Racha Noi's Ray Ban Reef or When Bubbles Go Down.

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Bowmouth

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Phuket and South East Asia
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I'd LOVE to hear some juicy stories about Racha Noi's South Tip (Ray Ban Reef). Especially those stories when you jumped in and thought you'd make it to the top of the pinnacle and suddenly found yourself at 30+ meters going DOWN together with your bubbles and never even glimpsed the bl...dy rock.
Then you had to work your way up ALL the way to the surface completely disoriented and once finally there realized you were about a mile away from your entry point. Then, after 30 minutes or so bobbing on the surface with your SMB fully inflated the guys on the boat finally saw you and picked you up.
Completely exhausted but with a smile on your face you climbed on board and let them drop you in yet another time wishing you would do better this time. And ofcourse you made it this time and had a great dive while clinging to the rock at 25 meters and absorbing all the colors of the soft corals and getting dizzy of the amount of schooling fish.

What a site, what a dive!:D
 
Oh, Ok then....I do recall a day like that when I was working on Asian Adventures boat. First dive of the day.. we could see the pinnacle but it never got any closer as we headed to 30m. Then I kept my group together as we abandoned the dive, needing to add some air to my BCD to ascend...and then a manta flew past, so the dive was not all wasted. Did a nice long safety stop, waited an hour and then tried again....
 
Bowmouth:
Oh and uhm, for those of you going out to Racha Noi this coming Thursday: GOOD LUCK!

Those are great stories, and I'm glad to experience them vicariously. I've been in downcurrents (no fun), most memorably at Nusa Penida, not here in Phuket.

As for Racha Noi tomorrow... Hehehe. I bagged my dives yesterday mainly because of wind. And south point with tonight's moon? No thanks. Gorgeous sunny day here in Rawai, but the poor plumeria trees have nary a bloom left on them as the wind has whipped them all off!
 
Once did a lovely dive there (also known as 'The Plateau') with 3 students. Nearly no current, so looked ok even for students, on the way down at 12 meters, while still on the line: 3 manta rays. All dive long they kept circling around us, so at the end of the dive: ok, quick hovering and mask removal, and ascent.
 
Bowmouth you must be thinking about the good old days when Fantasea's Reef Runner (when Amarit was the captain) used to go this site every Friday? The rules then: no divers with less than 50 logged or less than AOW certified? The days of when Rob, Gill, Lucy (remember Lucy's Reef), Nigel, Kevan and Mick were divemastering? Nowadays the daytrip boats hardly go there.

The exact same thing happened to me the last time we were there - my buddy made it down first time (no real buddy system on this dive) and I made it on the second attempt - whooosh down to 43 meters all of a sudden! Well worth it when I saw the Mantas and Marlin when I ascended.

I also know of 3 Instructors and 2 DM's who attempted this site with raging currents - managed to stay down 11 minutes max!

A truly amazing site but can be hairy!
 
Ringo:
Bowmouth you must be thinking about the good old days when Fantasea's Reef Runner (when Amarit was the captain) used to go this site every Friday? The rules then: no divers with less than 50 logged or less than AOW certified? The days of when Rob, Gill, Lucy (remember Lucy's Reef), Nigel, Kevan and Mick were divemastering? Nowadays the daytrip boats hardly go there.

The exact same thing happened to me the last time we were there - my buddy made it down first time (no real buddy system on this dive) and I made it on the second attempt - whooosh down to 43 meters all of a sudden! Well worth it when I saw the Mantas and Marlin when I ascended.

I also know of 3 Instructors and 2 DM's who attempted this site with raging currents - managed to stay down 11 minutes max!

A truly amazing site but can be hairy!

YES! I'm talking exactly about that period of time! Remember Pauli diving all by himself at Ko Doc Mai and at 32 meter having his first stage "exploding"? Then simply doing a CESA back to the surface, changing his first stage and go down again? Or Pauli swimming from SharkPoint to the Anemone Reef UNDER water and making underwater maps?
What a fools we were but what a great time we had!:D
 
stevenl:
Once did a lovely dive there (also known as 'The Plateau') with 3 students. Nearly no current, so looked ok even for students, on the way down at 12 meters, while still on the line: 3 manta rays. All dive long they kept circling around us, so at the end of the dive: ok, quick hovering and mask removal, and ascent.


YES. Sometimes if you're really lucky Ray Ban Reef will be quiet and easy but most of the time it will be pure "rock and roll" and NO WAY you can bring student divers down or even hope to stick with an (experienced) buddy... :D
 
Bowmouth! Doh!!! Now I have finally gathered who you are! Wondered how come you knew all the dive sites so well. Doh!

Yes we remember Pauli - how could we forget him? Great photographer too!

Otherwise great to meet you on SB and when you next visit Phuket please do pop in for a visit - the beers are on ice already! Perhaps you might want to go in search for that Black frog fish at Karon Rock again?

Chantal
 
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