Jen's Similan Island trip.

Bob's daughter, Jen, returned last night from her Similan Ilsand Liveaboard trip. Ah, how nice to see young people who are independant and confident enough to go off on their own and enjoy a diving adventure. It sounds like the viz was no-where near as good as the trips last month...but then plankton attract the bigger creatures...and Jen was fortunate to be treated to the truly awesome spectacle of Manta rays.....which Jai and I did not see.

It's really hard to get a good photo of little things...you have to have a really good underwater set-up.....but these colourful little blobs are actually two pretty rare Harlequin shrimps spotted in amongst a bit of soft coral.


Puffer fish are nice and easy to take a photograph of as they keep still and don't mind posing.

Being a Graduate Architect, Jen has an eye for the more unsual shot compared to my very predicatble efforts......nice this....good angle on an anenome bending towards the camera with a little clown fish sheltering in it for a bit of colour. Anemones are brightly coloured but at 30 metres the colours fade...you have to have a powerful strobe to light things up and bring their colour to life.

mmmm...anemones against the deep blue.

The fish had gone...the sand cloud reveals where it had been!! It's often very hard to capture the fish on camera....many species are very shy and incedibly fast moving they they need to be.....

Cleaner wrasse lurking about.

Whilst Jen was away on the Similan Island trip, Bob and Cath and I were diving from Captain Tawan's longtail boat. The family have taken all the dive gear and gone out again today with Capt Tawan...as they will tomorrow, their final day for diving. This is the first time any of my guests have been able to take themselves off and carry out their own dive day without me needing to be around. The advantage is you get to dive with your own small group and go to places where there are no other divers....and, of course, it's massively cheaper than going out on a PADI boat. We priced up a 3 dive day for 3 people with PADI for tomorrow and, with the poor exchange rate and the price rises, it worked out at £240 for 3 people. Today and tomorrow on the longtail boat works out at £80....or £40 per day...so 6 times cheaper than going with PADI.

POOR CAPTAIN TAWAN!!

Our friendly Captain has been out of action for 10 days....3 powerboats (driven by young Testerone filled Thai men) carrying customers to offshore islands cut too tight to Capt Tawan's boat. The waves caused by the powerboats were too big and too close for the longtail to ride out and it was tipped over. Captain Tawan lost everything out of his upturned boat including his longtail engine...disaster. At least no-one was hurt as his customers were already down diving....but a total right-off for his season.

I sat commiserating with him yesterday as my season last year was a complete right off as well with all the trouble I had with my BRAND NEW CUMMINS engines at £20k each. Because there were so many problems, I have bought another new engine and gearbox to be in a workshop ready to replace either of the new engines if either break down....so, £60K last year on engines...and £6k for a spare gearbox......so DO NOT GRIZZLE TO ME ABOUT THE COST OF YOUR FISHING TRIP THIS YEAR!!!