Koh Tao Diving, Day 1+2

The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of diving. The sites are beautiful and full of life. I have been able to photo a new species on the camera each time we are down. The visibility on this side of Thailand is a bit better than Phuket, but it's a little more crowded. Master Divers and the other operations on the island seem to really have their stuff together. There is a call time at the shop about 15 min prior to loading the boat. From there, we load the long tail boat with gear and divers.

The long tail boat is something fierce! Ours is about 30' long, wooden, and thoroughly broken in. What is most impressive is the drivers of these improvised boats. Once we wade out in the water and load into the boat from its sides, the driver has to spin the entire thing around. There is no reverse! The motor is elevated off the back of the boat connected to a swivel. Mounted to the motor is the control rod on one end, and the super long propeller shaft on the other. When the boat is driving forward the long propeller shaft hangs out the back spraying up water as well. This is how the boat gets its name Long Tail. It might not be the safest thing out there, but it works. Our long tail captain is dark from the sun and super strong from all this manipulating of the heavy engine. I don't think his lungs are in that great of shape from the diesel that pumps out of this motor into his face at times. Or, maybe he just holds his breath and just ends up smelling like gas. It sure is interesting watching these guys go around the port and noticing the variances between the long tails. Some of the engines are actually car motors ripped out of front wheel drive vehicles and strapped to the back of boats.

The large dive boat is another topic of interest. During the briefing we are first off told not to cross the red board in the front of the boat. This is where the captain does not want us to pass since it has been blessed for safe travels and is wrapped in colorful sashes. Also, you are not to go into the captain's quarters unless you are invited because this is his home and where he sleeps. This goes with the dry area in the back as well. Our captain primarily stayed at the helm with a CB radio in his hand and never came out. I know the boats talk to each other, but this guy was in some sort of CB chat room that never ended. The boat was maneuvered flawlessly in and out of sites and back to the port. His boat is made out of wood and is quite large. Maybe 70' long. I need to find out the name of this boat.

The island is a little smaller than Bonaire and a boat will easily get you around the entire island. We have only ventured through a small area just around the dive shop and our bungalow. Electricity is known to surge and go out randomly, and Internet here is washy at best. It only comes in at the dive shop, but coffee places and Internet cafes have service.

Each dive I tend to take about 60-90 photos. I am trying to take less, but of better quality, but digital allows you to take as many as you want and just delete later. My biggest concern is to not hold up the dive party and still crank away on some subjects. The late night photo reviews are fun when I make it a game to delete at least half of them right off the bat and then fine tune the rest.