these countries have currently outlawed shark finning. Some countries have implemented legislation against it, but they have not outlawed it completely.
But back to Tesco for a moment. It’s worth noting here that regardless of the legality of the practice, shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. Here’s a quote from Tesco’s website for you. “We are playing our part in seeking to maintain a viable and long-term future for wild fish and shellfish populations. We seek to buy all our seafood from responsibly managed fisheries. We use the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries as our sourcing reference.” Interesting. Maybe they fell asleep before they got to the bit about sharks.
I could go on and on about this subject all day, and probably through the night and into tomorrow, but I realise that some of you may not be particularly interested so I’ll quit while I’m ahead. But that said, please check out the following links and make your own decisions….
www.stopsharkfinning.net
www.sharkwater.com/education.htm (and watch the movie, it’s heart-breaking and inspiring in equal measure)
These were just chosen at random from a myriad of large anti-shark finning organisations.
Want to do something about it? Contact Tesco, their e-mail address is customer.service@tesco.co.uk. Us at Big Blue Tech and probably many other dive centres already mailed them about the issue and are awaiting a response. They also have a ‘Corporate Responsibility Team’, although these guys may live in the middle ages as they have neither e-mail or a phone number. If you want to write an old fashioned letter (or maybe send a carrier pigeon), their address is…
Corporate Responsibility Team
Tesco PLC
New Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
England EN8 9SL
If you’re now half and half as to whether to do anything, let us know by sending us a short e-mail and we can send you a copy of the mail, we have sent to Tesco. All you have to do then is cut and paste it into a new mail and send it to the e-mail address above. Don’t forget to put your name at the bottom. This will take only two minutes of your time.
And I have two final things to say. For anyone who has read this and is thinking that sharks are evil tooth filled killing machines, here’s a little fact…
Sharks kill on average 5 people every year, which is less than are killed by either soft drinks dispensers or chairs (seriously). It is also significantly less than the 130 people killed by Americas biggest ‘man-killer’ every year. The deer.
Is it worth the 11000 sharks killed hourly around the globe? Please help to stop this abhorrent trade and forward this mail to anyone you think may care.
Many thanks,
Big Blue Tech and Big Blue Diving
Hannah Lusby – Certified Tec Apprentice
Yesterday’s Sail Rock trip was a great success for Big Blue Tech. On top of the technical diving training we provided 14 nitrox tanks to customers from our new nitrox panel.
The day started at 6:30 with loading of gear, customers, food, drinks, nitrox and staff. After both long tails trugged out to one of our boats – Navakid – we began the almost 2 hour journey to Sail Rock. Normally this journey can be quite long and boring, however for us it was broken up with breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast and jam served to the 30 divers.
Sail rock is a unique dive site and perfect for technical extended range diving because the dive site is extended above the surface and shaped like a cylinder. There’s unique marine life at 2m and 40m. Sail rock is mostly used for dive schools from closer islands like Pangan and Samui, only few schools from Koh Tao venture that far out.
For us, we had quite a long dive planned. This was training dive 6 for Hannah where she completed a simulated extended range dive, switching gas and moving shallower to extend her no decompression limit. The conditions were stunning, large schools of every fish throughout the dive site. From our max depth of 30m we could see clearly right down to 40-45m which was very tempting but not for today. With all skills completed and a great long dive we surfaced, filled gas, socialized with others on the boat and prepared for the real extended range dive.
For real extended range dive you must get on to your richer mix in time or you will go in to decompression diving. Albeit not a concern for us but it defeats the purpose of this dive. Here Hannah was able to switch in time and also practice her tolerance for long decompression hands on the simulated 30 minute decompression stop. One of the hardest things to instill in people is the idea that you can’t just go to the surface whenever you want.
Upon surfacing Hannah had completed dives 6 and 7 and was technically eligible to be certified as a Dsat Tec Apprentice. However she’s not stopping there, she’s moving on to Accelerated Decompression in the next few days and then on to the Trident Livaboard on the 23rd so there’s still much more training to be completed.
Our final dive site of the day was South West Pinnacle, cleverly named after the direction from Koh Tao. To all our amazement there was no thermocline to be found. The water was so clear you could see the light refraction from the surface dancing along the sand at 30m, normally you only see this effect in shallow water like a pool or a bay. This was just a fun dive. We used the rest of the nitrox to do a computer extended range dive without any skills to just give Hannah more time in technical gear and because it was better then sitting on the boat. The next training dives are accelerated decompression which require oxygen and they are more risky so we won’t be doing that until a wreck Wednesday dive.
Today unfortunately we’ll be in the hot sweaty compressor room filling the tanks from yesterday and prepping for the DSAT Gas Blender Course tomorrow as Hannah takes some time off to study for her next exam.
Cannon might be from 1846 wreck of USS Shark
Research done on one of the two cannons with possible links to Fort Vancouver by the “History Detectives” TV series indicates it most likely came from the USS Shark, which wrecked in 1846.
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Two cannons with possible links to Fort Vancouver have had their 15 minutes of fame. Next comes the long, dirty slog of restoration.
Production of the PBS episode included a visit to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, where chief ranger and historian Greg Shine provided some background on the Shark, which was launched in 1821 at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard.
The cannon investigation was one of three segments on the episode aired recently by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
“I was very impressed with what they were able to do within the 15-minute time frame. It can be a challenge to take a story as all-encompassing as the story of the Shark, then hone it into a segment the public can understand,” Shine said.
The show enlisted some impressive research help, including a high-powered X-ray machine that sees through layers of concretelike crust.
They also brought in Bob Neyland, head of underwater archaeology with the Naval Historical Center, who now is a member of the cannon advisory team. (A few years ago, Neyland helped recover a Confederate submarine that sank during the Civil War.)
At the end of the segment, host Gwen Wright told 14-year-old Miranda Petrone that the cannon she and another girl found probably had been on the Shark. The cannons were recovered in February at Arch Cape, Ore.
Chris Havel, with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission, said the TV show certainly moved the project forward. He is coordinator of the cannon conservation project.
“Having Bob Neyland come out and see them firsthand, and looking at the cannon with X-rays — that would not have happened without History Detectives,” Havel said.
There is plenty of work to be done with the short-barrelled cannons known as carronades. A Web page on the Oregon Parks site notes that the gunk-encrusted barrels don’t look much like cannons at all: “More like big, blobby rocks,” it said.
For now, the cannons are sitting in tanks of water, which draws out the salt, protects them from the air and prevents further corrosion. The next step is finding a professional artifact conservator to peel away the rocky concretions, restore the cannons and return them to the Northwest for display.
“We don’t know how long it will take, and not even the people who will bid on the job have a guess,” Havel said. “I’ve heard it can take two, three, four or five years to get them into shape.”
As the crust is removed, the restoration experts might find a serial number, foundry mark or a date that could link the barrel with the Shark. Remnants of the gun carriage could offer more clues.
“Learning the type of wood might help us figure out where it was made,” Havel said.
For now, the recent focus on the USS Shark and its carronades has helped generate interest in regional history.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people who watched the episode and are interested in the story of the fort’s involvement,” Shine said.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Sail Rock Full Day Trip & Technical Diving
Today has been very busy for Big Blue Tech and Big Blue Diving. We have a Full Day Trip tomorrow where we do 3 dives on our large boat, served with breakfast and lunch at one of the best dive sites on Koh Tao – Sail Rock.
The dive shop has been in a fury of activity with divers signing up to the exclusive trip. And with that we’ve decided to treat Hannah with completing her Technical Extended Range portions of her Tec Course on the full day trip.
However for our technical team it’s been a long day filling the order of 14 nitrox tanks for all the divers. I suppose the saying is true. If you build it, they will come.
After several hours of hot sweaty nitrox blending the order has been filled and now we’re ready to head out tomorrow.
Below are some pictures taken by a fun diver who exchanged free fun diving for photography work. Amazing quality, too bad she didn’t take any of us.
Technically Open Water
Last night was a huge party. Local beach bar Vibe invited Big Blue staff and customers to their place to thank us for this seasons business. We often support Vibe with big wallets and thirsty mouths but curse them the next day with massive hangovers.
Thankfully the Tech staff went home early because today is the first training dives in open water for Hannah. Meeting at big blue for lunch we made our way out to the boat for a relaxing afternoon of simulated decompression. Hannah had just completed her first exam of 120 questions scoring a score of 95%.
The afternoon dive sites are Twin Pinnacles and White Rock. For training dives 4,5 in open water there are minimum depth requirements so we spent most of the time in the sand practicing skills. For Hannah this would be the first time running a dive slate and using it as a guide for her dive including runtimes and stops.
After our last confined session we adjusted her harness and some gear features and this improved her buoyancy and overall comfort quite a lot.
After completing these dives it’s now on to dives 6,7 which won’t be for a few days as we’ll focus again on academics and the final exam while the weather has been poor. The training team are hoping to complete her local training on the Full Day Trip before heading out on the Trident for the deeper and more challenging dives.
Well Blended
Today is the arrival of the Continuous Flow Nitrox Blending Panel, which we’ve all been working hard to get here for the past 6 months. We always had a partial pressure system (filling whip) but that’s not ideal for nitrox filling as a business.
Continuous Flow means the nitrox goes into the compressor already mixed up to 40%. This removes the pesky need for oxygen clean cylinders and double clean air. All our nitrox cylinders have been visually inspected so we’re good to go.
With help from Steve Burton and David Ottoway of Samui EasyTek who designed the basic unit and customized it for our needs we were able to install a care free and robust unit by the end of the day.
The unit features several safety aspects including an override on the Oxygen regulator so the unit can only produce up o 40% max. It also features an electric solenoid wired into the compressor dynamo. Why is this important? It’s important in places with unreliable electricity because the solenoid will close without power stopping the flow of oxygen. Our compressors are electric so if the power is off so are the compressors and while that’s off, oxygen can flow into the air intake. Without the solenoid, when the compressor turns on, oxygen can be the first breath into the compressor causing an explosion. So now if the power is off then the oxygen stops.
Many friends and acquaintances said we could of simply made the unit out of soda cans and tubing. Which is true, but for presentation, training, ease of use and value then buying this unit is essential.
We’re not quite ready to blend yet, the oil in the compressor needs to be changed from mineral to synthetic and the installation of a playstation at the blending station to keep lowly blenders entertained during blending will be a priority.
At the moment the panel will be used to provide nitrox to Big Blue alone. We will be considering expanding to other smaller local dive shops who require local access to nitrox but that depends on the success of the unit initially.
And of course it also means all staff have to get trained on it. Quite a lot considering it’s a 3 day course.. phew…
Hannah’s Technical Difficulty
Today Hannah Lusby, who’s making her way through the myriad of obstacles in the DSAT Tec Deep course completed the final confined session before heading out to deeper open water in a few days. Much lies ahead for Hannah including 2 exams with over 150 questions combined, multiple dives and new skills. But today was about getting out of the skill heaving environment and more about diving.
Unfortunately we were quite limited because of depth, in confined for technical diving under DSAT confined is 10m max. That isn’t really the best for technical buoyancy. I think perhaps a range of 20m gives the best change in BCD to expose the diver to change in levels.
However deep or shallow, Hannah excelled in the skills and it was an enjoyable, funny confined session and very happy now to look forward to the future of the course.
Professional Technical Exploration Trip
So many events and such little time.
Today the Mv Trident is heading out to sea for some sneaky beaky exploration with a manifest consisting of local professionals only. This is not a trip for customers or beginners, so you may wonder why mention it, well because the purpose is to go out and explore wrecks to take people in the future. The plan is a simple 3 days 3 night live-aboard taking many friends and colleagues from Koh Tao’s Technical Community.
Also today Hannah will be heading out to one of confined bays to complete her last shallow diving work before heading out into open water. There’s about 20 skills in this dive alone so we’ll be splitting it up over the afternoon so it’s not such a overload.
If you’ve been watching the news you might of noticed the events in Bangkok, be rest assured that the violence is in a small part of bangkok. Friends of ours were in bangkok when the riot happened and didn’t even notice. It’s business as usual in the tourist sections so come, drink snake blood, go diving, ride elephants and get out of your office!
The scheduled course trip of October 22nd has been moved to the 23rd. Unfortunately Niall (our other staff member) is still in Scotland and will miss it. This is the signature trip for technical diving students on the HTMS Pangan Wreck. It’s still not to late to book on to this trip as a student or as a certified diver.
In the coming events we’ll be moving on to the Similans because the waves get bigger and the big boat Mv Trident goes into dry dock for seasonal repairs. Time to fire up the “Deep Jeep” and hit the road with the gear and do some deep coral and manta ray diving!
And finally it’s with warm farewell that we say goodbye to many members of the Koh Tao diving community who have decided to move off and explore the rest of the world for a bit. So Brad, Laura, Jade, Craid, Learke, Sonia, Sanna, Roby and Church we hope to see you all again soon.
