Pure Sillyness to pass away the time during the Monsoon Rains.

Hey Guys,
Well its monsoon time again that's for sure & though living on a tropical island during Monsoon can get you down a little here at Big Blue we are still full of the joys of stupidity! Here's a bit of fun to while away those rain soaked hours!

Top 5 Practical Jokes to play on Scuba Divers-

1) Honest, pull my finger, I did jam it on my tank.....
2) Scatter fake rubber alligators around the springs during open-water checkouts.
3) Pee in your buddy's wetsuit.
4) Fill student tanks with helium for pool session.
5) In an out of air situation, hand your buddy a real octopus.

Top 10 Pick-up Lines Instructors use with their students-

1) Do you believe in love at first sight or shall I swim back and forth a few more times?
2) Excuse me I'm lost. May I go home with you?
3) I'm looking for a French Angel with large gills, and I think I've found her — are you French?
4) Do you have change for the 'phone? My mother told me to call home when I met the girl (man) of my dreams.
5) I can't find my pet crab – can you help me find him? I think he went down to the deserted end of the beach.
6) You must be Jamaican, because Jamaica me crazy.
7) I like to maintain my own equipment — you look like someone I'd like to "tinker" around with.
8) I'm new at the resort — could you give me directions to your room?
9) I think there's something wrong with my regulator. Could you hold the first stage while I check out the second stage?
10) Please excuse my panting - I am out of air, because you take my breath away.

Silly Scuba Jokes.

Three instructors and their students are on board a dive boat in the middle of the ocean— there's a NAUI instructor, a PADI instructor, and an SSI instructor. Everything is going fine, until the boat springs a leak, and starts to sink. The SSI instructor says to his students, "Okay... we're in the middle of the ocean, so we might as well do our deep dive." The NAUI instructor says to his students, "Okay... we might as well do our navigation dive, so let's get our compasses out and swim towards shore." The PADI instructor says to his students, "Okay... for $25 extra you guys get to do a wreck dive!"

This man is stranded on a desert island, all alone for ten years. One day, he sees a speck in the horizon. He thinks to himself, "It's not a ship." The speck gets a little closer and he thinks, "It's not a boat." The speck gets even closer and he thinks, "It's not a raft." Then, out of the surf comes this gorgeous blonde woman, wearing a wet suit and scuba gear. She comes up to the man and she says, "How long has it been since you've had a cigarette?" "Ten years!" he says. She reaches over, unzips this waterproof pocket on her left sleeve and pulls out a pack of fresh cigarettes. He takes one, lights it, takes a long drag and says, "Man, oh man! Is that good!" Then she asked, "How long has it been since you had a drink of whiskey? He replies, "Ten years!" She reaches over, unzips the waterproof pocket on her right sleeve, pulls out a flask and gives it to him. He takes a long swig and says, "Wow, that's fantastic!" Then she starts unzipping the long zipper that runs down the front of her wet suit and she says to him, "And how long has it been since you had some REAL fun?" And the man cries out, "My God! Don't tell me you've got a set of golf clubs in there, too!"

A dive boat runs into a terrible storm. The boat gets pounded by rain and wind and huge waves. The divers are quiet but really scared. They are sure the boat is going to sink and they are all going to die. At the height of the storm, a young woman jumps up and exclaims: "I can't take this anymore! I can't just sit here and drown like an animal. If I am going to die, let me die feeling like a woman. Is there anyone here man enough to make me feel like a woman?" One of the dive masters stands up – a tall, handsome, muscular man, he smiles and starts to walk up to her. As he approaches her, he takes off his shirt. She sees his huge muscles – already, she is glad for her decision. He stands in front of her, muscles bulging, shirt in hand and says to her: "Here! Iron this!"

Two divers were checking a new reef when they saw a shark. The shark circled them, menacingly. One diver took off his fins and reached inside his BC and pulled out a pair of super-power fins. His buddy signalled: What? You can't outswim a shark! The diver signalled back: I don't have to outswim the shark - I only have to outswim you!

Two divers go spear-fishing. They catch a lot of fish and return to the shore. The first one says, “I hope you remember the spot where we caught all those fish.” The other answers, “Yes, I made an 'X' on the side of the boat to mark the spot.” “You idiot!” cries the first, “How do you know we will get the same boat tomorrow?”

That'll do for now! See you when the rain stops!

What you are saying about us on Lonely Planet Forum- The Thorntree.

The Below is just a collection of quotes taken diretly out of the Lonely Planet Website. Click on http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=51&STARTPAGE=1 to see what I mean. And if you wish to write anything about your experiences with us then feel free. Always nice to see ones name in lights! The photos I added!

I have deleted email addresses to avoid any problems with any of you reading this who might be psycho stalkers!

"Koh Tao is worth going there & their are many diving resorts. I did my Padi open water diving course for 4 days and 9,800 TBT at Big Blue diving resort. My instructor is Mr.Simon Garrity, I had a very nice experience with him learning to dive, & now I have my Open Water certification Cheers!"

"The important thing is to find a great instructor. If you have a bad experience diving, you won't ever dive again. I agree with Rickchen on Big Blue. I was there for 4 months, I had so much fun! I learned to dive and be completely comfortable there. Simon Garrity is a great instructor and a personal friend. I did my dives with Alex Daluiso and Simon for Emergency First Response. He is very patient and had a great sense of humor. What ever you do and whereever you go stay away from BANS! I am not saying that as a Big Blue loyalist, I am saying it for your own well being. I have seen BB come to the rescue of divers in the water at Bans and I have seen divers come to Big Blue to learn to dive after a botched attempt there. "

"Just got back from Koh Tao, and you DO have a lot of choice. Baan is a good shop, as is Big Blue. I did Crystal Dive Resort and helped out on a lot of open water and other courses (I was doing my DMT, Dive Master Training). Each shop has pluses... I saw a lot of satisfied Big Blue and Baan divers as well as lots of Crystal Divers.:)ENJOY your diving!"

"I am a big fan of Koh Tao last October the viz was great and there is good snorkeling and diving off of Sairee Beach. I went with Big Blue and not only are the instructors great, my instructor was sensitive enough to arrange for us to be alone on the boat just to show me around and allow me to set up and practise things without the embarassment of being in a crowd of people (I'm a full figured woman). I really learned to be comfortable in the water and did my Advanced which prepared me for manta season in the Similans. "

" Koh Tao is your spot. The diving is not the best in Thailand, but the conditions are perfect for doing your divemaster. There are hundreds of Open Water Students, which means plenty of instructors. This is good, because you will see plenty of different styles of teaching and plenty of mistakes. Just leading divers on dives is not all there is to real DM work, and seeing how busy dive schools work gives way more valuable experience. Also because the diving is cheap, you'll get plenty of dives in the course which makes you more confident. I think there are two great shops on Koh Tao ( I lived there for two years), Big Blue and Scuba Junction. Big Blue is a larger school and there are plenty of dives everyday and you will mentor under several different instructors. Jim, the manager is one of the best guys around. Scuba Junction is much smaller but very anal about all procedures and dives. Really tightly run shop. Kay, the manager there is very tight with the rules, but everyone walks out happy and safe. "

"I just did my open water with a dive operation on Koh Tao called Big Blue. If you're already qualified, their cost is 1,000/per dive with discounts being offered after 5 dives. They offer night and deep dives, and courses for underwater photography and other good stuff. Perhaps the most important consideration should be safety???Big Blue's boat is one of the best on the island and for someone already qualified, it may be their selling point. It's huge, well-kept, looks pretty new, and is one of the only boats to have a top deck from which you can take in the sights and dive 3 or 4 meters into the water below. It made the other boats look kinda ghetto. My guide was great--a former Science teacher from London. He was safe, informative, encouraging, fun, and enthusiastic. The rest of their crew were also very welcoming and friendly. Of course any diving crew is going to be a bit too-cool-for-school, but these guys kept that to a minimum.They also discount their rooms for those doing their courses. "

"I actually did my DM course on Koh Tao and then stayed and worked as a DM for Two years. My experience is that you should find your instructors and see how you click. Three amazing Instructors on Koh Tao are Marcel and Alex at Big Blue Diving and Kay at Scuba Junction. Meet with the people that you will be doing the course with, get a feel. Will you be in the shop a lot? will you get an idea how equipment works (like seeing or helping servicing)? Is your diving limited to just a few dives or unlimited? Do they hire their own DMT's? the last one is a very good clue to a shop - whether they produce DM's that are good enough for thier own standards."

"Hi Koh Tao is a great place to learn to dive. I've just finished my divemaster course with Big Blue in Koh Tao. I've been on the island for about 2 1/2 months now. I've dived in Utila, Roatan, Malawi, Maui, Oahu, East Coast Australia inc the Barrier reef and New Zealand. I've done over 100 dives. During my course here I got to assist the instructors at Big Blue on a number of Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, Deep and Nitrox courses. The staff at Big Blue are all really friendly and helpful, there's a relaxed atmosphere, they offer courses in loads of languages, they have good, up to date equipment, big dive boats with loads of room on them and decent accommodation, which whilst not free for divers is half price whilst you're diving. There's a great party atmosphere in the bar in the evenings (for when you aren't diving in the morning of course!) and they have loads of dive master trainees to help out with the courses (and do all the hard work!). The experience that I gained during my course was invaluable and Big Blue DMs have a 90% success rate in finding work after they finish (they other 10% generally aren't interested in working in the dive industry anyway). Have a look at their website http://www.bigbluediving.com for more info. I would suggest you have a look round, check out a few of the dive schools and see what they have to offer but make sure one of the one's you look into is Big Blue, you won't regret it.It will be low season here around that time but it's good vis at the moment and should still be then. It's not rainy season in the Gulf of Thailand at the moment although there has been some rain. "

"I just did my course last week on Koh Tao. Did it at Big Blue. I was very satisfied with the entire diving operations. They have one of the best boats on the island and a great staff. "

"You will find a consensus that Koh Tao is a great place to do a beginning course. There are many other people learning just like yourself and there are few hazards while diving like currents or fish. It is also a pretty nice lifestyle.But be wary when the price is too good! Currently there is price war happening on Koh Tao. That might seem like a great thing... until you realize that prices are too low to either pay the instructors a living wage or to maintain their equipment. You'll see that some instructors are quite good and will not work when they can't get paid. On the other hand you will find desperate beginners or dodgy characters that will teach diving for below living wages. Avoid these shops. But if you ask to meet your instructor and ask about their credentials (ever taught anywhere but on Koh Tao, taught more than few courses) that should be pretty easy to sort out. Much more dangerous are the shops that save money by not servicing equipment. You can't see inside their tanks, or see how well their regulators are working. And in a sport where your life depends on well maintained equipment, a shop that is cutting corners can be a serious problem. If you are going to a shop where prices drop below 9000 baht, you could be dealing with some nefarious characters. Saving a few coins now makes a huge difference later. While there are some very reputable shops (Scuba Junction and Big Blue are just two) there are some pretty shady characters about. So be cautious and in this case...if the price is to good to be true...it is. "

" When on Koh Tao there are two really good schools. Scuba Junction & the other really amazing shop, though much larger, is Big Blue. Jim is the manager and you'll be hard pressed to find a friendlier guy. Marcel and Alex are two instructors with more experience and patience than you can imagine - plus they are a great bunch of people... "

"I'd say head to Koh Tao, try out diving, take a look aorund and see what happens. On Koh Tao, Big Blue is a very good place to do it - plenty of great instructors and a great deal for the program. I recommend Marcel (super experienced) and Alex (Great personality) as two of the best. "

"With regards to diving, the phrase "the cheaper the better" is not true. For example, the company I work for (not in Koh Tao) offers a very cheap Open Water course by doing beach dives, or a more expensive course doing dives at much better dive sites on day trips by boat. You DO get what you pay for indeed, and with the huge number of dive shops in competition in one small island, be very sure you know what you are paying for.I'll recommend Big Blue Diving. I have not dived with them, but I know the manager (Jim) from a few years ago when he was running a liveaboard from Khao Lak. He's an honest guy who will not do things on the cheap.Happy diving!"

"Koh Tao has some great options for learning to dive. Foremost is Scuba Junction for & I would also add Big Blue diving for several of the friendliest instructors you'll ever meet. "

Thankyou everyone, & thanks for the messages. Please feel free to add more on websites as its great marketing for us & we love reading what you say.

Monsoon floods!

Well I've been in Koh Tao on & off now for about 8 years & I've never seen Koh Tao like this before! I remember a story when I got here about how the winds in 1997 had been so bad that the roof of Simple Life actually came off & was blown out to sea. Wow that must have been bad!
We haven't had too much in the way of wind (apart from G!) but the rain just does not stop.
See what I mean!

Mathias comes rushing into the office & says the bridge at the entrance towards Big Blue has gone! Now knowing Mathias I just thought he was having another one of his Swedish moments- you know like walked into the wrong resort but no, our dandy Scandy was spot on! The bridge had gone. Of course it was the worst timing as the taxi's were just arriving with todays arrivals & the look on their faces when they saw the area was one of regret- that they had actually got here! I did feel sorry for them & guys if you are reading this Big Blue isn't usually underwater. Hope we can improve upon your first impressions.
So anyway the bridge hadn't gone as such, it was just underwater. The stock room was flooded upto about waist height & unfortunatley we may have lost some t- shirts, & the handy man's area was chest high full of water. I think Nong Pan's computer might have died! We managed to make a marker where the bridge was supposed to be & then had a cruise around the neighbourhood to check out the damage. Silver Sand was flooded to a height just below the top steps of their bungalows. Noori Indian Restaurant & Lotus Bar was where the river ran out & it was like a rapid there. So much so in fact that the foundations collapsed & Lotus now looks like its hanging on a tether! (Well that can't be good, where's everyone going to get hammered now? Oh yes of course Big Blue Bar!)
So anyway Koh Tao is being washed out to sea. We are still here though & now our resort has a swimming pool! Eat my shorts Bans! We got a pool now too!

Meet The Team

When all is said & done the success or failure of any business relies very much on the involvement of the staff. Big Blue has a fantastic Dive team. Although all our Staff realize how lucky they are to live & work here. They love their jobs & look forward to coming to work. Their enthusiasm is infectious & consequently the atmosphere they generate increases the profitability of the business.
So lets see who does what shall we...

Alex Daluiso- PADI & SSI Instructor. Alex started with Big Blue as a Divemaster & now teaches all PADI & SSI Courses in English & knows a lot of useful phrases in Italian. Alex is a Science teacher by profession & consequently has all the necessary qualities to make him an excellent instructor, & has the reputation of being the Instructor that can convert the scared to the confidant! Alex is also the builder creator & editor of our Big Blue Blog Page. & if you choose to email us with your enquiries then he's the guy that replies to you. A busy boy is our Alex!

Ally List- Our German speaking Austrian skier & snowboarding queen has now been a full time PADI & SSI Instructor at Big Blue for over a year. She left the glamour & glitz of Austrian TV to become a Diving professional & will one day soon be a PADI Instructor Trainer. Ally has an amazing ability to get on with everyone, which makes her one of our more popular Instructors all round the resort. She is very considerate of others & extremely enthusiastic when it comes to diving & teaching. In addition Ally is a massive Formula 1 fan & right now is glad the season is over cos it was playing hell with her sleeping hours!

Andy Griggs- is married, & he & his wife together have 2 beautiful little girls that look nothing like their rather large father! Andy is one of Big Blue’s more experienced SSI & PADI Instructors who has been teaching, on & off, for almost 8 years. He also worked as manager of another Koh Tao dive shop but his love for diving drew him back away from the shop & towards the water. His fatherly experience has made him a very patient & understanding Instructor & his knowledge of all things underwater is second to none.

Darren Buckland- Has been diving the oceans of the world as a PADI & SSI Instructor for a number of years. He’s a bit of a joker & can relax you like nobody can with his good natured & lighthearted sense of humour. He is the proud owner of Koh Tao's first Spiderman wetsuit & has vowed by next Oktoberfest he will also have his own designer made Lederhosen Wetsuit! Serious when needed though, Darren is our environmental monitor, which means he is responsible for Big Blues environmental awareness & responsibilities- beach & divesite cleanups, report on whaleshark sightings, & environmental support campaigns.

Dean Jenkins – Deano, has also been with Big Blue for over a year now & has proven himself to be one of the most committed Instructors in Koh Tao. A mechanic by trade Deano learnt his diving skills while on holiday, quickly fell in love with it & decided to change his career direction & became a PADI & SSI Dive Instructor. Soon, Deano was working at Big Blue & is now highly involved with our Divemaster training & our equipment maintenance & servicing courses aswell.

Guillaume Fargues- G is our French speaking PADI & SSI Instructor who has been at Big Blue now over 2 years. G is a gentleman who knows that your diving course with us should be special which is why he’ll ensure that 110% of himself goes into every course. Extremely reliable & a good team player G is never shy of stepping forward to lend a hand. He is also a keen rugby fan & DJ & can often be seen spinning the decks at the Big Blue Bar, when he's not on his knees in tears after losing the rugby to England... again!

James Thornton Allen- aka ‘Canada’, PADI & SSI Instructor has a love for the deep & the technical. His military training in the Royal Marines has left him with an interest in Nitrox, Deep, Wreck & technical diving. Canada organises trips to some of the wrecks around Koh Tao on a special trip onboard Koh Tao’s only Liveaboard vessel- M.V. Trident every Wednesday. When he's not busy organising the tech & wreck diving Canada can often be found DJing in our bar on party nights or manically rearranging furniture, flower arrangements, classrooms & dive retail displays around the resort. There's a perfect little housewife underneath that painted Rock DJ/Action man exterior!

Linnea Sjoberg- Not only does our Scandanavian PADI Instructor speaks good Swedish her German aint bad either! Linnea came to us having worked for a time in Koh Samui, & has not looked back since. She is a very friendly & outgoing individual who makes everyone feel at ease immediately. Aswell as having that typical Scandanavian sassyness Linnea is also a very strong team player & is totally reliable & a very enthusiastic Dive Instructor. Ready to show our DMT's who wears the trousers, you can count on Linnea to keep the boys in line!

Marcel Bruijs- Dutch/ German Speaking SSI & PADI Instructor- with considerable diving experience around the world. Having worked before in Thailand on Live aboard Boats, Marcel left for South America, then worked in Holland & Indonesia before returning to dive Thailands waters once again. He is another integral part of our Divemaster & Deep & Nitrox specialty training & having had a successful career in engineering is also a very useful mechanic to have around the place aswell!

Mathias Lindstrom- From Sweden, another of our Scandinavian PADI Instructors. Mathias is a very laid back individual with a friendly relaxing demeanour. Nothing stresses him out which inspires a very calm approach to scuba from both him & also his students. Prior to diving Mathias was in IT and has helped to update Big Blue on a technological front since arriving here. In between teaching Scandanavians how to dive Mathias can now be found as the manager of our Beach famous Beach bar- the perfect place to enjoy some post dive liquid refreshments!

Ricky McKendry- Ricky is a very experienced Divemaster who knows where to find all the good stuff. He is also in charge of our Equipment maintenance & is a certified Equipment Technician. He is very organised & highly responsible & takes considerable care to ensure all his divers have had a great day out on his boat.

Rick – James ‘Rick’ Rickert- Our resident Hawaiian American is an SSI Instructor & PADI Assistant Instructor. Rick is another Instructor with a nicely laid back approach to diving. He has a great sense of awareness & is very quick to help & improve his students skills where & when needed but by doing so without being all hands! He has a great sense of humour that comes out in his classes & he is the winner on every occasion for best fancy dress costume.

Scobby – Scott ‘Scobby’ Heelan is a retired Australian Rules Professional Football player turned landscape Gardener turned full time PADI & SSI Dive Instructor. Scobby has been diving since he was a kid & has worked in the diving industry all over Thailand. He has a true Australian charm & way about him that makes every course he teaches a memorable experience.

Simon Garrity- Worked as a Divemaster at Big Blue before becoming an SSI & PADI Instructor. His loyalty & passion for Liverpool Football Club is rivalled only by his enjoyment & enthusiasm for diving. He is unquestionably the one Instructor that gets the most returning customers & highest amount of compliments. Simon is exactly what you see. He is shy but friendly, funny & serious & is also a very key member of the Big Blue Dive Team.

Sonia Scott- Represented England at Rugby League & then became a Sports Physiotherapist by day & a nightclub Bouncer by night before finding her true calling as a Divemaster! Sonia has been working at Big Blue as our head DM for over a year. She is very organised & knows exactly what is going on at any moment of the day. She does a fantastic job of scheduling the boats & the divesites & entertaining the crowds when out at sea.

Bex Tyrer- Bex has been a journalist in the Middle East for a number of years & has a wealth of experience from her time spent there. She is also a very accomplished diver & has worked on liveaboards in the Similan & Surin Islands last season. Bex is a very thorough & patient instructor that has the understanding of a saint. She has a wealth of underwater knowledge & a love for teaching that keeps her on an echelon above most Instructors.

Panagiotis Iosifoglou- Our resident mediterannean German! Originally from Greece Panos got bored with the lovely sunshine & the crystal clear waters off his meditteranean island & decided to move to the sunshine & crystal clear waters of Germany instead. Having realised how stupid he'd been he came to Koh Tao for a holiday & is still here! Worked his way up from a humble divemaster at another Diveshop to becomming one of our talented number here at Big Blue. Panos has a great determination & will bend over backwards to ensure you get the best for your dollar!

Hiromi Daniella Takamura Svenssonsan!- Hiro is the newest recruit to the Big Blue Team. She speaks Japanese Swedish & English & also represents Sweden in Kendo- the martial art of Stick fighting! She will be leaving us in December to go get some practise in. Like all good Japanese Divemasters Hiro is the best at finding the small stuff!

Jim Donaldson- SSI & PADI Instructor (retired!). Has worked at Big Blue for just over a year but has been in Koh Tao since the millenium. Has worked at various different Diveshops as a cook! a Divemaster, an Instructor & a Manager & now sits around wasting away his retirement years filling in & keeping updated the Big Blue page on Facebook. Jim is getting married next year to his longterm German babe as a means of getting over his depression from the New Zealand All Blacks failure to win this years Rugby World Cup... again!

How to choose which Dive Center you dive with .

Koh Tao has almost 45 diveshops now! So imagine how easy it is for an inexperienced diver to get confused by all the sales spiel you get confronted with. Here are a few things to look for when you make your choice on who to dive with.

Look for a dive centre with a presence. Do they spend money on advertising & awareness? If so, it is a good sign of a professional business and one that has been established a while.
Where are they located? Wouldn’t you rather spend your holiday near the beach rather than in the town surrounded by hustle bustle & traffic? Sairee Beach offers the best sunsets on the island and Sairee Village some of the best shopping & restaurants. The Dive Resort you stay at should offer you everything you are looking for: beachfront bar & restaurant, accommodation within walking distance of shops & nightlife, social & friendly locals that make you feel part of something. Choosing a dive shop that has everything all in one location can make your holiday that much better as you won’t spend so much time being taxied back & forth from classroom to boat to accommodation etc.

Courses & Group sizes? Look for a shop with a more personal touch rather than a shop that just makes you feel part of a production line. Four to six divers to a group are fine but more is too many. If it’s the Open Water Course do your course with the shop that does Confined Water training at the beach rather than a swimming pool. How much nicer is it to dive off the beach of a tropical island than a busy pool in a packed Resort! Don’t settle for just 2 divesites when you could have 4! Student divers should be shown what is real diving & be experienced in different conditions while being taken to some of the more exciting divesites. In fact if the diveshop you enquire about doing your course with doesn’t dive at Chumphon or any of the other exciting Pinnacles then don’t dive with them. Those students seeking to become professionals must choose a shop that has an in house Equipment technician & a retail Store & of course is busy enough throughout the year to gain the experience needed.

Fundivers: Where & when do we dive? Most importantly avoid the crowds. If most of the diveshops leave at 8am then choose a shop that leaves before them. Getting up that little bit earlier can make all the difference. Also try & find a shop that offers different divesites daily. Fundivers don’t always want to get up early so do want a choice of divesites in the afternoon, Many shops choose to only dive a few local sites as they are closer & therefore the business can save money in fuel. If you want to see real diving in Koh Tao then make sure you have options on divesites. Some diveshops only go to divesites requested by the customers!
Dive Staff Professionalism? If you are going to do something that has elements of danger you want to at least ensure that you do it with someone who knows what they are doing & someone you feel totally safe with. The quality of Instructors & Divemasters can vary immensely depending on how satisfied they are in their job. All Dive Staff have undergone rigorous training to get where they are but some have their patience tested a little too often! Usually if you have unpleasant or unhappy dive staff then it’s because of something to do with the business, in which case you really don’t want to be there in the first place! Ask why the staff you are talking with like working for that shop. You want to be diving with knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic staff who see diving not just as a job but also as a lifestyle.
What is the schedule like? The uniqueness of Koh Tao means we can do upto 5 dives a day: 2 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon & 1 at night. And if you can find the dive shop that departs directly on to the boat from the shop then that will save lots of time in taxi transfers. Many shops restrict the dive times for their fun divers to 45 minutes, so as to keep to the daily schedule, so find a shop that doesn’t restrict your dive time. You’ll be far more relaxed & you’ll see more.
If I dive will I get to meet other people? Après dive is the social time when divers sit around a sunset drink & log their dives & chat about other underwater experiences. Look for a social Dive school that incorporates the Bar & Restaurant into their Dive shop as this is where friendships are made through social gatherings.

Big Blue Diving of course offer all of the above so quite clearly they are the best shop to go diving with in Koh Tao!

Lots of love,

Jim Donaldson, Manager, Big Blue Diving!

Its Whaleshark Season Again

Fish of the Season-
There can only be one contender for this prize & that has to go to the largest Fish in the Sea the Rhincodon typus, or more affectionately known as the Whaleshark. I reckon Big Blue has a very good track record on the sitings of whalesharks especially lately at least.
On April 16th we saw one at Chumphon Pinnacle, on the 19th had one at White Rock, On the 20th it had cruised upto Chumphon Pinnacle. The 21st was a good day as we had 2 whalesharks at Samran Pinnacle. Went quiet then for about a week till the 29th when we saw one at Chumphon, then on the 9th May we saw a very inquisitive one at the Torpedo Wreck, & then the very next day we were graced with the biggest of the season at least 7 meters! So, not bad for a months work.

Whalesharks are magnificent creatures & to prove it here are some interesting facts for you:
The whale shark is up to 14 m, weighing up to 15 tons. The average size is 7.6 m long It is the largest fish in the world. Females are larger than males (like most sharks).
It has been estimated that whale sharks may live up to 100 - 150 years.
Behind the Whalesharks eye is a gill it uses for breathing when the shark is resting on the sea floor!
There is a website that records whaleshark photos for the purpose of identifying each individual creature so we can find out more about them. If you have any photos you took while diving with us or want to find out where your whaleshark has been please log on to http://www.whaleshark.org/ and enter in your evidence! The more we learn the more we can help!