New Years Trip 1999/2000 with TSAC

The Thailand Sub-Aqua Club’s New Years trip is one of the club’s strongest traditions, and usually one of the best trips that the club arranges. Knowing that the 1999/2000 change was likely to see full boats and high rates, arrangements for this trip started back in March 1999, with the booking of the MV “Short Cut”, which we have used on 4 other occasions now, and come to be very fond of.

Unfortunately, we had not taken into consideration that the Y2K scare was bound to prevent a large number of TSAC regulars from attending, seeing as a large part of the membership consists of engineers, people in manufacturing, IT professionals and other service providers, most of whom would not be given the opportunity to take vacation at the time.

So faced with an extraordinarily expensive trip for those few who could attend, it was decided to cancel the Short Cut, and instead, Ossie located a locally owned boat, the Andaman Dancer. The AD is significantly smaller (sleeps 18 passengers), and was half the price of the Short Cut, so it was decided to give it a try, especially considering that several TSAC members had been on the boat and sang its praises.

After a small scare in Bangkok Airport (one of our reservations had been dropped by Thai Airways, but we got a stand-by vacancy), and an uneventful flight to Phuket, we went through the usual ritual of convincing a surly southern bus driver that carrying 2 or 3 bags per person is quite normal for divers. A pick-up truck was hired for the bags, and we set off for Chalong Bay. After a pit stop at Tesco’s to stock up on wine, booze and snacks, we reached Chalong and made the transfer by long-tail boat to the Andaman Dancer.

The boat is nice. It sleeps 18 divers in twin-share cabins, with 2 state-rooms up front, not the most comfortable place in rough seas. The one family on board got those. There is a well-appointed dry area with a large TV and VCR, and the outside dining area is covered. The top deck (dubbed “the Lido Deck” by Bill, who was disappointed that the shuffleboard and skeet shooting arrangements he had expected were notably absent) is a nice sun deck with mattresses. Soft drinks and coffee/tea/Milo is available free of charge, and the fruit baskets never seemed to empty. Ossie gave a boat briefing, and we settled down for a few hundred beers and some sleep.

We left Chalong early in the morning on the 31^st, and proceeded to the first dive site, Anemone Reef. Robert gave a dive briefing (“A sloping pinnacle, go down, swim around, come up, don’t die!”), and we plunged in. The visibility was so-so, probably about 10 meters, but Anemone Reef is all about small stuff, so that didn’t matter. There were lots of lionfish about, as well as the many species of morays for which Anemone Reef is famous.	Coral shrimp on Anemone Reef
Baitfish on the King Cruiser		The second dive was on the wreck of the “King Cruiser”, a catamaran car ferry that sank 2 years ago, after colliding with Anemone Reef. She sits upright in about 25 meters of water, and the visibility here is never good. This is probably mostly because of the large number of inexperienced divers on her, as well as the quite strong currents in the area, both of which dislodge silt several times a day. As such, although this wreck is fantastic for penetration, one should be very careful when doing so. Large schools of baitfish inhabit the wreck, as do very large numbers of lionfish and thousands of clams and crabs. She is still not encrusted to any large extent, but it is obvious that the process has started. Rumor has it that she is also starting to cave in, making the warnings against penetration all the more pertinent. The dive went well in the only slight current, and lots of lionfish were spotted.

Proceeding on a southeasterly course, we made Hin Bida after lunch, for the 3^rd and last dive of the day. Another one of Rob’s “sloping pinnacles” (as opposed to a “rocky ridge”, the only two types of underwater topography descriptions Rob employs in his briefings), the visibility was slightly better here, and the site was teeming with fish. Still no leopard sharks, although the area where we dived this day is one of the more reliable areas for spotting them, but we chalked it up to the poor visibility.

Late in the afternoon, we reached our chosen Y2K party site, beautiful Maya Bay south of the Phi Phi islands. Used as a backdrop for “Cutthroat Island”, and most recently and controversially for “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio (Maya Bay, a national park, was mutilated by 20^th Century Fox in order to give it the “right” appearance), this is one of the two most beautiful spots I have ever been to, the other being Isabelle in Palawan. Steep limestone cliffs plunge straight into the azure bay, and two small sandy beaches complete the picture. Unfortunately, though predictably, we were not alone in having chosen this spot for the party, but no matter. Throughout the evening, boats came and went from nearby Phi Phi, and someone set up a party on the beach as well. We met up with the “King Fisher” another dive boat belonging to good friend San, and the wine and champagne flowed until 3 in the morning. Here is a random collection of pictures from that wonderful night, starting with the last sunset of 1999 and (as usual) ending with San flashing that “No-I-am-NOT-drunk-hic” smile:

Last Sunset of 1999	Sarah with the Millennium Clock	San, Rachel and Sarah sharing the Big Moment
John, somebody, Atchara, Lesley, Rob and Ossie	Knowlton offers a toast and Karen grins	No, I am NOT drunk – hic! Happy NY, San.

Although our ultimate destination was Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, we had unanimously decided to save those sites for the 2^nd of January, given that most people would probably want to a) sleep in and b) dive easier and shallower sites after the previous evening’s imbibing. Thus, we spent a delightfully relaxing day by first visiting Tam Morakot (“Morakot Cave”), a hollow island! The whole limestone island was obviously once a cave, but over the eons, the roof caved in, and the inside of the island is now a lush green with a small beach. Accessible only by snorkeling through a tunnel at low tide, this place ought to be a World Heritage Site. It is every boy’s fantasy pirates’ lair, the only drawback being the lack of a proper bar, an oversight that will no doubt one day be corrected!

The Phi Phi Islands

Moray at Koh Rok Nok

After the snorkeling and relaxation, we proceed to Koh Rok Nok and Nai, where we made 3 dives, including a night dive. Initial confusion about the dive site location did not detract from the beauty of these islands, and the visibility had improved considerably as we had gotten further away from shore. Some of us saw a leaping sailfish en route to the islands, and dolphins were spotted in the distance. Quite unusually for Thai waters, there were lots of lobsters out, both at day and at night. So they have not all ended up in Phuket’s seafood restaurants.

Early the next morning, we arrived at Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, the sites we had been waiting for. We were greeted by a spectacular sunrise, burning “fingers of God” through the clouds, and geared up excitedly The first dive was on Hin Daeng, the largest of the two rocks. Hin Daeng protrudes above the surface at low tide, but not by much. Down under, however, the rock is enormous, with many peaks and valleys to explore, as well as Thailand’s tallest vertical wall, dropping to the bottom at some 50+ meters.

Fingers of God

Hin Daeng in all its splendor

The visibility was a quite respectable 15-20 meters, but on Daeng and Muang, the visibility can increase or decrease in the blink of an eye, or rather, on the rise or fall of a tide. Still, we could easily make out the schools of jacks and barracudas that are so common here, and the incredible color of the rock, festooned as it is with red soft coral, is always breathtaking. Next dive was on Hin Muang, a totally submerged rock roughly shaped like a gigantic load of bread, and located only a few hundred meters from Hin Daeng. The visibility here was disappointing, and I have never been a big fan of Hin Muang anyway, having always found the topography and marine life infinitely more interesting on Hin Daeng.

The rock is home to many cuttlefish, scorpionfish, lionfish, as well as assorted reef fish of all descriptions. Unusually, there were lots of emperor angelfish around, a relatively rare angelfish in Thailand. Several juveniles were seen, so different from the adults in coloration (See below). One cuttlefish encounter was of the 3^rd kind, with our friend allowing very close contact, as you can see. We have always found the Pharaoh cuttlefish to be very approachable, provided you approach from the front in a slow, cautious manner, and refrain from making any sudden movement	Eye of a cuttlefish
Adult Emperor Angelfish	No evidence of sharks, although this last year has been a good one for sharks at this site. It was agreed that the last two dives of the day were to be made on Hin Daeng, and they did not disappoint. Although we only saw a shark on the dusk-dive (a fairly large blacktip which we obviously awoke from its beauty sleep), both dives were top-quality Hin Daeng. Especially the dusk-dive is always interesting here, because the visibility is generally at its peak, and this affords views of the big schools of jacks and barracuda hunting in the blue water just off the rock.
Juvenile Emperor Angelfish	We did not night dive (the location is too exposed and it is way too easy to drift away into the wild blue yonder), so we started making our way back towards Phuket overnight, stopping once more in Maya Bay for sheltered anchorage.

On the last day of the trip, we dived once at Koh Ha, and made our way into the waters east of Phuket. Here we did one last dive at Koh Dok Mai (Flower Island), a site that means a lot to me personally. It was here, in November 1994, that I made my first dive ever, an intro dive which I signed up for out of sheer boredom, and I will always have a special fondness for this place and the magic it can weave.

Decorator crab

Swim-through at Koh Dok Mai

The underwater landscape is that of a sheer wall going all the way around the island, with lots to see all over the place for the observant. Almost immediately, we came upon a large pipefish on the bottom, which I got a few good pictures of, and we spent the rest of the dive exploring the wall. On Koh Dok Mai, you can be assured of extremely large schools of baitfish and snappers, and this dive did not disappoint. Above 15 meters, the visibility was excellent, and this is where we spent the majority of the dive. A great end to any dive trip.

Our flight was not until the following morning, but we still unanimously decided that this was the last dive of the trip. We had not been as aggressive in our diving as we normally are, but we had still got a fair bit of diving in, and did not feel like jeopardizing TSAC’s unblemished safety record. This gave us almost a full day at the island after the dive, and we spent it swimming, snorkeling, drinking the last of the beer and liquor supply, and drying gear in the sun.

Rob, Karen and I enjoy a swim and a cleansing ale

In the evening, the plan was to anchor in Chalong Bay for a long night’s sleep, but we thought better of it, and decided to go ashore for a good meal. The Lighthouse Hotel in Chalong Bay provided food and liquid refreshment, and we got our land-legs back, some faster than others. At 5 o’clock the next morning, we transferred divers and gear to the pier via long-tail boat, and proceeded to Phuket airport for the flight back to Bangkok. This was probably my last TSAC trip for a while, having now relocated to Manila. Karen and Rachel have taken over the trip coordination, and did a superb job of it, ably assisted by Ossie and Atchara, to both of whom much thanks is due! Thanks also to Robert for his never boring dive briefings (hey, Rob, you were trained by the best!), to Karen for bringing the long hose (also known as “Knowlton’s Pacifier”), and to Knowlton himself for bringing the rubber chicken. The trip would not have been the same without it, or you.

Knowlton’s Rubber Chicken, our trip mascot

TSAC remains one of the friendliest clubs it has ever been my pleasure to be active in, and has provided Soyong and me with so many friends whom we never want to lose contact with. Thanks, guys and guyettes, we will see you in Puerto Galera in April!

Morning in Chalong Bay