Trip 030 Similan Islands

Praise the lord for the reverse schedule! It’s that time of the year again, as the season draws to a close we begin to feel the winds of change. This means a change of wind direction and some rather formidable stormy patches. Luckily for our crack team of logistical genius’ we flipped the schedule from it’s usual course to avoid the worst of the weather in the North.

Day One. Going straight from Aow Pakad to Richelieu Rock on dive two felt much like skipping dinner and going straight for dessert, and what a sweet dive it was! Epic visibility and the usual fishy chaos reinforced our decision to switch the schedule. By day three not a single boat could make it out to the unprotected pinnacle, by which time we were safely tucked away in the Similans. A sunset dive at Turtle Ledge in Surin ended the day with the usual stunning hard coral formations and even a baby turtle.

Day Two. Richelieu again, and what a treat to experience the sun rising over the mainland. Much like the dawn chorus in the trees, Richelieu had a certain electric activity as the hungry mouths stirred to pursue the less fortunate smaller fish on the reef. Once our emergency delivery of Team Taiwan’s dive equipment came out by speedboat, (long story) we were well on our way to Koh Tachai. Big thanks to our eagle-eyed captain P’ Num for spotting a pod of dolphins and expertly manoeuvring us for a special encounter. Koh Tachai absolutely wowed with some chunky tuna and trevaly relentlessly hammering the pinnacle.

Day Three. As the wind began to stir in the North we found ourselves in the Similan Archipelago seeking shelter from the swell. Similan of course delivered with cracking visibility, some really impressive schooling around the shallow reef above the wreck with a friendly napoleon wrasse cruising around for longer than the usual 5 second sighting.

Day Four. Getting to Koh Bon was a slightly bumpier than usual crossing as the captain’s warning of rough seas arrived like clockwork. A somewhat brief bimble around Koh Bon’s Eastern side</b. was enough for our team to know when to call it a day and we quickly ran for the shelter of the mainland.