Got any good ones? Post 'em here....
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...0506/rings.jpg
Yours truly creates some air rings somewhere in the Similans.
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Got any good ones? Post 'em here....
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...0506/rings.jpg
Yours truly creates some air rings somewhere in the Similans.
Since it looks like no one has dive trip photos to share, I'll post a lot of my own. All these photos were taken on live aboard trips that sailed out of Phuket from 2001 through 2003. Sorry, but I never could afford an underwater camera or camera housing, so all these are surface shots. But they do give you an idea of what the Similan Islands look like and what it's like to do a scuba live aboard tip.
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The islands seem to be made of sandstone. No limestone in sight. The colors and textures of the big boulders can be quite lovely.
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There are lots of yachts and dive boats everywhere you go during high season.
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This is aboard the Shorcut II which was operated by HighClass Adventure diving.
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Beautiful clear water everywhere. But, you know what you neve see in the Similans? Coconut trees. Phuket has them. Krabi has them. Khao Lak has them. But not the Similans. Why are there no coconut trees growing in the Similans?
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Lots of dive boats.
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Breakfast on the Shortcut.
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The Shortcut lounge.
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The captain.
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Thai fishermen.
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The dive gear. The Shortcut was not built as a dive boat but as a ferry. As a result the dive deck and platform were less than ideal; especially for beginning divers.
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The galley. Great meals came from here. Good story about the Isaan lady with the camouflage trousers: She actually gave birth on the boat during a dive trip. No one knew she was pregnant. One morning she just appeared on deck nursing her newborn baby. She never revealed who the father was and continued working.
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Morning dive briefing. Note the detailed, hand drawn chart on the whiteboard.
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Ah, the first cup of morning coffee always tastes so good. Even if it is Nescafe....
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Another dive boat.
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This is a new trip. The boat is the Mermaid II (written in Thai there). The Mermaid II is a purpose built dive boat and, by far, the best one I've ever been on. Comfortable. Well-equipped and designed so that diving is a breeze. It is owned by Crissy Marine.
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Sunrise in the Similans.
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No coconut trees.
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Thumbs up from Princess Nitrox, Dive Master.
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No coconut trees, but plenty of monitor lizards.
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Have a swim in the crystal blue water followed by a nap in a ragged hammock.
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Dive boats
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What a beach.
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I find the contrast between the rugged boulders and the clear gentle sea to be most satisfyingly beautiful.
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Captain of the Mermaid II.
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Mermaid II crew.
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Rubber dinghies are for retrieving divers after a drift dive.
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You can barely see the water spout in the storm photo.
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Dive briefing.
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Princess Nitrox in front of the oxygen tanks.
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Mermaid II dive deck. Lots of room.
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That's me in the lower right.
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Colorful Similan Sunset
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Mermaid II bunks are a bit cramped but comfortable. Cabins have air con. Showers are hot.
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Mermaid II cabin deck.
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Wet suits, tanks being filled, drinking water.
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Dolphins love to play in the boat's wake.
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Mermaid II taken from one of the dinghies.
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Nice hole in the island, but still no coconut trees.
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The diving is good, but just being out at sea is wonderful.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2006/10/399.jpg
Another brilliant sunset.
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This is the nitrox fill station. Oxygen is added to normal air to get what is called enriched air or "nitrox". The percentage of oxygen is raised from the normal 21% up to 32-36%. The idea is to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the mix to reduce the chances of decompression illness ("the bends"). Some people think that breathing nitrox while diving reduces post-dive fatigue.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2006/10/401.jpg
Bye, bye Similans....
Thanks for the photos, Will be posting some tomorrow from a few trips, Have to resize them first.
I cant green you at the moment buadhai :(
But I can ;)
I too ;)
I think you need to get a new nick, BH. I can't green you fast enough!
Damn.. I should take some pictures when I went to dive last time hmm.. really don't know when I can do it again. :(
Oh.. I can't green you again like others.
nice pics. I have dived around phuket and pattaya (where i got certified). found phuket/phi phi etc. nice with lots of sea life as opposed to pattaya where there is vurtually no sea life but a couple of ok wrecks. have wondered about taking a 'live aboad' dive trip and this looks like a great area for diving. do happen to recall the company's name you went with or any conact numbers?
thx
sonny
^
Sonny, things have changed so much since the tsunami that I hesitate to make a recommendation.
Most recently I went with Crissey owned Mermaid Liveaboards. Great boat. Good trip.
But, there are many players in the game at a wide range of prices and on-board comfort.
i ahvent really got many good dive pics - but good effort BH
The Republic of Palau has some of the most extreme diving I've experienced. Sure, it has some easy dives, but the best ones, such as the Blue Corner, have very strong currents and steep drop-offs. In fact, the current is so strong at places like the Blue Corner that you need to use a "reef hook" just to avoid getting swept away. This is a nylon cord with a brass clip on one end and a big stainless steel hook on the other. You hang the brass clip onto your BCD. The dive boat drops you in and you immediately head for the bottom and look for a coral head to which you can fasten the stainless steel hook before you get swept out to sea. You only get one chance. If you miss, good luck.
While you're down there you just stay put and watch the show. The strong currents mean plenty of food for pelagic fish and you see plenty: sharks, barracuda, rays, etc.
The only place I've dived that's anything like it is the Burma Banks.
Again, no underwater photos, but I do have a few of the ocean around Palau:
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I dove with a place called Sam's. This is the view of the lagoon from Sam's.
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Palau is famous for the Rock Islands scatter throughout the lagoon.
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Sam's dive boats look like this.
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I look like this when I'm hungover and about to do some extreme diving.
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Some nice beaches on the Rock Islands.
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On the day we dove the Blue Corner we stopped for lunch on Pelilu, site of one of the fiercest battles during World War II. This is an old tug.
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WWII era American landing craft.
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Japanese gun.
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And, another.
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Grenade and canteen from WWII.
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The locals grow some interesting crops on Pelilu.
Pelilu is full of caves which the Japanese used as shelter and bunker. This is one of the reasons the fighting was so fierce.
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The caves are still full of all kinds of artifacts from the war.
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And, some pretty cool spiders.
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You gotta look close to see this tiny frog which lives in total darkness in Palau's limestone caves.
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There's a lot more to diving than just what happens underwater.