2000 Chapbook

Thailand is a diver's bargain.... Whale shark season is usually from March through May, with Richelieu Rock providing an excellent chance of encounters.... Trips to the Burma Banks were stopped for political reasons, but this area has been reopened along with some other new areas; check before departure....

Fantasea,January 1999, Charles Stearns, Lilburn, GA. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: low 80's. Occasional 3 knot current. Trip was arranged quickly and efficiently by Laurie Sutton of Fisheye World Tours (www.fisheye.com; (laurie@candw.ky). Burma: only a few hundred visitors dive offshore each year. Season is short, the reefs untouched by divers (though touched by dynamite fishing)! Many scorpion fish. As I took one scorpion fish picture, another actually swam between my lens and the other fish! I had a double scorpion photo! Our group: three from US, four French, three Japanese and the balance German and Swiss. Request Cabin 1A as it is most spacious; if you are alone Cabin 5, which is usually reserved for a female traveling alone. Cabin 1 is a quad and I had several snorers as cabin mates. Beds uncomfortably hard; take an air mattress. Showers on the dive deck for a quick rinse after a dive. Four heads, easy to flush, all on the dive deck, one deck above the cabins. No in-cabin heads, showers or sinks. Showers in three heads; adequate warm water. Sinks have only cool water. Choose to eat Thai or western. Sodas, beer and wine slight additional charge, honor system at the bar. Snacks plentiful. Water from large bottles. Excellent reference library and videos, tapes and CD's. Separate tips for the Thai crew and Mark and Rob. Camera rinses are fresh and adequate. Camera table in the main salon is kept clean. Cameras are handled carefully by the Thai crew as you enter or leave the water. Mark (cruise director on the boat for last 11 years) and Rob are excellent; find interesting critters, helping with photo techniques. Mark held a special place for me at the Silver Bank silver tip shark feed so that I could use my particular camera and lens and get good results. E-6 processing well done. Take a dive alert and dive sausage! I used my sausage several times. It is not uncommon to be swept from everyone and have to care for yourself surfacing alone. Zodiac driver spots divers quickly. One occasion the Fantaseacame to me if the Zodiac were retrieving others. Service is excellent and safety is number one priority. Briefings thorough. Much diving is directly from the boat "live diving style" as Mark puts it as the boat positions over the reef. In Burma there is no night diving because the sites are so far apart. Burma diving is deeper than most people like for night dives. Negatives: No electrical outlets in cabins. No hot water in sinks (Try shaving) Cabin and salon a/c sporadic. Meals served on the wind blown upper deck and were often cool before you were through the buffet line. GPS failed, we were guided by a lone hand-held unit. Twelve hour time change from Atlanta. Allow an extra day or two to adjust and allow for delayed baggage to catch up. My passport disappeared in Thailand and it took a great deal of assistance from the Hotel Kata Thani concierge and the U.S. embassy in Bangkok to have it reissued in one day so that I could leave for Burma. Both the hotel concierge and the Bangkok embassy staff were outstanding. Glitzy hotels, t-shirt shops, discos and restaurants at Patong Beach. Upscale hotels like the Kata Thani on the beach away from Patong. I have had poor experience with the New York airports with exchange of luggage between airlines; half the time one or more of my bags is delayed. My dive bag arrived at my house three days later. My clothing bag without the camera and CD player arrived after five days with the broken lock in the place where the camera had been! (Ph: 011-66-76-340088 or 011-66-76-295511, Fax: 66-76-340309, e-mail:info@fantasea.net, Website: fantasea.net)

Fantasea,February 1999, Jim King, Albia, IA. Vis: 30-100 ft. Water: 80-81 degrees. Deckhands were the most helpful of the 14 live-aboards. Ask for a private room; one had 4 bunks and occupants of another cabin had to pass through. Passageway to stern of boat has uncovered metal braces, I fractured my toe on the last day. I rate the average dive slightly below the average for live-aboard dives, though there were a few exceptional dives. Currents and murky water worse than when I was in the area three years ago. Burma dives were good, but not $130 better than the dives in Thailand. (Burma charges $130 entry fee.) Divemaster Mark is an excellent photographer, but it is difficult to be an excellent dive guide at the same time. He swam too fast to dive sites without checking on people following him or giving time to enjoy the reef.

Fantasea,April 1999, Gregg Gaylord (gregg54@tcbi.com), Sheboygan, WI. Vis: 40-75 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. No restrictions enforced, though no decompression diving a rule. Flight to Phuket 12 time zones from the Midwest. Northwest had an excellent flight to Bangkok; Thai Air has frequent shuttle flights on a comfortable jet to Phuket. We (eight divers) were greeted at the airport by Fantaseareps and van. After a check in at the dive shop, we had the afternoon to explore Phuket. Mark Strickland and Rob (the Belgian divemaster and videographer) oriented divers to the boat and gave a trip overview that included the dreaded words "we haven't seen a whale shark since December." 9 year old girl on our trip (a "bubbler" that was not allowed to dive). I more concerned with the medical possibilities of treating a pediatric injury while 100 miles offshore in Burmese waters. Oh well. Some cabins more comfortable than others, yet I don't believe prices varied. My cabin had a double bunk with a hallway that had no privacy (another cabin entrance was inside our cabin). Cabins were roomy with plenty of storage space. Showers and heads were on the dive deck so saltwater soaked people didn't show up in the cabins. Traveled overnight to the Similan Islands. Weather excellent with flat seas. Over 10 days we had exciting pinnacle dives, calming coral formation dives, and plenty of feeding action. Walls of chevron barracuda were stunning. Burma featured several sea horses (including a baby sea horse drifting on a piece of loose wire coral on our descent) and many pipe fish. Lion fish and scorpion fish on every dive. Dove from dinghies, live boat dives and anchored boat dives with excellent judgment by the captain and excellent "spotters" on the dinghies. Even in the 3-5 foot waves on the opposite side of pinnacles I was found within 30 seconds of surfacing. Only needed my Dive Alert once, and since we were all equipped with a safety sausage, finding divers was easy. Negatives: 2+ days of monsoon conditions in Burma. We missed the famed Silver Banks, and we dove 3 times in a 2-day period that featured sea sickness for most of the divers as the waves were 6 feet. Scopolamine recommended. Positives: Beautiful corals and abundant fish. Mark and Rob are knowledgeable and patient, show divers the fish life, including the yellow rubber "bolt" nudibranchs, a rare species. Crew magnificent. They helped us with our BC's, tanks were filled and changed and our BC's never left the original tank. All sites were interesting. Conditions varied tremendously - not for beginning divers. We did NOT see a Whale Shark. Fantaseaexpects a new boat in 2000 or 2001. Nasty case of jet lag. I think the recovery period is about 5 years!

M/V June Hong Chian Lee/Fantasea Divers, March 1999, Harry A. Kreigh, Sacramento, CA. Vis: 30-100+. Water: 80-84 degrees. Restrictions: None. Ten day trip to the Similans, Richelieu Rock, Burma Banks and Mergui Archipelago aboard a restored Chinese sailing junk (a unique live-aboard dive boat!). Trip booked on the M/V Fantasea,which was unavailable due to engine problems. Excellent weather hot, sunny, dry and calm; some mild thermoclines and cooler currents, slight to moderate currents and variable visibility. Not particularly deep or difficult diving, <100 feet maximum at nearly all sites (typically 60-90 feet to bottom). No whale sharks, several mantas (up to three at a time). Remarkable variety and frequency of exotic species: sea horses, harlequin ghost pipefish, large frogfish of various colors, ribbon eels, mantis shrimp, giant blennies, fire gobies, banded sea snakes, porcelain crabs, cowries, nudibranchs and leopard sharks, large octopus and cuttlefish; observed mating pairs of both species. Divemaster hand-fed two large silvertip sharks and a persistent nurse shark at featured "Shark Attraction" dive at Burma Banks. Amazing numbers of lionfish, anemonefish and scorpionfish. Richelieu Rock the most impressive; rich in fish diversity and colorful soft corals, anemones; titan and clown triggers; batfish; butterfly, unicorn, angel and surgeon fishes; sweetlips; checkered wrasse; barramundi cod; rainbow runners; fusiliers; jacks; snappers; barracuda and long toms. Fantasea Divers and Warm Water Divers arranged the substitute vessel at the last minute; both crews cooperated and worked smoothly together; they filled tanks promptly and dinghy drivers were alert for surfacing divers. Mark Strickland an outstanding divemaster and respected underwater photographer; provided detailed briefings and guided tours, kept us updated on schedule and planned sites, adept at finding unusual critters; always available to help; one of the best and most dedicated dive professionals anywhere. Native chef prepared delicious Thai meals for lunch and dinner (curries and hot/spicy meat/vegetable stir-fry entrees) with some western fare. . . . "The Junk" needs improved passenger comfort and diving amenities: I had a quad cabin (expected a double cabin on Fantasea) and there was also a triple cabin; my cabin was overcrowded with little storage space or privacy. Cabins have en suite showers and toilets, which had problems throughout the trip (also two heads on the main deck). Entire deck is uncovered, so they raised a small tarp to provide limited shade, but the area was always crowded. The salon was crowded at mealtime because they devoted an entire table to cameras; the A/C was ineffective. Dive platform too small and dive ladder is flimsy (other ladder broke during the trip); would be unsafe in rough conditions. Unable to reach most remote site in Burma (Black Rock) due to slower boat (top speed of 7 mph). Several outstanding sites (Richelieu Rock, 3 Islets, High Rock and Ko Bon), but many mediocre sites in Thailand and Burma (especially North and South Twin islands). Few bommies, just massive rock formations and pinnacles with varying coral, sometimes bare rocks. Expected pristine sites with more fish in Burma, but found comparable or worse conditions there (i.e., destroyed reefs and rubble from dynamiting, fish nets covering sections at all sites, no large schools of fish or large fish anywhere, fewer sharks than on any previous Indo-Pacific trip). Worst visibility generally in Burma. Only purpose of Burma Banks dive was the shark feed. Government officials are greedy (each diver paid $130 for the privilege of diving in Burma) with no serious interest in conserving/protecting the marine environment. Most popular sites were crowded (at least five other dive boats at Richelieu Rock), but generally diving times were staggered so other divers weren't encountered; Worst situation was at Koh Tachai, where 40 divers surrounded one manta! Do not waste your time visiting the "James Bond" island; it is a two-hour drive and long boat ride to a tourist trap. . . .Duang Jitt Resort in Patong Beach. Reasonably priced ($80), quiet bungalow in a lush tropical setting (but not on the beach), and buffet breakfast was included.

Pelagian,April 1999, Tom Little (tom.little@home.com), La Mesa, CA. Vis: 50-150 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Restrictions: 500 psi return. Expecting sharks, mantas and whale sharks, but found fishing debris on almost every dive. Long lines, nets and dynamite are used extensively. At one location, there were three dead sharks with lines still attached. Boat and crew were wonderful. (Telephone: 800-962-0395; e-mail: diveasia@gate.net; website: www.dive-asiapacific.com)

Sai Mai,March 1999, Wendy Ostgaard, Lyons, CO. Vis: 40-100 ft. Water: 80-85 degrees. Dive restrictions: Had to stay in a group during shark dives. The Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks are world class dive destinations. Due to strong currents, they are mainly for experienced divers. For the less experienced the Similans are perfect. Pelagics plentiful; sharks (whitetip, silvertip, nurse) schooling barracuda and jacks, giant mantas and stingrays, but no whale sharks at Richelieu Rock. Variety of other life, some common and some unusual, excellent; schooling squid and cuttlefish, octopus, eels (multiple), abundant scorpion and stonefish (watch where you put your hands in this part of the world), sea snakes, cowries, crabs and lobster, ghost pipefish, frog fish, sea horses. Burma Banks is one of the greatest untapped diving areas, especially for pelagics. Sharks are large and healthy and the area unspoiled. Land attractions in Burma are fascinating. Sai Maiis an entirely different story. Perhaps I should have surmised a problem when they wrote and told me my roommate's name was "John." They did not give me warning that opposite sex roommates were the norm on this tug. That might not have been too bad if the rooms were not the size of a walk-in closet. (When I complained, they made different arrangements). Rooms are small, no portholes, no electric outlets, no mirror, just a few shelves and room enough for one person to stand. (The price should have been adjusted accordingly). The rooms are below deck and the two heads upstairs. The salon was the only place the photographers could work. Tables and adjacent shelves were constantly filled with camera gear; meals and everything else took place on the upper deck. Inadequate number of outlets and only a few converters created a constant battle among the 3 photographers and anyone who wanted to recharge equipment. Thai crew was excellent, efficient, helpful, cheerful, hard-working and competent. Food very good, varied and plentiful. Special requests not a problem. Snacks nonexistent. Beverages were pop and beer. (No charge, but no other choices). Australian divemasters were arrogant, self-serving, lazy. On many dives they refused to take the dinghy out and drop divers over the site (which was complicated by 2 photographers insisting on taking 2 cameras on each dive, very space consuming with strobes.) We entered the water from the Sai Mai,while it was moving away from the dive sites, forcing the divers to swim into a strong current. While this was fine for the divemasters who got off the boat first (both of them) and for the 2 photographers who were repeatedly given the privilege of going second (while the group waited for them to swim back to the dive deck and retrieve two cameras), the rest of the divers, especially the women, were now far enough from the reef that it was difficult to swim against a strong current over open ocean and reach the dive site. These were all very experienced, accomplished divers. Mark, the divemaster, was repeatedly asked to use the dinghy or have one divemaster stay back with the group. They repeatedly ignored our requests. As long as the divemasters and the two main photographers made it to the site, everyone else could "go to hell." (my words). The other divemaster, Tom, spent his time taking photos for the photographers with their 2nd cameras. Often he actually out distanced other divers, even when asked before the dive to stay with divers. Two trips with the dinghy would not have been an imposition, or (God forbid) divers could be limited to one camera each. The photographers were also given preferential treatment on multiple other occasions, while they told the group to stay back or forfeit the dive. We all paid the same amount for the trip and it was not booked as an exclusive photography trip. On some dives with strong current and poor visibility, and divers without buddies, (you could follow the divemaster, but he certainly would not wait for you). Nobody expected to have their hands held but occasionally it is nice to have a divemaster around, especially when you had paid top dollar for that privilege. Although numerous attempts have been made to contact Matt Hendricks, the owner of the Sai Mai,to address these and other problems (including Mark absconding with a dive computer one of the guests found), our requests are always intercepted by Mark's girlfriend. Perhaps the only way Mr. Hendricks will know he has a problem with one of his dive operations is if he reads "Undercurrent." (Telephone 800-962-0395 or 888-453-9164 or +66 76-26-3732; Fax +66 76-26-3733 or 954351-9740; e-mail: diveasia@gate.net; website: www.dive-asiapacific.com)

Sai Mai/Dive Asia Pacific, April 1999, David Malina (davemtx@aol.com), Spicewood, TX. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 80-83 degrees. Windy, rainy, cloudy. Water: choppy, surge, currents. Dove every dive with the divemaster and followed his profile. I was the only photographer on the boat. The camera table was only 5 ft. long and 2 ft. wide, so had there been more photographers it would have been very crowded. Rinse tank exclusively for cameras and they were good about changing the water. Made two previous trips on the Fantasea,which is not a beautiful boat but it is clean and the service is very good. Sai Maiholds 8 divers rather than the 16 that the Fantasea holds, but fell short of my expectations. The crew, the service and the food were very good but the boat was in very poor condition. Lots of cockroaches and leaks. The carpet in the lower deck where the cabins are was soaking wet the entire trip and when it started raining the ceilings in all of the cabins leaked. The diving seemed off this trip. First time that I saw no whale sharks and at the Burma Banks we saw just a few sharks. Did see a couple of mantas, several turtles, mating cuttlefish and a lot of little stuff. The vis was about 40-80 ft. The monsoons hit early this year so the last 4 days were spent in rain and high seas. (Telephone 800-962-0395 or 888-453-9164 or +66 76-26-3732; Fax +66 76-26-3733 or 954351-9740; e-mail: diveasia@gate.net; website: www.dive-asiapacific.com)

Scuba Cat,March/April 1999, Okie LoPresti, Mountain View, CA. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 81-82 degrees. Weather: sunny. Water: calm, no currents. You will only dive their profile, and their profile ONLY! A 3 day live aboard in the Similan Islands. Pretty nice boat, with good accommodations. 13 divers; they say they can handle up to 25, but it gets really crowded. We were picked up at our hotel in Patong, at 6:30 am and drove north for two hours, where we boarded a transfer boat. It took four hours to get to the MV Scuba Cat,which stays at the Similans. We got on board and moved our gear over. Food is very good. We arrived at noon and made three dives the first day. You can only dive what they organize. Morning: the first dive is at 7:30 a.m. and you do five dives if you're up to it. On the third day you do three dives, eat lunch and get back on the slow boat for Phuket. The diving was good, the boat was nice, and the Thai crew was great, but I disappointed with the divemasters (Rich, an Aussie, and Richard, an American). They said "the dive guide is NOT your buddy, so don't try to buddy up with him for any reason." On our first dive, a newly certified diver swam up to the dive guide, because his buddy was nowhere to be seen. Rich angrily told the diver that he was not his buddy and to get away. We dove with the same guide for 11 dives. He would basically swim in a straight line, never turning to check on the group. He would not point out anything. I would show him my air gauge at 500, and he would acknowledge it and keep swimming. I finished most dives with about 100 psi, and one with 50 psi. If you dive with this clan, you should be experienced, don't try to socialize with them, and discuss with your buddy beforehand at what point you want to start your ascent, and stick to it. Thankfully we only booked a three-day trip, as anything more would have been on CNN. (Telephone +66 76-29-3120; Fax +66 76-29-3122)

Sea Bees/Marco Polo Resort, January 1999, Mike Spellman, Elk Grove, IL. Vis: 40-100 ft. Water 80-84 degrees. Restrictions: 100 ft., 60 min., 750 psi ascend but not always enforced; one camera rinse bucket sometimes half empty, no camera table, no development for film. Great value; boat had been refitted and was clean. Honeymoon suite was great but the cabins w/o air left some people sleeping on deck. Wonderful boat crew especially Miss Noi who was friendly and a great hostess! Diving spectacular. Reefs healthy and abundant (where dynamite hadn't been used for fishing) with coral and schools of tropicals. Photo ops at every turn. Boat was overcrowded because divemasters brought their girlfriends/wife and toddler. Not able to get proper weights so my wife and I ended up 2-4 lbs. over weight in strong currents on a few dives, not good! Wish the dive crew had the sense to know that they were not always welcome in the shot we were photographing. Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock is stunning both under and above water; make sure you have trust in your host's skills and professionalism. (Telephone +66 76-38-1765; Fax +66 76-38-1765)

M/V Vilaisamut 9/Ocean Divers Dive Shop, Patong (Phuket), November 1998, Terry Umback (anzart@sunshine.net), Sechelt, BC, Canada. Vis: 60-70 ft. most, some 70-120 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Little current, good vis (but very bad for chance of seeing whale sharks and mantas). We had no confirmed diving before we arrived. Visited shops to inquire about day trips and live-aboards. Several divers recommended that we try Ocean Divers (in business since 1979) on a side street in Patong. They were very helpful, showed us photos of the boat. They had space to the Similan Islands and Richelieu Rock (4 days, 4 nights) for our party of 4 for 16,000 baht each in a quad cabin with A/C (about US $450). Trip was great. Accommodations clean though small using shared toilets. Boat not up to Peter Hughes standards but acceptable for a 4-night trip. Good food, American breakfast, lots of fresh fruit, tasty Thai food. Briefings good. Divemaster Jom showed us what there was to be seen on each dive. Saw only 1 manta up close. Lots of fish and corals. Titan triggerfish can make a dive exciting! Lots of lionfish and stonefish. Definitely better than typical Cayman/Caribbean dives. Great value. Other divers were from Singapore and Sweden. (Telephone +66 76-34-1273 or +66 76-34-4077; Fax +66 76-34-1274)