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Published: October 15th 2008
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It was great to be getting back under the water again, almost four weeks after our last dive. As the alarm went off at 7, I peeked through the curtains to be greeted with blue skies and minimal wind, which offered hope that it was going to be an easier boat ride for me than any I had endured on Koh Tao.
Along with Nic and Gareth, we were joined by 3 other divers and a couple who were planning to go snorkelling. We all clamboured into the minibus for the 10 minute ride to the port and were soon greeted by a chaotic shanty of huts lining the dock. The wooden jetty weaved through the maze of fisherman’s houses, ending abruptly at our home for the day - a thoughtfully converted fishing boat. Freshly painted, with a kitchen, eating area and sun deck with huge beds, the boat was far more luxurious and spacious than anything we had experienced at Crystal, and we were soon tucking into breakfast as we began the (thankfully) gentle two hour ride out to the dive sites.
The site for today were on the west coast of the Islands of Koh Rung Salpem The islands themselves are home to about 100 fishing families and an array of wildlife in abundance, including monkeys and eagles and copious marine life. But that is all - no roads, no electricity, no shops.
The plan for the day was simple - one hour-long dive in the morning, a (delicious) lunch of fried rice followed by some time to digest, relax, have a swim and a snorkel - then back in the water for another hour before heading back to Sihanoukville. Nic, Gareth, Mal and I would be led by Mike Lampard (his name was Mike and he looked like Frank Lampard) and the others would be going with lovely danish instuctor Claus.
Since we started diving, there have been two creatures top of my wish list to see - a whale shark and a blue spotted ray. These are reasonably realistic ambitions as both are seen regularly in the waters that we are diving in. The whale shark is quite a big ask - the largest fish in the sea (but a friendly plankton eater) they are seasonal and migratory. They had been spotted off Koh Tao the weeks we were there, but the inclement weather had not allowed us to go out to the deep dive sites they visit. However, I’m still optimistic about an encounter with these gentle giants as they are also found off the west coast of Australia, in Mozambique and in Tanzania - all destinations later on our itinerary.
So that just leaves the rays. They’re fairly common - on our last dive in Koh Tao, another group diving the same site as us saw some. Still, they eluded us.
So it was with hope I made the giant step into the deep this morning and made my descent. About halfway into the hour-long dive the dive master pointed out a small cave to Nic and Gareth who were ahead of us in the water - it transpired later that they had seen the tell tale blue tail of ray - but couldn’t really get a good look.
When Mike beckoned Mal over to a similar cave on the second dive, I was quick to follow, assuming I too was to get a tantalising glimpse of the elusive ray, but as Mal swam away nonchalantly (I would later discover the reason for said nonchalance) I got as close to the cave as I could and peered in, straining to see something that might resemble a ray. All I could make out was a shadow, which could have as easily been some table coral as a ray. I had been thwarted again.
After we surfaced, we began discussing what we had seen and Mike asked Mal if he had seen the ray. It seems that he had, but only really the tail, but that was OK as he had seen on in the open water in it’s full glory.
It transpires that at some point during the dive, I had stopped and waited for Mal (as a good buddy should) who had fallen behind me a little - and as he approached, I began to move away again. It was at this point that Mal spied the ray, directly under where I had been waiting for him. As I was ahead of him now and out of grabbing distance and the rest of the group were even further ahead, he had no way of alerting us to his wondrous discovery (although we did later draw his attention to the handy whistle attached to his BCD that might have helped a little) so he hovered quietly above the fish and understandably, enjoyed the moment in solitude.
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