Koh Lipe located on the South West coast of Thailand is surrounded by a multitude of islands varying in sizes that have some hidden gems that we hoped to unearth and add to the ever growing encyclopaedia of dive sites we have in this area of Thailand.

Plenty of research into possible new sites from scoping charts and talking to local fishermen.

We spent 4 days on Koh Lipe pretty much living on a long tail boat traveling around the islands dropping into many bays and coves. Some real gems were uncovered that I look forward to diving next season.

Come see us and you will be amazed.

Tom

The information below was taken from http://www.mission-blue.org/node/56, although based in the Caribbean the information can be applied everywhere.

Matt Metcalf

Please Don’t Touch

By Rachel Nuwer

Most divers would agree that the beauty and intrigue of underwater communities are SCUBA’s major draw. But divers can harm the very biodiversity they seek to experience, whether through unintentional collisions or deliberate touches. New research has found that a little pre-dive education goes a long way to mitigating these impacts on delicate underwater habitats.

“It’s important to have some conservation education immediately before entering the water to really remind people,” said Emma Camp, a conservation biologist at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in the Cayman Islands. Camp—a diver since the age of 14—suspected for years that divers might impact the corals, but that this behavior could be changed. She decided to investigate her hypothesis as part of her graduate work at Sheffield Hallam University in England.

Camp headed to the John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida, where she investigated four dive shops. Three were standard dive operations but the fourth was committed to conservation, training staff in ecology and briefing divers on how to avoid impacting corals. As a whole, the Key Largo area is aware of conservation, Camp explained, so she wasn’t sure if she’d find differences between normal dive operations and those dedicated to environmental integrity.

During the peak summer season, she donned gear and observed 83 recreational divers and noted each time they came in physical contact with the coral. Interactions included fin kicks, equipment collisions or touching the coral. She assessed whether or not the contact seemed to be intentional or accidental, and recorded factors like the diver’s gender, whether they were wearing gloves and whether they were carrying a camera.

After the dive, she handed out questionnaires to see whether divers thought the briefings enhanced their caution regarding the reef, and most agreed the briefings helped.

Still, 97 percent of the divers physically interacted with the reef. Their interactions equated to about 18 touches per diver on each 54-minute dive. These figures quickly add up considering each boat carries between 6 and 25 divers, and diving operations run up to three trips per day throughout the year.

Most of the reef touches were accidental, like kicking the coral, stirring up sand, or dragging loose equipment across the reef bed. Divers were also more likely to touch the reef during the initial stage of the dive, when they were adjusting equipment and buoyancy, or getting their bearings in the new surroundings.

Some boats dropped divers in shallow water just a couple meters above reefs, increasing their likelihood of accidentally banging into coral. “During one entry we literally came straight down over some of the healthiest elkhorn coral I’d seen,” Camp said, who noted that several divers hit the coral with their tanks. “If we’d been two meters to either side it wouldn’t have been a problem,” she said.

Experience didn’t change a diver’s likelihood of touching corals, either. Even someone with 1,000 logged dives may have bad habits or might not be aware of how to avoid impacting live corals. “It’s not a fair explanation that just because someone has been diving a long time, they’re a good diver and conservationally aware of their surroundings,” Camp said.

Surprisingly, divers who said they had prior biology or conservation training also displayed the same tendency to touch corals. Camp thinks this is because of differences in location. A diver hailing from England, for example, may be experienced with quarry dives, while a diver flying in from California might be confined to kelp gardens. These are very different ecosystems than Key Largo’s coral reefs.

However, simply briefing divers on responsible diving practices before they get in the water seems to work. Camp’s results, published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, revealed a significant difference between dive operations stressing conservation and those that don’t. The conservation-minded dive shop spent more time discussing techniques for avoiding impacting corals and explained the scientific reasoning behind the warnings. As a result, their divers interacted with the reef less than those from other operations, who touched the reef more than twice as often.

Overall, about 95 percent of divers Camp spoke with declared a concern for the state of the world’s coral reefs. Half of them thought that SCUBA diving does negatively impact coral reefs, and prior scientific studies have confirmed that their assumptions are true. The cumulative effect of too many divers can leave corals more susceptible to disease and even facilitate a phase shift from a coral-dominated to an algae-dominated ecosystem.

But simple managerial changes, like making sure divers’ equipment is secure before entering the water, and carefully choosing entry sites with the least risk of damage, could improve the situation.

Most importantly, providing an immediate reminder before divers enter the water may be the most effective means of alleviating diver impacts, especially if dive masters explain why touching coral or kicking up sand is harmful. “Having a conservation briefing is beneficial for everybody, even if they have previous conservation awareness or have done a lot of diving,” Camp said. “Conservation education can only improve the situation globally.”

With great conditions throughout the course, especially on the final day of the course, we were lucky enough to dive with a 5 metre whaleshark for most of the dive.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your travels and continue to dive – the DJL team

After you have acquired the basics such as mask, BCD, fins and regulators you may want to add some extra amazing pieces of kit like……..

A reel, very handy to help measure distance in it’s most basic form. They come in various lengths and thickness.

If you are are a wreck specialist and love deep penetration of wrecks a reel is an essential piece of kit to own.

Tom one of our wreck specialist instructors recommends that once you purchase your reel, every 3 meters tie a knot in it. For example at 3 metres one knot, 6 metres 2 knots and so forth. This means in limited light situations or poor visibility, you know how far you have to travel on your reel.

A torch is one piece of kit that I would highly recommend you getting. Whether you are looking in nooks and crannies and under rocks for interesting marine life, or Night diving on some of the awesome dive sites here in Koh Tao where some say a torch is essential as it can be dark at night.

Torches are also very handy in wreck diving as well when limited light is possible due to lack of natural light in some wrecks. You should be careful on the type of torch you choose depending on your requirements and how much you plan to use it.

A dive knife is essential if you plan to dive on wrecks that have potential entanglement hazards. All dive knives have a blunt end to reduce chances of self harm. They will have a serrated edge, a sharp blade and a hook for cutting line. You can also choose your type of metal, titanium is probably best as it stands up best to corrosion.

Any advice you require, please don’t hesitate the team here at DJL

Tom

Team DJL

Ed

The deep course is exactly as it sounds, we go deep. Now with deep dives down to 40m, we need to teach more safety procedures because we can spend less time at 40m than we can at shallower depths and we also use our air 5 times faster than if we were on the surface. This certification is a great card to have as it means divers can go deeper than most recreational divers which might mean seeing some awesome shipwrecks or some aquatic life that you might not see at shallower depths.

The enriched air speciality is possibly the most useful as it means we can change the oxygen and nitrogen levels in our tanks which means we can stay down longer at certain depths. It is a very interesting course as students learn more about the effects of gases under pressure so as well as extending their dive time divers are more aware of the effects of gases on their body and therefore much safer divers. Students also learn how to analyse their own tanks so they know exactly what gases they are breathing.

The oxygen provider course is a vital course if anybody wants to work as a Divemaster, you are required by law (in many countries) to have a licence to provide oxygen in an emergency. During this course students learn how to set up the oxygen tanks for a variety of scenarios with different face masks and flow systems for any type of unlikely emergency.

Everybody really enjoyed the week and in fact some were so fascinated that many have decided to continue on and do their tech courses which then opens up even more doors to cave systems, deeper wrecks and longer bottom times.

By Chris

It’s big & it’s proud.

It’s a whale shark.

My first one in 19 years of diving, I still have a big grin thats splitting my head in half.  We arrived at Chumpon Pinnacle with boat crews & divers pointing excitedly to the water. We jumped in as soon as the boat stopped & not more than 20m away it was gently swimming 10m below the surface, a flotilla of remoras in attendance & a gaggle of divers all happily taking photos or just watching. It swam away into the blue but only to come back again a few minutes later this time straight over the top of me just 2m away this time, if only I had my camera. It swam away over the pinnacle meandering between divers & their exhaust bubbles, remoras jostling for position on its body, or maybe just to pose for the cameras.  On with the dive & skills completed for an advanced student who was nearly as happy as I was

Matt

The Torpedo Wreck lies about three hours north of Koh Tao. This is an excellent wreck for novice and intermediate level technical divers with depths ranging from 40 to 50 metres. Well within the range of DSAT Tec 45 and DSAT Tec 50 divers.

The Torpedo Wreck gets its name from its misidentified cargo. When it was first discovered, it looked like it was carrying torpedoes. However, its true cargo is two holds of huge teak logs, which after several years submerged, could be confused as torpedoes.

The wreck is a Japanese 70 metre long two hold freighter which was swamped in heavy seas in the mid 1970’s, whilst carrying a cargo of teak. She now sits almost upright leaning slightly to starboard on a flat sandy bottom at around 50 metres.

We were very lucky on our chosen dive day. The weather was perfect, blue sky and calm sea conditions with only mild current. The visibility on the wreck was 8 to 10 metres, with visibility above 25 metres depth, rising to 30 metres and more.

We split into two teams: Dave Polley and I, Tim Lawrence and Robbie. Our shot onto the wreck was nearly perfect, landing within a couple of metres of starboard near the bridge.

Our team’s job was to tie onto the wreck and then go and explore with any remaining bottom time. Tying on was easy, so we still had nearly 20 minutes bottom time to explore the wreck. We travelled out along the open holds examining the teak cargo, then over the bow and down to the sand where we hit our maximum depth of 50 metres. We then swam back to the bridge looking for penetration points and marine life. Before we knew it, our time on the wreck was up and it was time to ascend and begin our deco stops.

We ascended up to 21 metres where we gas switched and made our first stop. Then as we ascended up to our next stop, I noticed a familiar grey and white spotted shape looming out of the azure water. Incredibly, a whale shark had come to visit us and keep us company throughout our deco stops. This turned out to be one of the longest and most intimate encounters I’ve ever had with a whale shark. She stayed with us for the entire 25 minutes we were in the water, following us right up to the surface.

Most whale shark encounters involve the magnificent creature, you, two dozen other divers and a curtain of bubbles obscuring the best of the view. However, on this occasion, we had her all to ourselves. No other divers, no pushy cameras and videographers and no bubbles to take away from the moment; a memory that will last forever.

On our second dive, we penetrated inside the bridge. We swam through the crew quarters and descended down onto the sand at the stern to see if we could find the ships propellers. Unfortunately, over time, the rear of the ship had sunk into the sand. Finally we untied, having to leave a stuck shackle and chain on the wreck for the next visitors to tie into. After making our stops, we ascended back to the surface; a truly memorable day out.

There is no permanent mooring line on this wreck, and there can be fishing net entanglement hazards. So you need to make the trip with an experienced tec guide who knows the location of the wreck and is able to place a shot line on her. If you are new to tec diving and are looking to gain knowledge, DJL’s Tec Daytrips are the perfect opportunity to get that experience as they are lead by our expert tec team Tim Lawrence and Dave Polley.

We are happy to run Tec Daytrips to some of the less dived wrecks within a day’s sail of Koh Tao. If you are already a tec diver or are considering starting technical training drop us an email at shop@davyjoneslocker.asia and you can come along on our next trip.

If it feels threatened it will typically retreat into a crevice or cave in the reef rather than trying to out-swim a predator, this is due to the fact that it has small fins so isn’t a very fast swimmer. You can often see filefishes drifting with the current among seaweed with their head pointing downwards. This is probably a way of fooling both predators and suitable prey.

Matt Metcalf

As we were arriving at the dive site Mama and Papa (captain and his wife) started shouting something about whales. We all thought at first they meant whale shark but as we looked out towards the site we saw 2 huge Minke whales! As everyone scrambled with excitement to get their gear on and buddy checks done one swam right past the boat and disappeared into the blue, and the second swam away from the site just teasing us with an occasional surfacing dorsil fin. Unfortunately we didn’t see them under the water, but it was still pretty amazing and I’m sure it’s something I, and everyone else on the boat , will not forget anytime soon! According to some of the other divers on the sight their were also whale sharks there this morning, which we missed L, and one was also spotted at Hin Wong Pinnacle. Looking forward to seeing my next one!

Don Dornbrack

Take one of my newly certified open water students for example. Kine from Norway came to Koh Tao with the idea of diving on her mind. She loved swimming, snorkeling and the ocean, but unfortunately had a near-drowning experience as a small child and since then has always been uncomfortable with having water around her face, mouth, and eyes. But with some encouragement she decided that she would give diving a shot. The pool session took some extra effort and she struggled with certain skills, in particular the mask clear and removing from the face. At first she didn’t think that it would be possible to do it and almost gave up. With a little help from her friend and some extra time in the pool with the instructor, by the afternoon she was not only clearing her mask but swimming around without it on!

The next day began with the first open water dive and there was excitement mixed with some nervousness as the class geared up and prepared to jump in. Kine was not so keen on the jumping part but again, with some encouragement she made it off the boat and into the water only to become (what I think) as the best student in the class. She was first down the line, great buoyancy, and was very good on her air consumption. Best of all, she loved it! Every dive after that was a walk in the park and today she finished her course and is now a certified open water diver.

Even better, she signed up and is starting her advance course. At the beginning she was asking me if she could stay above 10 meters, now she will be getting certified to dive to 30! So go and give it a try, you have nothing to lose. You never know, you may end up finding a new love in life!

Instructor Sarah, DMT Hannah & Open Water Students

It was a very special occasion and we wish Ole and Gitte all the happiness for the future – in life and with their diving!
Nicky Simmons

Two of the wrecks the MV Trident and HTMS Satakut are artificial reefs positioned within a few minutes journey from Davy Jones Locker.

The first of these is the MV Trident which after a long and glittering career being a wreck hunting vessel herself was sunk of the South of Koh Tao next to Shark Island. MV Trident located over 30 wrecks until it was decided to retire her. An expert team then cleaned and stripped her removing any major obstacles for divers and making sure she was environmentally clean.

MV Trident was sunk in September 2010. She lies in the 29-36 metre bracket of water and due to the current surrounding the wreck has rapidly become a haven for marine life which have made a home for themselves in there.

The other amazing training wreck we have available to us is the former HTMS Satakut. The HTMS Satakut was sunk just off Sairee in August 2011. She is 39 metres long and 7 metres wide and started life as a US Navy landing craft in World War II. She was involved in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
She sits upright in water from 20 metre down to 32 metres and is great for penetration training through the passages of this historic well decorated vessel. Personally I love diving on this wreck and consider a great training tool for Wreck specialities whether i am teaching or just keeping my skills sharp.

Another wreck close by is the Unicorn. The Unicorn is 40 minutes from Koh Tao she lies in 48 metres of water and sits upright and is 60 metre long. This a technical dive but well worth taking up Tec diving just to swim under her bow.

The Unicorn was a cargo ship transporting a consignment of dog food. She was believed to be the result of an insurance scam, the cargo was insured for tuna fish, but on inspection by marine insurance companies she was found to contain dog food. Hence the name dog food wreck.

Marine life on the Unicorn is very diverse. She has been there for 20 years and is covered in soft corals and vibrant fish life.

So why not come do your wreck spec or take the next step to Tec diving.

Tom

Don Dornbrack

We are also aware that some of the more experienced divers such as the fun divers, advanced and speciality courses might prefer more challenging or deeper sites where they can see bigger fish, ship wrecks and more chances of seeing whale sharks. For these divers we have a second dive boat so we can split dive sites between the entry level and experienced divers if the need arises.

We make sure we visit the best and most appropriate dive sites so our divers get a fantastic underwater experience with their time here at DJL.

By Chris