- Messages
- 567
- Reaction score
- 16
Thailand Aggressor Captain’s Report March 10 – 16, 2013
Our first quest to visit the Southern Islands of Thailand brings excitement with the clear skies and calm waters greeting us. Old fishing boats are aligned on the opposite lines of the channel and constant sounds of fireworks crack off the bows of every sea bound boat with an offering to the sea and the hopes of good luck and safe return back to port. The guests arrive with the waning sun and dinner is just a few minutes away. We take a few seconds to get some sunset pictures and sit down to a wonderful meal. The Thailand Aggressor pivots slowly in the mid channel. Turning the bow to the high seas, our Engineer Weep sets off and sparks the fuse to give our offering on the long line of fire works along with assorted flowers and fruit that rest on top of the bow. The two hours crossing to Phi Phi Island is very smooth. Just what we need to rock us to sleep for the next day our adventure begins underwater.
We wake to the incredible sight of towering limestone rock wall that make up the Phi Phi island chain. Vertical rises of stone with vegetation sprouting from cracks. Words cannot put what eyes are laid on. Captain Amnuey readies the Thailand Aggressor under the shadow cast by the monolith. Take to stride in and drop down. The sea fans are colored in brilliant hue. Red, oranges and yellows cling to the rock walls. Dark yellow snappers cluster under out hard coral ledges. Nudibranchs with tassels, wings and flaring mantles comb the bottom of the sea. During our afternoon break, we take the dinghies into Maya Bay with its beautiful white sand beach hidden by the sheer cliffs of limestone.
The favorable seas below and the black-lit black canvas with tiny bright holes of stars blanket the sky. A few guests go to the top deck to enjoy the view after a full day of diving. The incredible views keep coming the following morning. The sun rises in between the rock structure coming from the ocean. Koh Haa is a group of five islands in the middle of nowhere. Just the right mix of being lost and being in the right place. Get close to the island, the yacht steadies and we all take an easy step off the back of the boat. We head for the lavender fields, a patch of 2-foot high soft corals that clings to everything. It’s like a meadow of purple carnations in the deep. Flowing by the impressive garden, big boulders pile up on each other building an archway for divers to test their buoyancy to reach the other side. The rock face is over grown by plate tiered plate corals stepping down from 30 feet to the bottom on the sand bed at 60 feet. A thousand two-spot snappers cover the steps of the coral. Letting us get close to take pictures.
We have a short run over to a hidden spot in the middle of the ocean. Twin pinnacles, one coming breaching the surface, sit side by side like lonely giants. The current slowly brings the rock to life with nutrients that get caught by the many sea fans and soft corals that cling to the structure. Hin Meung rests at 40 feet below and there is only one mooring line sinking to the site. Fusiliers with yellow and blue swirls set on the outskirts of the rocks. Jacks run in packs like wolves waiting for their chance at launching into the hordes of silversides. Like a swarm of insects the silversides are a common food for many larger fish. Blue lined angelfish glow blue neon with the sun reflecting off their bodies. Eels are plentiful and many are very thick rounded beasts. The night dive here is fantastic. The eels at night come out from their holes and begin to hunt. Over twenty eels are sighted along with barracuda waiting for us to shine our flashlights on an unsuspecting fish for them to jet forward and bite.
Heading further south, we are now in the Adang Rawi Island chain. We look for macro wonders and have a good show in the shallows with soft corals and sea fans that are lit up in the mid afternoon sun. A pair of Pegasus sea moths crawls along the bottom of the sandy slope. Radiant nudibranchs with long white appendages with purple tips attach themselves to the sandy with a sticky underside. A hawksbill turtle finds itself in the middle of the group and doesn’t seem to care, pausing for a few minutes as if it knew we want to take pictures. Anemones blanket the shallows with many anemone fish living in each tentacle home.
The impressive rock structures impress the guests and the diving has been special. The schools of snappers that gather next to the coral heads in Koh Haa have been nothing but spectacular. The yellows shine bright as the sun pierces through the water. Lobsters and other crustaceans, like banded coral shrimp, hide in the many cracks of the reef. The light blue of the sandy lagoon breaks the dark blue of the surrounding waters. With the blend of beautiful surface views and the underwater visions give Thailand a special place in space.
For The Ocean,
Lowel
View attachment 150086View attachment 150087View attachment 150088
Our first quest to visit the Southern Islands of Thailand brings excitement with the clear skies and calm waters greeting us. Old fishing boats are aligned on the opposite lines of the channel and constant sounds of fireworks crack off the bows of every sea bound boat with an offering to the sea and the hopes of good luck and safe return back to port. The guests arrive with the waning sun and dinner is just a few minutes away. We take a few seconds to get some sunset pictures and sit down to a wonderful meal. The Thailand Aggressor pivots slowly in the mid channel. Turning the bow to the high seas, our Engineer Weep sets off and sparks the fuse to give our offering on the long line of fire works along with assorted flowers and fruit that rest on top of the bow. The two hours crossing to Phi Phi Island is very smooth. Just what we need to rock us to sleep for the next day our adventure begins underwater.
We wake to the incredible sight of towering limestone rock wall that make up the Phi Phi island chain. Vertical rises of stone with vegetation sprouting from cracks. Words cannot put what eyes are laid on. Captain Amnuey readies the Thailand Aggressor under the shadow cast by the monolith. Take to stride in and drop down. The sea fans are colored in brilliant hue. Red, oranges and yellows cling to the rock walls. Dark yellow snappers cluster under out hard coral ledges. Nudibranchs with tassels, wings and flaring mantles comb the bottom of the sea. During our afternoon break, we take the dinghies into Maya Bay with its beautiful white sand beach hidden by the sheer cliffs of limestone.
The favorable seas below and the black-lit black canvas with tiny bright holes of stars blanket the sky. A few guests go to the top deck to enjoy the view after a full day of diving. The incredible views keep coming the following morning. The sun rises in between the rock structure coming from the ocean. Koh Haa is a group of five islands in the middle of nowhere. Just the right mix of being lost and being in the right place. Get close to the island, the yacht steadies and we all take an easy step off the back of the boat. We head for the lavender fields, a patch of 2-foot high soft corals that clings to everything. It’s like a meadow of purple carnations in the deep. Flowing by the impressive garden, big boulders pile up on each other building an archway for divers to test their buoyancy to reach the other side. The rock face is over grown by plate tiered plate corals stepping down from 30 feet to the bottom on the sand bed at 60 feet. A thousand two-spot snappers cover the steps of the coral. Letting us get close to take pictures.
We have a short run over to a hidden spot in the middle of the ocean. Twin pinnacles, one coming breaching the surface, sit side by side like lonely giants. The current slowly brings the rock to life with nutrients that get caught by the many sea fans and soft corals that cling to the structure. Hin Meung rests at 40 feet below and there is only one mooring line sinking to the site. Fusiliers with yellow and blue swirls set on the outskirts of the rocks. Jacks run in packs like wolves waiting for their chance at launching into the hordes of silversides. Like a swarm of insects the silversides are a common food for many larger fish. Blue lined angelfish glow blue neon with the sun reflecting off their bodies. Eels are plentiful and many are very thick rounded beasts. The night dive here is fantastic. The eels at night come out from their holes and begin to hunt. Over twenty eels are sighted along with barracuda waiting for us to shine our flashlights on an unsuspecting fish for them to jet forward and bite.
Heading further south, we are now in the Adang Rawi Island chain. We look for macro wonders and have a good show in the shallows with soft corals and sea fans that are lit up in the mid afternoon sun. A pair of Pegasus sea moths crawls along the bottom of the sandy slope. Radiant nudibranchs with long white appendages with purple tips attach themselves to the sandy with a sticky underside. A hawksbill turtle finds itself in the middle of the group and doesn’t seem to care, pausing for a few minutes as if it knew we want to take pictures. Anemones blanket the shallows with many anemone fish living in each tentacle home.
The impressive rock structures impress the guests and the diving has been special. The schools of snappers that gather next to the coral heads in Koh Haa have been nothing but spectacular. The yellows shine bright as the sun pierces through the water. Lobsters and other crustaceans, like banded coral shrimp, hide in the many cracks of the reef. The light blue of the sandy lagoon breaks the dark blue of the surrounding waters. With the blend of beautiful surface views and the underwater visions give Thailand a special place in space.
For The Ocean,
Lowel
View attachment 150086View attachment 150087View attachment 150088