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Published: December 15th 2007
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J.C. Light Over Twins
The sun broke through the clouds as soon as we surfaced after a late afternoon dive at Twins providing an angelic moment of tranquility. December 4th - December 12th:
Imagine a small tropical island with incredible snorkeling and a mecca for scuba diving, with many hidden bays and a rich jungle in the center surrounded by remarkably quiet, coconut palm tree laced beaches empty as the clear blue skies above. This is Koh Tao (a.k.a Turtle Island) - a small island off the south east coast nestled in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Famous for it’s scuba diving and azure waters it’s an incredible place to get in-touch with the spectacular underwater world.
Based on the recommendation of my friend Dirk from Amsterdam I set up camp for 8 days at Crystal Divers located on Mae Head beach with a goal to learn to scuba dive. My first challenge was completing the Open Water Diver certification that allowed me to dive to a depth of 18m. It’s a 4-day PADI certified course full of classes and tests where skills are introduced in a safe and relaxed environment in their large swimming pool followed by four open waters dives over two days that vary in depth from 14-18m. My class and dive team consisted of five others: Ash and James from
Twins J.C. Light #2
Another shot of the remarkable lighting over the Twins dive site. South Africa; Claude from Australia; Arnaud from France; and our Dive Master, Scuba Steve, who is a professional poker player turned diver from the U.K.
After completing the Open Water course we were all hooked on diving and immediately signed up for the Advanced Diver certification class that would allow us to deep dive to a depth of up to 30m. This course was 2-days with limited class time and underwater skill tests and focused mostly on 5 dives including a night dive, deep dive at 30m, fish identification and navigational skills. Our 5th and final dive was a “fun dive” and we all rented digital cameras to take with us. Unbeknownst to me my camera was set on video rather than photo so a lot of my footage was 1 second of the shot I wanted followed by a lot of the camera jerking back and forth.
The underwater world of Thailand is filled with thousands of curious looking creatures of all sizes, colors and shapes. Throughout our dives we sighted and even swam with: Grey and White Tipped Reef Sharks; fish of all species including Long Tail Banners, Hexagon Groupers, Parrot, Clown, Trigger, Porcupine, Giant Puffer
Sunset Bungalow
I had the only bungalow right on the beach overlooking Mae Head harbor. Sunset view taken from my porch a few feet away from the Gulf of Thailand. and Grouper, Butterfly, Bat, Angel, Corral Rock Cod, Damsels, Barracuda; Anemones, Urchins, Christmas Tree Worms; and hard and soft corals.
It’s incredibly difficult to put into words the feelings associated with diving and the euphoria you experience after surfacing. The anxiety and nervousness as you climb aboard the boat and head out to the dive site. The excitement and even fear as you take your last breathe of fresh air, breathe through your regulator and begin to descend below the surface of the water into the deep and unknown. The pressure on your mask, ear canals and sinuses as you reach 24m and level off at 30m can be unnerving. The feeling of weightless movement is truly incredible. The moment you achieve completely neutral buoyancy where the slightest changes in breathing will alter your position in the water column is enlightening. The utter intensity, fear, serenity and confidence of diving in a pitch black sea at night lighting your way with a small torch. The magic of watching phosphorescent plankton twinkle like green pixy dust against a black aquatic backdrop each time you move your hands or fins through the water.
What was most significant was the feeling
Air is Life
Depleted nitrogen/oxygen air tanks stacked for the boat ride home. of interaction with this alien world, albeit still as an observer. If you dive slow and steady the fish are not fearful of you and you’ll find they even approach you, curiously looking at you eye-to-eye while they hover inches from your facemask. On one dive I was overtaken from behind by a school of small barracuda and found myself swimming in the middle of a large pack of these creatures following their lead and moves as if it was an aquatic dance 20m below.
My favorite moments of the dive were always those few seconds ascending right before you break the surface of the water. You head is up, hands extended before you as you follow your air bubbles upwards, ears crackling slowly as the nitrogen releases from the open cavities of your body, the color of the water turns a brilliant blue with rays of light cutting the water like yellow laser beams, the sky and cloud’s shapes above distorted by the water and the first breathe of fresh air… a truly unique and euphoric feeling.
After completing my Advanced Diver certification I stayed for an extra day to take in a few “fun dives”. I
Arnaud is Jacques Costeau
Our French friend gears up for one of our first dives at White Rock canyon. wanted to milk this opportunity as much as possible and get in as many dives as I could. Over the course of the week I logged a total of 11 dives at 6 different sites with each one being as different and unique as the last. I definitely found a new hobby and look forward to every future opportunity where I can get back into a wetsuit, strap an O2 bottle to my back, stuff a regulator in my mouth and swim with the fishes.
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