Changing hosts !

Thank you all for visiting and reading our blog !

We recently moved our blog to our own website, which means that there will be no more new posts being published here.

In order to stay up to date with what is happing with DivingScool Koh Chang or anything else involved diving, we refer you to our new blog at divingscool.com/blog

Thanks for your support and interest!

Hope to welcome you soon on our new blog!

Ps. we also have a new Facebook page, check it out!

Wonderful introduction to the underwater world

Yesterday we took the boat to the National Marine Park, where we entered the water with a bunch of enthusiastic teenagers for their first open water scuba diving adventure.  They were escorted by their parents who all went snorkelling on the same sites.  This way, they too could enjoy the splendour of the Koh Chang reefs and  could see their kids underwater adventurer.  Conditions were great; the sun was out most of the time and the visibility was above average for this time of the year.

Scuba diving equipment at Koh Rang, National Marine Park

The day before the kids all enrolled in our Discover Scuba Diving program here at DivingScool.  After a fun and detailed briefing we went to the swimming pool where everyone was geared up and headed into the water.  The goal here is to get everyone familiar with the scuba equipment and above all to make sure that everyone is comfortable while breathing underwater and that basic skills like mask clearing and regulator recovery are mastered.

Discover Scuba Diving, pool session with DivingScool Koh Chang

The pool proofed to be an excellent preparation for our youngsters as no one had issues during their two very first open water dives.  All of them thoroughly enjoyed it and some of them will soon take their underwater adventure to the next level by obtaining the PADI Open Water Diver license.

Fish tanks for the Gulf

Artificial reefs made from old tanks to support the Gulfs marine life.

Under an initiative by Her Majesty the Queen, the Royal Thai Army handed over 25 old tanks to the Department of Fisheries.  This was reported by the Bangkok Post yesterday.

The old T69-2 tanks will serve their final time underwater, where this battalion will form an artificial reef and provide a breeding ground for marine life in the Gulf of Thailand.

Picture from The Bangkok Post

Some of the retired tanks were transported yesterday from a military camp in Nakhon Ratchasima to Klong Toey Port in Bangkok.  The rest will follow this weekend and Monday.  

From here, they will all be shipped and placed in to a military compound in  Narathiwat before being dumped into the Gulf of Thailand of Narathiwat and Pattani.

The sunken tanks should help sustain the local fisheries in the region and also these new artificial reefs will become an excellent opportunity for divers to explore them and to do some brilliant wreck diving.

Hopefully there are more old tanks left, so one day - lets hope in the near future -  we can see some of them in the waters around the beautiful Koh Chang Archipelago. 

And who knows, we too could be diving in a similar underwater landscape in the near future.

Original picture from The Nation

Happy Bubbles!

Playing the waiting game

The last couple of days we've seen the worst weather on Koh Chang we've had in a very long time.  This was caused by  tropical storm CHANTHU in the South China Sea.  All this resulted in a massive amount of rainfall and a very choppy sea.   

Luckily, Rick, a Canandian Teacher who signed up for his PADI Open Water Course has got time on his hand and so we can play the waiting game!  So far we've finished the Knowledge Development and the Confined Water dives which leaves us with the four open water dives after the weekend.  

The forecast is looking better for the next couple of days and hopefully we can get some nice dives at the Koh Rang National Marine Park.  Despite the bad weather a couple of snorkelers said visibility is still around 10-15m and there is plenty of marine life to be seen!

Just before we got hit by the bad weather, Dmitry,currently living in Bangkok, succeeded in his PADI Advanced Open Water Course.  After we've completed the complementary deep- and navigation dive, Dmitry chose for the Search and Recovery dive, followed by Digital Underwater Photography and an Enriched Air dive.  During one of the dives we encountered a small octopus which was hiding in a shell and started playing hide and seek with us.  We tried holding an Dutch and a Spanish football shirt in front of this lovely creature, but it couldn't be bothered. 

Octopus in shell - Photo by RAD

Almost halve way through the rainy season, I can only wish that the other half will be the same as the first part, giving us plenty of good dives and wonderful encounters.  As for now...

Happy Bubbles!

Excellent green season diving conditions at Koh Chang

The last couple of weeks we have been blessed with rather excellent weather here at Koh Chang.  This results in great diving conditions at all dive sites.
DivingScool's divers visited the National Marine Park several times last week and  they all came back with huge smiles on their faces!  Good visibility, plenty of fish, the return of color on the corals and some remarkable sightings from baby sharks to huge Queen helmet shells makes the diving more than worth wile this time of the year.

Queen helmet shell...Pic from Zubi

Some sad news has to be mentioned as well, last week several carcasses of dolphins have been found on the beaches of Klong Prao.  Fishermen who, presumably, had caught it had cut the meat off, leaving the head, tail and guts.  Local fishermen have filed complaints against Vietnamese ships fishing in their local waters, whether their presence and the death of the dolphins is related has yet to be determined, but I've never heard of Thais killing dolphins for food.  Hopefully it stays to nine unfortunate dolphins that have been counted so far and that everyone can enjoy their presence around Koh Chang and its neighbouring islands.

One of the dolphins found on Klong Prao Beach...Pic from Ian

To round up I would like to mention that DivingScool Koh Chang is participating in the Annual Underwater Clean Up together with Project AWARE which will be on the 25th September 2010.  More information about this event will follow soon.  Please check out some of our current excellent promotions!

As for now...

Happy Bubbles

The White Gardens of Koh Rang

We went diving yesterday at Koh Rang National Marine Park to see what everyone has been talking about for the last couple of weeks namely the bleaching of the corals.

Now, coral bleaching isn't new to Thailand or its neighbours, however, this year the gravity of the bleaching and the sheer pace and volume in which the corals are changing colour is quite severe.
Bleaching has got many causes, but the main one here seems to be the rise in sea water temperature and this over a prolonged period of time.  Since the end of March the temperature hasn't been below 31c with peaks of 34c at times.

The change in temperature acts as a stressor on the algaes which lives on the corals and which actually give the colour to the coral skeleton.  This stress leads to a stimulated discharge of the colourful algaes and eventually to their death, turning the fragile corals in to a snow-white structure.

During our dives we noticed significant bleaching of the entire reef and some parts are even completely colourless, giving us the feeling that we were diving in a huge snowy white garden.  The pictures below, taking by Oliver Zarnack, show some of the corals on Koh Rang.
It is a very special feeling of diving in such conditions and in one way, everyone should go down there and see what we are doing to our beautiful planet and on the other hand it gives us an opportunity of monitoring closely their hopefully quick recovery.

But overall it hurts to see our reefs like this and we should all be very concerned about what causes this massive bleaching and how we can prevent this in the near future!

As for now we can only hope on some rain to cool things down, so that the corals can start recovering as soon as possible.

Happy Bubbles!

Speciality of the Month June : Peak Performance Buoyancy

Diving isn’t a strenuous activity if you’re doing it right, experienced divers will tell you that the key to this is neutral buoyancy. Your dives will become easier as you gain better control over your buoyancy.

You will feel more confident in the water and you will contribute to protect our valuable coral reefs as perfect buoyancy keeps you from crashing into and  damaging this fragile marine life. During the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty course you will learn how to wear the right amount of weight and how to find that perfect diving position.

One of the most important tools for mastering your buoyancy is your breathing. With slight changes in inhaling and exhaling you can adjust your buoyancy. Getting the hang of perfect buoyancy will improve your air consumption and gives you more energy and confidence.

Now that you’ve improved your air consumption and your underwater positioning you want to get the maximum out of your dives by extending your bottom times. The PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty allows you in a safe way to stay longer at your favourites dive sites. Contact us to find out when courses start and to receive your 1000 THB discount by mentioning this blog.