[Similan Islands, Thailand] I was excited about my first open water dives and it was a real pity that the day dawned, once again, overcast and windy (This is what the Similans should look like!). We were collected at our hotel and transferred to the pier where the Nam Sai, Sea Dragon’s monster boat, was waiting for us. We cleared the calm of the harbor during a short briefing and it became clear that this was not going to be a smooth ride! Fetching us tea, V was particularly impressive carrying two cups along the upper deck without spilling a drop in what felt like 45 degree pitching (at times we could not see sky on the far side of the boat). I don’t normally get motion sickness but the huge bacon and egg breakfast and 5 seconds of looking at a book on the sea life left me feeling terribly green. I went down to the lower deck to prepare my gear and successfully managed to project my breakfast (and what felt like 3 previous meals) into the ocean. I was the first to hurl for the day but by no means the last. I felt instantly much better – one poor guy was feeling so sick he decided not to dive in the end. V, who normally gets sick even in a car, had no trouble with the help of a tiny pill.

After three hours of that nonsense we arrived near Koh Bangu Island. V and the rest of the snorkelers were sent off by rubber duck to Sail Rock beach while Elanor and I were dropped in the rolling seas at ‘Three Trees’. We descended immediately and what an amazing experience! 40m of visibility. Everything felt calm even with a light current and surge – we just went with the flow. The sea life was stunning – we saw a pair of cuttlefish courting, a very large trigger-fish and a mid sized turtle amongst thousands of other fish and corals (I was concentrating on breathing and my skills so my recollection is just one of ‘WOW’ with very little detail). It was awesome. We were down at 12m (the max allowed for the first dive) for 56 minutes – I would have loved to have stayed all day!

Getting out of the water was a mission in the rough seas but sounded like V had an even worse time of it on the rubber duck. The surf on the beach was too much for most of the snorkeling group – bit of a wash out for V I’m afraid. I avoided lunch for fear of losing it as we headed to the second dive site, ‘Turtle Rock’. After the last experience V opted out of the second snorkel session – my dive was once again brilliant. Slightly less visibility, much stronger currents and surge and less fish but the terrain was fun. Huge boulders gave me lots of practice with buoyancy control and we did see a Lion fish (dangerous, spiky little thing).

After the hour long dive and we were back on board and heading home. While I was underwater a friendly turtle had been performing for V and the others on the boat. Apparently they really love bananas and this one had no problem swimming playing on the surface with one of the crew. The ride home went quickly and the sea was a little calmer. One of the crew had been filming all day both above and below the water. Before we got near the port he had edited the day into a slick DVD production. V was amazed at how clear it was underwater. We would have bought the video, but the price was unfortunately a little high. Tomorrow I have my final two qualifying dives – here’s hoping for better weather!

[Pictures: Unimpressed V in getting back onboard. Ok, you try smile with a mask on :)]

A short clip. V getting back aboard after the aborted snorkeling attempt

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi