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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

The team on the same trip was also able to identify another Japanese submarine and a large boiler believed to have come from a steamship sunk by British mines.

The cargo ship itself sits in 60m of water in the area of Panang, Malaysia. She has an extremely large crane lying next to the main hold, and the cargo of the vessel has  spilled into the sand in and around the crane. This is probably as a result of the sinking. The bridge however sits upright, and as a result the masts are now covered with nets, so caution is needed.

The team was comprised of Fri, Tim, and  Jeremy and was led by Tim Lawrence. This team are all planning further trips in the near future to discover more about this wreck and its history.