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First North and South Andaman cruise for The Smiling Seahorse...

27/12/2021

A fantastic expedition all over the Andaman Sea (North and South) from Ranong to Phuket, through 5 of Thailand's best Marine National parks...

Our very first North & South Andaman cruise will be an adventure we will remember for a long time… bad weather, waves, changes of itinerary and quite a few unpredictable adventures… but also our first Manta of the season and awesome divers onboard. We made the best of it!
Thank you all for being such fantastic guests!

Psychedelic batwing slug

Waves stopped us from diving Richelieu Rock but disappointment was offset by very beautiful dives in Koh Surin and the Similan islands during which we were able to admire ribbon eel, psychedelic nudibranchs, schools of majestic fish like Sweetlips. A large male green Turtle came to say hello around the boat when we were moored, and dolphins gave us a magical moment while cruising.

Female Ribbon eel

Barracudas

Yellowtail fusilier

Explosion of life around coral reef

Sweetlips

Blueline snapper

Colorful and lively coral reef

In Koh Bon, we had excellent visibility, and the waves gave us enough of a break to run a cool black water dive.

baby Crab

Some more weird stuff

Fish larvae

baby flounder

After the long crossing between Similan Islands and Lanta national park, we arrived in Hin Daeng and Hin Muang where some of us had the chance of seeing our first Manta ray of the season. One more manta ID shot for Mantatrust database :)

our first manta ray of the season

One more manta ID shot for Mantatrust database :)

West of Hin Daeng, we found lots of nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, and spearing mantis shrimp.

Ghost Pipefish

Goniobranchus geminus

Phyllidia elegans

Cool flat worm

Hypselodoris maculosa

Pikachu nudibranch

We already knew 10 of the 14 guests who joined us for this great adventure, which made the atmosphere nice and warm. What a pleasure to see you all again. 2 guests did the last trip. 6 are doing the next one. And welcome to the 4 new divers joining us for the very first time, we hope you will also come back for more adventures soon...

always amazed at the beauty of coral

Redtail butterfly fish

Clown triggerfish

Lionfish ready for Fashion Week

lovely coral covering the reef

Juvenile angelfish

Now, another departure for the South Andaman for new adventures from 7th to 11th of February with better weather awaits… keep tuned for more fishy stories.

And you, where in the world are you? Answer in comment section...

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Back from the first Black Water Diving cruise on The Smiling Seahorse !

14/12/2021

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To accompany us for this seventh cruise of the season and our very first blackwater diving expedition, we had the pleasure of welcoming back for the very first time international guests coming all the way from France, they braved the travel restrictions and traveled to Thailand to come and do this very special cruise with us. Thank you! We haven't seen any guests from abroad since March 2020 and it was amazing having you back!
Among these amazing crowds, we had a diving legend, 81 years-young, who was amongst the first underwater photographers ever and still dive like a fish!
Conditions were not easy on this trip as we had strong wind and waves which made it tricky to get back onboard, we had to change our itinerary slightly to find some shelter and explored new areas around the similan we never dived before.

We were surrounded by a team of extremely well-equipped underwater paparazzi. Our Photo Room has never been more crowded by camera, cables, chargers and hundreds of batteries!

We didn't do as many blackwater dives as we would have hoped because of the weather but here are a few of the best shots we took this week on the blackwater and bonfire dives:

Jellyfish

Baby Squirel fish

Another cute baby

Sea Butterfly

Such a pretty Jellyfish

Thousands of Shrimp swam in our torches

Diamond squid

Juvenile lezardfish

Salp

Mantis shrimp

Diamond squid

Juvenile bobbit worm, how cool!

This worm can live up to 100 years according to scientists, and some think it can grow up to 9 meters. At night, the bobbit worm pops its head out of its burrow, standing upright with part of its body exposed. If a small sea creature swims near, the worm launches a snake-like strike at its victim. It has four long, hooked jaws that clasp around prey, two of which are barbed to prevent a victim from escaping. The bobbit worm strikes with such force that some small victimes are sliced in half when the predator strikes.

A tiny crab larvae

Some cool phosphorescent crustaceans that can turn on and off on demand!

As I said, the weather was not on our side this time, which prompted us to modify our itinerary . When life gives you lemon, make lemonade, this was a perfect opportunity to try bonfire dives sheltered from similan islands.
Bonfire dive is similar to blackwater diving in the sense we use powerful lights to attract plankton and larvaes at night but while the blackwater dives are done drifting offshore over very deep water, bonfire is done closer to the reef, over a sandy slope with a static line.
In the yellow colors, we found a few seahorses on Richelieu Rock this week, as well as this cute yellow boxfish and some big Pikachu nudibranch.

Yellow pygmy seahorse

Yellow boxfish

Pikachu nudibranch

We also had the chance to photograph 2 pairs of ornate ghost pipefish, porcelain crabs in their anemone and clownfish eggs guarded by their parents.

Porcelain crab

Ornate ghost pipefish

We explored the west coast of Koh Tachai and discovered a side of the island we never explored before and the sea quieted enough to allow us to do our last dives once again alone on a Richelieu Rock full of life!

Massive lobsters on Tacha Pinnacle

Barrel sponges

Barrel sponges and soft coral in the simila

Hard coral are the ultimate reef nurseries

...emperors, trevallis...

Clown fish in their beautiful purple anemone

Banded sea krait says"cheese"

The weather looks better, we are heading back south! What about you? How are you wherever you are and when are you coming for some underwater adventures?

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Sunscreens harmful to corals are now banned in Thai marine national parks!

3/12/2021

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sencreens harmful to corals prohibited thailand

The good news came at the beginning of August 2021: Sunscreens harmful to corals are now banned in Thai marine national parks!
This new legal victory will not fail to delight the defenders of the oceans amongst which The Smiling Seahorse :)
Please note however, that we will no longer tolerate these products on the boat, please check that your cosmetics, and in particular your sunscreen, do not contain any of the ingredients listed below before applying it to your body to enjoy the sundeck.

Fines can be as high as THB 100,000, which is currently about USD 3,000 (EUR 2,610.91).

Healthy soft coral reef Similan Islands

What ingredients are banned by Thailand in sunscreens?

Lotions containing oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor or butylparaben are now banned.
Reef-friendly alternatives are already available in Thailand and have long been sold on The Smiling Seahorse.

Oxybenzone

The most "aggressive" ingredient is oxybenzone (also known as benzophenone-3 or BP-3), which disrupts coral reproduction, causes bleaching and damages coral DNA.
Oxybenzone is found in more than 3,500 sunscreen products worldwide and even remains commonly used in FDA-approved sunscreens labeled as "Reef friendly."
So take a good look at the ingredients in your cream.

Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate)

This ingredient filters UV light and causes premature bleaching of coral reefs.

4-Methylbenzylid Camphor (4MBC)

Another sunscreen ingredient that causes coral bleaching, 4MBC is permitted in Europe and Canada, but not in the U.S., Japan, nor Thailand.

Butylparaben (butyl p-hydroxybenzoate)

A preservative ingredient that causes coral bleaching.

Zinc oxide

Yes, zinc occurs naturally in the environment and in seawater, however, zinc-based sunscreens that are advertised as "clear" can be coral-damaging. If you see MSDS as a component, know that it is highly toxic to aquatic organisms...

Think about the cream-free alternative!
We don't think about it enough, but using rash guards (also called "anti-UV tee-shirt", "top", "body" or "lycra"), are by far the best way to protect yourself from the sun without cream: cheaper because you only buy it once, a protection of +50SPF, they are light and flexible, and good news, we have a stock on board the Smiling Seahorse.

Using rash guards are by far the best way to protect yourself from the sun without cream

Coral reefs threatened by the use of certain components in our sunscreens

Between 6,000 and 14,000 tons of sunscreen are used each year by swimmers and divers in the oceans. These creams are added to the already heavy pollution that arrives on coastal areas via wastewater discharges and contribute to the disappearance of our coral reefs...
A real ecological disaster: It should be known that more than 50% of our corals have already disappeared since 1950.

Orange cup coral

Coral starting to bleach

Alcyonarian soft coral

Coral bleaching due to ocean warming is one of the many treats to coral reefs

Why are sunscreens so harmful for corals?

Corals need sunlight to live and the simple fact of blocking their access to this vital light causes them irreparable damage, not to mention the additional toxic effects of some of their chemical components...

How to choose your sunscreen?

Global warming, pollution and other human activities pose additional and significant threats to the survival of coral reefs.
The results of sunscreen studies should also be taken seriously and if you plan to swim, scuba dive near coral reefs, you should use a coral reef friendly or reef safe sunscreen.

How do I know if a sunscreen is coral reef safe?

CAUTION: "Reef Safe Sunscreen" or "Reef Friendly Sunscreen" labels are not regulated and therefore potentially meaningless.
You really need to look at the ingredients listed to make sure they comply with this new Thai law.
If the sunscreen of your choice contains any of the ingredients listed in our article, it's best to choose a different one!

Congratulations: You've chosen an environmentally conscious operator!

Since its inception in 2012, The Smiling Seahorse has been committed to ocean preservation and reef conservation.

Reef-friendly sunscreens have been available on board for a long time, as well as "rashguards" that protect you from the sun without the need for any chemicals.
We have also selected eco-friendly soap/ shampoo and hair conditioners for you to use in our ocean view showers (produced for luxury eco resorts in the Maldives).
We use as much as possible organic detergents for the maintenance of the boat and the diving equipment (we rinse your wetsuits in bio detergent for example).
Aluminum bottles are provided to limit the use of plastic bottles onboard and for many years after ....

What sunscreen do we recommend?

Locally produced, tested and approved by all our team, ReReef can be used by the whole family to get good reef friendly sun protection and can be bought online or onboard: https://rereef.co/product/40g-reef-safe-sunscreen-spf50/.

Reef friendly sun cream

Using a rash guard is by far the best way to protect yourself from the sun without cream: it's less expensive because you only buy it once, it protects well (+50SPF) and the Smiling Seahorse stock on board.

To learn more about our commitment and to know the reference sites for the conservation of the oceans, please visit our page "Conservation of the marine environment".

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First North and South Andaman cruise for The Smiling Seahorse...

Back from the first Black Water Diving cruise on The Smiling Seahorse !

Sunscreens harmful to corals are now banned in Thai marine national parks!

What ingredients are banned by Thailand in sunscreens?

Oxybenzone

Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate)

4-Methylbenzylid Camphor (4MBC)

Butylparaben (butyl p-hydroxybenzoate)

Zinc oxide

Coral reefs threatened by the use of certain components in our sunscreens

Why are sunscreens so harmful for corals?

How to choose your sunscreen?

How do I know if a sunscreen is coral reef safe?

Congratulations: You've chosen an environmentally conscious operator!

What sunscreen do we recommend?

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