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.

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...