The new brochure has been made & now we're sending it up to be printed & distributed! It looks awesome! Cheers Canada for making it for us & sorry to have to keep sending it back to you for the small changes. But it does look really good now & I'm sure we'll get heaps of divers coming to us now just because our brochure looks so jig!
My God if I wasn’t a married man already I might have enjoyed that but as it is & as it went down it made me feel a little hot in my swimsuit region! A few of our Big Blue babes cornered me this afternoon & didn’t just request, they absolutely demanded I pull my finger out & get busy buying a bundle of specifically made Big Blue bikinis! OK I said on one condition! I design them! So a deal is a deal & I’ve submitted my design to our tailors & our Brazillian Big Blue bikinis will be here next week! Big Blue Babes in Brazilian Bikinis! Now who’s feeling hot in their swimsuit region?
"TO Paul FROM Ploy & Tan, Thank you so much for taking care of me & my brother. It was absolutley lovely meeting you. We had such a wonderful time with Big Blue & really enjoyed our diving with you. Many thanks."-Thanks guys, so nice of you to show your appreciation of all the hard work we do! Not sure you thanked the right guy though! Paul? Are you sure it was Paul? ; ) (only joking Paulie! Please don't squash me!)
That's 1 small step for man (static) 1 giant leap for... Whalesharks! Have a look at www.thaioceans.com a new website set up by our friends at ACE Marine Images dedicated to the preservation & conservation of Whalesharks in Thailand & Phillipine waters. The idea of the website is to use it to upload your own photos of the Whalesharks you dived with into a database of the whalesharks in this area so that we can learn more about them. After all can you believe we know less about Whalesharks than we do about the moon! Sign in sign up & save the Whaleshark! Oh yeah & well done Neil & Buzz & that 3rd guy no one ever seems to know the name of! Happy 40th Anniversary!
Sunday 19th July 2009-
Much nicer day today weather wise. & it really looks like Koh Tao is enjoying the Summer High Season. The restaurants on the beach are full, so are the bars, the email shops & all the resorts. There are very few bungalows available along the beach now & even those resorts further inland & away from Sairee are also experiencing maximum occupancy! So if you haven't done so already then its high time you did... book ahead - contact info@bigbluediving.com for a good time!
Seems like we are missing a few of our familiar faces. Where have they gone? Well, Sonia has been sent back to Blightey on a crumpet & chocolate Angel Delight mission for Jim. Simo has also returned to the Mother Country to see his better half & show her quite how much he, & his loins, have missed her. And Barry is home, here in Koh Tao, not the UK, with a bout of flu, but isn't snorting & hasn't grown a curly tail so we aren't too worried. Hope you are all having fun guys. We miss you. & can't wait to see how many crumpets you can each fit in your bags when you come back!
"Hi Jim, just a quick note to say we have left the island now. 5 nights was not long enough. I am on Samui now, waiting for a flight back to bangkok. THanks for all your help. The diving was amazing. I didn't get to do my adventure deep dive as on my refresher, my ears gave me a bit of trouble. SO i didn't take any risks. A big thanks to Paul who took me on my refresher and first fun dive. He was excellent. And also to Lena who took me on thursday. She is great. ANd huge thanks for Andy, who took me out friday. He has a great sense of humour. Your whole team is amazing. ANd between you organising my trip, and them taking me diving, it was perfect! Dawn and Nic came out snorkling with us one day and they enjoyed it. SO thanks again. Pass on my thanks to the Big Blue team for being so friendly and welcoming. Planning to come back in December. Fingers crossed. Sarah Darville"Thanks for writing in Sarah - its great to get your feed back & look forward to seeing you back here around Christmas. Ho Ho Ho.
Saturday 18th July 2009-
... & I'm back! Thank you Rick for taking the reins while I've been away in Samui starving myself to death! Some people call it fasting others call it stupidity! Especially when you see the bill! But I have lost 5 kilo's in 4 days & the locals have stopped calling me Pom Pui which is their endearing way of saying you're fat! I'm now butch, rugged & virile... till about beer o'clock! Then I'll probably be quite Mao qute quickly! Aah its good to be back! There's just no place like home!
The weather in Koh Tao right now is a little like taking out your favourite pair of speedos from the fridge & wearing them... cold wet & miserable! We shouldn't really be too surprised as it is quite normal for this time of year & its not really too bad if you are diving every day as we just dive the sites on the East coast of Koh Tao, where its flat & calm & still has good visibility. So despite cancelling our Full Day Trip to Sail Rock we are still able to go & enjoy the caves at Laem Thien, the trenches at Hin Wong & the soft corals at Shark Island! Its the wet speedo feeling that no one is really digging!
The Asian whale shark photo ID database is up and running at http://www.thaioceans.com/ . ThaiOceans is trying to nail down the migration routes and reproduction behaviour of whale sharks particularly in the Asian Oceans. We believe that sharks from the Philippines and Thailand may be connected and are striving to uncover their secrets so that we may help in their global conservation. The database and website was created by our friends at ACE Marine Images and has been outsourced to volunteers in order to encourage more local videographers and photographers to submit their images. They are also working in conjunction with Ecocean amongst others so all your images will also end up in global databases credited to you! Better get snapping
Wednesday 15th July 2009-
Apologies for the lack of entries over the last few days, all work and no play whilst Jim’s been away! Or is that all play and no work…?!
Whale shark at South West this morning! I know we go on about them, but they’re so endangered (who’d have thought it with all the sightings we’ve been having!) and it’s a guaranteed natural high for all the divers lucky enough to see the big fish! Shame that all the DMTs were diving at Chumpon instead, should’ve been on the other boat!
A little re-arrangement of the afternoon boats and we’re heading out to South West again this afternoon for all the fundivers and Rick’s advanced course to see if Mr Whale Shark shows up again.
Saturday saw a very successful bowling evening take place with all the Big Blue crew, the teams were a mishmash of instructors, DMs and DMTs with a variety of differing skill levels from totally useless to just about average! Barry put us all to shame with a score of 211, then showed us all up just as much the night after accompanying the live music acts at Choppers playing the spoons! He’s multi-talented is our Barry!
The weather was a bit ferocious at the beginning of the week, the winds picked up, so Chumpon was a no-go for a few days, but never fear, we’re still diving! In fact, it’s been the ideal opportunity for us all to explore the East coast sites, the winds are from the West so the other side of the island has been lovely and calm, and the dive sites beautiful, shoaling Weavers butterfly fish and unicorn fish at Laem Thien, and a massive school of fusiliers at Mango Bay.
Our resident Welshie’s coming home! Deano will be arriving on the afternoon Lomprayah, and we’ve got a huge welcoming committee heading down to the pier to meet him. Well, kind of. We’re sending P’Tea down with the taxi, and we’ll have a beer waiting for him when he arrives back at the resort!
Also very welcome back to Big Blue are Panos and Kayleigh! They’ve been jetsetting round Europe and the Maldives for the past 14 months, but those magnets that we stick to people when they leave the Rock have pulled them back again! Koh Tao’s addictive!! Panos will be instructing, and Kayleigh’s going to be the new mini-Jim around the resort – good to have you back guys!
G’s holding a DMT day tomorrow - who’s up for a full day trip on Big Blue to Japanese Gardens! Breakfast and lunch not included, plus you’ve got to prep your own boat! G will be putting all the DMTs through their paces with swim tests, skills circuits and rescue assessments – wish them luck!
Apparently amphibians synchronise their mating activity to full moons – a recent study by biologists at Cardiff University suggests that frogs use the lunar activity to coordinate their encounters, helps them to maximise their spawning success! Sounds vaguely similar to the hordes of people heading to Koh Phangan during full moon…
Thursday July 9th 2009-
Lucky old Lara! Today Lara will be taking Bernard Curry from the hit Australian Soap Opera, Home & Away, & Sofia his missus, for a refresher dive! I haven't seen Lara this excited since she had her last beer! She's got her waterproof make up on, she's washed her hair, shined her flip flops, & has her sexy seethrough rashie at the ready, & just in case has her overnight bag packed too! Its only an afternoon Scuba Refresher Lara! Its not like your spending the weekend at Bernies! Have fun guys!
Fish that are supposed to clear people's skin by eating off the dead layers bit a man's private parts after he stepped in the water naked at a hot spring club in China. The man, who had visited the spa for a "special water treatment", sat in the water for half an hour without realizing the special fish were nibbling on his special parts instead of the dead skin. The manager of the club saw the man bleeding as he stepped out of the water and rushed him to a nearby hospital. The manager however refused to compensate the man, saying it was mandatory to keep pants on during treatments in the club. Spoilsport!
Right we are now completely totally & utterly ready for high season! we have 3 new members of staff which means the rest of us can all go off on a holiday! First off lets welcome Christos, Canada's new technical diving assistant. Christos is a Marine Biologist, a tech diver, & an underwater videographer! Not a bad catch for us even if he is Greek! Then we have Koen from Belgium who's joining our Instructor team & bringing with him a total of 435 extra languages! And finally Duncan. Big Blue's longest serving customer! He's been diving with us since 2000 every year & this year he's taken some time off work to become a Divemaster & now he has achieved that status he's got himself a job within our DM team! Good work chaps! Now get on the floor & give me 20! What did you think this was- summer camp?
Wednesday July 8th 2009-
Before we had Brett from Neighbours & but now we have Bernie from Home & Away! Bernie is famous for baring his bum on the telly! Both Bernie & Brett are here to see Barry from Big Blue! Don't quite know how Big Blue Barry became a buddy with the boys but the boys have come to see Big Blue Barry at the beach. Brilliant! Soap stars seeing Sea stars at the seashore!
Corey is off tomorrow for a trip to India with his Dad. & don't believe he'll be coming back here after as he's heading to the bright lights & big titties of LA to become a star! (That stint as Sandy at Bazza's Grease rendition has obviously gone straight to his head!) Canada is in tears! And Sonia is off as well but she will be coming back! She better be! Jim needs his crumpet & chocolate angel delight fix!
In other news... Lara has finished our brand new board signs on our brand new dive board! It looks very big & yellow & seems to be the talk of the resort. Everyone's commenting on Lara's big new shiney signs! & how quick she was getting it finished compared to how long it took her to make the other big new shiney sign at the entrance. I wonder if that had anything to do with DM Paul not being here this week!
Tuesday, July 7th 2009-
Whaleshark at White Rock! We’re sending a boat again this afternoon to swim with the biggest fish in the ocean. Seems like they’re being spotted every day again, maybe preparing for high season after the Full Moon Party. Just a few warm up dives before entertaining a larger crowd. In fact, we are all getting ready. Lara is making new shiny signs for the resort, Emily’s covering her black eye with makeup, Canada’s working on the compressors, Alain is studying various languages to enhance his social skills and Rick is polishing his hammock, the ultimate Koh Tao accommodation!
Dan came back from a visa run this morning after a relaxing night in Chumphon and brought a souvenir. The Chumphon tourist board publishes a free map that is handed out to all visitors and you can grab in most guest houses or cafes. It contains a lot useful pieces of information such as the highlights of the town, of which “Snorkeling or Scuba Diving at Ko Ngam Noi and Ko Ngam Yai, visitors can touch whales sharks and coral reefs”. For those of you who were looking for the only place in the world where you touch any of these, guess you’ve found it. As for the others, thanks for caring about the underwater environment. Seriously!
We had another fantastic Full Day Trip to Sail Rock yesterday with 30 metre visibility, fish everywhere and of course, the world famous massaman curry. Diving conditions are brilliant right now, the seas are flat, the sun is shining and the batfish are back at Chumphon Pinnacle. So what are you waiting for? Come down and sign up for your dives today!
Sunday 5th July 2009-
Long live the practical joke! Poor Lara. Not sure what it is that makes people change the spelling on her signs, or draw on her back or tease her so but putting her brand new bicycle up the tree & leaving it hanging there with a No Parking sign was a very immature & silly thing to do! But it was also an awful lot of fun & caused much mirth & merriment for those of us hanging around with nothing better to do with their time, eh Spaz! Tune in next week to see where Lara's bike will be parked tomorrow! Jim wants to put it on the top rock at Nang Yuan Island. Spaz reckons we should hide it in the fridge at the 7/11! & Paul wants to put it as a figurehead on the bow of Banzai! Till we think of somewhere better to hide it, let's leave the bike in the cave at Red Rock!
The last few days on Koh Tao has seen an awfull lot of people arriving! In fact right now we are almost full! Its the lead up to the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan which is on this Thursday 9th July and it seems everyone in Thailand is on their way there,via here, right now! Then we'll have a 2 day lull & then this island will explode with the amount of holidaymakers here! So people please make sure you book a room before you get here or you might find yourselves sleeping in the Big Blue Bar or one of our classrooms!
Now what has Emily been doing to earn herself a black eye? Was it the temporary breast implants she had before her morning run? Was it the awesome girl on girl on girl fighting she had with Angelina Jolie & Baby Spice? or was it the stupid American with the misdirected firework? My money is on the stupid American... but my mind is on Baby Spice & Angelina!
Saturday 4th July 2009-
What a week its been for America! First Michael Jackson, & now the aliens have blown up the White House! Meanwhile Corey parades around the Resort with his Stars & Stripes Bandana & neck tie on, the rest of us are left wondering, if the Aliens really did blow up the White House on Independence Day, then where the heck is Obama gonna live! Poor chap. The black guy who got the worst job in the world & then his house got blown up by extraterrestrials! Happy Independance Day Rick. Corey. Kelli. Barrack. Alf!
Whaleshark at Chumphon Pinnacle! About time too! Haven't had one for almost a week now! & whoever's decision it was to schedule an afternoon with 2 dives at Chumphon is a genius! & amazing how quickly the news of the whaleshark doubled the number of divers going out on this afternoons trip. Generating a revenue of about 1000 bucks! & thats just us! So multiply that by at least 25 dive shops would make 25000 bucks to see a fish! today. & then tomorrow! the day after & so on & so on. AS long as the Whaleshark stays alive! As soon as it dies its value is only about 300USD. Hmmm. Dive don't fish! You'll be richer for it!
Thanks to Sara & Eddy who have written Simon a little poem in appreciation for his patience & expertise as an Instructor when he taught them their Open Water & Advanced Open Water Courses. If it wasn't so embarrassingly flattering I might even have written it here but phrases like 'we studied hard you taught us well' & 'we had so much fun we thought you were great!' & ' A huge thank you. You are the best Divemaster we could ever have got!' would be enough to make you hurl! & as a matter of interest... every single one of Simon's Open Water students last month did their Advanced Course with him as well! But interestingly only 2 wrote an Ode to Simon! See mate. There's always room for improvement!
Friday 3rd July 2009-
The full day trip was full of surprises, not only did our Khao Lak Manager Rick find a baby lionfish but less than a meter away Sonia also found the only false clownfish to be seen around Koh Tao. Asuka confirmed that she has never seen one before, and if the Japanese staff get all excited about a Nemo you know its got to be good! Either that or its Sushi time!
Another dive master challenge too, congratulations to Sara and Karen. Whenever we have a costume based challenge the instructors always put in so much effort. The time they spend working out what clothes to wear is amazing! Rick was awesome dressed as a cross between Jamiroquai and Willy Wonka, Simon came dressed as Jodie (looking very comfortable in the tight little red dress) & G put on his sports bra! You'd have thought the girls would have worn something more than just their bikinis but hey! Who am I to complain! Good effort everyone.
Our favourite Germinator has returned from a month back at home eating german sausages, wearing dirndls, drinking beer steins, shouting at people and slapping her knees. Canada her loving fiance has missed her that much he left for a 4 day liveaboard the day after she got back!!! Welcome home Yvonne!
