Since then we have gone from no boats being able to go out at all to both Midnight's in full operation every day. From trips to the usual places around Koh Tao and to the fabulous Sail Rock, to many Angthong Marine Park tours, private charters and also venturing out to Koh Phangan as well. So a great variety of different tours are available depending on what you are interested in doing and how much time you would like to spend out on the water. Have a look at our tour options and drop us a line if you need more information.
Throughout most of March and pretty much all of April we have had awesome diving conditions, with generally calm seas, great visibility, little current and loads to see. All the juvenile fish are around during these months so you can be diving through schools of what looks like rainfall - it's very pretty! Then we have the baby black tip reef sharks, around 1m in length in schools of around 6-8. They are very shy but relaxed and if you're quiet and don't make too much movement you can spend a long time watching them swim around. The best way to see these is to join one of our VIP snorkel tours, in a small, personalised group with 1 of our Instructors who can show these and other wonderful things.
Now, the big topic of conversation is definitely the Whale Shark action we have been experiencing lately. We generally get sightings all year round across all of our dive sites but this is normally sporadic where we maybe get 1 or 2 sightings in a week and nothing for a few weeks. 2017 has been very different, with many, many sightings and often 2 at a time at a variety of dive sites. Sail Rock so far has had the big fish(s) there every day for the last 3 weeks which is amazing! We must all remember good etiquette around them: NO touching, NO chasing or crowding the fish, NO deliberately stopping it's natural path and NO flash on your camera. These basic things will help everyone enjoy the experience all the more.
If you are one of our customers who had the pleasure of a Whale Shark during your Discover Scuba dive or Open Water course dives, you are VERY lucky!!! Sometimes people clock up hundreds of dives over years and still don't get to see a Whale Shark!
We have also had some rare sightings including Dolphins, large Bumphead Parrotfish and some pseudo 'Orcas'! So lots of activity going on right now in the Gulf of Thailand and a great time to come diving as a beginner or an experienced diver.
At the end of March, we saw Heath one of our long term Senior Instructors leave us. He decided that he wanted to focus on himself a bit more and take some time to enjoy things around the island that we often don't get a chance too because we are all so busy! 1 month after saying goodbye to Heath, he is now back doing some part time work with us as he missed us so much!! We also had a new addition to the team in the form of Marc. Marc was a repeat customer of The Dive Academy for many years and after completing his Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses with us, decided to turn Pro. After becoming an Instructor last year, he has subsequently worked on a part time basis with us and is now a full time employee. So look out for the Scot on the team!
You may have seen our exciting news about the launch of The Freediving Academy. A new addition and service offering, this is a new sport that is really taking off around the world and our Instructor Sophie, who can offer both PADI & AIDA courses is really looking to show our customers something new. Already, we have had some snorkelers keen to give it a try and Scuba Divers wanting to see what the differences are and whether they could be as successful at this sport. Have a look at our new Facebook page to see what all the fuss is about: https://www.facebook.com/thefreedivingacademykohsamui
When we talk about our team, we generally refer to our Instructors, however we mustn’t forget that we have 2 boat crews and Thai office based staff. So after our boat crew all getting to experience recent Whale Shark sightings (normally whilst cleaning the boat!), Sak our driver was feeling a little left out. So after a pool session to introduce him to Scuba and get him comfortable breathing underwater, out he went for a Discover Scuba Diving experience to Sail Rock! He did a great job and we are all really proud of him as he was a little scared!!
Also this year, saw us move away from the Bandara resort as our secondary location to Peace Resort just a little along the beach. The Dive Academy is now working together with Peace resort to establish combined hotel & diving packages. So watch this space!
The latest news on the IDC front is that Paul has been helping out another dive centre in Bali and has so far completed 2 there this year. Our next IDC's at The Dive Academy are scheduled for June and September, if you are thinking of becoming an Instructor and would also like to get 5 free Specialites!
Lastly, we were awarded another Certificate of Excellence by Trip Advisor last year, so a big thank you to everyone who has written a fab review about us or told their friends or who come back many times to dive with us! May you continue to enjoy diving and snorkeling with us!!
