HTMS Sattakut (LCI-742) Shipwreck on Koh Tao
Koh Tao, Thailand
Big Blue Tech observed the Thai navy sink one of their own ships today on Koh Tao to provide an artificial reef and wreck diving resource just off the shore from our resort.
The HTMS Sattakut was origionally owned by the US Navy. During World War II USS LCI(L)(G)(M)-739 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the assualt and occupation of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945.
Plans to dive the new wreck are already underway with undoubtedly hundreds of divers just waiting for the conservation society to finish counting the sea stars and let us have at it. We’re expecting a chance to dive it within the week.
The ships unique bow design allowed troops to assault beaches in the security and shelter of it’s forward guns and Armour. This gives the wreck an unusual appearance.
Specifications:
Displacement 246 t.(light), 264 t. (landing), 419 t.(loaded)
Length 158′ 5½”
Beam 23′ 3″
Draft Light 3′ 1½” mean, Landing, 2′ 8″ forward, 4′ 10″ aft, Loaded, 5′ 4″ forward, 5′ 11″ aft
Speed 16 kts (max.), 14 kts maximum continuous
LCI(L) Complement 4 Officers, 24 Enlisted
LCI(G) Complement 5 Officers, 65 Enlisted
LCI(M) Complement 4 Officers, 49 Enlisted
LCI(L) Troop Capacity 6 Officers, 182 Enlisted
LCI(L) Cargo Capacity 75 tons
Armor 2″ plastic splinter protection on gun turrets, conning tower and pilot house
Endurance 4,000 miles at 12 kts, loaded, 500 miles at 15 kts; and 110 tons of fuel
LCI(L) Armament five single 20mm guns, one bow mounted, one each port and starboard forward of wheelhouse, one each port and starboard aft of wheelhouse, on some LCIs two .50 cal machine guns were added
LCI(G) Armament two 40mm guns, four 20mm guns, six .50cal machine guns, 10 MK7 rocket launchers
LCI(M) Armament one single 40mm gun, forward, four 20mm guns, three 4.2mm chemical mortars mounted in three 4ft x 4ft wooden walled 2″ x 6″ high sand boxes on the well deck with the three tripod mortar tubes in position to fire forward over the bow, No. 2 Troop Compartment (under well deck) converted to a magazine
Fuel Capacity 130 tons, lube oil 200 gal.
Propulsion two sets of 4 GM diesels, 4 per shaft, BHP 1,600, twin variable pitch propellers
IART CCR courses in Thailand
Big Blue Tech is proud to announce the release of new programs from IART (international Association of Rebreather Trainers).
IART, the International Association of Rebreather Trainers, was founded in 1997 after Hubert Stieve and Peter Grosserhode recognised that the growth of rebreather technology in recreational diving was not without great safety risks and organizational problems for the established recreational diver training agencies and clubs. Too great was the difference in required knowledge, ability und discipline.
IART quickly established itself as the leading rebreather training agency in Germany – its country of origin – and over the last two years, under the new management of Chris Ullmann and Neil Matthews, the organization has begun to spread rapidly to other lands. Regional Offices now exist for Scandinavia, the UK, Spain, Holland, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Thailand. These offices provide support for IART members as far afield as New Zealand and Micronesia and Scotland and Sweden.
IART has the aim, through uncompromising teaching standards, to further the use of Nitrox and Trimix and to make rebreather diving as safe as possible. These aims and the ways to achieve them are continually reviewed and adapted. IART has and will closely follow the future development of rebreathers and continue to make recommendations and promptly adapt its training programmes to keep pace with newly emerging technology.
Courses Available.
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Gasblender
Discover technical diving in Thailand
Koh Tao, Thailand
Big Blue Tech hosted a technical diving discovery day for 8 future technical divers during a day long event conducted by TDI Instructor Ash Dunn and PADI TecRec Instructor Matt Rolph and assisted by future BSAC Technical Instructor Ian Jordan.
The purpose of the day was to provide an introduction to technical diving for some of the recent graduates from the islands monthly IDC and MSDT programs at Buddha View, a PADI CDC Centre based on the southern side of Koh Tao. Buddha View PADI Course Director Mark Soworka helped organize the event to give his graduates and interns a greater knowledge of the booming technical diving industry so his candidates would be better educated in the ever changing and growing scuba diving industry.
Big Blue Tech try to help the local diving comunity by creating fun and unique events to help the next generation of diving professionals get the knowledge and experience of the technical diving sport.
The day began with some videos and theory and then progressed into hands on interaction with the equipment the divers would be using that day.
After a lunch break the divers and instructors headed out on our dedicated tech boat “Nauty Buoy” where all the cylinders, backplates and wings were waiting to take the group of 10 divers underwater.
The divers were shown the features and assembly of the typical technical diving gear and then taken for 2 shallow dives around Koh Tao.
Skills like lift bag deployment, bouyancy, gas shut down, out of air and propulsion techniques were demonstrated and practiced.
The students said they all really enjoyed the day and had a great day being shown something different.
We look forward to seeing the gang from Buddha View back again in the future for some more PADI TecRec Diving.
TDI Sidemount Class
Koh Tao, Thailand
Big Blue Tech is proud to announce the graduation of a TDI Sidemount diver conducted by Ash Dunn over a 3 day period.
Sidemount is a scuba diving configuration which has tanks mounted alongside the diver, below the shoulders and along the hips, instead of on the back of the diver. It is a popular configuration with advanced cave divers, as smaller sections of cave can be penetrated and tanks can be changed with greater ease. Sidemount is also growing in popularity with divers who have difficulty handling the heavy double tanks commonly used by cave divers. Shortcomings of this diving style include a greater difficulty in sharing air while diving with team members using backmounted tanks.
Sidemount diving began in England, where it was originally used in partially submerged caves. It was an easier method of transporting diving gear between totally submerged sections of the cave (sumps). Americans began using sidemount in the mid seventies for the same purpose. In the early eighties, Wes Skiles, and other Florida cave divers began to use sidemount to explore cave passages that were too low for conventional back mounted tanks. They quickly found that the British style of sidemount didn’t work well in low passages, and slowly developed a “Florida style” form of sidemount. Today, the British refer to this “Florida style” diving as “American sidemount”.
Most sidemount rigs used to be home-made as there were no commercial production of kits like there were for standard scuba rigs. One of the later “pioneers” of sidemount diving was Bill Rennaker, who started making kits available with sidemount accessories such as a custom butt plate.
Dive Rite released the Transpac which was able to be converted for sidemount diving, and then later followed it up with the Nomad.
Expansion of tec rec sidemount into recreational and open water courses now occurs in several countries globally. Note that sidemount configuration is not just a positional concept only – correctly matching technical (or even recreational) rigs together with sidemount harnesses is different from merely shifting tank postions using standard recreational gear for convenience, (which is not true sidemount). Sidemount may be split into basic sidemount (single tank – left or right positioned, but nominally left), and advanced sidemount (dual redundant tanks and regs, one left post and one right post).
“Recreational” sidemount unmodified rigs should not be used for tec rec activities, particularly in overhead environs. Further, standard reg configurations, split-fins and other recreational equipment is unsuitable for profile manoeuvres, S-drills and other safety skills which necessarily require advanced sidemount configuration. Instruction in sidemount is not just for skilled enjoyment, but for diver safety. This is further explained in a number of international instructional sites.^^
TDI Intro to Tech Class
Big Blue Tech announce the graduation from a TDI Intro to Tech course by instructor Ash Dunn
The TDI Intro to Tech course is the perfect course for divers who have heard about technical diving and want to find out more about this exciting branch of advanced recreational diving. This course walks students through the special techniques, planning procedures and skills that set technical diving apart from traditional sport diving. It will show them how to improve their dive planning methods, in-water skills and streamline their existing gear configuration, in a non-threatening and fun learning environment.
The specific skills this course will highlight are:
Advanced Buoyancy Control
Gas Management
Situational Awareness
Trim
Gear Configuration and Selection
And Many More!
TDI’s Intro to Tech course is a useful stand-alone course for the diver who wants to become a more skilled, more proficient diver regardless of if he intends to move on to technical diving. The course may also be used as an introduction to the TDI Advanced Nitrox course and the TDI Decompression Procedures course. And finally, it is also a good refresher for certified technical divers who may want to refresh their skills or have them re-evaluated by a TDI technical instructor.
Typical Schedule:
Day 1: Theory, technical gear selection and fitting, and tech terminology
Day 2: 2 dives
Day 3: 2 dives
QUALIFICATIONS OF GRADUATES
Graduates will be qualified to enroll in technical diving classes such as advanced nitrox and decompression procedures.
PREREQUISITES FOR ENTERING THE COURSE
Diver Certification. The preferred minimum certification level is NAUI Advanced Diver or higher.
Experience: Documentation of diving experience with a minimum of 50 logged open water dives. Dives shall be varied in environment, depth and activities.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Once you have completed the TDI Intro to Tech Course you may want to continue your exploration of technical diving by taking the TDI advanced nitrox and decompression procedures courses.
Maximum depth for the course: 130 feet.
