March 25th marked the departure of a very special liveaboard: our Manta and Whaleshark expedition 2021 and we got lucky!!!
We had been working on putting this exciting trip together for the past few month, and it was an absolute pleasure to welcome onboard 2 lovely marine biologists: Ms. Jamie Piyada Monmaneerat, project leader of Thailand Manta Project and Ms. Kirsty Magson, conservationist currently documenting on the whale shark population in Thailand who alternated giving us daily presentations on Mantas, Sea slugs, Whale Sharks and the damage of plastic on the environment.
 Thailand Manta Project leader: Ms. Jamie Piyada Monmaneerat |  Ms. Kirsty Magson - Thai Whale shark project leader  Manta ray presentation |
We sailed off from Ranong early morning with a boat full of enthusiastic divers and our itinerary took us to Koh Chi in Surin national park, Koh Tachai, Koh Bon, Rocky Point, 3 Trees, Turtle Rock, Nam Chai in the Similan islands before heading back north at Richelieu Rock; A total of 21 beautiful dives.
Split photo of our beloved MV Smiling Seahorse liveaboard
We had amazing weather conditions with blue skies and sunshine during the whole trip and as could be expected during full moon, we faced a considerable amount current during some of our dives, but this also brought it’s reward: currents make the perfect conditions to bring in large pelagic!
On the first 20 dives, we saw turtles, jenkill rays, an eagle ray, reef sharks, countless amounts of nudibranchs, harlequin shrimp, a giant frog fish, pairs of ghostpipe fish, more anemone fish eggs now showing their eyes, and many schools of jacks, trevallies, barracudas and fusilliers and so much more!
 Jenkill Ray |  Harlequin shrimp on its seastar |
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On the very last dive, we were greeted upon entering the water for our very last dive of the trip by a stunning baby male whaleshark who graciously swam around us for the whole duration of our dive on top of Richelieu Rock. What a show!! He passed, disappeared, came back until we ran out of air... As whaleshark sightings have been sparse this season, we felt so privileged to witness this encounter and emotional that it lasted so long. What an amazing way to end our trip!
We encountered this wonderful whale shark at Richelieu Rock - credit Alex Tyrell, Dive4photos
Kirsty quickly looked into her whale shark database and was delighted to record this new individual as part of the whale shark population!
Another highlight of the trip was the return of Alex Tyrrell onboard, professional photographer who organized 3 black water dives. What an amazing surprise when we saw a Nautilus swimming at 5 meters on our 2nd black water dive! If you haven’t tried Black water diving yet, and you are an avid photographer, we highly recommend it, we are surely hooked!
Another highlight of the trip was the return of Alex Tyrrell onboard, professional photographer who organized 3 black water dives. What an amazing surprise when we saw a Nautilus swimming at 5 meters on our 2nd black water dive! If you haven’t tried Black water diving yet, and you are an avid photographer, we highly recommend it, we are surely hooked!
 Female Paper Nautilus |  squid |  |
During our last cruise we also encountered a juvenile sail fish, baby octopuses and so much more! Apparently we found a great spot to find wonderful and rare sea treasures and will incorporate black water dives more regularly on our cruises!
As when all good things come to an end, we felt sad to say goodbye, but happy we made new friends with the lovely guests we had onboard this week and thankful for the fantastic time we have shared.
Keep tuned for more fishy stories! to learn about Marine life in the Andaman Sea.
We still have some space onboard for the Last month of the season! See you soon!
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