Let's begin the season!!!

29/10/2017

This first trip to the Mergui archipelago started with a very sunny and quiet sea, and it lasted all trip long…
We have been pleased to receive and spend time with a group of french people : Patrick, Olivier, Julien, Antoine, Alex, Camille and Aurore, all from the same diving club in France, and Arnosh from India. The atmosphere aboard was just perfect.

We had a lot of fun, and the food was excellent.
The dive sites were spectacular and the lucky ones who dived there were able to admire the fantastic colorful corals and the rich marine life. The macro, the school of fishes were just awesome.

Those beautiful huge rocks looked wild, but every dive was an invitation to come back.

And we had the chance to observe a Minke Whale from the boat...

"Scuba diving is life, all the rest is surface interval."

To be continued...

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A dive knife ... what for?

15/10/2017

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When you start buying your own gear, it's a never ending story ;)

Even if you are supposed to get one as soon as you become an advanced open water diver... it might not be the first thing you'll think of.

The main point to understand is that a dive knife is not a weapon, it is a tool. It should never be used to harm or touch aquatic creatures or deface the underwater environment.
The most important use of it is to free yourself or your buddy in case you get stuck in a fishnet or with vegetation.

But you can also become a heroe by freeing a poor entangled animal ... or removing an abandoned fishing net from a dive site.

There are so many ... how to choose?
Here are some tips to help you to find the one which will work best for you, depending on your needs and the environment you are diving in.
What should you pay attention to ...

Material

Stainless steel or titanium?

One advantage of the titanium is that it pretty needs no maintenance. The knives do not rust and are corrosion resistant. They are lighter, more flexible and harder to break.
Titanium is the high level choice so it is significantly more expensive.

Stainless steel will need maintenance not to rust. It needs to be cleaned with fresh water, dried and oiled or rubbed with silicone after each dive.
You'll have to choose between 300 or 400 series. The lower the number, the more resistant the blade is to corrosion. However, a lower number blade will loose its edge faster.

Shape

The extremity of the blade can be blunt or pointed.

For most recreational divers, blunt tip should be fine. And better not to puncture your air hoses or wetsuit!

A blunt tip is great for prying, digging, hacking and chiseling.
A sharp tip is great for puncturing and cutting.

You can also choose a dive knife with both straight and serrated edges, for more adaptability!

Size

Despite what people may say ... size does matters!

Remember you are carrying a scuba knife in case you are entangled ... not to make you feel like a superhero!

You should rather go for a medium size (4 inches).
Smaller ones can fit anywhere but make sure you can grip the knife securely.
Bigger ones can be too cumbersome and dangerous.
The medium ones are the more practical, and they can be strapped to a variety of easy-to-reach locations.

Attachment

Your knife can be strapped almost everywhere ...

On the calf "James Bond" style, on the leg "Lara Croft" style ... or more simply on your BCD pocket or inflator hose . In this case, make sure it is a medium blunt one!

Wear the knife where it is easy to be reached with one hand.

Other features ton consider ...

line cutting notch
finger grips
security lock
fixed or foldable blade

And remember to use your dive knife safely and responsibly!

Want a knife for your next cruise with us? Check out our catalogue.

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Our latest newsletter: October 2017

12/10/2017

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What's up in Ranong?!
Fresh News from The Smiling Seahorse

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Fresh news from
The Smiling Seahorse

We have a Last minute offer to share with you:

10% OFF on the 8th to 13th of November cruise!
Book now mentioning this newsletter or regret it later!
*Offer valid until the 20th of October for new bookings only

Our annual schedule

Reduced : Trip 3
November 8th to 13th 2017

Trip 3's Itinerary here

I guess an even bigger news this year is: We are building a new boat!!!

As all good things it will take time and we plan to launch it in October 2018.

We are so excited!!!

We designed it according to what YOU said would be your ideal liveaboard:

- The boat will be slightly bigger but we'll keep small number of divers onboard, so the atmosphere and service will remain the same
- A steel boat with two powerful engines to go explore even further
- AirCon in all cabins and doors opened toward the outside to enjoy the ocean breeze and the seaview!
- Private bathrooms with hot shower and toilet
- A bigger room dedicated to Photographers
- A nice lounge area with couches and bar
- A huge sundeck on top
- Bigger staff quarters for our "Dream team" :)

This season might be the last chance for you to be back on MV Thai Sea who will be dearly missed...

Season 2016/2017 was a great one. We had a fantastic team onboard MV Thai Sea, some lovely customers and so much fun!

Our best moments this year:
We had 2 absolutely stunning "Manta festivals" were we could spot a maximum of 30 individuals on a single dive!

We had dolphins playing with our boat. Met some gracious leopard sharks mating! We swam next to huge nurse sharks in our secret caves...

The macro life was also plentiful with frogfish, ghost pipe fish, shrimps and our infamous smiling seahorses all over the place!

For those who, like me, love shrimps of all kind...

We had some magical moments, both above and below the water and enjoyed this feeling of being alone at the end of the world!

Will Strassman made a super video of his trip with us, which I'd like to share with you as I certainly loved it!

A week of diving in Mergui Archipelago

It's becoming old news but we remain just as proud: we got the certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor for the 3rd year in a row!!!!! Bring it on 2018!!!

MV Thai Sea Instructors

3 Instructors speaking French, English and Portuguese will join Franck this season on MV Thai Sea:

Sophie was loved by all for her contagious smile and jokes all day long. She will be back onboard for another season.

Instructor since 2001, Allan has been diving around Ranong for 3 season already but also worked in other areas of Thailand, Bahamas, Egypt, Madagascar and France.

Quiet and wise, passionate with sharks, he will share with you his long experience and love for the sea.

Camille (yes a second one) has been diving in France, Spain, Thailand, Indonesia and South Africa.

Fun, outgoing, spontaneous, Camille will share with you her enthusiasm for small critters and larger pelagic.

Check out our calendar

Forward

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Authors

Sophie has been part of the Smiling Seahorse family since 2016.
Living in Thailand for nearly ten years now, she fell in love with the Burmese underwater sceneries and aquatic life.
Her hobbies: traveling and diving of course!
Instructor and dive guide on board, she creates a new blogpost after every trip, to share the magical moments and encounters they enjoyed.

Camille and Franck are the owners of the Smiling Seahorse since 2012.
Camille has been working all around the globe during seven years before creating this company.
Now mother of two little ones, she works at the office and she's the one who will answer all of your questions.
Her hobbies: horse riding, diving and traveling!

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Let's begin the season!!!

A dive knife ... what for?

Our latest newsletter: October 2017

Fresh news from
The Smiling Seahorse

Authors

Archives

Categories

Diving tours

Company

Support

Let's begin the season!!!

A dive knife ... what for?

Our latest newsletter: October 2017

Fresh news from The Smiling Seahorse

Authors

Archives

Categories

Diving tours

Company

Support

Fresh news from
The Smiling Seahorse