Technical divers race to Koh Bon divesite for Manta Rays by Speedboat.

Khao Lak, Thailand - Big Blue Tech members Andy Cavell, Mark Slinn and James Thornton-Allan raced to Koh Bon dive site this morning to go looking for Manta Rays. Travelling at over 30 knots it took just under an hour to reach the dive site in the Similan Islands on one of our speed boats. Koh Bon dive site is best known for the abundance of manta rays found there and is the only place in Thailand where these animals can be seen.

Big Blue Khao Lak, the branch for diving in the simian islands has 2 speedboats and a liveaboard so we jumped in one of them for a relaxing days diving.

However, our luck with these animals seems to be consistent and there wasn’t a single manta ray which was annoying since the past few days before divers have been enjoying multiple manta rays. This is a running theme now since we saw none on the liveaboard.

Although there were no Manta Rays there were some white tip sharks and other fish, some yellow and some blue, basically all of Nemo’s mates were there but it wasn’t what we were looking for.

The second dive was a Koh Tachai dive site where, again, there were no Manta’s so the tech crew (now without Emily) did what any lads do on a speed boat with nothing else to do, we jumped in the drivers seat and took the boat for a spin which was absolutely brilliant. Most of us have driven boats before and also have our powerboat license but this boat is built for speed and that’s exactly what it did, it went fast, very very fast.

Unfortunately for Andy who forgot his dive bag in the truck he ended up very sun burnt from the entire day in the sun but hope it teaches him a good lesson about equipment awareness.

Tomorrow is scheduled for more diving where Panos will join us, it’s been ages since Panos moved out here to look after Big Blue Tech in Khao Lak and since he’s been so busy there’s been no chance to get in the water. Hopefully we’ll have both Panos and Rick together at Richeleau Rock for some tech diving and then it’s off home to be back on Koh Tao for the 25th.

Technical divers travel north to dive with Manta Rays

Phi Phi, Thailand – Big Blue Tech departed from Phi Phi Island today to head back up to Khao Lak after it was decided that the island held no more interest for the team of technical divers.

Yesterday we dived in Maya Cave which was reported as a great cave worth a visit which we felt posed very little challenge and did give us a rush of adrenaline like other caves we have dived in during this expeditions.

Last night the team spoke with other divers on Phi Phi about the caves, the recreational divers who have never had any formal training in overhead referred to the other caves as “swim through”. This new information put doubt into our minds about the value of staying any longer in exchange for diving somewhere else. The decision was made to not go diving today and instead packed up and left the island.

Technical diving on this island as part of an expedition is very difficult to the point of frustration. We had major problems simply getting from one point of the island to the other with our gear let alone arranging boats and air fills. However it’s very unusual for a divers to travel through the country like this with their own equipment so it was not a surprise that we would encounter some problems.

While Phi Phi was great for a party and all normal holiday making and relaxing it’s a lot like Koh Tao in many ways but nowhere near as developed and established which could be a result of the Tsunami which wiped out Phi Phi island 5 years ago, an event which is remembered in subtle and respectful ways throughout the island.

Anyone wishing to visit Phi Phi should contact Susan at +66 0892894789 who arranged all the transport, accommodation and bookings really well over the phone and was essential to the modest success we got.

This evening the tech crew arrived back in Khao Lak where we would take out our speedboat for a couple days diving on the Similan Islands to look for Manta Rays. This is also the end of the road for Emily who returns to Koh Tao to get back to work teaching scuba diving at Big Blue.

With fish darting amongst them in a blue lagoon, the Maldivian president and his top team have staged an elaborate stunt to publicise climate change.

Billed as the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting, President Mohamed Nasheed and 11 ministers, decked in scuba gear, held a meeting 4m (13ft) underwater.

While officials said the event itself was light-hearted, the idea is to focus on the plight of the Maldives, where rising sea levels threaten to make the nation uninhabitable by the end of the century.

Mr Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, has become an important global voice for climate change since he won in polls last October.

“We have to get the message across through a course of action which resonates with ordinary people,” the president said, as the boat neared our destination.

“What we are trying to tell the people is that we hope there is a better deal at Copenhagen.”

The presidential speedboat took 20 minutes to arrive in the turquoise lagoon off Girifushi, in North Male atoll.

The cabinet then zipped themselves into diving suits and donned goggles and tanks of compressed air before jumping in the water.

Major Ahmed Ghiyaz, the co-ordinator from the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), said all measures had been taken to protect the president, which included checking the coral for dangerous creatures.

“I am 99.9% sure there will be no harmful creatures,” he told the BBC before the dive.

“I’m sure there won’t be any sharks. The nastiest thing would be a moray eel, but we have checked the reef”.

A horseshoe-shaped table was set up around a dark green coral reef with blue tips and home to an array of sea creatures in one of the world’s most famed diving spots.

The president and his team took their seats at 1000 at the bottom of the lagoon, sitting at desks with name tags while colourful parrot fish and black and white damsel fish darted around them.

Using hand signals to gesture that they were OK, ministers then passed round an “SOS” to be signed - an agreement calling for carbon emission cuts.

“We must unite in a global effort to halt further temperature rises,” the message reads.

“Climate change is happening and it threatens the rights and security of everyone on Earth.”

Meanwhile, a handful of journalists kitted out in snorkel gear and swimming around on the surface tried to get a glimpse of the action below.

Emerging out of the water, a dripping President Nasheed removed his mask to answer questions from reporters and photographers crowded around on the shore.

“We are trying to send a message to the world about what is happening and what would happen to the Maldives if climate change isn’t checked,” he said, bobbing around in the water with his team of ministers.

“If the Maldives is not saved, today we do not feel there is much chance for the rest of the world.”

After the dive, the president told the BBC he had seen a stingray swim nearby during the meeting.

“There was a sergeant fish that was particularly interested in what was going on,” he said during a typically Maldivian lunch of fish curry and coconut juice.

“I’ve never been worried about reef sharks and I’ve been diving for a long time,” the 42-year-old added.

He says other Maldivians had heard about the event and wanted to get involved in some way.

On the island of Kuda Huvadhoo, some islanders reportedly created a sealed box and put their TV in it so they could watch the footage of the meeting underwater.

“They told me, ‘if the president is under water, then they want to be too’,” Mr Nasheed said.

But he was keen to push the need for action.

The 1192-island chain is at severe threat from rising sea levels, with 80% of its islands less than a metre above sea level.

“What do we hope to achieve? We hope not to die. I hope I can live in the Maldives and raise my grandchildren here,” says Mr Nasheed.