Firstly, and most importantly, congratulations to Adam and Marina! After almost four weeks on the boat they have completed their PADI Divemaster course with us at Oktavia. In their final week they took the opportunity to guide their own group of divers around the Similans and both of them did an excellent job of it.

Manta Rays! It’s been a few week since we have seen a Manta Ray in the Similans. This week we had some good luck and saw them on the 24th and on the 26th. We had some excellent diving and snorkeling in the Similans and Richelieu was great, but for everyone on board for the last few days the Manta Rays were the highlight. 

This week was a trip for macro. We had some good luck with the things we found and we also had experienced instructors and even a course director on the boat to help us look. This meant we found all the things we were looking for! Richelieu Rock was great (when is it not?) - There were nudibranchs I had never seen before, two ornate ghost pipefish and between us we found seven harlequin shrimp. This included two baby harlequins that nobody even saw until we zoomed in on the photo as they were smaller than your pinky fingernail!

After having one trip on land I was more than happy to go Similan diving again on the liveaboard! I was also lucky enough to end up with a group of excellent divers so we all had some good long dives. Even Tania, who finished her PADI Open Water on the boat, had an air consumption as good as mine! This is perfect for me as I can relax a bit more underwater and spend more time looking for the cool things…

This trip we went an extra mile for our guests. In fact, it was probably a bit more than a mile! We had a lot of snorkellers on the boat so we made a detour to the Surin Islands. This was the first time any of us had been there so we all enjoyed it. A longtail boat approached us asking if we wanted a tour of the islands. The captain was about 13 years old and the rest of the crew had an average age of about 10 but we thought 'why not?' and jumped on board! The Surin Islands may not have the greatest dive sites, but they are beautiful for an excursion. The beaches are stunning and the local wildlife is impressive too.

Last week the boat stayed at the pier for some mid-season maintenance, so it was good to get back in the water this week. It was quite a small group this time but they were great, happy people and there was a good atmosphere. We had some especially happy snorkelers who were overjoyed with everything they saw with sharks and turtles topping the list. The divers saw some great things too!

What is life like for a seahorse at Richelieu Rock? You're a bright yellow, oddly shaped tourist attraction, at arguably the most famous dive site in Thailand. So you're going to be busy! Last year, they had the good sense to stay deep, so divers couldn't stay and harass them too long. They also had the afternoons off, as divers shallow-up later in the day. This year one made the mistake of shallowing up with us! I was starting to think it enjoyed the limelight as it happily posed for photos all day long, regularly changing position and putting a smile on everyone's faces.

Happy New Year! Let’s just hope that this year is as good as the last… Looking back at all the photos from the last 12 months I realized just how much I've seen here compared to when I worked on the east coast of Thailand. The difference is dramatic!

A belated Merry Christmas for those now reading this! This trip was always going to be good festive fun… We had a full boat and a good variety of guests on board - some with their families, some escaping their families, some snorkellers, some divers, some young and some very young!

After having the most amazing dive of my life on the last trip, I thought I would turn my attention to snorkeling. I was the snorkel guide for this trip as we had more snorkellers than divers. They ranged in age from six years old to retirees, so we were going to need something special to keep everyone happy… Luckily we got it!

11-16 Dec 2012

This was a week I will remember forever. Everything started quite normally and we had several good dives and there was a good atmosphere on the boat. I informed everyone that on the night of the 13th that there was a meteor shower expected. So, a few of us stayed up late with a couple of beers, and gazed at the night sky. At first, we saw just a couple of shooting stars but as the night progressed they became more and more frequent. By 23:00 we were seeing them every few minutes; sometimes two or three at a time! It was fantastic and I thought it was going to be my own personal highlight of the trip but I was wrong…

6/12/12

Oktavia is not always all about diving. This trip, 75% of the guests for the first two days are snorkelers, and today turned out to be a good day for snorkelling. The guests ranged from experienced snorkelers to some that had never tried before, but they all had a good day. The water was really nice and clear and there was virtually no current. They saw several turtles, an octopus, a school of barracuda and a lot more…

30/11

This trip should be good fun! We had a full charter of mainly experienced divers from the UAE, which meant we could start the trip on a more advanced dive site right from the word 'go'. Our first dive was the Tuna Wreck and it’s the first time we have been this season. This is an interesting dive partly because of the wreck itself, and partly because you finish the dive in a shallow area where they have put statues as a memorial to the tsunami. Most of these are big circular stones that represent the Mayan Calendar. There are also a couple of mermaid statues which, if you have a feel of their breasts, are supposed to bring you good luck for seeing manta rays later in the trip but the connection is so far unexplained!

7:00pm

The fire crackers light up the bow of M/V Oktavia as we headed away from Tap Lamu pier, ensuring safe travels on our trip. Welcome aboard the 23-28^th Nov liveaboard in the Similan Islands!

Hey, it’s Chris here again to give you our exciting trip report from our third trip of the season! I’ve been really looking forward to this trip as my brother Matt is here in the Similan Islands with us…

We are going to diverse from our usual blog and bring you reports straight from the dive staff themselves and for our first Similans diving report - we have Chris, MV Oktavia’s tour leader:

Yesterday, our first trip came back from the Similan Islands with some very happy guests on board. It wasn’t a great start weather-wise at Thaplamu Pier as the heavens had opened and everyone got a little wet before they were supposed to!

This month I want to tell you a little bit more about what’s happened with MV Oktavia over the last few months.

There was not really a lot going on in the wonderful world of MV Oktavia and the Similan Islands this week but there was another little surprise, well for me anyway…

During the months of May to October in Khao Lak many owners of restaurants, bars and other facilities shut their doors in favor of working elsewhere in Thailand while some western owners head back to their native countries. This leaves the area looking a little like a ghost town but there are still a few places to go!

Diving in Similan Islands is probably one of the best places to go in Thailand and ranked very highly in Southeast Asia. With this in mind we have already started to receive booking from returning guests as well as some newbies that want to sample what we have to offer.

The team at the Tourism Coordination Center (TCC) in Phang-Nga currently has their fingers crossed for an impending upgrade on their status. They are hoping the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will upgrade their office status to the same as their Phuket counterparts.

During the low season there’s not much to do in Khao Lak as the rain sets in so in my spare time (quite a lot) I like to search out different facts. Perusing scuba diving news articles I read a short piece on Hollywood actress Jessica Biel becoming a PADI Advanced Diver. She did this in Puerto Rico while her fiancé, Justin Timberlake, was shooting his latest epic movie.