It’s been a busy month so far here at simple life divers, with the usual full moon rush at the start of the month along with Divemasters undergoing specialty diver training at the shop.
Instructor Zac conducted a PADI Oxygen Provider course for the interns currently undergoing Divemaster training, to better prepare them in event of an emergency. Divemasters trainees Kevin, Seb and Nick decided to expand their dive knowledge and skill further by enrolling in our popular Deep, Wreck & Nitrox PADI Specialty Courses.
Over the past few days myself and the lads have been heading out to explore some of the deeper parts of Koh Tao dive sites along with the local wrecks. Wednesday we dived the lesser visited MV Trident wreck, an artificial reef project and a previous technical dive boat. Though slightly murky due to its depth (Max. 36 meters) the conditions overall were quite good, the highlight been towards the end of the dive with a large school of fusiliers been hunted by mackerel observed above the wreck, we would have all liked to stay down a bit longer but unfortunately we were rapidly approaching our decompression limit.
Yesterday we headed out the Chumphon pinnacles to gain further experience at depth. This time we decided to take some Nitrox along with us so we would have the same problem as the previous day. After an hour surface interval we dived again on the HTMS Sattakut using our richer 36% blend. Kevin lead the dive and I spotted a baby pipe fish on one of the cooling vents only about 2/3 cm long. This time Gas supply became the limiting factor of the dive instead of decompression thanks (or tanks) to the Nitrox.
Tomorrow we’ll finish off the training, I’ve saved the best till last; a 40 meter dive at Chumphon (the deepest allowed in recreational diving) followed by a wreck penetration dive on the HTMS Sattakut. Next week I plan on conducting a Discover Tech Experience, to give Kevin, Seb and Nick a go in some Technical Dive Gear.
Image 1: Kevin on a 36M deep dive exploring the wreck of the MV Trident
Image 2: Seb & Nick @ 33M, exploring Koh Tao’s Chumphon Pinnacles dive site
