thailand

THAILAND

KEITH'S DIVING HOLIDAYS,

GREAT BARRIER REEF,

The Colona VI, my home for a week.

I have been wanting to visit the Similan Islands for several years and particularly wanted to dive from a sailing vessel. However I was never able to book on one at a convenient time so eventually I plumped for the Colona VI.

A newish boat 28m long, 5m wide and with a top speed of 12kts it has air conditioned cabins for a maximum of 20 guests and for the second half of the trip I had a cabin to myself.

My trip was a combination of the 2 day, 7 dive option to the south and the 4 day, 15 dive option in the Similans and as I have been feeling my age on previous trips I booked the Nitrox course. This was excellent and I was diving on Nitrox from day one.

Having previously decided that at the age of 72 two dives per day was a sensible maximum for me I was amazed and elated when I managed three and four dives per day and didn't feel as tired as I used to on two.

On the two day trip we visited the islands of Hin Daeng, Hin Muang, Ko Ha Yai, Phi Phi where we did a night dive, and Racha Noi. The four day trip took us to the Similan Islands of Koh Bon, Koh Tochai, Koh Surin and Richelieu Rock.

Before setting off I kept in close touch with the Colona VI base and was reassured when the Xmas earthquake did not disrupt Thailand as much as the media would have had us believe. I logged on to the local papers and they were all very upset at the slanted and misleading reporting by the English, Australian and American press.

At the dive sites we visited there was no evidence of any damage.

Leaving our moorings.

Having arrived in Phuket late morning I had most of the day to explore before joining the boat after dark.

Preparing to banish evil spirits.

The first job for the crew was to banish the evil spirits that had come aboard since the last trip. This was done using firecrackers to scare them away.