Posted on June 11th, 2012 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Why can’t I go inside the wreck?
The first question we often get asked when talking about wreck diving is ‘can we go inside’. Scuba divers have always held a fascination by what the wrecks hide and hold within their bodies this is what makes the Wreck diver speciality course so popular. By taking this training and holding this license is the only way that wreck penetration is allowed.
Wrecks are manmade structure that have either been deliberately sunk or have had some event where they have sunk without intention. Over the time they become a new reef and attract marine life to it and become an artificial reef in their own right, offering a habitat for a variety of creatures.
The wrecks offer a new challenge for many divers, who are interested in the different terrain underwater, the history, or heritage that goes with the site.
There are many types of wrecks, most often they are ships, but can include, submarines, tanks, airplanes, or automobiles.
In the Phuket region we have many wreck dives on offer.
The King Cruiser, our largest wreck which was a car ferry that crashed in Anemone Reef on one of it’s journeys to Phi Phi.
Marla’s Mystery, deliberately sunk by Scuba Cat as an artificial reef at Racha Yai Island.
The Haruby and Andaman Eagle, also at Racha Yai Island, deliberately sank to give new dive sites.
Speedboat wreck again on Racha Yai that has been visited many times by divers over the years it has been underwater.
The Tuna Fish Wreck in Similans, again deliberately sank for a new dive site.
The Atlantis X again in the Similans, a dive liveaboard that ventured there in the closed season and suffered damage due to the weather, she sank on Island number 8.
With all these wrecks available to recreational scuba divers it is not surprising that the Wreck diver course is so popular at Scuba Cat.
Wreck diving offers great rewards but in return it can also carry greater risks, especially if penetration is involved, so to be able to do this the Wreck Speciality course is essential.
Most wrecks can be enjoyed simply by following the outline, but some require more complex navigation techniques, which are taught on the course.
The main concern with wrecks can be the need to monitor air and depth more closely, being aware on entanglement problems, so particular vigilance with streamlining, and sharp objects.
The Wreck diver course emphasizes the need to carry a knife, and use of gloves, along with good buoyancy control.
The course consists of 4 dives each building on the skills learnt in the previous dive, leading to the diver being able to penetrate a wreck safely.
The use of anti silting dive techniques, navigation, lines, and safety cylinders is covered within the course.
Posted on June 5th, 2012 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on So you think you are too old to learn?
While scuba diving does require a certain level of health and fitness, your age doesn’t prevent people from becoming Scuba Divers. YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE!
People are no longer sitting home on the sofa during retirement. This generation is not only the largest, in the world’s history but it has also been one the most active. Needless to say they are not going quietly into the good night!
You may have read over the years about Scuba Kittens where Scuba Cat Diving has introduced diving to many of the younger generation through Bubblemaker, Sealteam and Junior Open Water courses. Recently we went the opposite way.
The oldest newly certified open water diver from Scuba Cat has completed his Open Water Course with Scuba Cat Diving.
Larry Boersma is a repeat customer of Scuba Cat for over 4 years. Originally from Holland he now lives in the US and still works as a professor in one of the universities over there. He enjoys regular holidays in the Far East and has visited Thailand and Indonesia.
He had completed 18 Discover Scuba Diving experiences with us, and more in Bali and Borneo, for a long time he was happy with this and enjoyed taking photographs at the beautiful Racha Islands.
Earlier this year we made a special exception and Larry went with a private instructor the sites of Shark Point, Koh Doc Mai and Anemone reef. Usually these are reserved for divers who can go to 18m or deeper. But with more than 50 dives already we felt Larry could cope with these new sites.
This must have made him want more as when he came back to see us after 3 month he had decided to take the open water course with us and then join our liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure for a 4 day 4 night trip to Similan, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.
With Kath as the tour leader on the boat and Francois as his private guide Larry enjoyed every one of the 14 dives on offer during the trip.
We are not sure if at 82 Larry is the oldest newly certified open water diver but everyone at Scuba Cat is very happy to see him finally move on from being a habitual Discover Scuba Diver to a fully certified one.
Congratulations Larry!!
Trying to decide if Scuba Diving is for you?
Listen to your Body.
You can’t expect your body to be as agile when you were 21. It is normal to tire easily or succumb to illness more often. An illness is simply your body’s way of telling you to slow down a bit. Listen to your body and don’t push it too hard. Do what you feel comfortable with, why not take a leaf out of Larry’s book and start with Discover Scuba Diving?
Don’t overestimate your health.
If you are the type of person who runs everyday and goes to the gym regularly then perhaps, you won’t have to worry so much about the encounter of health problems underwater. Nevertheless, be sure to visit your Doctor before you start this challenge. If your doctor gives you a thumbs-up, well then go dive! If not, ask how you could get dive fit.
Know your limits.
If you’ve been physically active for much of your whole life, then nothing should stop you from trying Scuba Diving. Unless your Doctor says otherwise, you could still go diving, but only do what you feel comfortable with, don’t succumb to pressure from the others on the Dive trips, if you don’t want to go deep or dive in strong currents, then don’t!
So you have decided to come out and dive with us, fantastic news, here are a couple of pointers before you take the course
More than likely your Instructor will be younger than you. As a mature student, you will have to deal with this. No matter what your position is in the “real world” in the pool or on the boat, the instructor is the boss. Learn to be flexible.
Learning
Expect a learning curve. At Scuba Cat Diving all our Instructors take diving courses very seriously. People who are settled into careers or retirement often forget just how hard learning new things can be sometimes. So go easy on yourself.
Yourself
Be open-minded. You might think you have “been there” “done that” and “survived near everything”, being underwater, breathing through scuba gear and being dependant on a dive buddy, can take some getting used to. Some more mature students can become resistant to being told what to do and when to do it. It’s understandable. It’s hard giving over control to someone who may be half your age, but our instructor’s want you to experience all the joy of diving while remaining safe.
If you have always wanted to go scuba diving but have never found the time, learn why it is never too late to start scuba diving, no matter what your age!
If you book and pay in full anytime during June 2012 you will receive 10% discount not only for this month but for the rest of the year…… plus you will receive a free Scuba Cat T-Shirt with all Courses during the month.
The future for Scuba Cat:
Vision
Scuba Cat Diving aims towards creating interaction between people and aquatic life which is fun, safe, educational and sustainable.
Sustainable for customers means someplace they can come back to where there is a wide range of services which satisfies and/or challenges them for years.
For the environment it means interaction with the environment in such a way that the benefits for the environment/ecology outweigh the drawbacks.
Mission
To be the best Dive Centre in Phuket through good diving practices, great instructing, increasing ecological awareness and responsible interaction with environment.
Values
Everything we do are based on the following set of values. They are not stand-alone values but all apply at the same time one way or the other.
Good intention – What we do is not as important as why we do it
Value for money – We have no intention to be the cheapest, only to be the best. Our prices are competitive, and represent great value for money
Quality – Only the best is good enough
Safety first – There are always expectations, however, we will only do what we consider to be safe
Entertainment – We don’t just provide great courses and dive trips – we provide great experiences from the start to the end…….Fun!!!!
Come and see for yourself, we believe we are achieving our goals but dont just take our word for it see what people have said about us on Trip Adviser!
Posted on January 21st, 2012 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Hin Deang/Hin Muang Dive Trip Summer 2011 on MV Scuba Adventure- Vincent Moy Tour Leader
I was very excited to take this trip out during the “summer season” as tour leader on MV Scuba Adventure. All season the local sites from Phuket had been performing so well, with lots of great visibility dives and an abundance of marine life both (very) big and small. I also knew that during the high season the dive sites of Hin Deang and Hin Maung are awesome, but I didn’t know what to expect from a trip this time of year?
Scuba Adventure
… It was not a disappointment!
So here we go:
Day 1:
Shark Point – Great visibility to enjoy all the lovely soft corals, fans, sponges and tons of marine life including the odd leopard shark. Hi-light of the dive: a large marble patterned tiger tail seahorse.
Shark Point
Koh Bida Nok – Again tons of marine life, especially the trevally and schools of fusiliers, and a nice big hawksbill turtle at the start. Hi-light of the dive: absolutely the 10-20 black-tip sharks seen during the dive, especially getting up real close to 5-10 of them in the bay, before they finally torpedoed passed us.
Koh Bida Nok
Koh Ha Yai – A beautiful late afternoon dive to enjoy the caverns (known as the Cathedral) and swim-through’s. Hi-light of the dive: the view looking out at the silhouetted divers the from the back of the Cathedral.
"The Cathedral"
Koh Ha Lagoon – A comfortable night dive in the protected lagoon between islands 2 and 4. Our group explored the east side wall of island 2 and the sloping reef between. Hi-light: For me the macro life amongst the vivid soft corals on the wall, for others the giant barracuda following us!
Day 2:
Hin Muang – Oh my God! The visibility! We could see the bottom… and which ever side you are on, it goes down a very long way! Lot’s of life; and the soft corals looking bigger and more colourful than ever. Hi-light of the dive: All of it, in stunning visability. It was like a scene from the movie The Abyss but with the lights on! Diving – the best reason in the world to get up with the sun.
"Stunning Visibility"
Hin Deang – Awesome vis continued, we could even see the outer pinnacle from the main rock! Whichever way you looked there was marine activity and mild currents meant an easy swim to appreciate it all. Hi-light of the dive: Did I mention the large manta ray that made it’s way around the rock to the outer pinnacle!
"Manta Ray"
Koh Ha Neua – An early afternoon dive made the best of the huge purple soft corals on the southern side of this site. The shallow hard coral reef at the end of the dive was full of fish, whilst weaving in and out of the soft-coral coated rock channels rewarded us with nice nudi’s and a brilliant yellow tigertail seahorse. Hi-Light of the dive: A spotted eagle ray hovering over the purple soft coral field.
"Sea Horse"
Koh Bida Nok – With the currents reversed and an exciting dive the day before, we chose to go again from the other side of the island. This dusk dive showed us some more big fish (black-tip sharks), kuhl’s rays, mantis shrimps, morays, nudibranchs. Hi-light of the dive: I guess taking the time to see all the things we hadn’t noticed on the other dives – Bida Nok is one of the richest and most varied dive sites. Oh, and it being a dusk dive so some of us could visit Phi Phi Don and enjoy an evening on land.
Day 3:
Koh Bida Nai – Yet another sunny day, this early morning dive provided more sharks and a small school of big pick-handled barracuda. Hi-light of the dive: Swimming through the hundreds of fusiliers and trevally that hang out in the sunshine over the beds of stag horn coral, then back up the reef to the glittering chevron barracudas.
Koh Bida Nai
Anemone Reef – Of course anemones but also lots of colorful soft corals make this a beautiful pinnacle in good visibility… and it was! A turtle, lot’s of fish, little current, nudi’s and a few bamboo shark made it even better. Hi-light: A pale-yellow seahorse out in the sand (I like seahorses!)
Anemone Reef
Koh Doc Mai – A nice surprise… an extra dive thrown on to the end of the trip! This wall dive is awesome for macro – wonderful nudibranchs, ornate ghost pipefish, more bamboo sharks, all sorts of morays, this site can have it all. Hi-light: We got to dive again, ha!
Koh Doc Mai
Apart from the great visibility and relaxed diving (with it’s heart racing moments – sharks, manta, eagle ray), for me it was the wonderful variety of dive sites and marine life that made the trip one of the best. Also helping to make the diving awesome was that, during most of the trip, we were the only boat diving the sites… well, we were on the Scuba Adventure!
Posted on August 25th, 2011 by admin-scubacat-dw | Comments Off on Liveaboards – MV Scuba Adventure
When divers think of Thailand the first place that often they mention is Similans. But there are many more dive sites accessible in the South Andaman, which also offer the same diversity and topography as the North Andaman.
Some of these dive sites also have the advantage of being open for diving all year around as they have shelter and protection from the mainland.
Both of these sites are about 70 km south of Koh Lanta and offer the best of the South diving experiences. Here the visibility can be good, but the water is plankton rich so it attracts some of the larger marine life.
"Whaleshark"
Hin Daeng is the deepest drop of in Thailand, with a wall descending to 70m+ on the south side of the site. It is visible from the surface in the form a three pinnacles that break the surface, these descend underwater to red soft coral covered walls and reef.
Hin Muang is a series of submerged pinnacles dropping down to 60m+, it is 200m in length and covered in purple colored soft corals.
The diversity of marine life on both sites ranges from the big palegics such as Manta and devil rays, Whale sharks and reef sharks, to small ornate ghost pipe fish, long nose hawkfish and nudibranchs.
Both sites are exposed during the monsoon season so are sometime inaccessible due to weather conditions.
This is a group of five islands about 25 km west of Koh Lanta. There are three dive sites here and it offers dramatic and colorful scenery. The reefs are hard coral which has soft corals and sea fans, the area has many swim throughs and caves.
Koh Haa Lagoon is a shallow, protected area that lies between 3 of the Islands, The central lagoon area is suitable for beginner divers and snorkellers and provides a safe, nursery-area for many juvenile fish species. You may see Porcupine Puffer Fish, Ghost Pipefish, Octopus and Hawksbill Turtles swimming amongst the corals
"The Cathedral"
Koh Haa Cathedral is a series of large and spectacular, interconnected caverns and swimthroughs. The largest cavern has three chambers and is known as ‘The Cathedral’. The first two chambers are connected by a shallow swim through at about 9 metres. It is possible to surface inside the Cathedral and see the limestone stalactites looming from the high ceilings. Light floods in through the two large entrances and offers great photographic opportunities. The shallow area in front of the beach is packed with coral and is suitable for beginner divers. Look out for the coral formations that are several metres high.
Koh Haa Chimney at Ko Haa Neung is a tall, vertical chimney, often filled with small glassfish or sweeperfish, starting at 5m and going down to around 16m. Explore the arm that branches out to the east, bringing you out into a beautiful shallow chamber with several large exits. You can find banded sea snakes, lionfish, nudibranchs, frogfish, harlequin shrimps, many other crustaceans and beautiful cowries. Look for large schools of snapper and barracuda.
Phi Phi islands have many dive sites, but the most famous and rewarding are at the south and are two rock islands called the Bida’s, Nok and Nai.
"Phi Phi"
There is also a wall near to Maya beach, made famous by the movie the Beach with Leonardo De Caprio, which offers good diving.
The diving offers walls and sloping reefs, with hard and soft coral, many large sea fans and anemones. Schools of jack fish, barracuda, snappers can be seen on all sites, with sea horses, ghost pipe fish and nudibranchs. Look out for leopard sharks in the sandy areas with stingrays, and in the shallow look for hunting black tip reef sharks.
Turtles both green and hawksbills can often be found at all sites but many are seen on Maya wall.
Located around 26km from Chalong bay these two dive sites are less than a km away from each other. Anenome reef is one submerged pinnacle and Shark Point is two pinnacles, with one slightly above the water line.
Both sites are covered in soft corals with gorgonian sea fans, barrel sponges and anemones, and they attract a large amount of marine life.
"Turtle"
Leopard and bamboo sharks can be sighted here, along with tigertail sea horses, hawksbill turtles and cuttlefish. Schooling snapper, travalie and fusileers are common, with many lion fish, scorpion fish and different types of moray eels.
The name means flower island in Thai and the dive site is a limestone island with vertical walls descending to 24 to 28m in depth. The East side is the most dived and has two caves along its wall, there are many crevices, big sea fans, whip coral and tree corals.
The site offers a good variety of macro life, tiger tail sea horses, ghost pipe fish, nudibranchs, many types of shrimps and frog fish. Many white eyes morays are found together and under ledges bamboo sharks are common. The dive is normally a one way drift along the wall.
"Andaman Sea"
If you want to enjoy the best sites that Phuket all around the Andaman Sea can offer in a 7 day liveaboard trip join MV Scuba Adventure from November to May.
MARINE PARK RULES AND REGULATIONS
DO NOT
Collect anything except rubbish
Make loud noises, which disturb other people and wildlife.
Hunt, destroy, or do anything that harms plants, animals and the environment
Exceed 40m of depth if trained; entry level divers must not exceed 20m of depth.
Exceed no decompression limits
Dive in restricted areas
Feed any animals
Dive with gloves, (except on wreck dives and mooring line descent or ascent dives).
DO
Have a diving certification
Realise the significance of nature, in that we must share and learn to preserve it for ourselves and others.
Have a signaling device
Complete safety stops on every dive
Protect the environment with good buoyancy control
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