The Dive Academy Blog

An amazing day at Sail Rock

2011-11-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Left hand on the weightbelt, right hand on the mask and regulator, look below to make sure nobody is there - "bloody hell there's a Whale Shark". Just as I was about to execute my role model Giant Stride entry a Whale Shark swam up to the back of the boat, on the surface, and nearly brushed against the boat ladder.

A minute or two of mayhem then ensued with everybody on the boat getting their gear on and conducting the fastest possible Buddy Checks (always safety first!!) to get in the water with the Shark in case it swam off. Fortunately it stayed around long enough for everybody on our boat to see it before it swam away.

After a few minutes of chaos we descended and swam away from the main rock and across to the Secret Pinnacle where again the young female Whale Shark come right up to us to have a look. With nobody around except me and Sarah the Whale Shark just hung around and kept swimming right up to us - Sarah had to close her eyes and duck at one point because the Shark came so close to bumping into her. I have been lucky enough to see many Whale Sharks in the 9 1/2 years diving out here and have been very close to them - one Whale Shark actually bumped into me many years ago - but I've never had the experience of a Whale Shark deliberately swimming up to us so often and so close - at one stage my face was about 30cm from hers. And many times she swam up to us then went above us so our bubbles went on her belly - she must have liked that because she did it quite a few times!!

We just drifted around with the Whale Shark for about 30minutes and thanks to the slight current ended up away from both the rock and the Secret Pinnacle, and to be honest I didn't have a clue where we were - and didn't really care. Fortunately the Whale Shark swam back towards the Pinnacle and we regained our bearings.

Towards the end of our dive the Whale Shark swam underneath the 3 dive boats which had just arrived from Koh Phangnan and started swimming towards them as as it did when we arrived. It actually went so close that I had to pop my head out of the water to warn the guys jumping off the boat that she was there or they might have accidentally jumped on her. They seemed happy to know she was there - I heard one Instructor later telling her DSD how lucky he was to see a Whale Shark on his first ever dive - no kidding!!

On the second dive we actually swam around the rock to keep away from the Whale Shark as by this time she was surrounded by lots of other divers. There was so much great stuff to see such as giant baracuda's, schools of Batfish, Trevally and Fusiliers, as well as lots of small stuff such as moray eels, shrimps and pipefish.

At the end of the dive, just as we were completing our safety stop underneath the boat the Whale Shark come in and again came right up to us and swam around for a minute or two before swimming off. Just came to say goodbye I'd like to think!!

Yesterday was probably my most amazing encounter with a Whale Shark and I feel very lucky to have been where I was when I was and I am grateful that the Whale Shark was comfortable enough to stay around as long as she did. I am happy to say that I didn't see or hear of any divers doing anything stupid like grabbing the Whale Shark or anything else that would have made her uncomfortable and made her swim away which would have spoiled a very special day.

Another Successful IDC and IE

2011-11-09T03:19:00.000-08:00

The Dive Academy want to congratulate another 5 IDC Candidates who sucessfully completed the 2 day PADI IE and are now PADI Instructors.
Chris, Callan and Jose completed the 9 day IDC with Course Director Camille and IDC Staff Instructors Paul, Imad, and Christophe and our Japanese Candidates Miwa and Hideki were assisted through the 9 days by Staff Instructors Nobu. Aiko and Ami.
In between finishing the IDC and beginning the IE Chris, Callan and Jose also completed their EFR Instructor Certification, which consisted of manhandling and badly treating Little Annie and even Baby Annie.
Once again we are very happy for all the guys for passing the IE and wish them all the best for the future as PADI Instructors.

Scuba Kids (and mum too!!)

2011-10-06T00:56:00.001-07:00

Harry (10), Jacob (11), Jack (12) and Caz (??) yesterday finished the the 2 day PADI Scuba Diver Course by completing their Open Water Dives in Koh Tao.

All four worked until late in the evening the day before to learn the theory, having completed the 3 Confined Water Dives earlier in the day. They were all fantastic during their Open Water dives and made sure they did everything Instructor Claire had taught them. Although sometime's quite difficult, but not on this course, it's always great to teach kids to dive and to see them enjoy what the underwater world has to offer.

Hopefully they will continue with their diving adventures as they get older and help spread the word about what a great time they had learning to dive, and be the new generation of divers to help protect the underwater environment.

As a pat on the back: The father of 2 of the boys commented today on how lucky they felt to have had Claire as their Instructor and how fantastic they thought she was with the kids - great job Claire.

Underwater Proposal

2011-10-05T21:32:00.001-07:00

The Dive Academy would like to congratulate Phil & Amanda on their recent engagement and were privileged to be part of the Proposal.
Phil contacted us a couple of weeks before his arrival detailing his romantic plan to propose to Amanda underwater and left us to organise the minor details. We are happy to say everything went according to plan and despite a slight shortage of air at the crucial moment, Phil managed to pop the important question, pre-written on his arm slate. After an emphatic "Yes" from Amanda, as if by magic Phil produced the ring from inside his BCD pocket and the proposal was complete with a very happy outcome.
Congratulations guys and all the best. Hope to see you and dive with you again.
Any thoughts about an Underwater Wedding???

Help Give Sharks a Fighting Chance

2011-03-07T08:38:00.001-08:00

Shark populations are devastated by overexploitation, including targeted fishing, bycatch and finning. Join thousands of AWARE divers and shark advocates who are serious about shark protection. Support the goal to reach 100,000 petition signatures from around the world by June 8th 2011, World Ocean Day. Sign the petition and urge your friends and colleagues to do the same.

Together, we’re gaining the attention of policymakers worldwide. We’re closing loopholes in existing global shark management policies and insisting on full protections for Endangered and Critically Endangered sharks.

My Cooliris Wall

2011-03-04T02:15:00.001-08:00

How to really teach CPR!!

2011-01-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

The Dive Academy's Course Director has recently come across a fantastic new training aid to help all EFR Instructors teach the EFR Course. And being the kind of guy he is Camille was more than happy to share the details of the training video with his fellow professionals - always the perfect role model.

Super Sexy CPR from Super Sexy CPR on Vimeo.

Picture Perfect

2011-01-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Dive Academy recently had the pleasure of taking a top UK amatuer Underwater Photographer diving during her stay on Koh Samui. Lisa Collins is a former Sport Diver Magazine Amateur Photographer of the year , recent winner of the Bite Back Shark Conservation Underwater Photography Competition and finalist in many more underwater photographic contests. Lisa regularly writes articles about her many amazing diving journey's to some fantastic destinations and she has exhibited photo's at exhibitions in London and US.

During her stay on Samui the conditions weren't at their best but Lisa was more than happy to dive at any of the spots we could take her to - she just wanted to take pictures. We managed to take Lisa for 2 trips to Koh Tao, including Chumporn Pinnacle and Twins and then for 2 trips to Sail Rock. Fortunately, particularly on the second trip, conditions at Sail Rock were really good and provided Lisa with the opportunity to take some great photos, which she very kindly shared with us. You can see the amazing quality of the photos below.

It was a pleasure to spend time with Lisa above and below the water, listening to her stories about places she has been, and we look forward to maybe diving with her again one day.

To see more of Lisa's fantastic images check out her website:
http://www.lisacollinsphotographicimages.com/index.html

How the other half live......

2011-01-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

During the busy Christmas and New Year holiday season The Dive Academy staff have been lucky enough to provide the diving services to customers on some of the biggest and best boats available for private charter on Koh Samui. Although the trips can be fairly hard work and slightly stressful it makes a fantastic change to go on these amazing boats and to experience for a day what some people get used to.....

The Makerana

Minor Affair

Kamalaya staff trained as Emergency First Responders

2010-12-21T05:26:00.000-08:00

The Dive Academy recently completed Emergency First Responder training for 4 staff from Kamalaya Resort. To become certified Clive, Andre, Christian and Joanne (pictured left with Marlies) took part in a number of skill practises including when and how to conduct CPR and Rescue breathing, how to deal with choking patients, Shock and Serious Bleeding Management, Spinal Injury Management, Injury and Illness Assessment, Bandaging and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Christian practising bandaging and Joanne assessing

Christian giving an injury assessment and Andre doing CPR

We were very happy to give the training to the staff and we would like to congratulate the Resort in making the effort to ensure that in the unlikely event one of their guests has a problem they have a number of staff on hand to give immediate first aid, which could mean the difference between the guest making a complete recovery or something far worse happening.

We will also be happy to provide training to any other resorts that ask!!

Diving Instructor by day, Thai Boxer by night.....

2010-12-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

Congratuations to The Dive Academy's crazy Dutch Instructor, Marlies, who had her first Muay Thai fight at Chaweng Stadium friday night and we are very proud to say that she severely kicked arse. The fight was stopped in the 2nd round to stop her experienced Thai opponent from getting too badly hurt.

In front of a large group of followers, mainly from the Jungle Gym where she trains, Marlies was too strong (and too tall!!) and had too much power for her opponent, who has had 20 previous fights but last night hardly got a chance to land a punch or kick

Marlies has been training with the guys at the Jungle Gym for the past couple of months and obviously the training has paid off.
Congratulations also needs to go to one of the trainers from the Jungle Gym, Steve, who was also fighting friday night and put in a fantastic performance against a very good fighter from Bangkok. Unfortunately after 5 very tough rounds, the decision want in favour of his Thai opponent and left Steve in need of 6 stitches in a cut above his eye.

Regardless who wins these fights respect should be given to all the fighters for having the courage to even get in the ring and be prepared to take the punishment that quite a few of the fighters took that night.

Well done to Marlies and we are proud she is on our team and not against us - she's very scarey with a pair of boxing gloves on!!

Our crazy new Dutch Instructor!!

2010-11-08T22:05:00.001-08:00

The Dive Academy would like to welcome a new Instructor to the team. Having completed the Instructor Development Course with us last month and the following PADI IE, Marlies managed to complete one Open Water Course before the bad weather set in and now can't wait for monsoon to finish so she can get on with her new job.

Marlies with a box on her head during the usually sensible IDC and getting ready for a Muay Thai fight!!

Marlies has already made many friends on the island, and many of them agree that she is a little bit crazy, but seeing as she does Muay Thai training 3 times a week and is currently in training for her first fight at Chaweng Stadium, we are all a bit scared to tell her to her face!!

We look forward to having Marlies as part of the team for however long she stays on Samui, and with her great attitude, enthusiasm, personality and a bit of guidance from us, we are certain she will become an excellent Instructor that will give our customers the high level of training and maximum amount of fun they have come to expect from The Dive Academy.

Chaweng Underwater Clean-Up

2010-09-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

The day before they begin their IDC with The Dive Academy, the candidates joined Course Director Camille and me for an underwater clean-up from Chaweng Beach.

As expected there were many plastic drinks bottles, plastic floats from boats, sunglasses, diving masks, shoes and many other things, mainly made of plastic. All together we pulled out 6 bags of rubbish, as well as some bigger items that wouldn't fit in the bags. There is so much rubbish there that we could probably spend all day bringing bags out and still not clear it all.

As well as clearing the rubbish we still managed to see some fantastic marine life, including 2 amazing colourful nudibranch's that I haven't seen before, jelly fish and lots of starfish. The biggest surprise of the day was when a small brown Octopus jumped out of one of the rubbish bags onto the floor, obviously hiding in one of the bottles or other rubbish we removed!! We quickly put it in a plastic cup and returned it safe back into the sea.

Thanks Marlies, Tobias and Joep and good luck with the IDC.

Sharks - Friend not Enemy

2010-09-06T23:33:00.000-07:00

Due to negative media coverage over a number of years and sensationalised Hollywood movies such as Jaws, sharks have wrongly been given a reputation as man-eating monsters. The average number of shark attacks worldwide is only around 50 per year, with around 5 being fatal. More people are injured and killed every year by elephants, bees and farm animals – but when did you last read a newspaper article about somebody dying from a bee sting?

There are over 400 different shark species in our oceans and only a few (the bull shark, great white, and tiger shark) can be potentially dangerous. The likelihood of being attacked by a shark is less than being hit by lightening.

Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the oceans. They play a very important role in maintaining the balance in the oceans by preying on sick and weak animals. By eating the weak or diseased animals they help keep the fish population healthy. They also help keep the population sizes of other fish species in check, helping maintain the balance of the underwater ecosystem that has survived successfully for millions of years.

As one of the oldest species on Earth, Sharks have survived in the oceans for over 400 million years. But today, like many other animals in our world, sharks are in danger with over 100 million sharks being killed around the world each year. During the past 15 years, some shark species populations have been depleted by up to 80%. Unlike many other fish, sharks grow slowly and have very few offspring, which makes them particularly vulnerable to extinction.

The main threat to Sharks comes from Overfishing, Shark Finning and as a result of accidental By-Catch.

Sharks are fished in large numbers so their body parts can be used in a number of ways. There is a massive demand for sharks teeth for use as souvenirs, cartilage and liver oil for use in Chinese medicine, and for sharks fins for use in restaurants.
Overfishing of sharks also causes problems on the reefs. When shark numbers are decreased, the fish that they feed on, such as grouper, increase in number, which mean the fish that they feed on, like parrotfishes, are reduced in number. The removal of reef grazers, such as parrotfishes, then causes reefs and coral to suffer as there are not enough grazers to remove the algae that helps keep the reefs healthy.

Every year tens of millions of sharks die because of Shark finning. Shark Finning is the practice of catching sharks then cutting off the shark's fins and throwing the remainder of the shark back into the sea, while it is its still alive. The abandoned sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown because they cannot move and cannot extract oxygen from the water that they need to survive.
Shark fins are collected to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, which is a delicacy particularly in Hong Kong and China. Millions of Sharks are brutally slaughtered just so people can enjoy their fins mixed in a soup.

Bycatch is when animals such as Sharks are caught by accident in fishing gear that is intended to catch other species. Bycatch is usually thrown back dead or injured. Turtles, whales, dolphins and sharks are all victims of bycatch.

Every little bit of help and support Sharks get is a step towards solving the problem. The first step towards achieving change is through educating yourself and others about sharks, their conservation status and the importance of their survival in the ocean.

Consumers can also help by avoiding eating or using shark products, such as shark cartilage pills, shark meat, shark liver oil, and shark fin soup. Try and encourage other people to do the same, and if you see a restaurant serving shark fins on their menu leave the restaurant and tell them why, and maybe our children’s children will benefit from the advantages of still having a healthy population of sharks in our oceans.

Things that go bump in the Night......

2010-08-25T23:13:00.000-07:00

My Dad looking a bit scared in the dark and the beautiful anenome.

Starfish running across the sand Mama crab and baby

My Dad recently completed his Night Dive Specialty by completing 3 dives off Chaweng Beach, over 2 nights. For the first dive we were joined by our friend Vanessa and we all had a slow, relaxed 68 minute dive across the sand. Along the way we saw Stingrays, Starfish, Crabs, many tiny Shrimps, and a few strange looking fish that I have no idea about.

On the second night we were joined by one of our Instructors, Tasha. We decided that rather than go to the reef and have a look around, we would again swim out over the sand and see what we could find. This time we were armed with cameras so we could try to photograph the fantastic things we came across. Unfortunately we didn't see any of the Rays we saw the previous night but we did see many other interesting things: a few beautiful anenomes that I haven't seen anywhere else in the area; again we saw Starfish running across the sand before burying itself to hide; we saw many small fish laying still in the sand, including a baby Flounder that was about 4 inches long; and the highlight was a beautiful crab that was carrying it's baby around trying to escape the attentions of the big bad divers. It scuttled across the sand before settling, giving a massive shimmer of it's body and burying itself in the sand with only it's eyes on show - fascinating to watch.

Congratulations to my Dad for not only completing the Night Dive Specialty, but also for completing the DPV Specialty Course earlier in the day at Koh Tao. That makes 3 Specialty Courses he has completed this trip, having taken the Digital Underwater Photography Course a week or so ago.

Just goes to show, your'e never too old to learn something new!!

Another successful IDC at The Dive Academy

2010-08-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

Mark & Marc celebrate with CD Camille

The Dive Acdademy would like to congratulate Mark and Marc for successfully completing the PADI IE recently conducted on Koh Tao and would like to welcome them to the Instructor Club.

Marc will contine to enjoy learning by completing his Specialty Instructor training with Camille over the next few days, before returning to Holland.

Good luck to you both in whatever you decide to do as new Instructors and well done Camille for another 2 successful candidates.

The next IDC at The Dive Academy will be held in September, and for details about this and other upcoming IDC's contact us at info@thediveacademysamui.com.

Your'e never too old to dive......

2010-08-21T05:15:00.000-07:00

Instructor Tom & Gerry (honestly!!)

The Dive Academy recently had the plelasure of introducing Gerry Weeden to the underwater world for the first time. Nothing too amazing about taking somebody diving for the first time, except the fact that Gerry will be celebrating his 80th Birthday this year, proving that if you are fit enough you are never too old to Discover What Lies Beneath.........
Congratulations Gerry and thank you for the pleasure of taking you under.

Some like it hot.... some don't

2010-08-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

As a tourist destination Koh Samui relies on having great weather for the tourists to enjoy. For the first half of this year nobody has been disappointed as the weather has been unusually good, with temperatures reaching as high as 48 degrees, which is high enough for even the most hardcore sun worshippers.

A downside of the fantastic weather we have enjoyed is the effect the high temperatures have had on the marine life in the seas around Koh Samui and the surrounding islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangnan. The constantly high air temperatures have caused the sea temperature to rise to 32 degrees for most of the year, compared to the normal temperature of 28-30 degrees. The increase in the temperature for such a long period of time has caused many of the corals on some of the main Scuba Diving Sites in the region to suffer from Coral Bleaching, causing the usually healthy, brown corals to turn pure white or even pale blue – sometimes making the corals even more attractive than they usually look.

What many people don’t know is that Corals are actually animals, related to anemones and jellyfish. Corals consist of a limestone structure filled with thousands of small animals called polyps. Each polyp has a skeleton cup, tentacles with stinging cells, a mouth and a stomach. The tiny tentacles snatch at passing plankton for food, but for their main course, reef-building corals have devised a much more ingenious method to get fed.

Algae called zooxanthellae live within each coral. In return for a safe sunny home, the zooxanthellae eat the nitrogen waste that the coral produces (nitrogen is very good for algal growth) and, like all plants, algae turn sunlight into sugars by the process of photosynthesis. The sugars produced by the zooxanthellae make up 98 per cent of the coral's food. So, without having to do any work at all, the coral is kept clean and well fed, and the zooxanthellae with their brilliant reds, oranges and browns give corals their colour.

Rising water temperatures blocks the process that converts carbon dioxide into sugar. This results in a build-up of products that poison the zooxanthellae. To save itself, the coral spits out the zooxanthellae and some of its own tissue, leaving the coral a bleached white. The bleached coral can recover, but only if cooler water temperatures return and the algae are able to grow again. Without the zooxanthellae, the coral slowly starves to death.

The recent bad weather and dropping of temperatures has led to the water temperature dropping to 29-30 degrees and have started to have an immediate impact on the coral, with many already starting to go back to their original brown colour. Lets hope for more hot weather, but not too hot.

His & Hers Advanced & Rescue Courses....

2010-05-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Two Dive Academy regulars, Colin and Claire recently took the next steps in their diving adventure by taking the PADI Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver Courses respectively.

Colin started the Advanced Course by playing James Bond on the underwater scooters followed by fun with a camera on the Underwater Photography dive. The day was made a bit more adventurous by the ride to the second dive site on a rib followed by a backwards roll entry - all part of the fun!! His second day of diving began with a Deep Dive down to 28.5m at Green Rock, where on the way back to the shallows we came across a banded sea snake as well as a really cool, laid back turtle grazing on the coral as well as confronting the swimthroughs Green Rock is well known for. A quick Navigation Dive went without any problems before the final dive of the course, AWARE Fish ID.

Colin goes Deep and the Turtle chilling out

Claire rescues her favourite Instructor and

Colin & Claire give each other premature congratulations

After completing a day in the classroom where she finished the EFR Course, Claire's strength and stamina were put to the test with a hard day of learning the skills needed for the Rescue Course. The skills included dragging her overweight (she says 16 stone so I'm happy with that!)Instructor out of the water and up the beach on her back, lifting the same Instructor off the bottom of the sea and carrying him slowly and safely to the surface, dealing with a crazy panicking diver on the surface and many other things she needed to know to become a good Rescue Diver. She took to the tasks really well and only threw a couple of small hissy fits, so not a bad day! The second day of the course Claire had to put everything she had learned into practise during some "unexpected" incidents during the dives, including searching for a diver that had gone missing and dragging him back to the boat, removing his equipment and giving him rescue breathes to help save his life. Despite being told to deliver the rescue breathes to the chin, Claire was determined to get it right and, much to the victims pleasure, planted a couple of smackers on his lips - what a perfectionist!! And the most important job of the day was when the same overweight Instructor spat out his regulator, threw off his mask and bolted for the surface from 15metres down. Claire managed to grab my leg, slow me down and push the regulator back into my mouth, which basically is what she needed to do to save my life - thanks. Next time though please put my mask back on over my eyes, not over one ear and one eye.

Great jobs you two, look forward to continuing the fun.

The Dive Academy goes IDC

2010-05-08T01:15:00.000-07:00

The Dive Academy have recently been accepted as a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre. In conjunction with Award Winning Platinum PADI Course Director Camille Lemmens, we will begin offering Instructor Development Courses and PADI Specialty Instructor Courses on Samui.

Achieving the 5 Star IDC status means that The Dive Academy can now help to keep the dwindling IDC market alive on the island, which hopefully will help to ensure there are enough Samui-produced Instructors around to satisfy the demands of the many dive schools on the island.

If you are thinking of a fantastic new career and lifestyle change, or you know somebody that is, contact The Dive Academy to find out about our Go Pro packages.

Congratulations Mel!!

2010-04-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

After completing the Assistant Instructor Course earlier in the month Mel has now taken the big step and become a PADI Instructor by completing the IDC and passing the IE held in Koh Tao which finished yesterday.

Both Mel and Graham (from Planet Scuba) had no problem with the dive theory and PADI Standards exams on tuesday afternoon, and, despite the added stress of having to prepare the classroom and open water presentations in the dark due to power cuts on Koh Tao, they both managed to get good scores and pass the presentations and the skill demonstration.

Without too much stress or difficulty (??) both managed to successfully get through the open water presentations to complete the IE and become PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors.

Mel will be working full time for The Dive Academy and is looking forward to teaching her first Divemaster Course beginning next week.

Once again congratulations to both Mel and Graham and good luck for the future.

One step closer....

2010-04-02T05:40:00.000-07:00

The Dive Academy's new Divemaster, Mel, along with Adam from i-Dive, took another step up the PADI ladder by completing the Assistant Instructor Course.

During the four day course they sat through (and managed to stay awake) a number of presentations, including how to teach Confined and Open Water Dives, how to give Knowledge Development Presentations and a few more covering the Standards and Responsibilities of being an AI and an Instructor. They also both very successfully completed the Standards and Procedures Exam.

As part of the course, both Mel and Adam had to give classroom presentations of their own as well as getting a chance to see what it's like to be an Instructor by conducting a Confined Water presentation, where they took on the role of the Instructor and organised and controlled the session and spotted and corrected the problems our terrible students had (thanks for your help with this Tash!!) Mel and Adam also completed the Open Water Skills Circuit and both gave very good demonstrations and got good scores.

To finish off the course we went to Chaweng Reef where Mel and Adam had to give an Open Water Presentation, where they again had the opportunity to be the Instructor to conduct two skills, again with the same dodgy students!! In very bad visibility both of them performed fantastically and both achieved very good scores. They also both successfully completed the Rescue Skill Assessment, again with both giving a great demonstration.

Congratulations to both of them and good luck to Mel when she begins the IDC next week, and good luck to Adam whenever he can afford to do it to!!

Great marine life at Koh Ma

2010-03-25T09:11:00.001-07:00

Due to less than great visibility at Sail Rock today, we made the decision to give Koh Ma a try, as the viz yesterday was 20m and we hoped it would be the same today. Unfortunately the viz wasn't as good as yesterday, but we still managed to see some fantastic stuff. The viz didn't make taking photos very easy, but some of them came out ok!!

Hiding in the branches of a bush like soft coral at around 18m was a group of five Lion Fish. All five of the Lion Fish were fairly small and they were more than likely hiding out for protection until they are bigger. Considering there are only around 3 or 4 Lion Fish on all the other dive sites we regularly visit, a group of 5 together is pretty amazing here!! The group of four Razor Fish were among many that we saw out in the sand, also around 18m, and again there are only two other sites out here that I have seen Razor Fish before.

Hanging out below the boat at about 4m was this fantastic school of Batfish, different to the ones we usually get to see around Koh Tao and Sail Rock. And although nothing new for us to see, this Blue Spotted Sting Ray was happily sitting in the open on a rock.

Despite viz of around 5m we had a great dive and it was brilliant to see stuff that we don't usually see.

A Manta in Lanta

2009-12-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

We are holidaying in Koh Lanta at the moment and today we went out on our first day of diving on the trip. As we have for the past 5 years we were diving with Blue Planet and were happy when Laurent said we were going to the main dive sites in this area - Hin Muang and Hin Daeng, but weren't too pleased when he said it was a 6.45am meet - meaning getting up at 5.45 to walk the dogs. Not even they were to happy to be walking at that time - they are on holiday after all as well!!
The boat left at 7am and most people had a sleep on the way. We got to Hin Maung first after the 4 hour boat journey - it's a long way and not by speedboat!! Viz was only about 7-10 metres, but with lots of fish and the possibility of a Manta that was enough. It was just nice to be diving somewhere different and to see different fish to usual. The first dive was good but pretty uneventful with the rumour of somebody seeing a Manta but nothing confirmed.
Then after a quick hour on the surface we dropped down at Hin Daeng, with a message from another boat saying there were two Mantas around. Again viz was only about 7-10 metres, but again with lots of fish and lots of colour the viz was enough. After swimming around for about 10-15 minutes and frantically looking for the Manta's, I caught a very quick glimpse of a big dark object swimming away. Knowing there was a Manta around we stayed put for a couple of minutes before seeing a 4 metre Manta swimming quickly below us at about 30 metres. I managed to get a quick shot but not a brilliant one. Knowing the Manta's were in this area most of the dive groups stayed around, and watching one group start swimming and pointing at the same time I guessed they had seen one. And sure enough there was a big Manta Ray about 6 metres tip to tip, just disappearing over a ridge. We managed to get within a couple of metres of it before it turned and quickly disappeared. Again I managed to get a few photos but none that are likely to win any awards!! But to be honest I'm not too bothered about the photos, seeing Manta Ray's again made it worth while getting out of bed while it was still dark!!

And it wasn't only Manta Rays we saw, there were lots of other things too. For our little friends Sam and Fin, who rightly pointed out that we couldn't have seen Nemo because he is in Austrailia, here are pictures of the Thai copies of Nemo and Dorie that we took, and two big Moray Eels which for some reason reminded us of the two old men from the Muppet Show. And a load of Emperor Angel Fish, Oriental Sweetlips the occasional Lion Fish and lots more...

The Sharks are back.....

2009-10-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Having been away for all of this year, it's great to see that the sharks are now back at Chumporn Pinnacle.
We don't know where they have been but general opinion is that the sharks are now alot bigger than they were before, particularly one very large bad boy Bull Shark at around 3 metres long!!
Previously at Chumporn Pinnacle most of the reef sharks would be 1.5 - 2 metres, with the occasional one a little bit bigger. When we dived there recently it seemed that even the smaller of the sharks were around 2 metres.
Let's hope they stay around for a while!!

A new Biorock Reef goes in

2009-10-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

The new Biorock Reef went in at Ban Tai beach last sunday, and divers from The Dive Academy and Planet Scuba were there to put it in place.
Volunteers carried the frame as far into the water as they could without drowning, before the divers took over and carried the installation to it's final resting place.
Over the next few weeks the reef will be covered with coral fragments which will be rejuvenated by the electric current running to it being supplied by the local villagers.
Find out more information on Biorock at: http://biorock-thailand.com/

The installation being carried into the water

The divers take over to put it in place

The current is attached, job well done guys!!

2009-09-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

Samui Mala Blue Day 2009

Staff from Divers in Paradise, The Dive Academy and Planet Scuba hosted children from Bluewaterer School as part of the Samui Mala 2009. The children listened to presentations on Oceans in Trouble, which addressed the problems caused by trash in the Ocean, and Protect the Sharks, which looked at the role Sharks play in the underwater world and how they are in danger due to overfishing and shark finning.

The children then took to the pool where they were introduced to diving and were shown examples of the kind of trash that we regularly see underwater.

The boys and girls from Bluewater were a pleasure to meet and hopefully they learned something new and enjoyed what we had to show them.

One special comment from one of the children at the end of the afternoon after watching Sharkwater, the film showing exactly what happens to sharks to satisfy the Shark finning trade: "We've got to do something about this!!" - let's hope they do.

Great job guys to all those that made the event a success.

Saddle Up

2009-09-18T00:52:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to say that the Seahorses that have been resident in Mango Bay for the past month or so are still alive and kicking. There were reports that one of them was seen floating lifeless, but we managed to find both the small one (max 5cm) and the larger one (approx 10cm)(pictured here).

A bit of info on Seahorses: Seahorses are actually fish (not horses) and are part of the same family as Pipefishes. They use camouflage to blend in with their surroundings, which is why they are so difficult to find in Mango Bay. They can change coulour to match the coral or whatever is around them. They usually feed on small crustaceans such as shrimps, which they hoover up using their long snouts.

On your bike!!

2009-09-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Dive Academy have just bought 3 new DPV's (Underwater Scooters). The scooters can be used on one of the Adventure Dives for the Advanced Open Water Course or even just to have a bit of fun on a dive tour. And if you really enjoy yourself playing at being James Bond and want to know more, we can do the DPV Specialty Course with you.

What a load of rubbish!!

2009-09-05T00:33:00.001-07:00

Sarah came back from her morning walk with the dogs today with more than when she started. Being the morning after full moon, and the party, there was a load of rubbish and debris of all sorts on the beach, ranging from lost flip flops, bottles of wine (empty before she got to it), plastic bottles and the usual fishing net - basically a black rubbish bag full.
There was also a live puffer fish, stranded on its back, panting for breathe on the beach. Sarah managed to get it back into the sea where it swam off to pose somewhere for photos for us divers!!

The Old Man Reaches 100 (dives not years)

2009-09-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

After being a diver for the past 6 years now, my dad has just recently completed his 100th dive. It turned out that I was able to join him for the dive which made it special.

We dived at Twins in Koh Tao, and although we have both dived there a few times before, we had a great dive and saw some great things, including an unusual nudibranch and a fantastic flatworm.

Here's to the next 100, although I think 100 years will come before the next 100 dives!!

The Dive Academy goes blogging

2009-09-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is the first of many blog posts from The Dive Academy.

For those of you who don't know who we are we are a PADI 5 Star Diving Centre based in Koh Samui, Thailand.

For more information about us check out our website: http://www.thediveacademysamui.com/

and our Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/hom.php#/group.php/?gid=55390310902