Departed
Returned
Departs From
Khao Lak, Thailand
Dives
14 dives

Similan Liveaboard Trip 015
Trip 015 done and what an eventful Similan liveaboard trip it turned out to be. It was certainly a trip of extremes. Some epic dives, some excellent times onboard the good ship Blue Dolphin along with some strong currents and big waves. Half way into January and almost at the half way point of our Similan diving season we would be expecting the weather to be calm out in the Andaman Sea. Not so as it turned out!
Day one we started at Weat of Eden and it was the perfect check dive, a fantastic introduction to the Similan Islands. No current, clear visibility and plenty of fish. Some dog tooth tuna were hunting their breakfast in the shallow areas and we also bumped into ‘Gracie’ one of our named turtles. Off to a flyer. Elephant Head Rock wasn’t quite so kind to us, diving against a strong falling tide meant we couldn’t explore all the areas of the dive site. By dive three the current had slackened off and we had probably the best dive of the day at Three Trees. The wind was picking up somewhat in the afternoon so we headed to Donald Duck Bay and sheltered there for the rest of the day and overnight.
Day two and the wind had really picked up from the North. Keeping the boat out of the wind, we were able to get to Christmas Point for dive one. After Elephant Head the previous day I thought currents might make the dive a challenge but with hardly any current we got to explore the whole site with ease. Onto to Koh Bon for dive two and from here on we were battling the wind as we made our way North. Koh Bon was a nice dive, hardly any current and great visibility. It was just what we needed after the morning’s waves, nice and gentle. Back on the boat and more waves as we ploughed our way on. There was big swell at Koh Tachai but also no other boats around, most had stayed at Koh Bon.
Our reward was Koh Tachai Pinnacle all to ourselves for dive three. The current had picked up by now and we had to kick a bit to get around the dive site but the reward was well worth it. Schooling barracuda getting harried by some of the largest giant trevally I have seen in a while. Schools of fusiliers hunted by blue fin trevally and groupers and snapper all active on the site. And all just for us. We had lost a bit of time making our way to Koh Tachai so as soon as we’d had a snack and the tanks were full we went again for another of our legendary dive four at Koh Tachai Pinnacle. The current was stronger still and so was the action, Tachai once again delivering for us. After a tough day getting to this point the Captain didn’t want to head to Surin where we usually overnight at the end of the day. We were all happy to hear this, no more waves for the rest of the day and meaning we would get another dive at the pinnacle in the morning!
Day three was just like the old days, dive one at Koh Tachai Pinnacle before a nice long snooze cruise up to Richelieu Rock. With this being our third dive at the pinnacle, we’d all got the measure of the current. It was strong but we could navigate most areas of the dive site. Secretly the dive staff were all happy as we don’t usually get to dive our favourite site so many times on one trip. After the dive it was the long haul North in some big waves. It was tough going and also tough getting into the water but it was well worth the effort. Dive two at Richelieu Rock was one of my favourite this season. Again there were no other boats there and we had another dive site all to ourselves. The current was strong in places and the South side of the rock wasn’t great visibility but around the North side…. WOW ! After a few strong kicks to get round to the North it was then just a nice drift round through schools up schools of fish. Neon blue fusiliers we darting this way and that, hunted by the huge school of predators. Action everywhere. It’s one of the most productive I’ve seen in a while. On surfacing the wind wasn’t dropping like it was predicted to do so we had to bid Richelieu farewell after just one dive and return to shelter at Koh Tachai. It wasn’t our original plan but at least we got Koh Tachai Pinnacle again, this time dive three. By now time it was getting late so we opted for a night dive for dive four on Koh Tachai Reef. Most groups were entertained by a pick-handle barracuda hunting in our torch lights, unless of course you were diving with Takeshi’s group then the reward was loads of black-tip reef sharks !
Day four and finally the wind had dropped and the Andaman Sea was returning to normal. Dive one at Koh Bon Ridge was very similar to our previous dive there. Just calm, clear and fishy. Dive two at Koh Bon Pinnacle was a great way to end the trip. Again nice and clear and calm and plenty of fish, perfect.
Big thanks to everyone who joined us. It was a full boat and we were against the wind most of the way, but we pulled through and had some awesome dives. Well done everyone who completed courses on the boat. Happy birthday Pitt. Thank you Kanami for all your wonderful photos we got to fill out this gallery with. Hope to see you all again in the not too distant future. Couple of trips off now and that I’m back on the boat at the end of the month. Until then, Ric and Blue Dolphin Crew out.
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