Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Latest News December 2010

Sunday 20th December 2010-

Last night was another legendary night at the Big Blue Bar to celebrate the graduation of 3 more of our DMT's making it to the upper echelons of PADI Divemaster or in some cases SSI Dive Con. And although their sexy Santa costumes went down a treat with the crowds it was Instructors Dan & Greek who stole the show at Koh Tao's 1 & only Flying Trapeze School! They put on their Tutu's & swung from swing to swing in a demonstration the Flying Burrito Brothers would have been proud of! Very cool boys. Merry Christmas you two-two.

While Canada, the boss at Big Blue Tech, is away on holiday with his boss, Yvonne, poor old Ash is slaving away on our new boat trying to get everything ready in time for the 12 days of Christmas rush. He has to switch a couple of compressors around, install the electrics, gut Navakid Boat of its tank racks & air banks, install onto Big Blanc boat the tank racks & air banks, measure & cut the steel pipe, afix the whips, check everything works, finish off Manuela's tech course, orientate the 3 new tech diving interns, answer the Emails, print the bookings, furnish the new Tech classroom, dress up as Secret Santa & service the Missus all by Christmas o'clock! I think I can hear Canada plucking the strings of the small violin from here!

Don't fret! There's nothing to worry about. Just because all our advertised rooms are now booked up over Christmas I'm got an Ace up my sleeve in the form of the lovely Jess who for the next few days sole responsibility will be to go out & find, book & buy rooms every morning just so we can still offer you - our most valued customers somewhere to rest your weary head while you learn how to dive with us. The only catch is there are no guarantees I have rooms & I have no idea what priced rooms I can get for you but trust me. We'll have somewhere for you to stay even if we have to stick a Thai cushion in the broom cupboard! Jump in our Free Taxi when you arrive at the pier & we'll take care of you from there! Aren't we full of the festive cheer! ; )

Thursday 16th December 2010-

Its like Christmas has come early & has given us the best prezzie anyone can ask for! A brand new shiney spanky boat big enough to swing half a dozen sharks & a small cat! Everyone I'd like to introduce you to Big Blue's brand new swanky Dive Boat MV Big Blanc! She's French, she's big & she's white, actually I lied about the french bit, but we felt Big Blanc was better sounding than Big Cow which is the Thai word! Today & tomorrow we'll be fitting on the compressors & the air bank & then this baby is good to go! Last one on is a ponce!

Just got an email this morning from PADI - " Dear Jim, The demand for PADI Divemasters – already among the most sought after dive professionals around the globe – is about to increase with the recent introduction of the new PADI Divemaster course. Completely revised with expanded inwater training and updated dive theory requirements, the course now better prepares divemasters for their real-world duties following certification. To better prepare divemaster candidates for the real life scenarios they will encounter after completing training, practical application has been increased by 50 percent." Thats got to be a good thing! More water work & less classroom! I think thats going to make some of our Instructors very happy! Not to mention our Trainees!

A Big Blue round of applause for our latest graduates of the Conservation Specialist course! Ruth and James from Nottingham, UK, are now Shark Diving, Perfectly Buoyant, Underwater Naturalist Extraordinaries! They managed to see a turtle, dive in the presence of Bull Sharks, and face plant a few times in the buoyancy obstacle course. Also, they collected drupella snails that are damaging reefs around Koh Tao. Fantastic course guys, well done!

Tuesday 14th December 2010-

Aren't we just proud as punch to have one of our very own Instructors who has written her own course outline for diving with twin sets which has now been officially recognised by Scuba Schools International, more commonly known by you & I as SSI! Congratulations Helen! What that means is that if you choose to become a certified diver on twin tanks, the first step to tech diving I guess, then the course you have to pass will be the course that Our Helen wrote!That's so cool! Ab fab! Very fonzie! You are going to be a celebrity within the Dive Community. The Sharon Stone of Scuba Schools! the Pamela Anderson of Twin tanks! The Brigitte Bardot of Big Blue! Congratulations Hells Bells! We are all really proud of you! Now go out there & get your twins out!

"Hi Guys, My partner and I want to say thanks for the rad time we had learning to diving with you guys. We enjoyed it so much we stayed and did our advanced course. A big thanks to Nick who was our instructor for both courses ( You made the experience awesome dude and your teaching skills made us feel very comfortable in the water!!), also Thanks to Floor?? Not sure how you spell it (sorry) for her assistance on the advance course. Koh Tao will always be a special place to us as we got engage under the water while diving with you guys. Yiiieeeeeeew!!!!!!Big thanks again,Adam & Sonia"

Bull Sh.... arks! Everyone on this mornings trip to Chumphon Pinnacle survived their encounter with Bull Sharks today which just goes to show that divers in Koh Tao are much cooler, harder & braver than divers in Sharm El Sheikh who are a bunch of Shark Jessies! No one got eaten, chewed or bitten. In fact no one even did a number two's in their wetsuits either. Which just goes to show... the beers in Thailand are obviously much stronger than they are in Egypt!

Wednesday 8th December 2010-

As you read this, there is a whaling fleet steaming towards the Southern Ocean to begin their annual whale slaughter. Their planned death "quota" this season: nearly 1,000 minke whales, 50 humpback whales, and 50 endangered fin whales. We must stop this massacre now. During the 2008 campaign, then-Senator Obama said, "As president, I will ensure that the U.S. provides leadership in enforcing international wildlife protection agreements, including the international moratorium on commercial whaling." Three more whaling seasons have come and gone since Obama spoke those words, and no change has been made. Please rush your most generous contribution as we put pressure on President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise! "Allowing Japan to continue commercial whaling is unacceptable," as President Obama himself has stated, and Greenpeace is rallying support to put a stop to the slaughter, once and for all. Commercial whaling is not only unacceptable—it's a violation of international law.

Picture a Japanese harpoon ship speeding through the Southern Ocean. Suddenly, the harpooner spots a mother whale and her calf. The sounds of the ocean are drowned out by the blasts of exploding-tip harpoons being fired at the whales. The pair struggles to free themselves from the harpoon lines for nearly an hour, desperately thrashing their tails in the water, before a gunman finally steps onto the deck and shoots them dead. The mother whale and her baby are dragged up the ship’s slipway, leaving a long trail of blood behind them.

Much to our frustration, in a few days time this tragic scene will play out in the Southern Ocean over and over again. Greenpeace needs your help, and the help of President Obama, to put an end to the slaughter of our oceans’ most unique, intelligent, and emotional creatures. Please help us stop this terrible massacre and save the lives of these whales with your most generous donation NOW. Together, we can let Japan know that commercial whaling has no place in the 21st Century.

Thursday 3rd December 2010-

Better hurry up the closer we get to Christmas the busier the trips are getting & I do believe I am the only one left with Liveaboard availability in the Similans with 2 spaces left over Christmas & 5 spaces still available over New Year! The Christmas trip is 5 days & nights departing on the 23rd December for the Similans & Surin Islands & the New Year Trip departs for another 5 days & nights from the 29th & returning on the 3rd Jan. Roll up roll up! Prices start from under 30000 Bt per person including equipment & Marine Park Fee. First come first served!

Christmas came early for a lot of our divers completing their first 2 dives in the open water yesterday while diving at White Rock when they quite literally bumped into a Whaleshark! Jacques Cousteau dived for 20 years before he saw his first Whaleshark. Students diving with Instructors Dan, Becca, Ian & Charles had only been diving 20 minutes! How's that for a nice Christmas present from your Instructor!

And as if one shark wasn't enough this morning while diving at Chumpon Pinnacle we saw our first Bull Shark of the season! Don't worry. Despite the rumours Bull Sharks here in Koh Tao are actually very friendly & not aggressive at all. Apparently its to do with the water temperature. Bull sharks in warm water are docile & friendly. Bull sharks in cold water are angry & aggressive. Bit like the Russians!

Wednesday 1st December 2010-

In the infamous words of the great Steve Irwin... "Crikey!" 1st of December & we are practically fully booked for the whole of the 12 days of Christmas & some! I've just had to update our accommodation page on our website with the rooms we still have available & I was shocked to see how little we have left! Well it won't take too long to sell all them! So then I thought I'd send our disappointed customers who can't get rooms in Koh Tao to our other Dive center in Khao Lak but they are full too! Even the Liveaboard is choc a block! Better start getting the tents & hammocks out! Tis going to be a very busy end to 2010!

Congratulations & welcome to the Big Blue Crew Mr.Ant Silwood, the successful applicant for the Divemaster job we advertised last week. Ant has a background in sales & IT & has for the last 3 months proved hiself a worthy candidate for the DM job during his Divemaster Training that he undertook with us. Ant joins Geordie Steven, Souf Afrikaan Greg, & Posh Jade in our DM pool. What a team! Bit like the Untouchables, only without Kevin Costner, Sean Connery & Andy Garcia! Congratulations again Ant & welcome to the party!

Big Blue Conservation is now and official member of the Shark Alliance! As a result of the fantastic work Koh Tao did to raise money and awareness through the Swim for Sharks 2010 event, the Shark Alliance has awarded us with member status. The Shark Alliance is a global, not-for-profit coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations by improving shark conservation policies. We, as members, are now part of a high caliber group of NGOs, professionals and volunteers who are working together to achieve a common objective. We have access to specialists of a number of functions (science, policy, communications, public relations, campaign strategy and coordination) dedicated to shark conservation and management, and access to additional capacity to strengthen our own organisation’s profile and influence. Go team Eco!!!

Friday, November 05, 2010

Latest News November 2010

Saturday 28th November 2010-

Word is out that its nigh on impossible at the moment to go diving in the Similans right now without seeing a Manta Ray! Apparently every Liveaboard trip & every speedboat and at every divesite there are Mantas to be seen! Its a Manta Ray frenzy! Thats awesome news & you have the opportunity right now to go diving with these guys too! Next trip to the Similans on board our very own luxury cruiser the MV Pawara is off on Monday night the 29th November for 4 days & 4 nights of Manta action. & we're practically giving cabins away. 10% discount if you go alone! 20% discount if you are 2 or more people! & FREE equipment rental! Sign up! Sign up! Not too many spaces still available!

In the past few decades alone, 20% of the oceans' coral reefs have been destroyed, with a further 20% badly degraded or under serious threat of collapse, while tropical forests equivalent in size to the UK are cut down every two years. These statistics, and the many more just like them, impact on everyone, for the very simple reason that we will all end up footing the bill. Just ask a Chinese fruit farmer who now has to pay people to pollinate apple trees because there are no longer enough bees to do the job for free. What has the world come to. Doesn't it make you fear for your childrens future.

So as the weather in Europe sinks into a cold depression the Gap Year students come hiking over to Asia to get themselves a qualification that will enable them to gain employment & life experience over their contemporary's upon their return. & what a bloody good idea too! Wouldn't you like to gain a qualification that enables you to get employment while travelling the world. Here at Big Blue we are offerring the whole Open Water to Divemaster package including Underwater videography training & Marine & coastal Resources management recognised by Universities in the UK as the first rung in the ladder on your Marine Biology degree. How's that for kick starting the rest of your life! Beats the heck out of protesting on the streets of London wouldn't you say!

Tuesday 23rd November 2010-

Running out of Christmas present ideas for your better half? This year there are heaps of innovative though rather useless scuba toys out there. The pick of the bunch being this all in one high heel stiletto fin! Never in my entire life have I seen anything quite so pointless! Available at all good Scuba retail fashion dealers! At least you know what to buy your Missus for Christmas now eh boys!

So Manta Ray season has kicked off early this year over on the West Coast with everyone on recent Liveaboard trips having spent at least one of their 14 dives over their 4 day 4 night stint with these underwater gliders! A dream come true for any diver & an experience very few people can ever say they've had. Memories to last a lifetime & all for the very special price of just over 20000 Bt! Have you Manta Rayed?

Need to get fit? Just think of the amount of calories you lose while scuba diving. Swimming with fins is like water-based weight-training – firming the front of the thighs as you kick down and the back of the thighs as you kick up. Surprisingly good for burning energy. Someone weighing approximately 70kg (11st) burns 13 calories a minute while scuba diving, so a 45-minute dive would use 585 calories. What about your cardiorespiratory fitness: According to the British Thoracic Society, scuba divers tend to have larger-than-average lungs and an increased vital capacity (the maximum volume of air exhaled after inhalation). How's your upper-body strength: The back, shoulders and arms all get a certain amount of work lugging around equipment, and clambering in & out of boats. Want to look sexy? Go diving!

Monday 22nd November 2010-

Very dismayed to hear from our friends on the West coast of Thailand servicing the Liveaboard & daytrip market to the Similans & Surin Islands that having returned from their 4 day trip in search of Mantas & sharks returned to the main pier only to find a fishing boat offloading their boat consisting of 2 Guitar sharks, 3 Leopard sharks a Manta ray and a beautiful Eagle ray. How unbelievably sad that is. But as another colleague pointed out there isn't much point in dwelling on it if you are only going to go out & eat a seafood dinner. The rays and sharks are by -catch from more expensive better eating spieces. That's it from me. No more meat & no more Fish! From here on in I'm going to be a Vaginatarian!

Situation vacant! Now that low season is over, now that the rains have stopped the winds have died the viz has cleared & the customers are coming back its high time we brought our 4 person Divemaster team back to 4 persons! Since Tom Foxy left us at the beginning of the month we've been operating our not very busy Dive center with just Steven, Jade & Greg and now its time to put the feelers out & employ Number 4! Think you've got what it takes? Fancy living in Paradise & getting paid for it? Like hanging out all day with scantily clad bikini babes or muscle toned boardie boys, (whatever grabs your fancy)? Then send us your CV's. No jokers please! We got heaps of them already!

Congratulations Becca who has just passed her PADI Instructor Development Course with Course Directors G, & Tim the PADI Man. By all acoounts Becca went through with flying colours & breezed every part of the training programme & the 3 day exam at the end of it. Of course she should have done too having done her Divemaster Course with us here at Big Blue. & this week Becca will be signing on with our very own SSI Instructor Trainer Simon to do her SSI Crossover course so she'll then be a very qualified, highly employable dual certifying Instructor who speaks fluent German! Sounds like a bit of a catch! I think we could do with one of them around here this season! Fingers crossed Becca!

Sunday 21st November 2010-

Good old Eco Green Queen Jenny is hard at it again organising yet another beach clean up today. & she is also organising a Reef assessment dive in a few days time to check out the state of our house reef here at Sairee Beach after all the fishing boats came in to shelter from all the crap weather we had a few weeks ago. Unfortunately 70% of the fishing boats docked in Sairee Bay didn't use a mooring line so just flung their anchors overboard & drifted till they hit something solid & tied on. Very disappointing practise but its ok cos Jenny is coming with her plasters & band aids & is going to make the whole place better again! Nothing a bit of savlon & a bit of tlc can't fix eh Jenny!

Its that time of the year again when our Mother ship takes her leave for her yearly physical & hops it off to the mainland to be given a good once over! Banzai shouldn't be away more than 3 weeks as she really only needs a short back & sides, a little off the top & a colour rinse & she'll be looking as right as rain in no time. Well 3 weeks to be exact! Meanwhile, Navakid & Big Blue will be working their wellies off to cope with the crowds from this weekends Full Moon Party. Then it won't be too long & we'll have ourselves another boat to go with our existing fleet since we've donated Big Blue to Canada & his posse of Mary men who've renamed it Big Black! So it'll be Banzai, Navakid, Big Blue & ... well I've always wanted to call my boat Steve! Scuba Steve!

Getting a serious amount of bookings coming in already over the Christmas & New Year period. We've filled up our luxury private villas. We got no more beachside bungalows left. All our 200 Bt & 400 Bt rooms are gone as are our 800 Bt & 1200 Bt rooms. Its getting harder to book bungalows at other resorts as well as it seems everyone is getting bookings. Its going to be a very busy Chrimbo! Have you booked your Diving & Accommodation package yet?

Friday 19th November 2010-

Fishermen in the southern province of Kien Giang, Vietnam, on November 12 caught a big fish in a net. As the fish was much bigger than usual, fishermen were very confused. They pulled it to a wharf in Ha Tien town. The case was reported to relevant agencies. Experts examined the fish and confirmed that it was a whale shark, which is 4.7m long, 2m belly diameter and nearly two tons in weight. The fish died before it was brought to the shore. Kien Giang’s fishermen caught a whale shark in 2006 but it was only a ton in weight. Kien Giang authorities met to seek solutions to deal with the fish in the way that doesn’t harm the environment. In August 2010, a fishing boat in the central province of Binh Dinh caught a whale shark weighing over a ton. In September 2010, a fishing boat in Bac Lieu province caught a 4-ton whale shark in a net. The whale shark is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species. The Vietnamese Fishermen are a bunch of morons!

Answering to the call of the man who pays their salaries its nice to see the eventual return from the Similans of the majority of our Big Blue Instructors. Erik, Beccy, Simon, Jody & Jenny & about half a dozen of our Divemasters in Training have all returned just in time for the onslaught of our festive high season! Its the Full Moon Party next week in Koh Phangan this weekend & its going to be a big one so its good to get all our staff back just in time from their strenuous diving holiday to do some serious scuba teaching.

Big Blue Conservation is now and official member of the Shark Alliance! As a result of the fantastic work Big Blue did to raise money and awareness through the Swim for Sharks 2010 event, the Shark Alliance has awarded us with member status. The Shark Alliance is a global, not-for-profit coalition of non-governmental organizations dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations by improving shark conservation policies. We, as members, are now part of a high caliber group of NGOs, professionals and volunteers who are working together to achieve a common objective. We have access to specialists of a number of functions (science, policy, communications, public relations, campaign strategy and coordination) dedicated to shark conservation and management, and access to additional capacity to strengthen our own organisation’s profile and influence. Go the BBC at www.bigblueconservation.com

Thursday 18th November 2010-

The Shark Fin Crisis. Sharks kill fewer than 5 humans on average each year while humans kill 100 million sharks annually. You are more likely to be killed by a lightening strike, Bee sting or falling coconut. Over 100 Million sharks will be killed primarily for Shark Fin soup. That's over 11400 an hour. Shark finning is the practice of catching a shark, slicing off its fins & dumping the still living shark back into the ocean. Shark Fins are tasteless & contain high levels of toxic Methyl-Mercury. The Oceans are the most important eco system on the planet containing life that absorbs most of the carbon dioxide converting it to 70% of the oxygen we breathe. Destroying shark populations is destroying our oceans & our life support system. So make your decision. Save our sharks!

We're just getting news in from our Dive center over in the Similans that they've just spotted their first Manta Ray of the season! French SSI & PADI Dive Instructor Pierre Peepee formerly an Instructor from Big Blue Diving Koh Tao & Dobby from the Harry Potter movies, Pierre has been able to relay the message live from North Point dive site that he was able to spend at least 5 minutes at the end of his dive on the safety stop diving with this 3 meter long angel of the oceans. Nice! Christmas has come early for you Pierre, n'est pas?

Still getting lots of concerned punters ringing, writing & texting to check the weather here after all the crap we had last week. Well folks I can assure you that the weather right now rocks Big Time! Sunny, windless, flat seas & no rain! Not even a cloud in the sky. Absolutely perfect. So nice in fact we even made it out to Koh Tao's number 1 divesite this morning at Chumphon Pinnacle. Didn't see an awful lot but we made it, & there wasn't even a drop of rain. Not even a speckle!

Tuesday 16th November 2010-

Whatever you hear don't believe what you are being told by the booking agents in Bangkok! Don't believe them if they tell you there are no more boats to Koh Tao. Don't believe them if they tell you the weather is awful & the waves are too big that boats aren't crossing from the mainland to Koh Tao. & most of all don't believe them when they tell you that Koh Tao is closed for monsoon! Its absolute balderdash! We are very much open, enjoying fabulous sunshine flat seas clearing visibility! Book your bus & boat with Lomprayah www.lomprayah.com . And Bangkok, stop spreading your bollocks about!

Meanwhile it seems at least half the staff are still on their Monsoon holidays over in Khao Lak cruising the 9 Similan Islands & the Top 3 dive sites in Thailand over at the Surin Islands. They are Richelieu Rock, for the Whalesharks & Guitar Sharks, Koh Tachai for the Leopard Sharks & Koh Bon for the Manta Rays. 4 days, 4 nights, 4 daily meals, & 4 dives a day. With prices atarting at less than 20000 Bt per person that aint a bad deal, even on a Dive Instructor's salary. No wonder I've got no bloody staff left!

Canada practically wet his pants yesterday at the sight of Big Black Boat , formally known as Big Blue Boat, returning to Koh Tao having just had its new overhaul for Canada & his team at Big Blue Tech. With the overwhelming success of the Tech Diving Industry here at Big Blue we have decided to give the boys their own boat so they can go out & do their Advanced Tech Diving expeditions with a lot more freedom now. Her ongoing mission: To go out & explore new wrecks. to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before! Altogether now... da da dana-na-na na...

Sunday 14th November 2010-

The Grounds team here at Big Blue have been busy over the last couple of days repairing all the water damage we incurred throughout the Resort. All the rain pouring down in the hills through the Poonama Canal, sorry, Big Blue Wetlands quickly became a raging River & consequently over flowing into the carpark up the entrance of our Resort upto the top of the path flowing over & down through the path towards the dive shop & eventually out to sea. The end result are these unsightly gulley's revealing all the buried electrictiy cables & water pipes all the way through the resort. Looks like a bombs gone off here! So the boys are filling the World War 1 trenches with sand today, just in case you were wondering what the hell happened here!

Big Blue Tech celebrates the successful graduation of Ash Dunn from his PADI "I got stabbed by my instructor" specialty conducted by instructor James Thornton-Allan on Koh Tao Island off the coast of Thailand. Ash excelled at this course by completing with 12 stitches which is 11 more than the PADI standard. According to standards Ash ...only needs a stabbing and a stubbed toe before he can apply for his instructor Rating! Well done Ash, This course is conducted every monsoon when we're bored, to sign up for the next one get your tetanus shot and email us at info@bigbluetech.net

And its been a busy week for everyone's favourite personal fitness Trainer Kymmie. This week Kymmie opened her much talked about new business called Impact Fitness, an Air conditioned mirrored studio. 'Circuit style training' to allow chaps & "The Ladies" of different abilitites to train together. Challenge yourself & increase your fitness at a pace you are comfortable with. Circuit training is the most time effective way to improve fitness & weight loss. & Kymmie is the most effective qualified Instructor to be trained by. See you at 11.30am tomorrow Kymmie for half an hour of 'Lunchtime abs!'

Saturday 13th November 2010-

Well thank God that's over! We've just been splattered! It quite literally has not stopped raining here for the best part of the whole of last week but now its nothing but blue seas & sunny skies. Shame there isn't anyone here to witness it! After all the fuss about how much rain there's been down the southern past of Thailand the holidaymakers, backpackers & travellers have all cancelled or postponed their trip to 'The Rock", wise choice, & now we're all sitting on our hands playing 'Stranger'!

Jims come back from Samui to see he's had a bit of a staffing exodus! It seems Beccy, Eric, Tom, Lara, Jenny, Simo & Jodie are all off diving on various Liveaboards cruising the Similans & Surin Islands looking for leopard Sharks & Manta Rays. Emily is staffing a PADI IDC with the world renowned Frenchman PADI Course Director Guillaume Fargues & Sonia's hopped it to Bali for a spot of diving & yoga. Aint nothing like a busman's holiday!

Forecast for the following week. Its going to be an Asian chilly/ European sweaty week with an all time high of 29 degrees & a low of 28 degrees. There'a a mild wind reaching a max speed of 14 knots on Monday & barely a whisper throughout the rest of the week tho wave height doesn't even break a meter in height. We are expecting rain again but the good news is its only forecast for night time & its not even a quarter of what we've just had this last week reaching an all time high tomorrow night of just 8 mm of rain. But during the days its all clear for the earlier part of the week & then by Wednesday we have 50% cloud cover & it goes upto 90% but with no rain. windguru.com Awesome. Monsoons over. Lets go diving!

Sunday 7th November 2010-

Now being a Dad (still feels great to say that!), I'm used to getting up at all sorts of crazy times of the night to answer to the wailing needs of my little one, & as Manager of Big Blue Diving ( feels nice to say that too) I'm used to answering the phone at all sorts of strange hours from all the far corners of the world, so this morning at 8am when my phone rose me from my slumber I really shouldn't have been too surprised! What did surprise me however was to have the PADI Area Manager of Australia ringing me to congratulate me on the amazing job Big Blue Conservation has been doing to raise money for Charities like the Save the Shark Foundation & Project Aware, & also raising volunteers to help Save Koh Tao with the implementation of the Sairee Wetland, formerly known as the Poonama Canal. Completely stumped speechless & still wiping drool from my mouth & sleep from my eyes I thanked PADI for their recognition rolled over & went back to sleep with a big smile across my face & warm feeling in my belly! Cheers Eco Jen. You really are doing an awesome job! www.bigblueconservation.com

Its Christmas Time & there's no need to be afraid... well there might be if you haven't booked your accommodation already! I can feel it in my bones its going to be a crazy busy Christmas & as per usual there aint going to be any more rooms available on Sairee Beach. So if you plan n being here this Christmas & New Year then I highly recommend pulling your finger out & booking something real soon. Here's a nice place www.baansawainam.com

As you may have heard we've had some pretty crappy weather recently with all the wind & rain but fear not it looks like it's all turning for the better. Weather forecast is for flat seas & a dramatic drop in winds & though there is rain forecast it aint the mental movie monsoon madness we had last week. Phew! Monsoons over folks! Everyone back to work!

Saturday 6th November 2010-

Big Blue's very own Green Queen has been doing an awesome job raising money to Save the World & last year won an award from SSI for Big Blue for being the most environmentally active Dive Center in South East Asia & this week we are getting a plug with PADI on their website. " Swim and Shave for Sharks, October 2010 - Fins attached to tanks and shark swimming caps were seen around the island of Koh Tao, Thailand when Big Blue Diving hosted a shark swim to raise awareness for sharks. Staff from five dive schools swam the 3 km distance around the island. After the swim the fun and games began as divers shaved their heads into 'fins" to raise over 5000 Baht for Project AWARE. They also collected 200 more signatures for Project AWARE's Help Give Sharks A Fighting Chance Petition. Jennifer Matthews, event organiser and conservation manager at Big Blue said,”We hope that this event will encourage others to support shark campaigns and to show how big an impact a small diving community can have for worldwide conservation.” Great team effort guys and we love the hairdo's!" Nice one Jen! Cheers PADI! Save our sharks... save the world!

So while the weather here hasn't really been anything to write home about, our Big Blue Dive Center in Khao Lak is going great guns. Our 4 day 4 night Liveaboard to the Similan & Surin Islands is practically full for the next trip. Our Christmas trips have very few places left as well so if you were thinking of coming on board then book ahead as these are very busy & popular boats! Of course why wouldn't they be? It's basically a floating hotel cruising Thailands most beautiful islands. Starting from just 19300 Bt per person for all 4 nights including equipment & Marine Park fees & 14 dives this has got to be the best value for money diving holiday there is! No wonder the boats are full! Contact jim@bigbluediving.com for your holiday of a lifetime!

"Hi guys - I guess this goes to Jim? Thanks for the great time Eric Voss and I had last week with you! Please say hello to Angel, I have some photos on my site from our trip and a few good ones of Angel. I added a link to your site and high recommendations - here at : http://www.fink.jp Cheers, see you next year! Mike" Cheers Mike. Glad you had such a good time with us & look forward to your imminent return.

Friday 5th November 2010-

Its true. Whatever you heard it was absolutely true! The weather was unbelievably horrible! There was wind gusts up to 40 knots! Palm trees were blown over, coconuts were falling left right & center! More than 50 Milliliters of rain fell in less than 24 hours! The waves reached 4 meters in height! For the first time this year most shops cancelled their scheduled dive trips. The boats from the mainland didn't run for 3 days! The island started running out of supplies! Fresh greens weren't quite so fresh. Dairy products were at an all time low & heaven forbid the island almost ran out of cigarettes & alcohol. Its over now though! Everything back to normal. Sunshine, flat seas & no wind! It truely was monsoon madness though! I absolutely loved it! Closed the shop went home & snuggled with my wife & daughter while watching a Tom Cruise movie! Got to lur-ve Monsoon!

Dear Jim,
Thanks once again for the opportunity to dive with Big Blue again, it was a dream come true for me. The shop has diversified and grown a lot since I did DMT in 2008. Well done on the eco project and all the changes and improvements; Tech,SSI, BSAC etc. As always there is a genuine atmosphere and a feeling that Big Blue has a whole lot of heart... Cheers, James Brook, Sea Shepherd Conservationist aboard the Steve Irwin patrolling the Antartic.
Your welcome James, thanks for coming, for saving the whales & for giving us a very intelligent, inspirational & thought provoking lecture into the workings of Sea Shepherd. A very eye opening experience I'm sure. Come again!

I learnt something new today. Something extremely sad. It appears while the sea turtles come in their hundreds to the desolate beaches in Costa Rica to lay their eggs in the sand the local people are collecting these shells in their 1000's & taking them off to sell leaving the beaches completely devoid of any eggs for the future. & if that isn't enough every night the shrimp boats are out in their hundreds. Their nets ensnarl and drown hundreds, thousands?, of turtles every night, they wash up on the beach and in order to eliminate the smell they have people who go out on the beaches every morning and bury the dead turtles. This is the world we live in. :(

Thursday, October 14, 2010

2010 liveaboards

MV Queen Scuba

This is one of the more comfortable boats cruising the Similans. She has one master cabin with a large king-sized bed, a large well-appointed en suite bathroom with hot water, a DVD entertainment system with movies, a complimentary fruit basket, air conditioning, and panoramic ocean views. Queen Scuba also has five deluxe cabins with double-beds en suite bathroom with hot water, air conditioning, and ocean views. And there are three cabins with single bedding below; one twin, one triple and one 4 bed, perfect for friends or families, & these all feature en suite facilities with hot water and air conditioning. The huge interior saloon features a DVD entertainment system and is a great place to catch some zzzz's in between dives There is a covered deck area to the rear of the saloon where meals are served & the seating area here comprises of wooden tables and comfortable chairs where for groups of 4. Meals are served buffet style, with fresh breads, fruit, and a choice of either Thai or Western cuisine. The dive deck is spacious and well designedthe crew will handle the lifting. Put your gear together and forget about it. There are two dinghies to handle pick ups & drop offs if needed since many of the dives are drift dives, this system is pretty common practice in these waters.

Prices- To Similan, Surin Islands & Richelieu Rock
4 days / 4 nights (14 dives)
Master Cabin 44,000 Baht
VIP Cabin 37,000 Baht
Twin Bunk Cabin 32,000 Baht
Triple Cabin 30,500 Baht
Quad Cabin 29,000 Baht
Christmas/New Year Specials: 5 days / 5 nights (18 dives)
Master Cabin 60,500 Baht
VIP Cabin 50,875 Baht
Twin Bunk Cabin 44,000 Baht
Triple Cabin 41,950 Baht
Quad Cabin 39,875 Baht
Similan & Surin National park fees 400 Bt entry plus 200 Bt per day diving fee
All cabin prices are per person
NITROX SPECIAL: Book and pay 3 months in advance and receive free Nitrox!


Colona VI

She has a wooden hull & has room for 14 divers within seven cabins, which makes this is a nice smaller boat with less people on than most Similan Liveaboards. The cabins are mostly Bunk beds except for the Master Cabin which is a double. All cabins are en suite, a small fridge, a wardrobes, air conditioning & reading lights are positioned above each bed. The social area or saloon is outdoors in a covered deck area. Meals are served buffet style, and there are four separate seating areas which makes it a nice social lay out. The upper deck is a nicely designed shaded area great for reading, chatting & sleeping. The dive deck has individual tank holders for every diver, with storage below for your extra equipment.

Twin Bunk Cabin 35,200 Baht
Double Bed Cabin 37,200 Baht

Hin Daeng, Hin Muang and Phi Phi - 2 days/2 nights (7 dives)
Twin Bunk Cabin 17,600 Baht
Double Bed Cabin 18,600 Baht
Combine both trips for the 6 day Andaman Safari:

Andaman Safari - 6 days/6 nights (21 dives)
Twin Bunk Cabin 52,800 Baht
Double Bed Cabin 55,800 Baht

Similan, Surin & Richelieu Rock - 6 days/6 nights (21 dives)
Twin Bunk Cabin 52,800 Baht
Double Bed Cabin 55,800 Baht
Entry fees for Similan/Surin/Hin Daeng national parks 400 Baht + 200 Baht/day diving fee.
All cabin prices are per person

NITROX onboard : tank fills 250 Baht - course 8,000 Baht

25% discount on Nitrox if booking all Nitrox dives and paying at the time of booking.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Latest News October 2010

Thursday 14th October 2010-

Think I've found our new Eco project for next year. An underwater installation has been created in Mexico which uses real people to create 'life casts' made from materials which encourage coral to grow. It is hoped the sculptures will produce a coral reef system and attract a variety of aquatic creatures.The project is aiming to ease pressure on nearby natural reefs which are struggling to deal with the half a million water-going tourists who flock to the area every year. The original plan was to use 200 statues but later it was decided to install a total of 400 on the seabed, of which 350 have so far been anchored. The statues are meant to represent a 'cross-section of society' with the casts made from local Mexican people. The sculptures have been made from a special type of cement which is 10 times harder than the normal kind and has a neutral PH, which is favourable to corals. The statues are reinforced by rigid fibreglass with similar properties to rock so they remain in place. Anchored to the rocky sea bed 10 metres below the surface using a special drill, fused together and weighing over 120 tons in total, it is hoped the new reef can even weather out hurricanes and storms that regularly hit the area. "Eco Jen! Where are you? I've got a job for you!"

Hats off to ex DMT James who stood up in front of a gathering of hundreds at Choppers last night to give a presentation on his time spent working as an Eco warrior onboard the Sea Shephard last season on their trip to Antarctica to stop the Japanese harpooning the worlds beautiful Whales! A fascinating lecture & some really good accompanying photos of his time spent there at the South Pole. Seems like its been another good year for the Whales thanks to James & his flock of Sea Shepherds & another crap year for the Whale butchers!

Monday 11th October 2010-

Just in case you hadn't heard... Koh Tao now has a brand new ship wreck to dive off! The legendary MV Trident started her career as a Liveaboard on the West coast with 4 night excursions to the Similan & Surin Islands before being promoted to Koh Tao as a Liveaboard Technical diving boat & venturing out all around Thailand in search of wrecks & where among many other wrecks it discovered also located the US Lagarto Submarine which was one of the last boats sunk during the Second World War with all the crew still onboard. So having been stripped cleaned & sunk & now lying at a depth between 26 & 34 meters just south of Shark Island the MV Trident is now set to start her new career as Koh Tao's newest most exciting dive site.

Must be coming up for that time of year when you should be considering your next dive holiday & what better vacation can be had than swooning around the Similans or Surin Islands off Thailands West coast for 4 days & nights of nothing but sunshine, underwater discoveries, well earned sleep & quality cuisine! This year Big Blue Diving is offerring a plethora of Liveaboard boats to choose from & at the top of our list is the very sexy MV Pawara. 24 meters of shiney surfaces, luxury interiors, & quality ambience. Don't delay. Book now for your sexy time!

Its all about boats today! Christmas has come early this year for Mr. Canada. Upon meeting with Big Blue's Grande Fromage Michael & Jim have decided that next year we will be upgrading Navakid to a bigger & better size to rival the biggest & bestest boats Koh Tao has to offer & will be sacrificing our little Baby Big Blue boat to Canada & his team at Big Blue Tech to do with as they must! RIP Big Blue boat. Long Live Big Black boat!

Saturday 9th October 2010-

While the majority of sensible people around the world wait till Monday to go back to work, Jim has decided to come back on a Saturday! After nearly 6 weeks living it up with wife & new born child in the bright lights & lactating titties of Bangkok its time to stick on the Big Blue uniform again comprising of T-shirt, Boardies & Jandals & do that dive thang! Thank you Dan, Sonia & Ros for holding the fort, thank you Instructors for your continued excellence in diver education. Thank you Divemasters for organising all the fun & adventures. Thank you everyone for all your well wishes & presents. But most of all thanks to my very beautiful wife for delivering my little bundle of joy, my little baby girl! Everyone say 'Hi' to Lulu Belle Donaldson our new addition to the Big Blue family. Lulu say 'Ga Ga goo goo everyone!'

So what's been cooking in the last month or so. What's the diving like? How's the viz? Have the sharks & whalesharks been back? Who's still here? Who's left? Who's back? Who's injured?Who's off to work in the Similans next season? Who's doing what? Who's doing what with who? And most importantly who's doing who? In a nutshell it seems that the diving is great. There's not been any whale sharks or sharks but there have been Marlin's & Orca's. Most of us are still here but some of us have gone! Some of us haven't done anything with anyone for ages. Some of us can't stop doing it. & some can't wait to start doing it... to anyone. So pretty much the same old story, just a different time of year!

The weather at the moment despite the rumours is that its absolutely divine! Bright sunshine, cloudless skies, & just a delicate sea breeze. I had heard that it has been terrible here with endless amount of rain, but I'm happy to report that that's just nonsense. Blue skies & suntanned bodies. Sounds like just the sort of place you'd wantto come on a holiday doesn't it? I mean Doesn't it...

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tuesday 28th September 2010-

Big Blue Tech celebrates the successful graduation of Ash Dunn, James Thornton-Allan, Nick Amidy, Tony Alba and Thomas Hallstrom from their TDI Mod 1 CCR course conducted over 5 days on Koh Tao Island in the Gulf of Thailand. This course was also attended by Ben Reymenants, Simone Reymentants and Kris Harrison.

The CCR Mod 1 course is the first certification level for divers wishing to learn the safe assembly, use and diving of a closed circuit rebreather issued through technical diving certification agency TDI (technical diving international). Nice one guys, you have new dive porn to look at!

Military, photographic, and recreational divers use a CCR (closed circuit rebreather) because they allow long dives and produce no bubbles. Closed circuit rebreathers generally supply two breathing gases to the loop: one is pure oxygen and the other is a diluent or diluting gas such as air or trimix.

WHALESHARK!! the lucky divers on the full day trip to Sail Rock yesterday were joined by a 4metre long whaleshark. The toothless filter feeder hung around for them all to see. Lets see if she hangs around for a few days more.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Saturday 18th September 2010-

It’s not every day we are reminded just why we do this for a living. But when Big Blue Tech organized a professional’s only Wreck Exploration trip, it all came back to us. Relaxing on a boat gently swaying in the middle of the gulf of Thailand with mates, playing DJ with a selection of ipod’s and tiny speakers trying to outdo each other’s cheesiest tunes, girls talk and man talk, and then doing 2 dives on a piece of history that only a hand full of people will ever get the chance to see with their own eyes.

Divers, never forget just how lucky we are to do and see what we do.

Our Big Blue Conservation Queen is at it again. After a night in the bar thinking what could we do to raise the awareness to the ever falling number of sharks in the world Dan and Lala came up with the idea that we could ‘Swim for Sharks’. Sharks are approximately 500 million years old. They have survived 5 mass extinction events. Yet due to shark finning and other human causes such as habitat destruction, many shark species are now endangered. To help raise awareness and support, dedicated (and some say crazy) Koh Tao residents are going to swim around Koh Nang Yuan on September 23rd 2010!

This has now become a huge hit with many of the other dive shops on the island asking if they can join in to swim for them too. If you thought that was good PADI’s Project AWARE has heard over the ripples and they also want in it as well.

Come sign the Shark petition against shark fin soup and other factors causing the decline of sharks. We will also have limited edition shark t-shirts! So come join the fun, sign the petition and watch us struggle! September 23rd 2010. For more information please visit our conservation page www.bigblueconservation.com

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tuesday 14th September 2010-

False Killer Whales and Sail Fish come to Koh Tao!! Big Blue Diving was lucky enough to have both Banzai and Navakid stumble across a school of 20 false killer whales yesterday between green rock and twins. and then spend nearly an hour watching them play infront of the bows. The school, which can stretch miles in length, appeared to be hunting a sail fish! False Killer Whales (Psuedorca crassidens) is the largest member of the dolphin family, and like orcas, kill other large marine mammals. They are widespread in the tropics and temperate waters, have 44 teeth and can grow to 6m! However the killer whales also feed on tuna and yellowfin, and so fishermen, such as the Japanese fishermen from Iki Island, actively hunt them, resulting in only 10 groups left worlwide. They are near the brink of extinction, with 900 individuals being slaughtered in 35 years. Also, they only reach sexual maturity at 12 years, with a gestation period of 14-16 months, and then cannot reproduce again for another 7 years. Both of these issues mean that we were very lucky to see such an interesting and rare marine mammal. Lucky us!

News from Bangkok is that Andrea and Jim are allowed to leave the hospital and Lulu Belle is gaining went quickly so she should be out soon. All three are doing amazing and I swear when Jim comes back he will have the most toned face ever. I dont think he has stopped smiling once, you can tell on the phone that his face is about to crack. Good on you Daddy.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Latest News September 2010

Thursday 12 September 2010-

Apologies for the hiatus - Jim and Andrea had a baby! Sonia and Dan have been left in charge while Jim is in Bangkok getting to know the new arrival, that is when he's not being mesmerised by the sight of his beautiful wife expressing breast milk into feeding bottles - one for the bank there mate, eh? Er.... Congrats go out to our very own Big Paul back in Canadia, Paul's missus has just produced a baby of their own with the simply awesome moniker of .... Maverick 'King of the World' Herygers!

Anyhow, while the boss is away, the mentors will play and last night we hosted Big Blue's first (and probably only) S&M Challenge! The challengers were led on their hands and knees, pulled by a variety of leashes attached to a selection of porn collars. Spanking featured heavily, as did role play, teabagging, alaskan pipelining, spidermanning and more spanking. In the end, Adam was declared the most perverted DMT ever after deep throating a footlong 7 eleven hot dog till he could lick the fingers holding it....

NB The DMT/DiveCon Challenge is an OPTIONAL extra for trainees at the end of the course, please don't let this prospect affect your decision to come and join us for Serious Diving and Serious Fun (optional).

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Saturday 4th September 2010-

Big Blue is very proud to announce that our wonderful, best boss in the world (ahem!!) Jim and is even lovelier wife Andrea gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday, and they are all doing very well. At the moment she is still called ‘Girl’ Donaldson as they are both still competing at paper, rock scissors over names!! Quite a few of the staff (most of us) joined in wetting the baby’s head at Choppers yesterday afternoon and now we quietly suffering the after affects today.

Nick, Sonia, Kelli and Ash have now all returned from going home for a month or so of recharging the batteries, picking up new visas and eating British food and drink that you just can’t get over!! Double Deckers, crumpets, Boosts, Wispas, more crumpets, Newcastle Brown Ale, proper fish and chips with curry sauce and mushy peas, and washed down by more crumpets; ah my mouth is watering mmmmm.

Eco Jen has done it again; we have yet another amazing article in a top Dutch diving magazine Onderwater Sport. It is a 4 page article with lots of wonderful pictures of the resort, boats and the affects of climate change on the coral reefs on the island. Unfortunately we have no idea what it says as its in er dutch. Thank you to Dr Bert Hoeksema who dived with Big Blue Conservation earlier this year and is continually supporting us with his written pieces back in the Netherlands.