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!!!
