Archive for December, 2009

Wolfie goes Advanced

By frankie, 23 December, 2009, No Comment

Wolf Wolvekamp, NATO Scuba Diving Club Brunssum, The Netherlands

Finally Koh Tao!  After a week  I was back on the “Turtle Island”.  This time not alone but joined by my wife Sylvia (not diving) and daughter (Iris) , finalising her Dive Leader training.  I clearly remember my previous stay. SE Asia explorers club was based at DJL which was still in Mae Haad.  A tiny shop, two instructors (Les and Tim).  I found the SE Asia Explorers club on the internet when I was looking for a BSAC centre with an Advanced Instructor.  I wanted to finalise my Advanced Diver course and the required AI are very scarce in the Netherlands.  This time was great.  Les went through the theory and he did part of the practical lessons.  Together with Tim I did the Expedition planning which we executed the next day.  We dived on a just discoverd wreck ‘The Unicorn at 48m and that experience was the reason for my return this year.

But many things had changed.  Mae Haad had become Sairee Beach.  The tiny shop had become a well developed dive centre, teaching almost all BSAC courses.  Two staff had become a pool of instructors involving single courses and internships; what a surprise. Not that I really needed BSAC instructors because in the past year I became an instructor myself and only recently passed the Advanced Instructor exam, so signing off Iris certification book could be done myself. I did enjoy their knowledge, expertise, equipment and boats. Especially the comradeship and the help of the instructor team was great.

Just a few more days before we need to move on, but I am sure that it will not be three more years before we return. When I return I may do some more technical diving where I again will need their teaching support. Looking forward to the future here at SE Asia Explorers Club.

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Team of divers from SE Asia Explorers club remove nets from dive site and had the pleasure of seeing 2 whale sharks

By frankie, 13 December, 2009, No Comment
Whale shark at Chumphon

Whale shark at Chumphon

A team of divers from the SE Asia Explorers club yesterday removed a fishing net which had been covering a large portion of one of the main dive sites on Koh Tao, Chumphon Pinnacles.  Unfortunately in the surrounding area there is a lot of fishing and sometimes the inevitable happens and one is caught on these underwater sea mounts.  Having previously dived Chumphon the day before the team had already seen the destruction left by the net on the reef and decided that it needed to be removed.

The team met the following day to discuss the best way to remove it safely. The net was attached along a wall section of the pinnacle from a depth of 25m up to 14m and obviously there was a risk of divers becoming entangled.  As a result it was decided to attach a number of lift bags along the bottom of the net and then gradually peel it from the reef all the time keeping the divers below the net and out of harms way.

We headed out in the late afternoon so as to be the only boat there. Conditions  were a little choppy but otherwise pretty good. As we descended there was a little current but soon we were in the lee of the pinnacle and began attaching the lift bags to the bottom of the net.  Naturally the team were concentrating on the job in hand but as we came towards the top one of the team spotted a large whale shark passing behind clearly checking we were doing the job correctly.  We finished removing the net and began to head back to the line, but as we did so out of the blue came another whale shark! This time it was a baby of only about 3-4m, and as we hovered there it continued to swim around and over the team.  This was a wonderful encounter especially as we were the only divers in the water. We reached the surface and found the net and lift bags and then dragged it to the RIB.  The trip home was a little bumpy but after such a successful afternoon, no-one really minded.

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The Torpedo

By frankie, 7 December, 2009, No Comment

The ship got its name from the look of its cargo.  The Thai fishtrap fishermen that originally found her saw the teak logs in her hold and believed them to be torpedos.  She is a cargo vessel of around 1000 tonnes and is believed to have sunk due to her being overloaded, reducing her freeboard allowing her to swamp with water.

She sits upright in 53m of water and can be dived amidships comfortably at 48m.  The top of her superstructure at the stern is at around 42m and is around 70m long.  This wreck is around 17 nautical miles from Koh Tao and is easily accessible.

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The Unicorn

By frankie, 7 December, 2009, No Comment

Tech Diving with Side TankThis wreck is also known as the Dog Food wreck.  She is believed to be an insurance scam and was lost in the 70’s.  A local eye witness report stated that as she pulled offshore the conditions were flat and calm.  Then over a period of hours she slowly sank.  An insurance scam was suspected and when the salvage diver from Mermaid Marine dived her to check on the cargo the tuna fish she was caryying in her manifest turned out to be inexpensive dog food.

She sits upright in 48m of water listing slightly to the port.  The top of the bridge is at 42m with amidships in around 45m.  The port handrail sits below the silt at 48m and the starboard slightly shallower at 45m, whilst the top of the bow is at 42m.  Penetration on the wreck is not advised as the silt has built up inside and the areas are small.  Although on the outside there is a abundance of soft coral growth making her a very picturesque wreck.  The large superstructure at the stern with two holds is also teeming with fish life.  This and her proximity to Koh Tao makes her a perfect dive site for tech diver training.

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