Similan Liveaboard – April

So Karin went out on the Queen Scuba to do some video. Just for fun! Here she is sporting her Top Dawg housing, showing off for the kids…

(We hope to offer small videos here on the site in the near future! Hopefully by next season we’ll be showing you videos of our daily dives, the various marine life, Khao Lak in general and of course you- our guests and friends! )

Jesper, an instructor from Big Blue was onboard this last trip , as well as his girlfriend. She decided to do her Divemaster after this trip. If you keep reading, you’ll see why! The conditions were perfect…

They saw a few things….
big….


things….

This was of course on the single dive during the trip that Karin Skipped! But the old rule says that if the camera doesn’t work, or someone must skip the dive then the best things will be seen! so everyone can thank Karin for summoning the Whale Shark.


But they saw plenty of other things on the trip.


Some not so big…..

Like this Frogfish! Cute little feller.

So, the weather here in Khao Lak was a bit off, rain most afternoons, but the weather on the Similans is still perfect. The diving is great, the visibility is great so it’s a great time to head over. So many deals on Boats that it’ll make you sneeze.

West Coast Explorer for 17,500! What a deal.

Anyhow, we are ramping our site up, getting ready for ADEX – the diving convention. There we will be pimping ourselves. Karin said she’d be happy to pimp me out after the convention in some alleys, but I declined.


WickedDiving.com

Silly things this week.

We were beset by silliness this week, So instead of talking about it, we’ll just show it.

This is a good example of sign we find here. This one orgianlly said “Beware of the Brick in front of you”. Well that made much less sense than this one. I could certainly see a few of these in the LA freeways….

Here we are pulling the speedboat out of the water. That’s a small datsun pickup truck converted into a towtruck. It’s pulling our speedboat out of the water. Seeing how it didn’t have enough power, they brought in this pickup truck to tow the tow truck

Okay, well that makes heaps of sense. Here is where they attached the chain …now I’m not a mechanic or anything…but…umm…

Wicked Diving

Extraterrestrial Mollusks on the Similans

Space ships.  I don’t think I have ever dived anywhere else where I have seen so many space ships – and not just during night dives but during the day as well.  For me these highly evolved, highly intelligent, elephantine mollusks have always appeared extraterrestrial.  The way in which they hover, speed backwards and perform a stunning display of electric flashes so utterly hypnotic that leaves you wondering what level of evolution they have achieved.

The Boon Soon Wreck, East of Eden, Richelieu Rock and of course the ‘Three Lovers’ at Koh Bon; always together and always vying for one another’s attention.  Reaching out one of their eight arms here and another one there, meanwhile emitting an auroral glow around their floating bodies.  A marine biologist once warned me never to shine my flash light in the eyes of a passing space ship due to the real risk of permanently blinding it, and yet their pulsating electric ripples are best observed in the dark (although this does carry the risk of losing ones customers who always have a tendency to disappear during complete darkness).

Their vision is one of the most highly developed in the animal kingdom, and they perceive contrast rather than colour, so their light display has a secondary purpose of allowing them to communicate with other spaceships.  Why they have W-shaped pupils has yet to be explained, although it has been proposed that this is to allow them to see backward and forward at the same time.  Perhaps their extraordinarily large brains may hold the key.  However, they are clearly aware that any potential enemies are still an evolutionary stage or two behind as they possess and impressive array of chameleon skills allowing them to reflect the colouring of their environment as they travel over different shades of coral, rocks and sand, which leaves the reptilian master of disguise lagging behind; not only is this an effective disguise from predators and prey, but with the ability to change colour in less than a second, it is the speediest transformer in the entire animal kingdom

Closer observation will actually reveal finely tuned buoyancy.  Unlike their octopi cousins, who scramble over the coral, they can regulate their depth by changing the liquid-to-gas ratio in their chambered cuttle-bone.

Italians like to eat space ships.  Last month I dived with an Italian chef and as I made the ‘cuttlefish’ hand signal he replied with the ‘spaghetti’ symbol – consisting of a twist of the wrist and a greedy glint in the eye.  After learning that some marine biologists also believe that they learn by observation, I felt a protective urge to shield these culinary inclinations from the three spaceships in view.  Indeed I have spent many a happy dive hovering face to face with a spaceship, with a hand positioned on my forehead slowly raising a finger.  The spaceship humors my mimicking and will raise an opposite arm.  Hurrah!  Communication with life from the blue planet!

We depart from Khao Lak and dive Koh Bon every Tuesday. Bon Soong is one our favorite sites and we dive it every three days. You’ll also frequently see cuttlefish on Richelieu Rock, whcih we do every Wednesday.

Wicked Diving

 

Khao Lak weather – April 18th

So we had a really nice day with a brief bit of rain at mid-day it was a pretty nice day – keeping the temperatures down. . It has a been a bit stormy and it mght be that we are slowly entering our rainy time.
Our diving is still very good, as the rain rarely makes it that far offshore. But there are less and less people wandering the streets and fewer Germans for the dog to annoy. So it looks like the Cat and the dog must chase each other all day.


Plenty of great fish still abound, with frequent sightings of Manta’s ata many different sites.
The real advantage with this time of year is the great deals. There are massive discounts on many different trips – Queen Scuba is only 23,000 Baht, normally 29,000! West Coast Explorer is frequently 17,500 instead of 23,000 and even the Vilai Samut has lowered her price to 17,000.

Wicked Diving – our website will be up in a new a more luscious form shortly…keep checking it out….

Similan Island number 8 – Koh Similan

Home to Donald Duck Bay, Island 8 is the one of the two Similan Islands open to the public.  However, unlike Island 4 the only accommodation on the island is for National Park Staff (this should change for next season). 
 
 The island is popular with snorkelers and day trippers, while the bay is often used as a docking area for liveaboards and sailing boats.    There is a great walk up to a view point, which is slightly more accessible than the trail on Island 4.  Although it includes the same series of ropes to aid your ascent it is only a short ten minute walk, and once again it is definitely worth the view.

This is also the only West facing beach on the Similans. Due to that there is more chance of larger fish – Reef Sharks, Porcupine Rays and Leopard Sharks to be seen while diving or snorkeling.The snorkeling around the bay is lovely.  There is rarely any current although there can be a slight surge and the speed boat activity can often cause unexpected waves.

There are several resident turtles in the bay who often get fed by snorkelers and boat crew. PLEASE avoid this, as they stop being afraid of boats and during the monsoon season fishing boats moor in the bay (illegally) and the turtles get taken aboard and eaten!!! Don’t feed them, try to discourage others to not feed them and remember the only thing to take home, are pictures and the only thing to leave behind are footprints.

 

This also makes a great launching point for the dive trips in the area. Many of the best sites are just a few minutes away.
We do usually have our lunches right on the beach when we are diving the Northern Similans during our daytrips on the speedboat from Khao Lak.

If you look at the map, you’ll notice that there are two dive sites just outside of Donald Duck bay – Turtle Rock and Waterfall bay. Beacuase of their proximity to the mooring lines, these sites are quite popular for sunset and night dives.

Finally, the sunsets here ar gorgeous. Taking in the whole of the Similans, and gazing across the Andaman sea….the world is really at your fingertips.


Wicked Diving
Liveaboard Guide

Enjoy Similan Island 4

Island 4

A popular island with day trippers, snorkels and those who want to experience the serenity of the Similans without the help of a liveaboard.  As with all of Thailand’s islands, Island 4 is the property of the Princess who occasionally visits the island.  If this is the case then the island is closed to visitors and the surrounding islands are closed to divers.  However, when the Princess is not on holiday, Island 4 is one of the two islands (Island 8 being the other) which is open to the public. 

The island is also the headquarters for the Similan National Park, who provide basic accommodation as well as a resident medic.  It is possible to book a speedboat trip to the island and to stay on the island in either a large canvas tent (which comfortably sleeps two people) or in a bungalow.  Food can be purchased from the one restaurant although the selection of meals offered is limited.  Do take mosquito repellent and flash lights for the evening. 

It is possible to organize beach diving through the National Park.  However, for more varied diving prior to departure organize for a day boat to collect you and take you diving around the nearby islands.

For those visiting the island for the day there is plenty to pass the time.  The two beaches are Honeymoon Bay and Princess Bay.  The former is the larger of the two and more sheltered making it an ideal spot for introductory dives, refresher courses as well as a lovely snorkeling spot.  However, do watch out for boat traffic as this tends to be a busy spot.  Both the beaches are perfect for sunbathing with fine golden sand and large wooden swings to jump when you feel the need for a little activity.  Princess Bay tends to be quieter until after four o’clock when the day boats have departed.

A great little excursion is to follow the signs for the ‘Adventure Trail’ which begins in the middle of the island and continues via a jungle path to a stunning viewpoint, providing a panorama of the Similan Islands, and on a good day includes Koh Bon and the mainland.  The trail takes about twenty minutes and includes pulling yourself up rocks with the help of a couple of   ropes – but it is great fun and the view is definitely worth the effort.  Trainers or barefoot is preferable to open-healed sandals which will prevent you from defying gravity quite so easily!

Most liveaboards will provide transportation for divers during a surface interval on the first day, providing a welcome opportunity to stretch your legs.  If not the boats are usually moored close enough to the island to allow for a short swim or snorkel around the bay.

Similan Island #4 – Koh Miang…as brought to you by Wicked Diving

Khao Lak New Years day after…Happy Snapper

So after a bit of a snack (Su cooked a huge meal of Lobsters, shrimp, and several other marine life – perfect for a room full of divers, as most of us are veggies or at least don’t eat fish!) I headed down the fabled Happy Snapper. The best Place in Khao Lak for a beer, music and atmosphere.

Here’s Ali Talking rubbish. But since he has a flower in his hair it’s all okay.


The weather today was sunny through the whole first part of the day and the aftrenoon was overcast. Finally got a bit a bit of rain at our normal 4:00….

But since I have full custody of Ba-ruce I took him to the beach and had a bit of a romp. This is Bang Niang Beach, just North of Mukdara resort. He’s getting really good at pestering Germans on lounge chairs. I give him treats for sniffing old ladies butts. They squeal, I go over and ask them what they are doing to my dog and we walk away!

Again…keep checking back for exciting developments in the web world for Wicked Diving and our affiliates….Liveaboard Guide

Friday the 13th – Khao Lak Diving and weather

So today my camera went diving without me! After several minutes of crying, we walked away from each other. I think we became stronger people!

It left me, and Khao Lak, for Koh Bon.

But it saw cool things, had a dive or two and came back to daddy…

Over there are some sweetlips – really nice looking ones…

Below is one of our Great Moray Eels (that’s the species name, not a personality trait) at Koh Bon. My camera went hunting for Manta Rays today, but for the only third time in 2007 there weren’t any! Hmmm….they must like Songkran as much as me!




Below are some of the people that took my camera from me! They had a great day, and it looks like great conditions.

Of course from our previous post you can see that it poured down rain for about an hour here in Khao Lak. Which is just okay, as that cooled things way down. Should be a nice day tomorrow as well.


Wicked Diving – check back shortly for our new site design, and a few other makeovers! We are pretty excited about this.

www.wickeddiving.com
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Happy New Year!!!

Songkran! 

The year is now 2550 and the Thais have seen their Songkran in with copious amounts of water.  Traditionally the ceremony was to pour water into the palm of people’s hands.  The aim was that the water would cleanse the person of negative actions and with the water, negative thoughts would also flow away. It was a way to purify. While pouring the water in this manner, people pass on good wishes and words of blessing for the coming New Year.  The revamped version of this ancient ceremony seems to be full submersion in water throughout the day.  Whether or not this means total purification is yet to be clarified. 

Traditionally, children show their respect to elders by performing this water ceremony and as a national bank holiday, this means that in reality not only have the children of Khao Lak had the free run of the town, but that they have been closely supervised through the festivities; Today I have seen one father escort his knee high children around town; the children had mini water pistols and the father an oversized semi-automatic.  The children’s attention seemed to dwindle as the day went on and by the afternoon it was only the semi automatic that was still in active use.  I have also witnessed one attentive grandmother direct a toddler towards unsuspecting shoppers, who were promptly soaked.  However, it is not only those on foot who were targeted.  As the majority of people in Thailand ride scooters rather than drive cars, large plastic barrels of water were aimed at passing bikes.  This was a rather successful technique as when faced with an onslaught of gushing water on a rattling Honda Dream it seems the only sensible option is to slow down.  Others have taken to transporting the large barrels of water in the back of pick up trucks and emptying it at various points across town – or rather emptying it on various people across town!

Despite all the screams and hollers from outside, the shop has been incredibly quiet.  It seems as though most potential divers prefer to be wet under the water rather than above it.  Although we did have two customers today, both of whom left small puddles on the shop floor and promptly started to shiver, courtesy of our effective air con. 

Traditionally scented water was also poured over the shoulder and slowly down the back of people.  My only experience of this today was of sweetly smelling prickly heat powder which had been mixed with water to form a paste before being slapped onto my face.  Paul however, did have water poured over his back, but this was ice cold water and was done so surreptitiously by the old lady in the shop next door.  This was just as he turned around after ordering one of her tofu Pad Thais for lunch.  Paul had spent the past couple of hours debating whether or not it was safe to venture outside in order to achieve this feat, and ultimately, hunger won at 3pm.  His next exploration into the madness was armed with his waterproof camera… 

It is now evening and the festivities seem to have reverted back to their more traditional roots, where Songkran is a time to spend with ones family.  Either that or the torrential rain which hit several hours ago and is still continuing ruined the aim of the game, and has been equally successful at soaking the purifiers as it has the purified!

Your Responsibility as a Diver!

Your Responsibility as a Diver!

Don’t touch – Don’t kick

If you’re a new diver ask your instructor for some advice on how to improve your buoyancy and if you find that you are having trouble controlling your movements then give the corals plenty of leeway until you have improved.  If you haven’t dived for a while then you should consider a Scuba Review class and ask your instructor for skills which will help you to improve your buoyancy.  Remember that this will not only help to reduce your impact under water but will increase the time you are able to spend there; good buoyancy control will reduce your air consumption.

Think before you Click

Be honest with yourself; are you comfortable with your buoyancy or does it need a little more work before you take a camera diving with you?  If you do go diving with a camera and you can’t get the perfect shot without holding onto something – wait.  Remember that just one light touch of a human finger onto coral can kill what will have taken several decades to grow.  Likewise, don’t go chasing after fish; it only stresses them and it certainly doesn’t look cool! See Project AWAREs 10 Tips for Underwater Photographers. (It’s a PDF file…)

Remember that you don’t belong there! 

Interactions with marine life including disturbing mating or feeding can disrupt the eco-system.  Observe from a distance!  If you want to know what color a leopard sharks eyes are then go look it up on the internet!

Self Awareness

Give your fellow divers plenty of space to maneuver.  I’ve seen so many people swim their buddies into coral or kick frantically with no awareness that they are disturbing the sediment below them or knocking nudibranchs off rocks.  Keep yourself streamlined and don’t let your gauges drag over the reef.  Keep checking that you are not kicking the sand up, or kicking your buddy!

Why the Gloves?

Gloves should only be worn to keep your hands warm!  The rules still apply – ‘Do not touch anything!’ So…why the gloves?!

Litter Bug

You may not have dropped the litter floating passed you but don’t just swim around it! 

Do your part to protect the reef and put it in your BCD pocket.  And you will be surprised how contagious your actions will be as a responsible diver.

Don’t play with the Marine Life! 

I actually see divers try to catch fish with their bare hands, or even pick up sea cucumbers and shake them around as if they were maracas.  As tempting as it seems to be try to resist picking up sea creatures or poking mollusks; after all it is hardly polite and could even be fatal for the object of your curiosity, causing unnatural stress or injury. 

National Park Rules for a Reason!

The Similan National Park imposes a severe fine – and even imprisonment – for removing any shells or coral from under or above the water.  This is for a reason!  Removing shells interferes with the ecosystem and gradually destroys the reef .

Report Bad Practices

Dropping anchor, throwing waste into the sea, the use of unnecessary cleaning products (such as toilet bleach), the feeding of marine life, divers who tease the marine life or touch the corals are all unacceptable practices and should be reported to the dive company and the national park.

Remember that divers do not belong in the ocean – treat it with respect and hopefully the reefs will last long enough for recreational diving to continue for more than half a century.

www.wickeddiving.com
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Finally, this is all fun and educational. If you are here to set records, or go deeper than ever before, or be better or faster than the other divers – Do it on your own time. This is a place and time to enjoy the life around you in the amazing underwater world.

Khao Lak Diving and Weather April 12th

So today wasn’t quite so hot and muggy, but we had some rain last night and that really cooled things down. The day had a few rumbles of thunder but no rain here. Forecat is …more of the same. Afternoon thunderstorms and minimal wind . Waves are predicted to be very minimal for the next week…so all in all it looks to be a lovely week for diving the Similans.

Of course tomorrow is Songkran, so there will be lots of water tossing and other madness. I will be in drip dry clothes and cowering in the office (riding a scooter tomorrow is not a good idea)


Dealt with some very nice people today (nice write up from Donna (or April 8th fame) – Thanks Donna! Ida from Koh Tao is racing over to get onboard the Queen Scuba (one wicked boat if I do say so myself – used to work on that one). And the Crazy guy from Taiwan who is travelling around on his scooter! Nice as can be…

Otherwise as things slow down we are cleaning up. Our website will get a nice sprucing up shortly, as will the shop, our house and maybe even my dirty mind.

Here is a typical lunch layout for us. Beaches with blue water, lovely tress and a huge buffet style lunch freshly made each morning. yum.
Wicked Diving…simply the best

Another succesful trip on the West Coast Explorer

Here’s more happy guests having their decompression beers after the trip! Helen and Dan are chilling in my A/C on a very hot day (must be 34 outside)

but Tom is a bit tired from all the diving, but very content…great food, great diving – still looking for their Manta though!


So try booking your next adventure with Wicked Diving (we’ll tire you out too!)

Khao Lak Diving and weather April 10

Well, I think that’s enough said right there….clear, hot and blue skies….

Without much rain today, it’s been a hotty. 33-34 all day (93-95) with just the skies above and the ocean to the the west.

We dived Christmas Point and Breakfast Bend
to much success – Mantas, Sharks and Turtles. I guess things are just about all right when that happens. Visibilty is back to 30 Meters (100 Feet). Of course we are getting tired of seeing Mantas (or not…)

Tomorrow is Koh Bon again, so I reckon we’ll see more Mantas tomorrow too!

Getting geared up for next season and doing research into Biodiesel and pollutants. How best to run a boat safely…even looking at carbon credits using aquatic solutions (algeal blooms instead of trees?!) interesting stuff.

Wicked Diving

Great day on Koh Bon

It was an incredible day today…Both Keith and myself saw the opportunity, and word of some great conditions got us all excited.

With a boat load of excited divers we left Khao Lak and headed off to the main site for seeing Manta Rays in Khao Lak – Koh Bon. Just yesterday there had been a sighting of a Whale Shark too! It was all I could do to stay calm.

Well, it turned out a bit different than we expected…

Here’s Michelle and Ali looking for something interesting on their dive.


Michelle, Donna and Gerry were all here visiting …trying to find some good diving. So it was pretty weird having three Americans diving. Plus me! We were the majority on the boat. how often does that happen?
It was great though, they were really fun, positive people and being from Georgia, they said “y’all” more than I do!


Ali guided them and showed them a really sweet time. Mantas on two days, all sorts and of course his famous riddles…



As they were in very good hands, I had a deeper dive with Keith and we had a great time too!



This is a Manta sitting right above us on the Ridge while we were distracted by cool flabellinas….








which is what I was really focused on. An amazing snail, but of course I couldn’t get it in focus. Then when I came back to the shop…all proud and bragging, I get a “oh yeah, that’s a Maldivean Soft Shelled snail” or some such rubbish. Well it was the first time Keith or me had seen one, and we were impressed.
Here’s more time on the ridge with Keith. We were just inundated with Manta Rays. This one did two very close “swim-bys” of us, then went on to circle Michelle, Donna and Gerry for quite a while. It was stunning, watching it for the ridge, as they were int he blue and round and round this Manta goes.


We were all impressed, and then I got another one circling me during my Safety stop.


anyhow….check out our site Wicked Diving. We are going to Koh Bon almost every Tuesday, Easter and Christmas.

Khao Lak Diving and Weather April 9th…

Ouch…it’s hot, and sunny and the diving is perfect. What more can you say? It’s only about 33 (91) outside, but with some pretty heavy humidity, it’s feeling like 39 (100), so we head to the beach, jump in for a swim, lay around napping during the day and just relax. Tough life eh? We had a brief thunderstorm roll through, but it was over and gone before I even noticed.

The diving is just about perfect. We were able to see the entire Bon Soong Wreck from the surface, which is a once or twice a year kind of thing! and the life there is out of control right now. We will, if possible be doing some fun diving there, just to savor this opportunity.

Seriously, this is perfect buildup for Songkran, which is sort of our New Years party. Kind of. But it’s a celebration of the end of dry season, and the coming rains, so with all that “extra” water, you pour it on one another. which is great! unless you want to stay dry, or go somewhere, or do something. Or drive a scooter (there were ONLY 650 deaths last year on this same weekend). Some clever bastard decided, sometime long ago, to also throw talcum powder onto each Other. Hahaha..ha….umm….kind of sucks actually. It’s funny to do it, but not funny to have it happen. Especially in your face, especially while driving a scooter, especially since most powders also have menthol for that lovely cooling effect…

Anyhow. This year I’ll be reporting on Khao Lak’s water party, as this will actually be the first time I spent it here! I’ve been hiding for the last few years.

And since you read this far…here’s a wee something that I spent my safety stop with…

It was a REALLY good dive yesterday at Koh Bon…

Wicked Diving

Khao Lak weather April 7

We had a nice shower last night, cooled things down a lot. Made it much cooler.

We are definitely in the hot season. It is HOT outside. Okay, it’s still just 34 (94) but the humidity is amazing. I tried taking a butter knife and cutting out a hunk of the air, but it actually melted. Khao Lak is like that this time of year. It makes for good napping, good diving and good lounging on the beach.

It looks like the same for the next week or so.

Tomorrow we head to Koh Bon on our speedboat, the mighty Moby Dick. The conditions have gotten so good that it’s jut about scary, so I figured I’ll jump on! I am looking forward to it.

Tonight we have a whole group going on the West Coast Explorer – Great Last Minute prices for them, so saved money and got to go on a SWEET (maybe even – Wicked) boat.

I’m looking froward to Manta and seeking out the opistobranch that is supposed to be afoot. Well, I’m looking for anything I can find! Clear, warm water is just about okay with me.

Still a few weeks of great diving left. We are looking forward to it. Then ADEX – the Asian Dive Expo, where we roll out our next project. It is very exciting. Lots of tension as we build up for that. should be very exciting….

oh yeah…don’t forget Wicked Diving is the only kind of diving you’ll want to do…

West Coast Explorer

the


Today we had several guests and our DM’s come off a great trip on the West Coast Explorer. They had heaps of Mantas, great visibility and an all around good time.

The boat is a budget range boat, but with such good service and standards that everyone seems to come back happy.


That’s partly due to Milton, the owner. He is actually the Boat Master and all around guide.


With 7 years running the boat in the Similans, he knows the ins and outs of the whole region. His Briefings are legendary. And since he lives on the boat, the cook is his favorite! So great food abounds….


One of the fun parts of the trip, at least for me (the dork) is the small pack of Pier Urchins that will help you back into your shoes. They are funny enough, and when not amusing themselves by tormenting tourists feet, they spend the rest of their days playing the Weiner game and throwing one another off the pier.

(The weiner game is where you try to quickly grab another man/boys penis and give a hard tug causing much pain. The hilarity of this game is the source of endless hours of entertainment. In fact I still have lightning fast reactions for anyone who seems to be trying to give my weiner a tug.)

The West Coast Explorer is just one of our boats, and we offer great “last Minute” specials whenever we can.
Wicked Diving

Karin’s Latest course in Khao Lak

Here’s a great picture of Karin teaching her students how to descend while in the swimming pool.

Most of our courses are small and personal and this one was no different.
With only two students in the academic section and three students in the ocean.



Here is Simon doing a backroll into the pool at the very beginning of his skills.







This is the buddy check – testing that both regulators are working in case of emergency…



Here’s Aree, Simon and Karin just about to submerge for the first time.






Check out our website for more details about courses, diving the Similans or dive trips around the area…Wicked Diving

Khao Lak weather april 3

Sorry, got busy yesterday and missed out on a blog there…

We had a real nice rainstorm here in Khao Lak yesterday in the afternoon that was brief and cooling. It made things real nice. Here’s the clear sky, with the rain pouring off the roof at the same time.

More whale sharks today at Koh Bon! So a really good time for diving. I mean we are saturated in great animal life in the area. While the El nino is pretty annoying with the cold water and reduced viz, it sure makes for some sweet diving. One might even call it wicked diving!

Weather today was 33 (92) and should be the same for the next week – scattered thunderstorms and continued heat. I guess that what living in a rain forest on the equator gets you!

Check out the main website wicked diving for deals.
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Today was real nice

Our most recent Advanced student…

Harsha has just done his Advanced Open Water Speciality Course. He wasn’t even sure if he should do the course here on the Similans when we first talked. I said it was expensive to do the course in Khao Lak but a very good place to do it.

He went forth with high spirits and hopes (and a loan from mum!). He ended up being the only student on the course, so he was pretty lucky to be 1 on 1 with Ali the whole time.

Spread over three days, his course featured the highlights of the area;

One day on the Similans
One day on Koh Bon
One day on one of our local wrecks – Bon Soong.

Of course the high points….


Manta Rays! Here is a picture with Ali posing. He said they saw 5 or 6 on the first dive. Not bad. But luckily this was his photography dive, so he had the camera for the day, and whipped out a couple more nice pictures….

Here’s another with Ali pretending to be Cobia. There was a pretty heavy thermocline so plenty of plankton at depth, but hey…that’s what feeds them!

Of course there was plenty of other stuff to see, like this lionfish….


Click on it for a bigger picture (you can do that for all of them)

But here’s them heading back to the boat….




Another successful day for Khao Lak’s finest dive center – Wicked Diving!!!


Similan Information

Staff dive…

Off we went….





Sunday we all went out for a dive, all staff at Wicked and Liquid. As a special treat we also brought out The staff from Happy Snapper – our favorite bar, and from Takieng – our favorite restaurant.

It was a blast. I knew things were going to be crazy when the cases of beer were brought on to the boat first. (of course only a few of us were diving, so there was plenty of lazing on the beaches and drinking cold chang for all the “snorkelers”)

It was a perfect day, great weather, good viz and high spirits as we have one last month of hard work before the season starts to wind down. Hit the spot just right


Here’s Keith hovering over a Kuhl’s Ray at Deep Six. We’re at about 20 meters (70 feet) and the Viz was getting bettter and better the deeper we went.

Keith and Ihad both had some great dives really deep on this site, but we hadn’t done it in two years, so we didn’t hit the really pretty spots. Still they were pretty good!
I had a white-tip shark swimming with me for several minutes (too far away for good pix, but he was there…I swear).

Deep six has some pretty sweet scenery with big rocks dropping off into the deep, wicked swim-throughs under these massive boulders and lots of big fishies around each corner….

Here’s a Great Barracuda, hunting some little fellers. He took off when the flash went off.


Here’s Keith and Kjerstie (pronounced Gherkin) and me waiting for the boat to come pick us up.










You would have never known it…but Anna is Swedish.

Normally she is quite conservative…



but after a big spread for lunch a few of us climbed up to the viewpoint on island 4 (koh miang)

and we got this…..



views to island 7 & 8, all the way north. A nice hike, but worth it…..





Afterwards the second dive….got a few more treats….


my favorite, some really cool flabbelina’s….I got lost for quite a few minutes in this young lad/lassie (hermaphrodites)