Technical Diving Khao Lak
Big Blue Tech and Big Blue Diving Khao Lak joined forces recently for the installation of a continuous flow nitrox blending system on our new liveaboard the Mv Pawara which will be providing liveaboard trips to the similan islands.
This combined effort was done to create a vessel that could support technical diving for the upcoming season.
Big Blue Khao Lak is the only technical diving facility in Khao Lak offering technical and cave diving course through the instruction of Big Blue Tech. All our training and diving will be done from our new vessel so it had to be installed correctly.
The blending system was organized by Samui Easytek and shipped to the area for installation. The existing ventillation system on the massive liveaboard had to be replaced along with compressor oil replacement from mineral oil to synthetic.
The installation took two days and was tested with 0.1% accuracy. (no leaks)
The install comes just in time as the first trip leaves the shore in just a few days.
In addition to the install, Big Blue Khao Lak is also opening a second shop to support it’s additional 2 speed boats which will be taking people daily to local dive sites.
As a side note, the larger more robust divers of Khao Lak are celebrating the opening of McDonalds directly across the street from the Big Blue Khao Lak office.
Treasure hunters recover ring on wreck of the Atocha
A very rare, delicate, gold amethyst ring was recovered on the famed shipwreck site of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha by SCUBA divers in the Caribbean it was announced yesterday.
In the year 1622, 35 miles off the coast of Key West, Florida the Spanish Galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha sank in a violent hurricane en route from Havana, Cuba back to Spain. Famed underwater treasure hunter Mel Fisher first began searching for this wreck years ago. Today, Fisher’s family and crew continue the search he began for the rear section of the ship, which has been dubbed the Sterncastle. This portion of the ship is known to have held the wealthiest of passengers and thus some of the most precious artifacts and jewelry.
The Fisher’s most recent find, announced yesterday, is a rare gold ring bearing a deep purple amethyst stone. It was found by the seasoned crew of the salvage vessel J.B. Magruder, Captained by Andy Matroci.
It is a rare one-of-a-kind artifact that Kim Fisher describes: “It is a plain gold band with a large box-shaped gold setting on the top with an amethyst inside. The amethyst is so dark it is almost black. It probably would have come from a large crystal in order to be that dark. We have found several other rings with similar characteristics without stones in them, or with emeralds, but this is the first ring with an amethyst found on the Atocha site.”
The Fisher family today takes regular groups to dive the Atocha site. For more details, go to http://www.melfisher.com/myadventure/
