Something interesting today, diving with Vig off the beach but no instructors or Dive masters, just two certified divers. This is something I did not do before, eben though I am certified for a long time usually I have dived with a dive company and followed someone. Vig has a lot more dives under his belt than me but we are both comfortable and kick out from the beach before going down. Casually we swim around the reef, I probably pay a little too much attention to my compass when I could just be following the reef out. Regardless its a nice dive and we find a few interesting things. A cuttlefish for one which Vig had not seen before and my favorite a Harlequin Sweet Lips (Disco Fish) kind of a orange a white spotted small fish with a bit of a disco wiggle to its movement.

With my over zealous compass work we have a nice 45minute dive and I manage to find my way back to about 20meters from where we started from, can't really miss the beach but I am please none the less!

Back in the shop again 9am start, 1st practicing DM skill circuit in the pool with Candy. Her demonstrations are very clear and precise and its good to practice what I learned again. Demonstrating skills is quite important and I have seen it done very well and not so well in the past. Both Candy & Giel's demonstrations are very polished. Also we have a new character today Vig, he is another DMT just starting his training today so I have a partner in crime and am no longer the newest kid in town! One nice dive out from the beach with Candy & Vig not much to see a little swell and poor visibility off the beach.

Second dive we have a group of 5 all beginners with Rene, an instructor.  There is a french boy and girl, a Australian bloke and his Russian Girl Friend. Last but not least a Japanese girl also a beginner and girl friend to Renee. Followed by a short briefing Renee demonstrates the required skills and the squad copy his actions one by one. Few hiccups but a few do overs, all I can tell are fairly new except the Australian but he has not done any diving for 15 years and needs a refresh also.  After a quick swim around the pool its off to the beach.

We swim out, it's a little rougher than the morning still not to bad but as we swim out the waves are a little disturbing to most of the group  who has not dived. Eventually past the waves and swim out a bit. The visibility is worse than the morning and once we are safely on the sandy bottom I help with some minor adjustments for buoyancy and after the frenchies take some photos proceed with the dive.  Its very murky today and after a very short time the french boy started to indicate a problem with his mouth, by this time I had lost sight of Rene. My dental patient indicated he wanted to go up, I tried to get him to wait a second so I could deploy an SMB(Surface Marker Bouy) but he would not wait and shot up, I could not hold him as he was starting to panic a little. Lucky we are only at about 5meters and no boats or Jet skis.  Vig was with the French girl and had lost Renee very quickly also and came up with us. We waited on the surface for Renee for a couple of minutes and elected to cancel the dive and the four of us swam back to shore. Thank you Giel for the warning about not coming out near the rocks, I was listening! Renee eventually surfaced after continuing the dive for about 30 minutes with the remaining divers. 

So at least I am starting to see what handling a group on your own will be like. Also different instructors, slightly different approach is what I noticed today. I think it will be good for me to dive with a few other instructors to see the difference in experience and style.

Day off today I need to do some non diving related paperwork, banking and whatnot. Spoke to my friend and former boss Gerry who mostly thinks she is still my boss or the boss of everyone, she does it in a motherly kind of way though. My diving and blogging I have time for as I am recently unemployed and redundancy has given me a little freedom. Happy Redundancy Day!

Anyway Gerry's mothering comes as encouragement to find a new job(Not sure I want that or at least not sure I want to rush back into it). Also I have to look at some insurance as my old company one will no longer be in place. So anyway writing about diving and don't want to talk about this too much, see you tomorrow my avid fan base of 2 people? Anyone else reading this? :)

Didn't mention this before but for anyone considering to be a Dive Master or Dive Instructor. Planning a sea Change or just want to live the dream. Be warned, its not all sunsets and palm trees. Its early mornings, carrying dive boxes to the pier, carrying boxes onto the boat, carrying boxes off the boat, putting boxes onto the truck and back to the shop to take boxes off the truck to be rinsed in fresh water; This I paid money for, must be nuts!

So here you see me in the back with the boxes Renee says I can sit in the front when I have earned my wings(or fins? whatever you know what I mean). If I'm with Giel I ride up front perhaps he just likes to smoke in the back.

Nice dive in the morning, if you read a few days back my comments about Racha Yai an the coral dying off well I was on a different part of that site today and I could see some small patches growing back despite the water temperature in my dive log still being 30 degrees. The little returning patches of coral make me feel there is some hope and things might improve if we take care.

Dive number 2 today was Home Run, there was a mild current this dive so I barely had to kick throughout the hole dive, we drifted leisurely along the reef and came up in a small bay before the tip of the Island. My group with Giel & Team Borris came up in the small sheltered bay protected from the current while the less experienced instructors came up a little further out and slowly drifted out from the Island. Good lesson for me if there is current stay close and wait for the boat or you might end up 500meters or more off shore. My 1st instinct was to swim out and look for the boat, wrong!(if there is current) Hopefully I remember this lesson. Hail the all knowing and mighty Giel!

Oh I forgot to tell you Dive number two was my one hundredth dive. Contrary to popular belief I was not required to dive naked, maybe no one wanted to see that anyway!

Didn't mention this before but for anyone considering to be a Dive Master or Dive Instructor. Planning a sea Change or just want to live the dream. Be warned, its not all sunsets and palm trees. Its early mornings, carrying dive boxes to the pier, carrying boxes onto the boat, carrying boxes off the boat, putting boxes onto the truck and back to the shop to take boxes off the truck to be rinsed in fresh water; This I paid money for, must be nuts!

So here you see me in the back with the boxes Renee says I can sit in the front when I have earned my wings(or fins? whatever you know what I mean). If I'm with Giel I ride up front perhaps he just likes to smoke in the back.

Nice dive in the morning, if you read a few days back my comments about Racha Yai an the coral dying off well I was on a different part of that site today and I could see some small patches growing back despite the water temperature in my dive log still being 30 degrees. The little returning patches of coral make me feel there is some hope and things might improve if we take care.

Dive number 2 today was Home Run, there was a mild current this dive so I barely had to kick throughout the hole dive, we drifted leisurely along the reef and came up in a small bay before the tip of the Island. My group with Giel & Team Borris came up in the small sheltered bay protected from the current while the less experienced instructors came up a little further out and slowly drifted out from the Island. Good lesson for me if there is current stay close and wait for the boat or you might end up 500meters or more off shore. My 1st instinct was to swim out and look for the boat, wrong!(if there is current) Hopefully I remember this lesson. Hail the all knowing and mighty Giel!

Oh I forgot to tell you Dive number two was my one hundredth dive. Contrary to popular belief I was not required to dive naked, maybe no one wanted to see that anyway!

No Diving, went to the Dive shop. Watched the DMT educational video and tried to catch up on my reading a little. There was a lot going on in the shop but nothing that I was needed for. Also had a look a the dive tables again, I have not used these much recently I am a little rusty. Short day.

Another Tsunami warning in the afternoon about 4pm I heard 5.1 on the Richter scale I was back in my apartment and felt a little rumble like a truck in the loading dock that does not exist not much more than that. Again no wave.

Straight up we saw a Leopard Shark unsighted in Phi Phi for about 9months at least by my instructors. Just saw the one but the other groups saw two, also a black tip shark, I am yet to see one.

I am tasked to buddy up with Wiggly Bum and after diving with him the name really fits, he never stops. I find myself breathing a little faster as the burden of responsibility is on me more and I slow my breathing down but come up with a little less air than usual. This is one thing that I am told you can only master in time so I guess I will wait. Watching people and worrying when they are not confident or behaving oddly is something I have always done since I started diving,  not the 1st time I felt this.

Lucy’s Reef & Home Run at Racha Yai, a little sad now when I dive Rachai Yai I 1st came here in 2009 for my open water course and due to water temperature the coral has died off, there is still a lot of fish and life but its not as beautiful as it once was. Again I am following Giel around we have two young students a boy and a girl, the boy never stops moving and by the end of the day has a new nick name from Giel, Wiggly Bum!

Ok, I know the blog is getting shorter and I have not updated for a few days, I’ll try to be more diligent but no promises, I’m lazy!

No Diving for 2 days!

My wallet is now a plastic bag with a double zip-lock.....

What happens when you arm an entire country with water pistols and buckets of water? Well I'm not quite sure yet I know I am going to get wet, duh James. Other than that my highest expectation for the Thai water festival is nothing less than William Golding's opinions on what will happen with no adult supervision; remember lord of the flies? Went to the shops before to find some lunch and a zip lock bag. Its not supposed to start till tonight but I guess you arm the entire drunken tourist population and a bunch of locals in preparation on a hot day... I should have expected some preemptive strikes.

Well I was right its chaos, people are bombing you with water if you are on a bike, walking in nice clothes, sitting in a bar, lets just say Songkran does not discriminate. Some how I feel its more meant for the kids than the drunken tourists, its entertaining when the children chase you with water pistols but its a little on the seedy side when there are a bunch of drunken tourists mobbing you from the side streets. All said and done on a hot day its hard not to get caught up in it. If you sit in a bar you they give you a plastic bag to cover your beer the waitresses join in the fun attacking passers buy and customers a like. Total insanity!

If I thought I got wet last night well today was worse.... anarchy rules the day, kinda fun walking around, absolutely no need to buy a water pistol. There is always someone with a bucket so I just turn the weapon back on its user, kinda poetic justice. Kids get a free shot anyone with a bucket especially ice water then fair game was the way I saw it :) Also occasionally someone will plaster you with some kind of menthol powder mixed with water it stings slightly and goes on like spack filler.... Well got wet had fun, enough said.

The customer slept in today, this left Giel with a smile on his face as he has been working for about 3 weeks without a day off. After that I guess any reprieve is nice. We head out on the boat again, another calm day the ocean again has barely a ripple, almost lake like. Perfect weather.

Today as no diver with Giel and I we will lead a pack of 6 snorkelers, two kids and four adults. One lady is not so comfortable its her 1st time and another has never used a snorkel but is a good swimmer. During the slow ride out to Phi Phi we gather some snorkeling gear and I take some time to read some more of the Dive Master Manual that I have been neglecting, I read a little each day but I have not got as far as I normally would with these kind of things, likely too much time blogging!

The divers go in 1st and we help the snorkeling crew find fins and masks to fit, after a little swap and shuffle we are ready to go. For the lady that's a bit worried I found her a life jacket and assured her I will stay close. Into the water we go and even the lady who is a little nervous enters with only a little hesitation. We start to swim around the bay at Koh Bida Nok and after a few minor adjustments in the water to masks and fins everyone starts to feel more comfortable. One lady continues to have trouble with her mask but its doesn't stop us, we'll try another for the second round.

I can say I've done a lot of snorkeling in the past and I am pretty comfortable in the water but the extra responsibility making sure everyone stays together and is ok is a new experience, I try to make a habit of counting everyone every minute or so. I was a boy scout so helping is in my nature, you know. Helping old ladies across the road before pushing them into traffic! That sort of thing.

Learned something today apparently snorkels are not very comfortable with braces, maybe if I ever have to help another snorkeler with mouth Jewelry we can find a different shape snorkel, maybe that's something you just have to put up with if you have braces. Kids are not as tough as they used to be, suck it up boys and girls a little discomfort is good for you. Crawl through drains, scrape your knee; PlayStation makes you soft!

Second round of snorkeling was a breeze after a mask and snorkel swap. Everyone was more expert after the practice in the morning and I did not feel so obliged to worry about everyone though I kept up the counting ritual for my own piece of mind. Giel entertained us by Dive Bombing some of the scuba divers, one secret of scuba divers, they never look up if you come from above you can catch them by surprise, fun! This activities remind me to look up every now and then and admire the scenery we are snorkeling under beautiful cliffs with pipers nesting in the rock face that I point out to the group. Surprisingly I am not disappointed that I did not dive today.

On the return journey I am going through a fish book showing some of the snorkelers some of the fish we saw. The boat came to a stop for no apparent reason, I scan the ocean thinking maybe a whale sighting or something, but there is barely a ripple on the surface. Boris the tour leader on the boat comes up and explains there was an earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia. Registered 8.6, a big one. There are quite a few people who were here for the Tsunami twelve years ago and everyone is a little nervous. Warning sirens were sounded in Patong and areas close to the coast and people evacuated to high ground. There was some disagreement on the boat about what we should do. The captain wanted to race in ahead of any potential wave and evacuate everyone to high ground, I guess he wanted to get home to his family. Can't blame him but this was not the sensible option. Reason won over we stayed out an extra couple of hours waiting for news of any wave that would take one and a half hours to reach Phuket if it was to hit.

Text messages were sent home, so mums and family alike would not worry and we played the waiting game. Also another game, played my 1st game of Yatzee in years! With some kids on the boat to pass the time, I was not victorious. Beaten by kids again! By about 6:30 waiting out in deep water where its safest with all the boats that had left port for safe deep water it became apparent that no wave would hit and we headed in to port under a breathtaking sunset guided home by the now lit up Big Buddah, perhaps he was watching over us today?  Patong was slightly shaken and much relieved by the time we were heading home. There were still a few people playing safe and waiting roadside to hear news that they could return to there homes and hotels alike. Diving activity for Seafun has been cancelled for tomorrow a decision made with no thought of profit in mind, my respect to Renee for this quick selfless decision.

That's me done for the day! Yes I know this blog is starting to look little boring, pictures coming soon!

Day started at nine, again I slept like a log but was up at 6am. Burned a few emails and did the three S's Shit shower and shave, excuse the french. Email I have not quite quit the habit and here in Paradise I am typing this out for whoever cares to read my ramblings. Again picked up by Giel on the bike and off to the office at le'Meridian, most of the customers are picked up in the van as I am staying on the cheap side of town its more convenient riding bitch with Giel. I'm starting to get the feel for the way things run and don't feel quite so useless and can pitch in to help without asking questions every two minutes and I am starting to know where things are to be found.

One open water student today had paid for private tuition so for Giel an easier day than normal. Helping setup the gear is one of the things I am trusted with now the more you do it the easier it is, I'm a little spoiled from the past where dive companies setup for you. But for the would be DMT no more! You are there to lend a hand.

Off to the pool with our open water diver to practice some skills, mask clearing, mask removal and placement, fin pivots, swimming without a mask, tired diver tow, giant stride entry(demonstrated by yours truly!), buddy breathing, controlled emergency swimming ascent and I think that is it. Also a swim test for the open water diver and for me treading water for 15 minutes one of the skills I am tested, sounds easy I can float forever and tread water just about as long; I am not uncomfortable in the water. The catch though the last two minutes you have to do this with your arms out of the water, I'm not as fit as I have been in the past and I found this really tough I was struggling to keep my arms out of the water. Guess I need to pay attention to my fitness a little more. Anyway I can try to do this again better another day, maybe I will also start doing some laps of the beach to improve my fitness time allowing.

Next off to the beach! The open water diver was pretty good he did all the skills well and on the 1st attempt with only a little help here and there. That said our instructor was looking pretty pleased, I guess its always a pleasure to have a good student. The beach dive was relaxing and we saw a few things its a nice little reef off the beach we did not get as far yesterday with the kids but today with a confident student we were not so restricted and we found some lovely coral; giant bommies(Like Giant Giant Brains sprouting from the ocean floor) and smaller stuff starting to grow around the rocks closer to shore. A few fish around some schooling barracuda,  some small to medium lion fish, spotted box fish and a big puffer.

Giel stepped back and let me stay close with his trainee and help without intervention he was really pretty good didn't need much help just tended to drift up a little as we got closer to the 5meter mark, gave him a spare weight which seemed to help a bit. With practice he will be a good diver when he learns to control buoyancy more with his breathing, something I take for granted now. A good reminder we were all beginners once.

So more skills in the pool and a second dive and that wrapped up the day, oh wait I forgot to tell you I made my 1st CESA line today, its a bouy with some weight attached by a rope so I have learned some new knots and how to daisy chain rope so its convenient to carry but easy to release when you want to drop the weight. Pretty easy once you know how but I guess I better do it a few times to be sure I remember.

Bumped into a familiar face, Skye is doing her thesis for her course in Geography. She has surveys being filled out by a number of dive companies to try to see the affects of environmental damage to dive sites and how that affects tourism. Met her once before diving in Phuket last time I was here. Well, that about wraps up the day I'm starving, time for dinner!

Oh yes, one more thing. Talked the price of the hotel down with the boss of my little hotel we agreed on 500THB but only clean once a week, suits me just fine. As I plan to stay a month I think we are both pretty happy. I can't rent a place back home in Sydney for that price and as I have no bills to pay back home this works pretty well for me with the diving its not much more for me to stay here than stay at home so why not!