Diving liveaboard in Thailand and Myanmar
  • When & Where
    • Schedule and Prices
    • Itineraries & Calendars
    • Destinations >
      • North Andaman Thailand >
        • Similan Islands
        • Surin Islands >
          • Richelieu rock
        • The essential Underwater photo Guide to diving Thailand
      • South Andaman Thailand >
        • Phuket & Koh Phi Phi National Parks
        • Koh Lanta National Park
        • Koh Lipe and Tarutao National Park
      • Mergui Archipelago >
        • Marine life in the Andaman Sea
        • Burma's best dive sites
        • The Ultimate Underwater photo Guide to diving Burma
  • ABOUT
    • Our Boat >
      • DELICIOUS FOOD
    • Diving in Thailand
    • Diving in Myanmar/Burma
    • Blackwater diving in Thailand and Myannmar
    • Marine life in Thailand's Andaman Sea
    • Dive Courses >
      • Learn to Dive
      • Continue diving education
      • Rescue diver
      • Professional Dive Courses
      • Hone your dive skills with a specialty course
      • Photo coaching in Thailand on the Smiling Seahorse
    • Guest Book
    • FAQ
  • Plan your trip
    • Our hotels recommendations
    • Khao Sok National Park
    • Taxi services >
      • Taxi services to and from Ranong
      • Taxi services to and from Phuket
      • Taxi services to Tap Lamu and Khao Lak
    • 10 things to do around Ranong
  • PROMO
    • HOT DEALS
    • Special Expeditions >
      • Ultimate Underwater photo combo expeditions
      • Blackwater expedition 23 Jan 2024
      • UW Photo clinic North Andaman 31 Jan 2024
      • Special Marine Biology - 18 Feb 2024
      • Whale Shark Special - 19 Mar 2024 - North and South
      • Manta rays expedition - 20 April 2024
  • gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
    • Most popular posts

1st trip of the season: Marine Ecology trip in the North Andaman from 14th to 19th of October 2022

28/10/2022

0 Comments

 

In partnership with Thai Ocean Academy and Thailand Manta Project

1st trip of the season: Marine Ecology trip in the North Andaman from 14th to 19th of October 2022
"Welcome on board for the 1st trip of the season" This is how started Franck's briefing.

We could feel the relax atmosphere on The Smiling Seahorse and everybody was happy and excited to be there, one of the first to witness Thailand's best dive sites for the first time since their closure six months ago!

This trip started from Ranong on the 14th October 2022. After eating and lighting the traditional firecrackers, we started to cruise to Koh Surin overnight, to start our fantastic diving trip.

The next day, everybody was impatient to start diving!!! Our first dive of the season was at Koh Chi, visibility was pretty good and the current really mild. 

Despite the rain and waves, everybody enjoyed and came back to the boat smiling after the check dive, happy to be the 1st one to dive in the Surin islands this season !

During the second dive, we have spotted a turtle on Ao Packard and some divers spotted an Eagle Ray on Yellow Rock. Pretty nice surprise!
green sea turtle
Green Sea Turtle
eagle ray
Eagle Ray
The 3rd dive on Torinla was pretty good too, we saw 2 Pikachu Nudibranchia and a huge Lobster.

4th dive: Let's go for the night dive!! We got sheltered in a lovely bay where the conditions were really nice for a quiet nocturnal exploration, the reef is covered in hard coral which was pretty cool to try our UV torches, we saw the classic a Moray eel hunting, and many types of colorful Shrimps.
pikachu nudibranchia
Pikachu Nudibranchia
In the evening, we all enjoyed the delicious meal made by our amazing chef, Choui while listening Tommy and Ploy, two insightful marine biologists giving us an introduction to the marine ecology in the nighttime.

​On the second day, we headed to the Similan islands, diving Koh Bon and Koh Tachai. Unfortunately the waves were quite rough in Koh Bon, making it impossible to have a nice dive on the usual dive sites so to keep it safe and fun for everyone, we tried the North side of Koh Bon which was better than expected. Following their dive leaders, divers divided underwater, some went East and could enjoy the macro life on sand, while the others went South West following a nice coral reef with plenty of tropical fishes.

For the 2nd dive, we headed to Koh Tachai pinnacle, it was still raining above water, but conditions were perfect once under: no current at all, clear visibility and not one other boat in sight! One group jumped in the middle of a Barracudas storm!! Everybody loved this dive, Bat fishes, Lobsters, huge Groupers, Nudibranchia so much to see!

On the 3rd dive: the star of the show were surely Shaaarkkks !!! A family of 6 Black tip Reef sharks came close enough for a nice photo!! So lucky!
blacktip reefshark
Blacktip Reefshark
batfish
Batfishes
For the last dive of the day, weather conditions deteriorated, so we decided to skip the Blackwater dive, and do either a sunset dive or a night dive on Koh Tachai reef instead.

We enjoyed another excellent meal and listened to a talk given by Jamie, our Manta Specialist, about manta rays… She explained how to dive with them with minimal disturbance, how to take an ID photo for the database, how to recognize a male from a female, how to recognize certain behaviors etc. It was all very instructive to understand how every single diver could help scientific that protect these gentle giants!

After sleeping on Koh Surin. We went back north toward the Surin national park to dive its Jewel: Richelieu Rock. This dive site is just so beautiful ! Macro life everywhere, schooling fishes, Barracudas, Bat fishes many Tomato fish in their bright anemones, moray eels… some of us could even spot 4 massive Cobias giving us hope for something bigger to come out from the blue. The water was clear as crystal. But once onboard, the surface conditions were still pretty wavy, so we decided to head back to the Surin islands for 2 more nice sheltered dives. 

This afternoon, Ploy and Tommy gave an insightful presentation about the living life of Corals and Nudibranchia. It was fascinating!

The third dive was at a site we rarely visit by lack of time but oh so stunning, we called it Sunset Wall. A huge wall of coral starting at 5 m and going down to 30 meters. We even found a pair of tiger tail Seahorses.
healthy reef from Similan
Healthy reef from Similan
seafan Similan islands
Seafan Similan islands
To end this day perfectly, we enjoyed a wonderful Barbecue made of Lamb, chicken, sausages and vegan options as we had quite a few vegan and vegetarian onboard this week with tomatoes ala provencale, mixed salad, hand cut french fries, potatoes with homemade garlic butter… it was sooo tasty!

Franck offered a round of drinks to everyone to start what became a great night. We cruised back leisurely towards Ranong and woke up at our own pace the next morning with the smell of coffee and bacon!

A special mention for Bruce for his 100th dives and Claude for his 200th. Congratulation to Apple for her Aow course, and to Carmen and Jorge, who celebrated their Honeymoon onboard. Wishing you guys many years of fun diving together!!!

Thanks again to the Thai Ocean Academy for putting together this special Marine Ecology, the Marine biology presentations were really cool!
clownfish and surgeon
Clownfish and Surgeon
Beautiful soft corals from the Similan Islands
Beautiful soft corals from the Similan
Happy divers on the line
Happy divers on the line
harlequin sweetlips
Harlequin Sweet lips
Photographer from Thai Ocean Academy
Photographer from Thai Ocean Academy
Thai Ocean Academy divers
Thai Ocean Academy divers
Goodbye everyone, and thanks for sharing this fantastic adventures with us!!
We are looking forward to diving with you again very soon!
0 Comments

    The Smiling Seahorse Diving Blog

    A blog about our diving adventures in Burma and Thailand. Diving trip reports, guest reviews, fishy stories, wildlife fun facts and much more...
    Picture
    Search on this blog:

    Picture

    Authors

    ​The Smiling Seahorse has been running dive cruises from Ranong since 2012.
    Our team of instructors are reporting with a short blogpost after every trip.
    Camille, Franck and some guest writers also contribute during the off season writing on various topics.
    Keep tuned for more fishy stories :)
    Picture
    Want to receive the next articles via email?
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Diving Burma/Myanmar
    Diving Facts
    Diving In Thailand
    Diving News
    Diving Security
    Environment Protection
    Fun Facts
    In The Press
    Marine Life Fish ID
    Mergui Archipelago
    Most Popular
    Nitrox Dive
    North Andaman
    Reviews
    Richelieu Rock
    Scuba Diving Various
    Similan Islands
    South Andaman
    Surin Islands
    Trip Reports

    Archives

    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012

    RSS Feed

    See also...

    - About Myanmar liveaboards
    ​- Best Burma dive sites
    ​- Marine life in Andaman Sea
    ​- The Mergui Archipelago
    ​
    - Best dive site in Thailand

Our dive cruises

Our schedule and prices
​Dive in Thailand
​Dive in Myanmar
​Discover our boat
Our blog
​
GCS
Picture
Picture

More information

Our pictures
Our videos
​
In the press
Our guest book
Privacy policies
​Partners

The Smiling Seahorse

170 Ruangrat Rd, Tambon khao nivet, Mueang Ranong District, Ranong 85000​
Phone: +66860110614​
​Mail: info@thesmilingseahorse.com

www.thesmilingseahorse.com/
​

TripAdvisor

Picture
Responsible Manta Tourism Operator
TAT Licence number : 31/00935
© COPYRIGHT 2018-2023. The Smiling Seahorse ​
  • When & Where
    • Schedule and Prices
    • Itineraries & Calendars
    • Destinations >
      • North Andaman Thailand >
        • Similan Islands
        • Surin Islands >
          • Richelieu rock
        • The essential Underwater photo Guide to diving Thailand
      • South Andaman Thailand >
        • Phuket & Koh Phi Phi National Parks
        • Koh Lanta National Park
        • Koh Lipe and Tarutao National Park
      • Mergui Archipelago >
        • Marine life in the Andaman Sea
        • Burma's best dive sites
        • The Ultimate Underwater photo Guide to diving Burma
  • ABOUT
    • Our Boat >
      • DELICIOUS FOOD
    • Diving in Thailand
    • Diving in Myanmar/Burma
    • Blackwater diving in Thailand and Myannmar
    • Marine life in Thailand's Andaman Sea
    • Dive Courses >
      • Learn to Dive
      • Continue diving education
      • Rescue diver
      • Professional Dive Courses
      • Hone your dive skills with a specialty course
      • Photo coaching in Thailand on the Smiling Seahorse
    • Guest Book
    • FAQ
  • Plan your trip
    • Our hotels recommendations
    • Khao Sok National Park
    • Taxi services >
      • Taxi services to and from Ranong
      • Taxi services to and from Phuket
      • Taxi services to Tap Lamu and Khao Lak
    • 10 things to do around Ranong
  • PROMO
    • HOT DEALS
    • Special Expeditions >
      • Ultimate Underwater photo combo expeditions
      • Blackwater expedition 23 Jan 2024
      • UW Photo clinic North Andaman 31 Jan 2024
      • Special Marine Biology - 18 Feb 2024
      • Whale Shark Special - 19 Mar 2024 - North and South
      • Manta rays expedition - 20 April 2024
  • gallery
    • Photos
    • Videos
  • CONTACT
  • BLOG
    • Most popular posts