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Similan Islands Liveaboard Trip Report: Day 3
Read the prologue to this trip report here.
Read Day 1 here.
Read Day 2 here.
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Richelieu Rock
Today for me was going to be the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of Thailand’s diving: three dives on Richelieu Rock. Richelieu was our most northerly dive site on this trip, located east of Koh Surin at 09 218N 98 013E. It has a pinnacle that breaks the surface at low tide; other than that it is in the open seas. My previous visits to Richelieu have always been very productive when it comes to photography – it is covered with life of all shapes and sizes, and I was hoping things hadn’t changed. I even changed the memory card in my camera so I had plenty of space.
“Dive Briefing!” It was 7:30am already. As Mats started with the briefing for dive number 9, all I could think was “Hurry up and let’s get in!” My camera was at the ready and itching to get wet.
Descending on the mooring line was a must in case of any currents, however there didn’t seem to be much of one. My first sight was of two large groups of long spined sea urchins on the sea bed at around 29m. If they cannot find places to hide they travel in large numbers to create as much protection as possible. On this occasion, a hundred or so could not find a home!
Our first mission was to find seahorses. We scoured the area where they normally hide but couldn’t find them, so moved onward.
It seemed almost everywhere we looked there were ornate ghost pipe fish, lots of them, some even in pairs. Moray eels were sticking their head out of nearly every crack, and scorpion fish lay in camouflage, especially in the shallows. Dancing Durban shrimp and banded cleaner shrimp laid waiting for their next job. “I think I’ll have my nails done please,” I thought to myself. I reached out my hand and out they came, seeing what they could pick out from under my nails. Mantis shrimp were spotted scurrying along (they always seem so busy).
As we got shallower you could sea shoals of barracuda and big-eye trevally. Finally it was time to get breakfast out of the way so we could get back in!
Dive number 10
“Dive Briefing!” It was 10:30am. It was time for dive number 10, and again, I couldn’t wait. Our group went in first. I had been set a challenge by Mats to take a photo of a two colour blenny; he had tried and failed to get a shot of one himself, but they always shot off before he got close enough. I did try to look for one, but they are small and fast… and all the ghost pipe fish were looking like they wanted to have their picture taken. At least 12 ghost pipe fish were spotted on this dive! More morays, clown fish in every anemone, a spindle cowrie, and at last a two colour blenny that stayed still. I did try to take a photograph of a small thin black fish that was hiding within the spines of a long spined urchin. It was shooting up and down near the other side and very hard to get a photo of – I did get one, but it’s not clear enough to see what it was.
All in all, another great dive. I needed a decent surface interval to get the most out of the last dive on Richelieu, so I didn’t hang around in the shallows too long and came up.
Another huge lunch; I scoffed down what I needed, went back to my bunk and sorted out my photos, prepared the video camera for the next dive, then took a small nap.
Dive number 11
“Dive Briefing!” Dive number 11. What was in store this dive? I took another look for the seahorse, and, at last, it was there. A large shoal of squirrel fish swam past; as I pursued them I noticed something moving behind a large shoal of glassfish above me, and as they parted I could see a turtle making its way looking for something to eat (it should have been on our boat – it wouldn’t have had any problem finding food there!). There were angel fish of every kind, more scorpion fish, and more lionfish than you would ever want to take pictures of. One more nudibranch – that made a grand total of two for Richelieu. I like nudibranchs, because they don’t swim away when you take their picture.
I was done – or at least my air was – which meant the end of my dives on Richelieu.
As we motored away I looked back; I was sad to leave what is probably the best dive site in Thailand, and probably one of the best in the world when it comes to variety of marine life and colours – a top dive site.
Dive number 12
“Dive Briefing!” 6:30pm. Dive number 12! Still another seven to go – phew!
We had arrived back at Koh Tachai for our night dive. We were going to dive a reef off of the island rather than the pinnacle this time.
We entered the water at 7:00pm. It’s funny how things can affect you; I didn’t write down much about this dive, and I can’t remember much about it either. Compared to the rest of today’s dives anything was going to be second class. I have to look at my photos to remind me what I saw! Parrot fish hiding in reefs with their protective mucous bubbles, a reasonably large red crab backing itself under a piece of coral, a tiny young devil scorpion fish laying on an open piece of sea bed, and a puffer fish that didn’t swim away. I hadn’t even taken many photos. Oh well – tomorrow is another day.
To be continued…
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Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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