Technical Divers venture out on the Similan Islands

Similan Islands, Thailand - Big Blue Tech continues their technical diving expedition called the Golden Horseshoe Expedition with the boarding of their liveaboard vessel the Mv Pawara bound for the Similan Islands over the course of a 4 day / 4 night trip.

The Mv Pawara is a luxury class liveaboard owned by Big Blue Diving and chartered through Big Blue Khao Lak and offers diving trips to the best of the Similan Islands off the west coast of Thailand.

Big Blue Tech uses this trip to conduct a TDI Extended Range, TDI Compressor Operator and TDI Gas Blender course for Emily Billingham, Mark Slinn, Matt Payne and Andy Cavell.

The team returns to land on January 17th where we’ll updating the news with pictures and video from our adventure. Before heading off to Sra Keow in Krabi and then to Phi Phi Islands.

Below is our schedule for the upcoming season for technical diving trips with our Khao Lak office.

You can read more about the vessel here

At 35 meters in length, the Pawara is by far one of the largest boats cruising in the Similans. Her all steel construction makes her safe and smooth, promising a relaxing ride throughout your trip. Each of her 10 double cabins features its own sink, toilet and shower for the ultimate in privacy and convenience. Each cabin also has its own air-conditioner, so you can adjust your cabin just how you like it. Each cabin also has multiple 220v outlets so you can charge your cameras, laptops, or other diving accessories. The Deluxe rooms also have work desks and chairs for the avid underwater photographers.

Due to her massive size, most guests find themselves spending the majority of their time between dives in the expansive common areas of the boat. There is a spacious lounge with a large flat-screen TV, a DVD player and a wide selection of DVDs available to suit most tastes. There are also several desks in the lounge with 220v outlets for those wishing to do photo or video editing on board.

For those who prefer a quieter form of entertainment between dives, you can borrow a book from the on-board selection in the lounge and relax on the sun chairs of the large upper deck, or in the outside lounge on the main deck.

The Pawara features indoor and outdoor eating areas, each large enough on its own to accommodate all customers and crew for meals, so no matter what mother nature has in store everyone will be able to dine in comfort. And the excellent food prepared by our experienced cooks will ensure your meals are as good as your dives.

Big Blue diving has been offering the highest standard in Thailand diving since 1991, and the Pawara only furthers this reputation for quality service. Our multi-lingual staff on board is able to speak English, German, Swedish, Danish, Norweigan, Dutch, Flemmish, and Japanese. If you have language requirements beyond these, we can accommodate just about any request. All of our staff have years of experience in the Similans and even longer track records for keeping divers safe season after season.

Pawara’s large dive deck in the rear of the boat gives you plenty of room to set up and get in. Our on board nitrox system allows nitrox ceritfied divers to extend their bottom times with enriched air mixes. For those not Nitrox certified, we offer Nitrox certification on board, along with other courses such as deep specialty and photo specialty. Dive groups are maximum of 4 people (unless a group booking prefers to all dive together), and your gear is washed and your tanks are filled for you by our highly trained staff. Standard and DIN tanks are available on the boat.

For those traveling with non-divers, we invite you to bring them along as a snorkeling guest, or sign them up for their PADI Open Water course, which can be completed entirely on the trip. We can even arrange to complete the first day of Open Water training in the pool just before the trip to maximize your dive time out at sea.

The Pawara is equipped with a full first-aid medic kit, as well as medical grade oxygen for emergencies. All of our staff have current first-aid certifications.

Pawara has 3 levels of cabins:

Standard rooms are on the lower deck and can be arranged as twins or doubles. These rooms each have a sink, toilet, hot shower, plenty of storage space and 220v outlets.

38,800b per person for Divers

Deluxe rooms are on the main deck and are all twin beds. These rooms have larger windows and have large desks and 220v outlets and are therefore ideal for underwater photographers. These each also have a sink, toilet and hot shower.

39,800b per person for Divers

Master cabins have large windows all around for the best views. These rooms can be made as twins or doubles, have 220v outlets, and have larger bathrooms equipped with sink, toilet and hot shower.

40,000 per person for Divers

*Prices include technical dive leader, technical diving equipment and all gas

Rates are per person, based on double occupancy cabins. When possible, we will allow individual customers to have their own room. However during busy times we may need to put 2 individual customers in the same room. If we need to combine individual customers in cabins, we will only do male-male or female-female pairings for reasons of privacy. If you require your own personal cabin, we offer it at a 40% surcharge. Private cabins are not available during Christmas and New Years.

Couples traveling with small children may be able to have the child sleep on the private couch in one of Pawara’s master cabins. We do not recommend bringing infants on board for many reasons. If you still chose to do so, we insist that one parent stays with the child at all times. In cases like this, you may pay for one diver and one non-diver and simply alternate dives with your partner.

Every person diving in the Similans in required to pay national park fees in cash at the time of the trip. We will collect these fees from each passenger on our departure day so they can be paid upon our arrival in the Similans. please make sure you have 1600b in cash on departure day.

We have diving equipment available for rental, or we can order equipment for you through our suppliers (at a 10% discount!) and have it ready for you upon your arrival. A complete set of equipment is 500b per day. Email us if you have specific requirements or would like to see a list of equipment available for purchase.

Other than that, everything else is included in your trip except alcoholic beverages, available throughout the trip and paid for on the last day.

*CCR and SCR support available with O2 boosting and on board DiveSorb.

Similan Islands have been listed as one of the top 10 diving destinations in the world. It’s limited season of November to March gives teh national diving park a chance to recover creates an abundance of marine life seldom seen anywhere else.

Last season we did quite well with only one speed boat, we did day trips to and from various islands in the similans. But there was one thing missing, a live-aboard. After months of shopping around we powers that be found the perfect vessel; The MV Pawara which is a luxury live-aboard based in Khao Lak.

The MV Pawara is 32m or 105ft in length, and built of steel making her one of the largest live-aboards plying the western Indian Ocean. She takes a total of 20 divers in 10 air conditioned cabins on regular departures, but some of her cabins are large enough to accommodate more than this on special request. She has two types of cabins deluxe and standard, and both types are air conditioned, have twin beds and en suite bathroom arrangements.

Probably the boat’s finest features are three: One, her huge interior saloon which seats everyone comfortably and is completely air-conditioned; two, she has a ‘breakfast nook’ and briefing room right next to the dive deck so you can duck in for a quick bite or a cup of tea without having to walk upstairs to another deck; three, her huge dive deck and dive platform making getting in and out of the water a breeze.

The saloon is generously appointed and has comfortable seats centered around the huge flat screen TV situated on a well organized bookshelf with a large library. The saloon is designed so that small groups can gather comfortably for private chats, yet still at the same time seat all passengers.

There are two types of cabins on the MV Pawara, standard and deluxe. Both of the cabins have twin beds only, there are no double beds on this vessel. For couples who require double bed sleeping arrangements, best look further.

There are two air conditioned deluxe cabins located on the main deck. They are well laid out and spacious, and have private en suite bathrooms. The twin beds are perpendicular to each other, and the cabin features a large vanity mirror on the closet. Each cabin has a large picture window looking forward. These cabins are the first to be sold on each cruise.

There are eight air conditioned standard cabins on the boat, four on the main deck and four on the lower deck. Each cabin is spacious and comfortable and has two twin beds. The prices are lower for these cabins. Have a little bit less comfortable cabin and paying less is not a problem with the Pawara as there is so much room on the boat. It’s easy to spread out and find a quiet place for reading or listening to music.

This vessel will also be fitted with on board nitrox blending, oxygen filling and trimix blending for full technical diving.

The similan islands is quite unexplored, the majority of the diving is done at the 30m mark with double that depth below you.

Bookings are starting now for the November to March period. Prices will be release shortly.

Those who complete the Advanced Nitrox to Extended Range course will get this liveaboard included!

oh, we also got another speed boat, so that’s 2 speed boats and 1 luxury live-aboard!

In response to growing demand for diving alternatives and inclement weather on the east coast. Big Blue Tech will be conducting a 3 day 3 Night Technical Diving Liveaboard in the Similan Islands. The following dates are available.

Richelieu Rock Included!

January 21th ( 4 spaces )

January 26th ( 4 spaces )

This trip will be open to technical divers from around Thailand diving with Big Blue Tech from Koh Tao and Khao Lak.

Pre-Requisites: Must Be Minimum Technical Extended Range Diver. (Can be combined with a technical diving course)

Conduct: This trip will be a non-decompression diving (except on wrecks) venture and will be done with deep oceanic coral and extended range for up to 2 hour long dives with Manta Rays, Whale Sharks and all the marine life found in the Andaman sea. The dives will be lead by certified technical dive leaders with intimate knowledge of the dive sites.

Included: Marine Park Fee, Nitrox, Oxygen, Equipment Rental, Food, Accommodation night before and night after the trip. All non-alcoholic drinks on board. Mini Bus from Chumphon, Bangkok and Phuket to Khao Lak.

Not Included: Alcoholic Drinks

Vessel: Luxury liveaboard with 5 star accomodation and facilities. On board blending and support for technical diving operations.

Prices: Contact Us.

We’re back.

After a long and relaxing week off in Bangkok, we’re happy to be back on Koh Tao, especially when we’re greeted by the sunny clear skies and warm sea.

The past week has been quite eventful, as many already know the Bangkok Airport was closed by protestors stranding thousands of tourists and weakening tourism for Thailand in general. However, that’s over now and the airport should be open to full business within days. However we would recommend people fly to Kuala Lumpur and then travel here from the south for the remainder of this year.

The month of December appears busy as not every booking has canceled, we look forward to seeing you all in the next few weeks.

In addition we also welcome consulting ANDI Instructor Trainer Bruce Konefe to the team, he will be heading the CCR and Cave Diving aspects of our training and diving programs starting in the new year.

We also have a Tech Similans on the 15th for some deep oceanic coral and wreck exploration on the similan islands, spaces are limited and some spots are still free for those interested (certified technical divers only)

Below are some pictures of the resort from today to compare to what it was like when we left.

This past week has been very busy for Big Blue Tech. We trained 6 new Padi Enriched Air Divers, 4 Deep Divers, 1 DSAT Gas Blender and gave Dive Master Trainees their Equipment and Physics lecture, i think it’s time for a day off.. phew.

During this time of year when people are getting ready for the Christmas holidays it’s typically quite quiet on Koh Tao. Several smaller schools close for the slow months making Big Blue very busy. Where some schools struggle to send their own boat out and book space on ours making today a very busy day with all our boats heading out with over 40 customers. And that was just in the morning.

But why do so many choose Big Blue and not the other schools? Well i think the efforts of the staff, the sense of family, the location, the fact we care about everything we put into our courses and we’re a western owned school. Which means it’s not just about money but quality as well. I’m not saying the Thai owned schools are any less but for staff it’s nice to make suggestions and have them heard about how to improve customer experience.

There’s also another reason the schools are closed and that’s monsoon. I must admit the weather isn’t the greatest but the visibility is in excess of 30m making the dive a bit darker, the boat ride a bit rougher but the experience unique.

With the turn in weather the Mv Trident is off to dry dock for a coat of paint and good going over leaving us wondering where to go and what to do with our technical diving courses. Here’s what we’ve come up with.

Similans: I know a lot of people go deeper to hit the wrecks. But take the pristine dive destination of the Similans into consideration for technical diving. For some, the idea of looking at something during decompression rather then the blue below is favorable. To spend over an hour on a great dive site with whale sharks, manta rays and pretty much every other tropical marine life is quite an adventure. Albeit not for everyone so we have another idea.

Caves: Those who like wrecks will love caves. Cave diving especially deep penetration is very very dangerous. While we strive to excel in deep ocean exploration we must admit we’re not the top when it comes to cave diving so we’ve teamed up with the mainland pro’s to do cave diving in combination with your technical diving course. We’re very excited about this because we have a lot of unexplored caves and cavern systems just itching to be penetrated by virgin technical divers (i wonder what kind of spam we’ll get after that sentance)

So it’s not the best for sun tanning so trade your sun block in for a rain coat and come enjoy pristine diving conditions.

Thankfully as this is written the sun has returned to Koh Tao and graced us with it’s burning sweat inducing glory. Unfortunately that doesn’t bring as many people as it used to. With global economic uncertainty and growing problems in bangkok this high season is slowly becoming slow. This has had a great effect on other regions where tourism is down 40%. Thankfully however it hasn’t effected us. One of the nice things about technical diving is that it’s elite, exclusive and expensive and with that we’ve actually seen a rise in responses and communication along with course bookings.

To that extent we welcome Hanna Lusby to the Training Team who will be helping out while Niall Mackenzie is back in Scotland for 4 weeks and will remain on staff after to help with the increased customer and course flow. Hannah is not only now part of the team but a very close friend and it’s always great to have your working team like a family. Hannah’s role will be supervising and conducting pre-requisite courses along with developing the diving for disabilities program we’re hoping to introduce in the new year.

As Niall is probably somewhere in the air at the moment he’s probably looking forward to meeting up with former technical students Tim Klein and Malin Hermansson who are all attending a part in Amsterdam. But it’s not all fun and games for Niall as he’ll be meeting with several universities to discuss co-op programs for students in the future. The party sounds like fun but not the weather.

Also We’re getting into our Cave and Similans season as Koh Tao creeps closer and closer to not being viable for long range technical diving. We’ll be working with professionals in both industries to help bring the continued level of excellence to all our courses for our customers.

And finally the MV Trident departed today with the entire “Tech Gang” except James who’s busy cleaning tanks on land (sucker) Mv Trident departed for 7 days of technical exploration on their signature Hammer Head Tour which saw our resident Dive Medic Matt Rolph attend as a diver and emergency support if needed, we all think he’s going just to keep an eye on his girlfriend but we know its for the diving.

So the sun is back, the sea is flat and the beer is most definetly cold. Forget “Bangkok Dangerous” and remember this isour daily commute