This weekend was a long weekend due to constitution day and National Father’s day on the 10th and 11th of December which brought many divers and boats flocking to the national park. Busy, busy! We had a lovely group of Thais and expatriates from Bangkok, Rayong and Hat Yai that were not bothered by the crowds and were mesmerized by the treasures we found.
The sea was as flat as a lake and the sun was beaming during this fantastic cruise and we had some great dives.
The sea was as flat as a lake and the sun was beaming during this fantastic cruise and we had some great dives.
| This time we saw two ribbon eels (black and blue) at Koh Chi in Surin National Park as well as 5 Pikachu nudibranchs and a giant school or rainbow runners and trevallies! We were entranced by a cute yellow box fish and all the colorful tropical fish in the coral garden. A myriad of nudibranchs welcomed us on the night dive as well as hunting moray eels and a crocodile fish with its hypnotic green eyes. We enjoyed looking at a feather star taking a stroll as well as many scorpion fish and lionfish hiding amongst the corals and sponges. |   |
 School of yellowback goatfish |  Blue trevallis and emperors hunting together |
Koh Bon pinnacle was covered in schooling fish : jacks, big eye trevally, fusiliers and so many grouper species. We also fell in love with juvenile angelfish and sweetlips as they showed off their wiggly moves.
Barracudas formed a tornado around us and we ogled Andaman sweetlips with their mismatched stripes and spots.
At the Reef we saw lobsters, batfish, snappers, trevallies, Maldive sponge snails, many nudis, grumpy titan triggerfish and groups of long faced emperors hunting and changing colors.
Barracudas formed a tornado around us and we ogled Andaman sweetlips with their mismatched stripes and spots.
At the Reef we saw lobsters, batfish, snappers, trevallies, Maldive sponge snails, many nudis, grumpy titan triggerfish and groups of long faced emperors hunting and changing colors.
 schools of lionfish this season also gathering for father day :) |  a banded sea crate, always nice to meet a sea snake!  Great macro life in Surin island this season. check out this Orangutan crab! |
Koh Tachai was a magnificent fish soup yet again with batfish hovering in the current, unicorn surgeonfish, many sweetlips, a huge crack full of lobsters, Napoleon wrasse and even a very brave and curious octopus to name a few.
a curious Cuttlefish came to say hello
We began the 3rd day at Torinla in a veritable ray paradise. Over the course of one dive we saw Kuhl's rays playing in the sand, a massive Jenkins whiptail ray hiding under a rock, and even an eagle ray and fantail ray cruising past. There were also many cute boxfish, whip coral cowries, and garden eels shyly poking their heads up when they thought no one was watching.
 Jenkin whiptail ray hiding under a rock |  We had such a lovely group of thai divers this week |
On our surface interval we paid a visit to the Moken tribe settlement in the Surin national park to snap some photos, chat with the locals and bring some gifts of snacks and smiles to the children. Our charming boat crew even joined us for their first visit to the village.
coming back from the Moken village: the Andaman Sea gypsies
Richelieu rock was rocking and rolling with many boats and divers for our last 3 dives, but despite the crowds we saw some amazing things! Ornate ghost pipefish frolicked in the fan corals while a banded sea snake bumped into a diver on its way up to the surface for a breath startling it into changing its mind and retreating back to the depths. A massive school of chevron barracudas greeted us in the bottom while huge pickhandle barracudas came within mere centimeters of our mask during the safety stop.
porcupine fish
Moray eels hunted through the nooks and crannies, colourful nudibranchs munched on yummy hydroids and decorator crabs got creative using cuttlefish eggs to adorn their carapace. Love was certainly in the air as cuttlefish courted and fought to impress the discerning females. Some were more curious than others and one came in real close as if to offer a little kiss to an elated diver! The icing on the cake was a quick fly by from a speedy eagle ray during the safety stop of the night dive.
the reef was alive with glass fish this week
Many thanks to this incredible group of divers for making this weekend memorable and sharing these delightful encounters with us.
A massive congratulations to Aaron for completing his advanced open water certification as well as to Jerome, Amelie and Blaize for becoming certified enriched air divers!
Can't wait for the next trip!
Follow us for more fishy stories and get in touch for last minute offers!
A massive congratulations to Aaron for completing his advanced open water certification as well as to Jerome, Amelie and Blaize for becoming certified enriched air divers!
Can't wait for the next trip!
Follow us for more fishy stories and get in touch for last minute offers!
  Thanks for the lovely reviews! We can't wait to have you back onboard! ❤️❤️❤️ |   |
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