Greetings, fellow adventurers! It's been an exhilarating week filled with awe-inspiring marine encounters during our Annual Blackwater expedition from January 23rd to 29th, 2024.
Day 1: We embarked on this journey with divers hailing from Germany, France, Thailand, Singapore, and the UK, each bringing their unique zest for exploration and love for the ocean's mysteries.
Special thanks to the return of Alex Tyrrell, a seasoned photographer and on of the pioneers Blackwater divers in Thailand, whose insights and expertise enriched our experience profoundly. It was amazing seeing everyone's photos improving throughout the trip, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed his daily presentations and photo reviews!
Day 1: We embarked on this journey with divers hailing from Germany, France, Thailand, Singapore, and the UK, each bringing their unique zest for exploration and love for the ocean's mysteries.
Special thanks to the return of Alex Tyrrell, a seasoned photographer and on of the pioneers Blackwater divers in Thailand, whose insights and expertise enriched our experience profoundly. It was amazing seeing everyone's photos improving throughout the trip, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed his daily presentations and photo reviews!
 Alex's presentation: Photo technics for Best Blackwater photos |  Juvenile cusk eel blackwater |
Day 2:
Our expedition kicked off with a check dive at West of Eden in the Similan National Park. Amongst the grand granite boulders adorned with vibrant hard corals, macro enthusiasts found paradise with an abundance of nudibranches, shrimps, and tiny crabs. A mesmerizing spectacle unfolded as we found ourselves surrounded by a massive school of Fusilier, akin to being engulfed in a fireworks display. Ventures into the deeper realms revealed elusive sharks lurking in the abyss, adding a thrilling edge to our dive.
The adventure continued at Elephant Head, where divers and photographers alike explored a playground of underwater wonders. We meandered around and beneath colossal granite boulders, discovering hidden swim-through teeming with sea fans and hard corals. Keen observers were rewarded with sightings of the elusive Ribbon Eel in its various color phases. Our encounters escalated as we stumbled upon an array of sharks, including white tips, nurse sharks, and a majestic guitarfish evading our lenses. Some massive Jenkins rays were also resting on the sandy bottom at 25 meters and it was a bit frustrating to come back up with so many interesting subjects to photograph. Thankfully we were diving Nitrox, but often times bottom time just seems to be too short…
Our expedition kicked off with a check dive at West of Eden in the Similan National Park. Amongst the grand granite boulders adorned with vibrant hard corals, macro enthusiasts found paradise with an abundance of nudibranches, shrimps, and tiny crabs. A mesmerizing spectacle unfolded as we found ourselves surrounded by a massive school of Fusilier, akin to being engulfed in a fireworks display. Ventures into the deeper realms revealed elusive sharks lurking in the abyss, adding a thrilling edge to our dive.
The adventure continued at Elephant Head, where divers and photographers alike explored a playground of underwater wonders. We meandered around and beneath colossal granite boulders, discovering hidden swim-through teeming with sea fans and hard corals. Keen observers were rewarded with sightings of the elusive Ribbon Eel in its various color phases. Our encounters escalated as we stumbled upon an array of sharks, including white tips, nurse sharks, and a majestic guitarfish evading our lenses. Some massive Jenkins rays were also resting on the sandy bottom at 25 meters and it was a bit frustrating to come back up with so many interesting subjects to photograph. Thankfully we were diving Nitrox, but often times bottom time just seems to be too short…
 Humpback red snappers  Crown of Thorns Starfish |  Huge school of barracudas  Clark’s anemone fish |
We concluded the day with our first Blackwater Dive of this dedicated blackwater diving expedition, delving into the mysterious depths of the ocean's night realm. Amidst the pitch-black waters, we were entranced by the peculiar beauty of tiny creatures, with the male Paper Nautilus stealing the spotlight.
 Paper Nautilus |  Filefish |
 Puffer fish |  Baby crab blackwater dive |
Day 3:
Our exploration continued with dives around Koh Bon, where encounters with massive Marble Rays and schools of Chevron Barracuda set the tone for an exhilarating day. Moving on to Koh Tachai Pinnacle, we were greeted by more barracudas, batfish, and a playful clown triggerfish, painting a vibrant underwater tableau.
Our exploration continued with dives around Koh Bon, where encounters with massive Marble Rays and schools of Chevron Barracuda set the tone for an exhilarating day. Moving on to Koh Tachai Pinnacle, we were greeted by more barracudas, batfish, and a playful clown triggerfish, painting a vibrant underwater tableau.
 Big spotted marble ray and vivid seafan  Chevron barracudas |  Batfish in the blue  Wonderful red soft coral |
The day ended with another wonderful blackwater dive off the Similans
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Days 4 and 5:
Our expedition took us to Thailand's top dive site: Richelieu Rock, where we could enjoy 7 enchanting dives. This haven for marine diversity offered a tapestry of underwater marvels for both wide-angle and macro enthusiasts. It poses only one issue for photographers: choosing which lens to hone for the next dive as there are so many interesting subjects to photograph!
Those going with macro lenses could photograph harlequin ghost pipe fish, tapestry shrimps, harlequin shrimps, hairy shrimp, zebra moray, tiger egg cowry or families of Clark’s anemone fish nurturing their eggs!
Those going down with wide-angle lenses took wonderful shots of the vibrant coral reef with the rivers of emperor-long-nose patrolling and changing colors as they hunt.
Huge school of big eyes trevallies and rainbow runners were also seen in the blue and made some nice shots.
Safety stops were not too shabby either as we mingled with batfish, and giant trevallY at the top of the rock and even saw a blacktip reef shark getting chased by these silver giants!
Our expedition took us to Thailand's top dive site: Richelieu Rock, where we could enjoy 7 enchanting dives. This haven for marine diversity offered a tapestry of underwater marvels for both wide-angle and macro enthusiasts. It poses only one issue for photographers: choosing which lens to hone for the next dive as there are so many interesting subjects to photograph!
Those going with macro lenses could photograph harlequin ghost pipe fish, tapestry shrimps, harlequin shrimps, hairy shrimp, zebra moray, tiger egg cowry or families of Clark’s anemone fish nurturing their eggs!
Those going down with wide-angle lenses took wonderful shots of the vibrant coral reef with the rivers of emperor-long-nose patrolling and changing colors as they hunt.
Huge school of big eyes trevallies and rainbow runners were also seen in the blue and made some nice shots.
Safety stops were not too shabby either as we mingled with batfish, and giant trevallY at the top of the rock and even saw a blacktip reef shark getting chased by these silver giants!
 Couple of Harlequin shrimps |  Long nose emperors and big eyes trevallies |
 Clark’s anemone fish nurturing their eggs  Clark’s anemone fish eggs  Giant moray eel |  Ghost pipefish  Small Hairy shrimp |
On the 4th night we did a wonderful sunset at Richelieu Rock and stopped early to indulge in our special Barbecue Night, one the 5th day, we had a late start with 2 morning dives at Richelieu Rock followed by two amazing Blackwater dives on the 5th night! We got super lucky spotting a pelagic seahorse and Sargassum Frogfish (also a pelagic species: they leave offshore, never on the reef) .
 Sargassum frogfish |  Fish hiding in salp chain blackwater |
 Pelagic seahorse |  This Shrimp carries a pile of excrement to mimick a venomous siphonophore (much less appetising than itself) |
 Small fish in blackwater dive |  Baby crab blackwater |
Day 6 and 7:
Returning to Koh Tachai Pinnacle and Koh Bon the next days, we immersed ourselves in surreal dives amidst thousands of jellyfish, witnessing nature's ballet unfold before our eyes. The school of barracudas was spectacular, circling us in their embrace.
Returning to Koh Tachai Pinnacle and Koh Bon the next days, we immersed ourselves in surreal dives amidst thousands of jellyfish, witnessing nature's ballet unfold before our eyes. The school of barracudas was spectacular, circling us in their embrace.
 Elegant red jellyfish |  Koh Bon, Similan Islands |
A very Special Blackwater Expedition:
The highlight of our journey was undoubtedly the Blackwater dives, where we delved into the depths to discover pelagic wonders in their larval and adult stages.
We experienced some remarkable sightings during these 6 blackwater dives, including numerous male Paper Nautiluses and pretty squids, a pelagic seahorse, a charming Sargassum Frogfish hitching a ride on its Sargassum raft, a stunning Cusk eel, a sea robin, and a tinny larval Crocodile Toothfish (Champsodon sp.) captured on our final night.
Blackwater diving inspired new passion by unveiling the mysteries of the ocean's depths, leaving us in awe of its vastness and complexity.
As our expedition draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our esteemed guests who made this journey possible and incredible. Your passion for exploration fuels our adventures, and we hope that you've found as much joy and wonder in these underwater realms as we have. Until the next expedition, may the call of the ocean continue to beckon us toward new horizons.
Happy diving! 🌊🐠📷
The highlight of our journey was undoubtedly the Blackwater dives, where we delved into the depths to discover pelagic wonders in their larval and adult stages.
We experienced some remarkable sightings during these 6 blackwater dives, including numerous male Paper Nautiluses and pretty squids, a pelagic seahorse, a charming Sargassum Frogfish hitching a ride on its Sargassum raft, a stunning Cusk eel, a sea robin, and a tinny larval Crocodile Toothfish (Champsodon sp.) captured on our final night.
Blackwater diving inspired new passion by unveiling the mysteries of the ocean's depths, leaving us in awe of its vastness and complexity.
As our expedition draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our esteemed guests who made this journey possible and incredible. Your passion for exploration fuels our adventures, and we hope that you've found as much joy and wonder in these underwater realms as we have. Until the next expedition, may the call of the ocean continue to beckon us toward new horizons.
Happy diving! 🌊🐠📷
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 Jellyfish with juvenile fish hitching a ride  Pelagic sea snail |  Pirosome hiding a small shrimp |
 Male paper nautilus on jellyfish |   Amphipod on salp |
 Baby fish in salp  Pelagic seahorse |  Crustacean trying to camouflage |
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