The ornate ghost pipefish still at Elephant Head Rock and the white tips reef sharks were spotted cruising around the flats. Second dive at Christmas point at the top of Island 9 before heading up to Koh Bon. Some feeding frenzies of rainbow runners and trevally's almost stole the show, but a pair of mating octopus chasing eachother around the reef and showing off all their colours and patters was very memorable. Sunset dive is up at Koh Tachai and the current was present for the first time this trip, and it was good practice for everyone. One great thing about living on a boat is the sunsets and we had great ones every night.
Morning dive on the third day and back at Koh Tachai, the current had subsided remarkably and it was a lot easier to move around the site. New spot was a juvenile delicate ghost pipefish nearly invisible under a rock. The remaining three dives of the day are at the best site Richilieu Rock. The big stuff: barracuda, 100's of trevally, tuna, rainbow runner; little stuff: frogfish, pipehorse, harlequin shrimp, zebra moray and juvenile angelfish; its covered and has something for all tastes.
Concerned about the current on the last day we finished the trip was two ship wreck dives: the Boonsung and Premchai. Normally the former is quite busy and its considered the best wreck in the area, but waking up next to it at 6am we have it all to ourselves. Then last dive on Premchai which is absolutely covered top to bottom in juvenile barracuda, plus lots of flat heads in the sand. Then its back to the mainland and not too long until everyone is leaving on their transfers...
Congratulations to all the new certifications gained on the trip: Open Water: Tim and Zhou Simei; Advanced Open Water: Zeng Zheng, Zhu Heng, Joseph, Bosse, Jean-Luc and Anne; and Nitrox Speciality divers: Yan Chao and Yun Xiao.
