Kiran has just completed his Divemaster Course with us in Thailand, and during his course he went on a 4 day / 4 night liveaboard trip to the Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock. Here’s his account of the trip.
Where to start?
It all started a week before I left when the great news a liveaboard trip had been secured for me. I was so ecstatic and relieved that I had found one of these trips. The build-up towards the trip was great and spent every day thinking about the amazing adventure I would have.
However the one thing that was pressing on my mind was the stunning sight of Manta Rays. Some could call me narrow minded by fixating on these creatures, but they are the reason why I began to learn how to dive. I find them the most beautiful and elegant animals that have ever been about this planet.
That was the dream. Of course I couldn’t promise myself this sight but I still lay there in hope knowing that if I didn’t see them I would still enjoy the amazing dive sites I was just about to gaze upon.
Wreck Diving before we left!
The day of departure arrived, and as a treat and as part of my deep diver speciality I had already dived two sites in the morning. One was the sea chart wreck with a max depth of 36 M. I fell in love with the wreck as it was a haven for little fish and as a result saw vast balls of youngsters being tracked down and hunted by big great Barracuda and Trevally. It was mesmerising.
Anyway back to the liveaboard.
So arrived at the dive shop in the evening drained from the days diving waiting to leave to the pier to board our home for the next 4 days. Unfortunately one of the transfers from the airport had trouble so we didn’t get the boat till about 10 in the evening which was a shame but it gave us all time to meet and get to know one another.
Our boat and home for the next 4 days was called Manta Queen 1 and was a 26m long 5 metre wide vessel with a wooden hull that could carry a maximum of 22 people.
First day
Woke up by the engines powering us towards the Similan islands. I was originally frustrated by the noise but whilst wandering up to the main deck I was greeted by the rise of the most stunning sunrise. As people finally rose we had our first dive briefing from our trip leader Benn. He stated how each day would be run, timing and how we would carry out of each dive. After this he said “let’s go diving!” and every one got to their battle stations and begun to kit up in readiness for the first dive.
The first dive was a gentle introduction into diving in Thailand. Anita’s reef was a sandy slope with coral bommies teaming with life every 15m. It was a nice dive, as a result of my good air use I was put into another group mid dive. Dive 2 of the trip was at Deep 6 – saw an octopus just as we got down. Quite a strong current this time and a “green monster” that chilled to the bone. Started down a deep gorge that had massive gorgonian fans and we carried on to the swim through which was like a cork out of a bottle. Fun and daunting how we had very little control.
Dive 3 was called West of Eden. It is a lovely reef on the west side of island number 7 that was teeming with life. The last dive of the day was at West of Eden again however it was a night dive and the underwater environment was very different. The site had a calm about it but at the same time was a hive of activity. There were many crabs and shrimp of all kinds even giant lobsters that were fascinating to watch.
Day two of the trip
Started with a 6am wake up and our first dive at Elephant Head Rock. Giant granite boulders made up the dive site making quite a few deep channels which is the typical topography of the Similan national park. Blue spotted stingrays were in number on the sand portion of the site. They tried to camouflage themselves in the sand which shocked me as I moved over one it shot out from underneath me! After that dive we went to Donald Duck bay, it was very peaceful at about 8 am but as we left boats upon boats of tourist started to pull up and the beach was flocked by tourists. Lucky we enjoyed whilst it was calm and peaceful. Dive 2 was at North Point which again had many deep channels to swim through. Saw my first Nudibranch (Multi-coloured slug).
Dive 3 of the day and dive 7 of the trip was the most important dive of the trip and the one I had been looking forward to since I came to Thailand. It was at the west ridge of Koh Bon. Yes we saw MANTAS !! I was so happy when I saw my first manta on my video recording you can even hear me screaming. They were so beautiful and elegant as they swept across our paths and did fly-bys that were so magical. The last dive was at Koh Tachai and the phrase that came up so much amongst my group was fish soup. So many fish from small to large predatory barracuda, as we reached our safety stop 3 massive tuna came sweeping past. As we carried on our journey everyone started to get the motto of our boat, “DIVE, EAT, SLEEP, REPEAT!” because that is what our routine became every day.
Day 3 of the trip
Everyone was meshing well and getting into a good routine. Everything we did became so familiar it made the diving so much easier. The first two dives of the day were at Richelieu Rock. As the sun rose during our first dive so did the activity of the rock. We spent a long time looking at some yellow coral for sea horses but unfortunately didn’t see one. On the second dive we saw a pair of cuttle fish mating and the fighting. Made me laugh how much they are like humans. On the third dive of the day we went back to Koh Tachai, started off as a really relaxing dive but about 30 minutes into the dive the current picked up really strong and it became diver soup so not the best dive but it was good fun for the amount of time it lasted. To finish the day off we went to the west ridge of Koh Bon again, unfortunately no mantas but still one of my favourite dive sites. Koh Bon still has a vast wall full of multi-coloured soft coral with glass fish covering it.
The last day
came quick as a flash. Unbelievable how rapid the trip had felt. The first dive of this day was on a pinnacle of the west ridge of Koh Bon called Hin Luang. The pinnacle starts at 18 m and then descends to over 70m and was the most beautiful dive site I have had the pleasure of being on. It is covered in yellow coral that is the home for all fish. This site was made better by the dull orange glow of the sunrise that painted a picture that was unimaginable. At the top of the pinnacle was the best sight too, I saw my first leopard shark!
The second dive again was Koh bon and it was great and saw a white tipped reef shark! The last dive of the day was at the Boonsung wreck on the way back to Tap Lamu pier. This wreck was situated in the shallows near the coast of the mainland at about a depth of 20m. This wreck has made one of the greatest artificial reef on what is a mainly flat sand area. This meant as we got to the wreck there were fish swarming everywhere, at some points there were so many fish I couldn’t even see a meter in front of me.
After the last dive we headed back to the pier. Everyone was talking and having a great time as they reminisced about the past 4 days, boasting about what they saw and saying how they could definitely do the trip again. After we had our final debrief from our trip leader we all cheered for the dive crew and the boat crew because they deserved it and they all put so much effort into the trip. In conclusion this was a fantastic trip that was worth every penny and all the early hours, it is also the most efficient way to go diving with so many dives in such a short space of time. As a result I recommend this live aboard to anyone who loves diving and wants to do many dives in a short space of time.