For the 1st time in nearly 8 months, today was the day to take my camera and housing out. Last year, health issues prevented me from using it as much as I wanted to, and this year, health and weather caused a similar delay.
But, now the visibility has returned, it was time to head to Junkyard to film some of the amazing new life that has appeared. Some of the creatures have never been seen before on Koh Tao so identifying them is quite difficult!
Enjoy a video of just some of the strange things we saw on the dive.
Friday 29 April 2011
Tuesday 26 April 2011
26th April 2011
A fellow videographer just shot this...
Brilliant sound!
The title of the video is "Minding my own business"
x
SD
Brilliant sound!
The title of the video is "Minding my own business"
x
SD
21st to 24th April 2011
The last few days we’ve been teaching a 6 person Open Water course with 5 girls and a boy of 15. The girls were from Iceland and Denmark and the lad was Australian.
The confined water session was a real mission as the visibility in the pool was awful. I literally had to demonstrate skills individually and even then students had a problem to see me clearly. Luckily, Si jumped in the pool half way through the session as he could see that I was having issues and the girls were losing concentration, not surprising considering the condition of the pool. I also found it increasingly frustrating being ignored whilst the girls chatted in their native language.
A couple of the girls had equalisation problems which Si managed to get them to overcome whilst I cracked on with the remainder of the skills. I think there would have been a murder in the pool if Si hadn’t been around
The next day it was time to go into the ocean... The first couple of dives went extremely well, apart one of the girls had equalisation problems on the 2nd dive and couldn’t get down So on the 2nd day, whilst Si took the rest of the group for dives 3, I spent one on one time with the girl and after several attempts, managed to get the girl down the buoy line. We ended up having a great couple of short dives, completing all the required skills, so that she was ready to rejoin the rest of the group for dive 4, their qualifying open water dive.
If it hadn’t have been for Simon being there to take the rest of the students I wouldn’t have been able to spend the time with the girl and would have probably sent her back to the boat ..if only she knew how lucky she was....
After log books and certification completed we headed home for a well earned rest... not for long though as we needed to attend the open water video that was made during our dives... Simon shall upload it as soon as possible.
Saturday 23 April 2011
20th April 2011
Oh you lucky people.... I have made a small promo against the use of... well find out..
Its short but sweet. Happy watching..!
Its short but sweet. Happy watching..!
Friday 22 April 2011
18th April 2011
The day had finally come to remove some of our new structures from the beach and get them to Junkyard to continue our ever expanding dive site.
We built the structures a couple of weeks ago, but other tasks needed to be completed before we deployed the new structures, like moving the anchors back after they had moved 120m in the floods a couple of weeks ago.
We struggled with the weight and awkwardness of some of our creations and eventually got them on the longtail.. Sadly, due to the lack of turnout, there were only 4 of us to do some seriously hard stuff... and I was still unable to swim or dive!
I drove out to the newly replaced Junkyard buoy in the longtail (getting pretty good at that!). For the first time in a long time, the visibility was fantastic. I could see the bottom of the ocean from the longtail boat.. shame I couldn't get in....
Jen, Julia and James pulled and pushed the boat into the correct position before tying off. This took an extreme effort on all their parts, and I commend them for the constant kicking of their fins for about 20 mins dragging a huge boat into our exact "drop zone".
All 3 of them went down to tie off the other end of the rope to our drop zone area, with a warning from me that the boat was sinking as there was so much weight on it. After 15 minutes, James returned to find me bailing out with a bucket, fighting against the water coming in. I was a tad stressed...
James and I shifted the objects from the boat as fast and safe as we could. guiding the structures down to Jen and Julia who would untie them at the bottom. Once the weight was off the front of the boat. I started the bilge pump... and to my relief.... it actually wored for once!
Returning tired, we had lunch and headed out again with Nathan after a short rest.
In the evening, we met with Birthday girl Tina at Dolce Vita for food and then to Vibe for a couple of drinks... the Eco team were shattered, and all 4 of us were falling asleep on our 2nd beer... so went to bed at 10pm!
We built the structures a couple of weeks ago, but other tasks needed to be completed before we deployed the new structures, like moving the anchors back after they had moved 120m in the floods a couple of weeks ago.
We struggled with the weight and awkwardness of some of our creations and eventually got them on the longtail.. Sadly, due to the lack of turnout, there were only 4 of us to do some seriously hard stuff... and I was still unable to swim or dive!
I drove out to the newly replaced Junkyard buoy in the longtail (getting pretty good at that!). For the first time in a long time, the visibility was fantastic. I could see the bottom of the ocean from the longtail boat.. shame I couldn't get in....
Jen, Julia and James pulled and pushed the boat into the correct position before tying off. This took an extreme effort on all their parts, and I commend them for the constant kicking of their fins for about 20 mins dragging a huge boat into our exact "drop zone".
All 3 of them went down to tie off the other end of the rope to our drop zone area, with a warning from me that the boat was sinking as there was so much weight on it. After 15 minutes, James returned to find me bailing out with a bucket, fighting against the water coming in. I was a tad stressed...
James and I shifted the objects from the boat as fast and safe as we could. guiding the structures down to Jen and Julia who would untie them at the bottom. Once the weight was off the front of the boat. I started the bilge pump... and to my relief.... it actually wored for once!
Returning tired, we had lunch and headed out again with Nathan after a short rest.
In the evening, we met with Birthday girl Tina at Dolce Vita for food and then to Vibe for a couple of drinks... the Eco team were shattered, and all 4 of us were falling asleep on our 2nd beer... so went to bed at 10pm!
17th April 2011
After spending the previous day cleaning, changing sheets, taking rubbish out, sweeping and washing the floors, cleaning windows, and not stepping out except to get food for an hour... we were both eager to get out for a bit.
I went to the Regal pool for a swim, with Julia and James, while Si went to the clinic to have his ears checked and syringed. After an hour or two, Si returned with a pretty glum face. as he was told by the clinic staff that his ears are still infected. Now, he has been given antibiotic drop for his ear as he had taken 2 weeks worth of tablets.
After drying off, we drove to Vibe to watch the Chinese Grand Prix with Carsten and Tina. I'm not too interested in the F1 so I go on with emails, and then played a couple of games of Settlers of Catan which took forever! (5hrs!). Tina won the 1st game and Si was victorious in the 2nd.
We left and met back up with James and Julia for a Sunday Roast at Safety Stop. After delicious dinner, we retired...
I went to the Regal pool for a swim, with Julia and James, while Si went to the clinic to have his ears checked and syringed. After an hour or two, Si returned with a pretty glum face. as he was told by the clinic staff that his ears are still infected. Now, he has been given antibiotic drop for his ear as he had taken 2 weeks worth of tablets.
After drying off, we drove to Vibe to watch the Chinese Grand Prix with Carsten and Tina. I'm not too interested in the F1 so I go on with emails, and then played a couple of games of Settlers of Catan which took forever! (5hrs!). Tina won the 1st game and Si was victorious in the 2nd.
We left and met back up with James and Julia for a Sunday Roast at Safety Stop. After delicious dinner, we retired...
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Songkran Festival
As you may know, the Thai New Year falls on 13th April, and the way they celebrate it is to throw water absolutely everywhere... add to that some baby powder and tiger balm... and you have a messy day.!
This year, due to the floods, there was no shortage of water, so everybody had a blast with water pistols, buckets of ice water, fire hoses!! This is the day where you have to be extra careful riding the bike as they aim for the face.
I blocked my ear up with cotton wool, to prevent it getting wet, but I was fighting a losing battle that day, every shot seemed to hit me right there.
Here are some photos I managed to blag, as there was no way I was carrying anything electronic that day....
Safety Stop
Big Blue Diving
After 12 hours of touring Safety Stop, Big Blue Diving, and Fish Bowl... we retired very early and wrinkly from all that time being wet.
This year, due to the floods, there was no shortage of water, so everybody had a blast with water pistols, buckets of ice water, fire hoses!! This is the day where you have to be extra careful riding the bike as they aim for the face.
I blocked my ear up with cotton wool, to prevent it getting wet, but I was fighting a losing battle that day, every shot seemed to hit me right there.
Here are some photos I managed to blag, as there was no way I was carrying anything electronic that day....
Safety Stop
Big Blue Diving
After 12 hours of touring Safety Stop, Big Blue Diving, and Fish Bowl... we retired very early and wrinkly from all that time being wet.
Thursday 14 April 2011
14th April 2011
The last few days have been troublesome with power issues. Most of the day it is off, and I am still out of the water with the lingering ear infection.
Yesterday was "Songkran" the Thai New Year. I shall do a post about this in a couple of days, but first I have some other stuff to tell you.
A couple of days ago, my nan had a stroke and was taken to hospital, my brother let me know via skype, and I spoke briefly by text to Dad yesterday. Last night, while i was asleep, Dad called...
When I woke this morning and saw 3 missed calls, I feared the worst... sadly my feelings were right and my nan had passed away.
Its quite difficult to put my feelings into words. I was not the best grandson, and saw her only a few times in the last couple of years. Life is alway full of jobs to do, and seem to be constantly busy that sometimes you lose focus on important things.... like family.
Being so far away is very hard sometimes, in moments like now when I could be on hand to help Dad.. for that I am sorry...
Jen and I both send our love Dad........
R.I.P.
x
SD
Yesterday was "Songkran" the Thai New Year. I shall do a post about this in a couple of days, but first I have some other stuff to tell you.
A couple of days ago, my nan had a stroke and was taken to hospital, my brother let me know via skype, and I spoke briefly by text to Dad yesterday. Last night, while i was asleep, Dad called...
When I woke this morning and saw 3 missed calls, I feared the worst... sadly my feelings were right and my nan had passed away.
Its quite difficult to put my feelings into words. I was not the best grandson, and saw her only a few times in the last couple of years. Life is alway full of jobs to do, and seem to be constantly busy that sometimes you lose focus on important things.... like family.
Being so far away is very hard sometimes, in moments like now when I could be on hand to help Dad.. for that I am sorry...
Jen and I both send our love Dad........
R.I.P.
x
SD
Saturday 9 April 2011
9th April 2011
So,
Jen and I have been busy little bees... Reef Check Course for the last few days...
Unfortunately, I have attracted yet another ear infection, so while Jen has been doing the hard grafting underwater, I have been helping on land... such as driving the longtail... my 2nd time ever! And this time, I didn't break the engine!!
After 4 days of intensive training, the students took their exams on Fish, Invertebrates, and Substrate (whats on the bottom). They passed with flying colours, and were proudly awarded their certificates... well done!
But! No rest for the wicked.... its straight on to the very intensive Marine Resource Management course for the guys... 6 days of lots of theory and practical dives...
x
SD
Jen and I have been busy little bees... Reef Check Course for the last few days...
Unfortunately, I have attracted yet another ear infection, so while Jen has been doing the hard grafting underwater, I have been helping on land... such as driving the longtail... my 2nd time ever! And this time, I didn't break the engine!!
After 4 days of intensive training, the students took their exams on Fish, Invertebrates, and Substrate (whats on the bottom). They passed with flying colours, and were proudly awarded their certificates... well done!
But! No rest for the wicked.... its straight on to the very intensive Marine Resource Management course for the guys... 6 days of lots of theory and practical dives...
xSD
Friday 8 April 2011
8th April 2011
While we are still Reef Checking, I thought I would upload this great spoof video by a local dive club... brilliant!
Wednesday 6 April 2011
3rd 4th & 5th April 2011
Well the last couple of days I've been teaching an Advanced Open Water course which was a lot of fun. The visibility recently hasn't been great after the freak weather but it just makes the dives more interesting looking for small stuff, after the compulsary tasks.
Yesterday, after doing 3 dives on the morning boat, I jumped on the afternoon boat for another 2 dives so I could be with Simon who was doing some eco stuff ...argh!!.
The dives were good and I saw a turtle on the surface which made everything worthwhile :-D
Due to the bad weather, there's been a few strange surface currents which in turn has brought a lot of rubbish onto the dive sites, so I think we'll be having a few dive/beach clean ups. Also the water quality is appalling due to the bad weather we had that washed some of the land away into the sea. I think it may take a while to get back to good conditions. But at least the beautiful sunsets are back....
Tomorrow we're both teaching Reef Check, which will mean classroom in the morning, and then popping out in the longtail to the reef for some training.
A few photos I have found of Simon and me at the Festival... note the Henna tattoo...you can't miss it really!
Yesterday, after doing 3 dives on the morning boat, I jumped on the afternoon boat for another 2 dives so I could be with Simon who was doing some eco stuff ...argh!!.
The dives were good and I saw a turtle on the surface which made everything worthwhile :-D
Due to the bad weather, there's been a few strange surface currents which in turn has brought a lot of rubbish onto the dive sites, so I think we'll be having a few dive/beach clean ups. Also the water quality is appalling due to the bad weather we had that washed some of the land away into the sea. I think it may take a while to get back to good conditions. But at least the beautiful sunsets are back....
Tomorrow we're both teaching Reef Check, which will mean classroom in the morning, and then popping out in the longtail to the reef for some training.
A few photos I have found of Simon and me at the Festival... note the Henna tattoo...you can't miss it really!
Saturday 2 April 2011
2nd April 2011
Things are improving day by day... sun even came out today..
Small video clips of the flood..
Small video clips of the flood..
Friday 1 April 2011
1st April 2011
Foreign Office Advisory Update:
"We currently advise against all but essential travel to the islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. 
British nationals on these islands should consider leaving if it is safe to do so.
Storms and heavy rainfall have caused flooding and damage along the southern coast of Thailand. Affected provinces include Krabi, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surat Thani (including the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao), Phattalung, Chumphon, Trang and Satun. Electricity and communications are currently disrupted across the region and there is a continued risk of mudslides and flash flooding in these areas."
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE... Media coverage has spun it, as always...
x
SD
"We currently advise against all but essential travel to the islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.
Storms and heavy rainfall have caused flooding and damage along the southern coast of Thailand. Affected provinces include Krabi, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surat Thani (including the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao), Phattalung, Chumphon, Trang and Satun. Electricity and communications are currently disrupted across the region and there is a continued risk of mudslides and flash flooding in these areas."
DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE... Media coverage has spun it, as always...
x
SD
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