LOB Sinks at Koh Ta Chai

[moonypixels]

Diving off boats in Thailand has always been interesting for me. The waft of ganja coming from the bridge during SI. The boat boys drunk on moonshine. The props being spun up when there are still divers in the water etc. It's a jungle out there!

...And I am certain that Mr. Black has been to the Andaman Sea because there's a lot of truth in what he said but generally the waft comes from the engine room when the boys go and "check the oil" a few times a day and then come back up wearing their sunnies :cool2:. Times have changed however and they do not pay as much homage to Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Job2do as they used to a few years ago...

 

[gekodivebali]

I've seen a few freak storms in my time at Tachai and that was not pretty. It was always at the end of the season...
Unfortunately there are not many good dive sites left in the area. These are remote, but it's hard to skip them!

 

[AleG]

I don't think there's that much shelter at Tachai, isn't it? A speedboat can be beached and everyone goes on land, but a larger boat is in for a ride; specially dive boats, I always though they make them too top heavy here. I've been in a few that even with moderate weather lean 30 degrees or more as they ply the waves

 

[stevenl]

I don't think there's that much shelter at Tachai, isn't it? A speedboat can be beached and everyone goes on land, but a larger boat is in for a ride; specially dive boats, I always though they make them too top heavy here. I've been in a few that even with moderate weather lean 30 degrees or more as they ply the waves

Yes, they do seem topheavy.

There used to be one boat here, that as soon s it left the pier tilted 30 degrees, wind or no wind. It was quite sturdy though

 

[Quero]

I don't think there's that much shelter at Tachai, isn't it?

There's no harbour at Tachai, if that's what you mean, but island itself will block the wind enough to allow a boat to anchor on the leeward side, so yeah, there is shelter.

 

[kmX]

I was diving on MQ4 in February (Koh Bon, Tachai, RR)... Quite shocked to hear about the sinking and relieved to hear that everyone got out unscathed. But I'm interested to learn what exactly went wrong.

In February, we had fabulous weather, but when we were heading northward (I guess it was from Tachai to RR), we had a stiff NE-ly breeze (25 knots?) which heeled the boat considerably. Actually so much that I was wondering how much breeze the boat could stand and whether a proper keel could provide more righting moment...

However, from what I read in the online newspapers, in the accident the boat got swamped by the (3 meter[?]) waves. I can only imagine this happening with the waves hitting the stern with the open dive deck. So I'm wondering whether the accident was due to a bad decision by the captain (heading away from the storm towards Koh Bon and thus exposing the open deck) or whether nasty 3m waves are just above the design limit of such a dive boat.

Would be interesting to get some more details on the issue by people who know more and who are closer to the KSA guys...

 

[lord khram]

Yes, they do seem topheavy.

There used to be one boat here, that as soon s it left the pier tilted 30 degrees, wind or no wind. It was quite sturdy though

Unfortunately in the world we live in today, design of such craft have to take into consideration the fact that the boat operators want to maximise proffits, also customers on liveaboards want the cheapest deal possible. Throwing both those factors into the equation, compromises will be made in the design and manafacture of boats, also design and construction standards will vary according to the location.
Simple fact is that a large number of boats operating in this area of the world would be classed as not seaworthy in other places, and indeed would not stay afloat very long, even on what is considered a moderately rough sea, for example in Northern Europe in the Atlantic or North Sea.