Tech Diving Thailand

Local divers rediscover a local shipwreck on Koh Tao.

Koh Tao, Thailand – Big Blue Tech internship coordinator Dean Jenkins took several divemaster candidates from Big Blue Diving out to local dive site “Japanese Gardens” to look for the little wooden wreck that disappeared a few months ago.

Using search patterns the wreck was found at 20m about 300m away from it’s origional location. The vanishing story comes from people who saw a large steel boat use the wreck as a mooring, when it encountered big waves it dragged the wreck away but failed to tell anyone where they put it.

Today the text came into the office that the team was successful and a mooring will be put on it, again, so other divers on the island can enjoy it.

For more picture and origional story look here and here

Scuba cylinder valve manufactures release new safety feature with color indicator

Koh Tao, Thailand – Big Blue Tech return from their last expedition and begin the process of servicing their technical diving equipment in preperation for the next session of technical diving.

One of the tasks include the replacement of our Halcyon valves which we have been having a lot of problems with in terms of handwheel stripping and getting service parts for the proprietary design which caused us a lot of problems when on expedition.

We decided to order a twinset manifold system from Xs Scuba which included a new safety feature. This new feature has a colour inidication which shows the posistion of the tank valve at either fully open, fully closed or half way. This feature uses two sliding inserts in the handwheel that are green and red. When the tank is closed the red colour is showing. As the valve is opened the red colour retracts and the green slowly moves in to replace it. When the cylinder is in the open posistion it shows only green.

For technical diving we think the colour system might not be ideal as colour disapears at depth but certainly as a tool before entering the water and for shallow depths during gas exchange.

Technical divers return home after 2 weeks on the road.

Koh Tao, Thailand - Big Blue Tech returned to Koh Tao this morning after completing 2 weeks on the road during a technical diving expedition.

The team members including James Thornton-Allan, Andy Cavell, Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler completed their full tech course with a certification of Extended Range and explored a variety of diving styles and environments to make the divers very well rounded and confident.

In the end the students logged 30 technical dives in fresh and salt water and depths up to 55m.

This is the second successful expedition this year with another one planned for the end of April which takes divers to Singapore for Trimix diving. For more information about how you can join future trips or training feel free in contacting us.

Technical divers explore caves and caverns in Thailand

Khao Sok National Park, Thailand – Big Blue Tech completed the cave and cavern diving portion of their expedition with the certification of a TDI Cavern Diver certification for Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom, Fanette LeGoarand and James Rickert during a 4 day/ 3 night expedition in Khao Sok National Park which hosts a man made lake with hundreds of undiscovered caves and cavern systems.

The course included all entry level skills including found in overhead diving including how to use a reel, deal with limited visibility and working as a team. In addition they also had to get used to fresh water buoyancy and diving in remote areas.

After certification the divers explored new areas and discovered some new caves in the 10 – 18m range which will be explored at a later date. On one dive a team covered over 1km of submerged limestone wall looking for caves.

On the final day the team departed from Khao Sok National Park and returned to Koh Tao on the 20th.

Technical Divers head to Khao Sok National Park for cavern and cave diving

Khao Sok, Thailand – Divers on the Valentines Tech Expedition leave Khao Lak for Khao Sok National Park for the overhead diving portion of the expedition which includes cavern and cave level diving.

The Rajjaprabha Dam (also called Chieo Lan Dam) was built in the 1980’s flooding the valley of large limestone cliffs creating a large man made lake. This lake submerged caves and caverns making it perfect for cave and cavern diving and cave diving training.

Also in this lake is a submerged village with a temple which was deserted before the flooding. This temple was discovered during a expedition by Big Blue Tech in June of 2009 – “Wat Lies Beneath”

Big Blue Tech will be in Khao Sok for 3 days and 3 nights before returning to Koh Tao. A full report and pictures will follow.

Technical divers explore the new shipwreck off Khao Lak

Khao Lak, Thailand – In August of 2009 the Mv Sea Chart 1, a bulk carrier from Thailand sank in rough waves during a the journey from Myanmar to Vietnam. The vessel was carrying 1200 tonnes of teak wood and sank during rough seas off the coast of Khao Lak. All crew and passengers were rescued and after the Thai Navy surveyed the wreck is was buoyed and opened for diving.

Last month Big Blue Tech conduced 3 days of technical diving during their “Golden Horseshoe Expedition” and found the wreck to be ideal for technical diving because of it’s size and depth.

The wreck now lies on it’s starboard side in 40m with a length of 85m. The wreck is still quite new but marine life continues to grow each day. Every dive conducted on this wreck reveals new passages, doorways and entrances with challenging penetrations and obstacles.

During the 4 technical dives we conducted more penetrations then before and secured many door which were previously locked into the open and tied off position allowing divers to safely enter these areas.

In addition to the wreck we found a “Ghost Pipe Fish” which is a rare type of fish which looks like a spiked piece of coral and always swims facing down. With Lion Fish and other venomous type things everywhere it’s important to look where you’re going at all times to avoid a nasty sting.

Below are pictures from our 2 days of diving.

For more information on the sinking look here at: “Andaman Sea storms sink Thai bulk-carrier”

Technical diver celebrates his 27th birthday in Thailand.

Khao Lak, Thailand – Big Blue Tech celebrated the 27th birthday of Andy “Cav” Cavell who has been on the expedition as assistant technical instructor for the final phase of his 3 month technical diving internship.

As the team left the liveaboard boat we sorted out our gear and got some sleep before heading out to the Happy Snapper. In the Happy Snapper we were met by several other friends and colleagues who joined us in the festivities which included drinking and dancing while the band played late into the night.

The night was also a celebration of a safe return from a great trip on the sea.

The following day was spent moving quite slowly and hanging around the pool resting up for some more technical diving to come.

Technical divers return to shore after 4 days at sea

Khao Lak, Thailand – The Valentines Tech Expedition contingent of Big Blue Tech return to Khao Lak today after coming ashore from the Mv Pawara after the completion of a 4 night technical diving liveaboard on the Similan and Surin islands.

The liveaboard was the base of our diving while completing a TDI Extended Range course which trained the divers to conduct accelerated decompression dives to depths of 55 meters / 180 ft using 3 mixes of gas with air, nitrox and oxygen over 4 cylinders worn simultaneously.

This course was delivered by James Thornton-Allan and Andy Cavell for students Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Duncan Tyler and Thomas Hallstrom.

This would be the second technical diving trip in the similan islands for Big Blue Tech this season and again it proved to be a holiday setting with challenging and interesting dives. While the diving conditions are described below it was the extra touches of relaxing watching movies, sun tanning on the roof and trips in the dinghy to the beaches, which really made this trip relaxing and enjoying as a holiday.

Technical diving is saturated with bravado and peer pressure which have lead to serious diving accidents around the globe, we’re more about having fun on the surface and focusing as a team underwater which allows each diver to relax and progress at their own pace. In addition to our relaxed atmosphere we also encourage a alcohol free environment and no smoking during the diving day which has contributed to our perfect record of no diving related injuries.

The Similan Islands is located off the west coast of the west side of Thailand just north of Phuket from a town called Khao Lak. There are several ways to reach the similans by speed boat, long tail or liveaboard and is listed as one of the best diving destinations in the world.  The Similan and Surin Islands are protected marine parks managed by the Thai government to prevent fishing and destruction to help the marine environment sustain for generations to come.  Divers must pay a park fee to enter the marine park which is enforced by roaming park police boats. It seems the greatest enforcement in the area is getting the money from the dive tour operators rather than protecting the environment from fishing or negative effects like litter or pollution but it’s a better system than nothing at all.

The dive sites we visited on our trip was East Of Eden, Boulder City, West of Eden, Elephant Head Pinnacle, Christmas Tree Point, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock, Richelieu Rock(sunset), Koh Bon Pinnacle, Boonson Wreck.

Over these sites we found ourselves at the mercy of very strong currents pushing us in all directions with changing temperature. On a dive a Elephant Head Pinnacle at 55m a freezing cold wall of cloudy water washed over us making the visibility very limited and giving all of us instant brain freeze that took your breath away. While we were struggling to adjust to the temperature we were being pushed all over the place at a very fast rate, so strong that you couldn’t kick against it to keep in place, our only option was to hide behind rocks and do strategic zig zag movements through the dive site back up to recreational diving depths where is was warm and clear again but it was an experience that taught everyone how to handle vicious currents and how to stay together as a team.

On a dive to Koh Bon we finally saw Manta Rays, thankfully our instructor dropped his mask off the back of the boat, as he went do to get it just below the surface we noticed two large manta rays circling us about 10m below us. This would be a first for some of the divers who have had plenty of chances but never actually seen one. The Giant Manta Ray or “Manta Birostris” is mostly black with a white underbelly, long triangular wings and a tail without stinger. It also has a pair of movable flaps just in front of its mouth. They can grow up to 3-4 meters wide and are recorded as up to 22ft or 670 cm in diameter or “disc” size making these very exciting animals to be witness to. These gentle giants are also one of the few rays that don’t sting so you can get quite close without worry of harm. We spent in total about half an hour with these majestic animals, while other divers were restricted by their single cylinder and no decompression limits we spent over an hour at depth without any concern for air or decompression since the dive was planned well in advance.

As the final night rolled around many started falling asleep after dinner showing clear signs of fatigue from the days diving. It was decided as a group that we would skip the last 2 dives and sleep in, we would come back with the speed boat to visit Koh Bon Pinnacle at a later date. It was also the 11th of February which is Andy Cavell’s 27th birthday. We all knew that coming back from the trip and it being Andy’s birthday that we would be well into a few drinks so it’s good to rest up for such vigorous Olympic style consumption.

Returning to shore we unloaded the boat into our taxi and headed off to our hotel for a nap, shower and relaxed for the next few days until the 13th when we would head off to the big shipwreck off the coast called the Sea Chart 1 which is 85m long in 40m of water.

Special thanks to the staff of Big Blue Khao Lak and Mv Pawara for taking such good care of us and bending over backwards to accommodate our trip.

Similan Islands, Thailand – Big Blue Tech continues their technical diving expedition with the boarding ontheir liveaboard vessel the Mv Pawara bound for the Similan Islands over the course of a 4 day / 4 night trip.

The Mv Pawara is a luxury class liveaboard owned by Big Blue Diving and chartered through Big Blue Khao Lak and offers diving trips to the best of the Similan Islands off the west coast of Thailand.

Big Blue Tech uses this trip to conduct a TDI Extended Range Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler conducted by TDI Instructor James Thornton-Allan and assisted by Andrew Cavel.

Technical diving in the Similans is perfect for divers who want to see the best diving conditions in Thailand with a diversity of marine life and clearity unseen anywhere else.

At the moment the Mv Pawara is the only boat setup for technical diving with on board nitrox and oxygen fills along with Big Blue Khao Lak being the only centre in Khao Lak offering technical diving. This will be the second trip this season with many more scheduled in the coming months.

Technical divers leave Koh Tao heading for Khao Lak on the west coast of Thailand

Koh Tao, Thailand – Big Blue Tech departs Koh Tao island heading through Chumphon City to Khao Lak to start the expedition phase of the tech course for Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler conducted by TDI Instructor James Thornton-Allan and assisted by Andrew Cavel.

The team departed from Seatran Ferry peir on Koh Tao and headed to Lang Suan Peir in Chumphon. Arriving in Chumphon we were met but a mini bus who would take us on the 4 hour drive to Khao Lak and our hotel which would accomodate us for the night.

While in Khao Lak the tech team will be diving on a technical liveaboard called the Mv Pawara which is owned by Big Blue Diving, the parent company of Big Blue Tech. After the 4 day, 4 night liveaboard in the Similan Islands we’ll be staying in Khao Lak to dive on the Sea Chart 1 shipwreck and a few speed boat trips before heading off to Khao Sok for some cave exploration diving over a few days with a planned return to Koh Tao on the 17th.

Divers advance to the level of conducting decompression dives

Koh Tao, Thailand – Big Blue Tech celebrates the graduation of Yvonne Fries, Helen Artal, Thomas Hallstrom and Duncan Tyler from a TDI Decompression Procedures course conducted by TDI Instructor James Thornton-Allan and assisted by Andrew Cavell and Ash Dunn over various dive sites on Koh Tao Island in Thailand.

The TDI Decompression Procedures course is designed to train a diver who has training in technical diving in the methods and skills involved with decompression diving. Recreational diving is considered no stop which means you can leave your depth and ascend to the surface at anytime (optional safety stop recommended), with decompression diving the diver has absorbed into their tissues (muscles and blood) a lot of gas which is forced in during deep and long duration diving of compressed air. Because the tissues are saturated with nitrogen it’s mandatory that decompression divers stop at certain depths for certain periods of time to let the nitrogen bubble leave the body safely. Failing to do this safely can cause the bubble to expand to fast causing decompression sickness or “the bends”. To those unfamiliar with diving, our atmosphere is made up of a concentration of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen, divers use this air in our tanks after a filtration system, it’s the concentration of nitrogen which effects the divers at this level.

The skills the divers had to learn were varied from following a complex schedule itemizing their stops and time, buoyancy skills like oral inflation of their wing at depth to deployment of back-up mask. Other skills continued throughout the 4 dives of this course which lead the divers to receive the coveted certification which is the most recognized internationally as a entry level technical diver.

The students were issued certification after and exam and progress on to their TDI Extended Range course tomorrow with a trip to the similan islands and khao sok national park. You can read more about the Decompession Procedures course here: TDI Decompression Procedures Diver Course