SDS04 started in fine fashion with a small but excellent group aboard the dolphin queen. Due to the smaller numbers aboard, everything was ready and prepared for an early depart from the shop in khao lak. The trip it was a bit of a family orientated trip with plenty of space aboard and the captain bringing his little daughter aboard. She kept us entertained and also became our camera woman.
After the general boat briefing and dinner most people settled down for the night although some volunteered to sit up on the top deck and gaze at the full moon and exceptionally calm weather.
During day 1 we sampled some nice dives around the Similan islands, diving at Anita’s Reef, East of Eden West of Eden and Beacon Reef.During day 2 we move further north in the Similan Islands before heading off for a 3 hour journey cruising along to Koh Bon for the night dive. We also went to Donald duck bay for the first time this season and everyone was greeted in true fashion with some amazing views and colours
As dive 2 we decided to dive Breakfast bend, it was amazing dive rich in hard and soft corals. As a drift dive north it provided us with the perfect way to explore the shallower areas and came across lots of different marine life including even Harlequin shrimps. It also allowed us to see the problem we really are facing with the Crown of Thorns. During the dive I tried to look for its main enemy the triton and nothing around that I could see, which possibly explains the high rise in numbers. Being able to scan the sloping reef we came across many partly dead patches of big hard corals. The further north we went the more crown of the thorns we came across. In some areas of roughly 2-3 square metres we saw 4 or 5 smothering the corals. Hopefully over the coming months SDS will embark on working with others to slowly tackle this possible problem once and for all and hopefully help keep what was and still is an amazingly rich coral reef.
After the 3rd dive at North Point we noticed we had a stowaway aboard. This was in the form of a little sparrow bird who flew from deck to deck looking for scraps and hitching a ride. He decided to stay with until evening of the 3rd day.
For the night dive at Koh Bon all customers came up saying what an amazing dive it was with lots to see, including Pleurobranchs, Lobsters, GIANT morays, HUGE pufferfish, Decorated Crabs, Sponge Crabs and much more.
Day 3 took us north to our furthest point north in the Surin islands to Richelieu Rock. After 2 amazing dives we then moved south back to Koh Tachai. Later in the evening after a superb dinner we move
Day 4 bought some interesting dives firstly at Koh Bon for the morning dive where Da Boss discovered some White Tip reef sharks and leopard sharks. For the final dive of the trip we were treated to an one at the Boonsung wreck. Firstly we navigated the obstacle course of Jelly fish which tend to bloom at certain times of the year here and then once down treated with great visibility lots of rare nudibranch, cuttlefish and fish soup. It was a great way to end an excellent trip.
On a final note, I would also like to say a big congratulation to Joel Dayne and Rick who passed there PADI Advanced Open Water course and Christine who completed 2 Adventure Dives. Good work and well done..!
