Posts by frankie

FCD Update………….

By frankie, 27 July, 2010, No Comment

Hello everyone, just to update Tim and Frankies progress with BSAC’s First Class Diver. The exam which took place in May was run over two days and along with the two DJL candidates we also had Frank from Divepoint. Apart from the expedition plan which had to be submitted at the start of the exam we all had to plan either a reef survey, a wreck survey or a lift. So there was plenty to keep us occupied. Starting with the lift which Frank was in charge for we were able to manouver a large block for the bottom up to the surface and then onto the boat, which all went swimmingly. Tim’s wreck survey also proved to be very achievable and did not produce any unexpexted problems, which also was the case for Frankie’s lead at Hin Wong Bay.

The following day however things were about to get a little more testing. Upon arriving at 9 we were told we were going to have to biuld and place two gates for an underwater orienteering course. Definitely something new to get our collective heads around. While Frank was in charge of the design, Frankie and Tim were there to help create and place the gates in the water. As the dimensions had to be 2m by 3m and had to maintain an exact depth of 10m to 13m this was requiring a lot of thought and team work. However Frank came up with a siutable system and after a couple of hours we seemed about ready to get the structure under the water. This was unfortunately where the team came up short, as when placed in the water the lines we were using became entangled and we were unable to properly deploy the two gates. That said a lot had been achieved and more importantly a lot had been learnt.

A couple of days later we were all debriefed individually and I’m very glad to say that all three candidates passed!!. So with one part out of the way we look forward to the theory exam in coming months. Good Luck to everyone and we hope we will see them celebrating a new achievement soon.

Divers go 1st Class

By frankie, 22 March, 2010, No Comment

Two Divers from the SEA Explorers club, Tim Lawerence and Francis Leigh will be attempting to complete their BSAC First Class Diver qualification over the next three months. As all you BSAC divers will know this is the highest ticket anyone can attain from BSAC and will require many hours of hard work and study over the coming weeks. So for now its time to stick our heads in the books and get practising our search patterns and hopefully by the end of May we will be celebrating the clubs first two members achieving its highest award. Stay tuned for updates on their progress in the coming days.

Reef Cleanup and Whale Shark for Explorers Club

By frankie, 1 March, 2010, No Comment

Lately the SE Asia Explorers club has been looking at ways of getting more involved in the ecological side of diving. As a result a reef cleanup was planned on the local house reef, Sairee Beach. As a way of encouraging more people from outside the club to join we organised a first dive at Chumphon Pinnacles before returning to Sairee to do the reef cleanup. Happily for us lots of people were more than happy to get their fingers dirty and get involved.

So after a couple of days of drumming up divers and preparing the site, we were all ready to go. Heading out bright and early on the morning boat, the sun was shining and a gentle hum of chatter and preparation on what was a very busy boat. Arriving at the site, conditions as often are at this time of the year, were great. Little current and good visibility. Descending to the top of the pinnacle we were greeted by a big school of yellowtail barracudas intermingling with some big trevallies. You might all remember from a previous post when cleaning nets from the pinnacle we were lucky enough to see two whale sharks and once again Chumphon didn’t disappoint.

The normal size for these giant pelagics in this area is usually around 3m, so we were gratefully surprised to see larger specimen of nearly 5m. For a lot of the divers on the boat this was their first sighting and being in a playful frame of mind, they were able to spend nearly the entire dive with this graceful creature. A special moment for anyone present.

Back on the boat we began the ride of about 30 minutes back towards Koh Tao. The team having done some reconnaisance earlier in the week had marked a number of areas on the reef that needed particular attention.

BSAC divers see bull sharks and whale shark!!!

By frankie, 2 February, 2010, No Comment

Getting out of bed at 6:30 on any morning is never an easy thing to do, but of course the opportunity to head out to Chumphon Pinnacles always makes it worthwhile. As it was the full moon, we had to do a thorough check of the tide tables and weather conditions. Even though we were aiming for slack, we knew there would be a distinct possibility of some current and reduced visibility on the site. However surface conditions were perfect and we decided it was worth a visit.

Heading towards the shot line at the site, it was clear that we had managed to hit slack pretty well and there was very little surface current. But as expected visibility was fairly murky. Good conditions for seeing sharks. Chumphon Pinnacles is known for its shark sitings and that morning it didn’t let us down. As we headed around Barracuda Rock out of the thermocline at about 25m came a big female bull of about two and a half metres followed by a smaller one of about one and a half . As it was my divers first experience with these impressive predators it was a special moment for them. We hovered in the same area for about 10 minutes and then swam back towards the main pinnacle all the time the sharks were below us occasionaly moving up to our level of about 18m and then darting back into the murk below. As we surfaced there were woops of joy from Markus and Philip and we still had another dive to go. This was shaping into a really good morning.

After a cup of coffee and a chat on the boat we arrived at our second port of call, White Rock. This a shallower site closer in to Koh Tao, but still known for its abundant marine life, especially stingrays. Visibility was still not perfect but still close to 10m. As it was we had a very enjoyable dive, seeing moray eels, stingrays and of course the resident triggerfish but as we neared our deco stop I heard a constant banging not far away. Signalling my divers to follow me, we went too see what all the fuss was about. Then I saw it heading straight towards me, the mecca for all divers, the whale shark!! It was only a baby, maybe 3m, surrounded by ramoras and shark suckers, but these fish never seem to leave you in anything but a state of awe. Gracefully gliding by and then turning swimming up and over our bubble trail. Even under the water I could see the glee in Markus and Philip’s faces.

As we were getting low on air we had to surface after about 10 minutes, but it had still be an incredible experience to end what had been a brilliant mornings diving. The chatter on the boat as we headed home was non-stop. So to Markus and Philip wherever you are, I hope you enjoyed a great days diving and come back and see us again soon.

St.Andrews John completes course

By frankie, 2 February, 2010, No Comment

I remember meeting John for the first time, big hair, and boundless enthusiasm ready to start his Dive Leader and knew that whatever happened on the course, it would be really good fun. Working on a pretty flexible timetable, as of course he was on holiday we got stuck in to the training. As he had done the theory part of the course some time ago we decided that it would be best to run over it again. Luckily for me John had a PhD in Mathematics so he was pretty switched on and breezed through the theory and exam in the first few days.

Now of course we could get on with the good stuff, in the water. Within the programme we hd to complete a number of different dives, dealing with many different skills. Starting slowly with a check up dive it was clear that John had done a lot of diving. He was of course enjoying the fact he didn’t have to wear a dry suit and 14kg of weight for once!!. So it made for a nice change in conditions for him.

As we progressed through the training dives he seemed to take each one in his stride and was constantly looking for new challenges within the course. One dive in particular stands out, when he navigated us from no-name to twins (2 different dive sites) in current and in no more than 2m visibilty. No mean achievement. The more we dived together the more we enjoyed it and a real diving friendship between the two of us developed.

Towards the end of the training, we headed onto the dry practical lessons and with this experience and by this stage, knowledge of our shop and boat, had a great time running things and working with the other members of the club and boat crew. When his time finally came to an end, it was of course sad to see him go. However its always pleasing to see another happy and enthusiastic diver head on to pastures new, with hopefully some good memories to go with him. So good luck John and we will be diving together in Scotland in the near future, can’t wait!!!

SEA Explorers Club