{"id":2067,"date":"2011-05-06T05:12:47","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T04:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/petitesbullesdailleurs\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2024-09-11T10:54:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T08:54:36","slug":"croisiere-plongee-similan-thailande","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/croisiere-plongee-similan-thailande-20110506\/","title":{"rendered":"Underwater at the Similan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hop! To the water! We return under the surface. On the program: a small cruise to the Similan Islands, with Richelieu Rock, Koh Bon and Koh Tacha\u00ef on the way. They are the most famous diving sites of Thailand...<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sea of Fantasy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Sea<\/a>
The boat Sea of Fantasy<\/em> by Eden Divers (Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I set sail in February 2011 on the Sea of Fantasy<\/em> from Eden Divers, I pretty much know what to expect: it was with this boat that I had already dived in 2009 (see \u2192 The cruise makes bubbles<\/a> and other links at the end of this post).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update :<\/span><\/strong> the story you're reading here goes back quite a few years... So don't try to book the same Eden Divers cruise today, the company no longer exists!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the crazy Thai armada which embarks divers every day on a cruise on the Andaman Sea, this is one of the rare boats to propose individual cabins, which suits me well (I do not like to pay the exorbitant supplements single<\/em>nor sacrifice my sleep for snoring or snoring in a shared cabin).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years ago, I had appreciated the comfort and guidance, the Nitrox<\/a> free of charge, the international atmosphere with divers of all ages and backgrounds... So I decided to return to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Similan<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, for this cruise, we were only five guests on the boat, which was designed to accommodate thirteen. Plenty of room to spread out without jostling each other! I'm delighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thai crew is as attentive as ever. Dinner is ready when we arrive, and all we have to do is get our feet under the table. The program is simple: eat, sleep, dive. Eat, sleep, dive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My four diving companions are all German. Thirty years old, open and nice. We will have a good time during these three days. The staff who supervise this cruise is German too. Essen, Schlaffen, Tauchen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good atmosphere again, but... more Germanic than international this time! \ud83d\ude1c <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sea<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bad luck: engine failure at the start. And since a spare diaphragm for the compressor is also missing... Nitrox<\/a>You will have to dive \"normally\", in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okay. All this is not too serious, it will not affect the cruise, fortunately. We will leave after all the other boats, much later, in the night. Two Thai mechanics will spend long hours toiling and sweating, in the suffocating atmosphere of the hold, to repair the engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plop!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I wondered, before diving, what state would be the coral, which suffered the bleaching due to water warming<\/a>. And now that I've seen for myself, it's hard for me to judge, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was my third Similan dive cruise, albeit three years apart. My memories aren't that clear and I don't know the sites by heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that it is near the surface, where there were real \"coral gardens\", that the damage is the most important. But frankly, deeper, on all the sites where we dived, I enjoyed myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of the show was (as the previous times), in the Surin archipelago, the sumptuous Richelieu Rock, teeming with life, covered with a profusion of purple soft corals, waving under the current. It was a wonderful dive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Life<\/a>
Life abounds above the corals ... Richelieu Rock. Thailand, February 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Richelieu<\/a>
Richelieu Rock. Thailand, February 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We often hear that it was Cousteau (him again!) who gave his name to Richelieu Rock, the color of the soft corals lining the reef having evoked the purple of Cardinal Richelieu's robe...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, this version would be just another beautiful legend. Charlie, from the diving center Seafarer Divers<\/a>In Phuket, he explains to me that it is not possible: \"It's not true, the <\/em>Calypso was never at Richelieu Rock, as I was the dive guide for this expedition during the filming of the movie <\/em>Les For\u00e7ats de la mer.<\/em> In 1988, no diving center had yet dived at Richelieu Rock and nobody in the area knew this superb site.<\/em> The English probably gave us this name, as Cardinal de Richelieu had given them a hard time in the 17th century.e<\/sup> century, with its navy of war, and as this rock is treacherous to navigation, they were able to compare it... to Cardinal de Richelieu.\"<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in fact, the real explanation would be the following (thanks to Ludovic<\/a> for having put me on the track, via an article in the Bangkok Post<\/em>on the Wicked Diving blog) : Richelieu Rock would not take its name from any reference to the famous Cardinal Richelieu<\/a> (1585-1642), but of a certain Andreas Plessis de Richelieu<\/a> (1852-1932), who marked the history of Thailand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Dane, as his name does not indicate, was sent to Siam where he distinguished himself in several naval battles at the end of the 19th century. He was the first foreign commander to join the Siamese Navy, which promoted him to the rank of vice-admiral in 1902.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underwater photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to what some doomsayers predicted, I managed not to drown my 7D<\/a> ! \ud83d\ude43<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that the idea of taking a camera like this underwater makes many people shudder... As for me, I am not too worried. I always prepare my housing very carefully, without rushing, preferably the day before. Anyway, I can't imagine diving without my camera!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I still needed several dives to get my bearings and succeed in making the pictures I wanted. Small disappointment, during these three days of cruising: the rather gray weather, which did not help me much for the underwater pictures...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And my main dilemma, from one dive site to another: the choice of lens. Macro or wide angle? Small animals or big animals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I know. I have big problems in life... \ud83d\ude1b Proof in pictures below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grouper<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Nudibranch.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Moray.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Gorgon.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Hippocampus.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Harlequin<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Coral.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where the hell are the mantas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Koh Bon, obviously, no dilemma for the choice of the lens. Wide angle, of course. This is THE place for manta rays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alas, we did not meet them. It is not for lack of insisting. We dived and dived again at Koh Bon, even trying a foray into the blue, moving away from the reef. In vain. However, they should not be far away... (But I will have a little more luck a few days later, after this cruise, by going back to Koh Bon for a day dive, from Khao Lak...)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in the \"big animal\" category, we were hoping to meet a whale shark. But no. Not the tail of one. It was not our day. Neither that day nor the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I realize how lucky I was five years ago: several manta rays,<\/a> and one whale shark<\/a> for my very first Similan dive cruise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All right, then. No mantas, no whale shark this time. But there was some \"big\" one, though. Lots of very impressive schools of jacks and similar fish. Our tour-leader, Karin, saw two swordfish, I saw an eagle ray, the Germans saw a blacktip shark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This being said, the obsession with the \"big one\" would almost make you forget the rest: the \"usual tropical fauna\", as I write now in my logbook to go fast. Flying scorpion fish, morays, groupers, blue spotted rays, clown fish, butterfly fish, parrot fish, angelfish, puffer fish, trumpet fish, scorpion fish...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Them, they're still here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Red<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Fish-flute.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Angelfish.<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Clown<\/a>
(Thailand, February 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My previous cruises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I'm putting back here links to the posts and pictures I had put online, after my previous liveaboard in the Similan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stay of 2006<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was with the diving center Sea Dragon<\/a>based in Khao Lak, on the southwest coast of Thailand. I liked the atmosphere at that time, rather young and backpackers, very good option for small budgets. I hadn't launched this blog yet, but I had posted pictures on the very first sites I had created at the time, Notebooks of Southeast Asia<\/a> and Diving in South East Asia<\/a> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n