The end is near

Tomorrow will be the last day of Daniel as a DMT here at DivingScool Koh Chang. The last three months we have been training him to become a PADI Dive master and he has successfully passed all requirements, so this means we are having a small party tomorrow ;-) Well done Daniel!!!
Today i went diving with him on the local sites and we had some fun exploring the outer parts of reefs...here we found some interesting marine life ( a to me new species of helmet shell) and we were greeted by a feeding turtle that didn't seem to be bothered by our presence.
To end his adventure here, we have a couple of trips planned for tomorrow, which will put 4 more dives in his logbook and the PADI Digital Underwater Photography Specialty.
We wish Daniel all the best in his future diving career and hope to see him back soon on the island.

As far as the eye can see

Still excellent diving conditions here on Koh Chang, with incredible visibility and some nice encounters. Today on our way out to the dive sites we were accompanied by a pod of dolphins. It's always a pleasure to see these magnificent creatures out in the wild.
The most special encounter today was with a bamboo shark that was trying to hide under a rock. Normally they become active during the night, but obviously this one got his alarm set early. It had a decent 1m length and seemed in perfect condition. Definitely hoping for more of these little encounters in the future.
The weather stays the same for the next couple of days, which means we should have some more amazing dives and hopefully a brilliant night dive on the 30th (Full moon)!!!
Next month DivingScool is participating in a Coral Conservation Program at Koh Wai. More details will follow. As for now...happy Bubbles

Excellent diving conditions

Today we went out for two dives on the local sites here on Koh Chang. I really like them as they are close to perfection when it comes to entry level dive sites. After the cold from the last couple of days, I wasn't very keen on going in. But this all changed as soon as we tied the boat up on the buoy. The water was crystal clear and there was no sign of current what so ever. The last divers from the other boats were leaving the water, so this meant that we had the dive sites all to ourselves...After the briefing, we hit the water and had a brilliant dive around Hin Rap. There was lots of fish around and we had some encounters with a couple of triggerfish as well.
Now, these little buggers are always in for a bit of fun, but you should be aware of their sharp teeth and you should avoid direct confrontation with them. Try swimming around them instead of crossing their territory, when you spot one.
No diving tomorrow, although I can't wait to get back into the water knowing that we have excellent diving for the moment.
Well it will have to wait until Monday, hopefully that long expected whale shark will skip a day as well ;-))

Happy Bubbles

Cold but very rewarding

The last couple of days we've seen a change in the weather here on Koh Chang. The wind has strengthened and that resulted in lower temperatures. After the unusual warm last couple of weeks, this comes as a nice change, but...it's freezing in the pool!!! The confined water sessions for the Open Water Diver students now have coffee or tea breaks to warm up ;-)
Luckily the temperature of the sea water on the local sites ( Hin Rap, Hin Luk Bat) and the National Marine Park is still (above) normal. This means no breaks from diving and more time to explore the beauty of our colorful reefs and the diverse variety of fish which they have to offer.
We can not forget to mention that we've had great fun with Dave, Julie, Matt, Daniel, Danny, George and Chris who all obtained their PADI Open Water Diver certification. Well done guys and girl!!!
Daniel our Dive Master Trainee is getting into his last ten days of his stay with us :-( which means that his course is coming to an end and that we will soon have a new Dive Master to celebrate :-) But before the famous snorkel test, we have to finish his Skill Circuit and his PADI Digital Underwater Photography Specialty. This last one isn't a prerequisite to get certified as a PADI Divemaster, but Daniel has taken several Specialties in order to be a more diverse Divemaster with a broader knowledge of the dive industry and its techniques...
We are almost at the end of the month, but just to remember all of you, our Specialty of the Month at DivingScool is the Enriched Air Diver and is being offered at a very competitive price!! Have a look at our site for the other promotions as well.
As always...happy bubbles

Fluorescent corals on the local Koh Chang sites

Today we headed out in the afternoon with our two Dive Master candidates and Raoul, a nice Dutch bloke who just wanted to get some diving done.
Schedule was to make two day dives and a night dive. During the first dive Daniel finished his PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty, well done for that. This means no excuses anymore for not finding the way back to the boat;-)
Raoul had a nice relaxed dive on Hin Rap which is one of the local sites here at Koh Chang. Visibility wasn't too bad and we did see some interesting stuff down there. One of the following days, I will give you some more details about the local dive sites together with some pics.
On the second location, we send our Dive Master Trainees out to make a map of the site, but due to bad visibility they will have to come back to this site and redo their drawing. Instead we had them redo their rescue skills and some CPR.
As most of the time we safe best things for last!!
We did a night dive and we brought some special kit with us to look for fluorescent corals. Scientists have found that corals with fluorescent properties can handle the effects of coral bleaching caused by warmer waters better than other corals. This gives fluorescent corals an edge in protecting the symbiotic algae they host.
Despite the bad visibility we did find fluorescent corals down there. It is an amazing site and more exploratory dives will follow!!! I love night diving, but this takes it to a whole new level.....

Well done Melanie and Scott

Yesterday Melanie and Scott successfully finished their PADI Open Water Course. Despite the bad visibility from the last couple of days they enjoyed their course and both are very eager to get back into the water soon. Good news for them and all of you, things are clearing up ;-)
A good couple of days and things should be back to normal, meaning average viz of about 10-15m on most sites.
The restricted visibility is a blessing for Daniel, our Dive Master Trainee, who is doing his PADI Underwater Navigation Specialty. Well done to him as well as training conditions can't become any better then this. Tomorrow he has his last dive for this specialty and we will start with the next one being the PADI Search and Recovery diver. So if you've lost something recently and you want to have it back, contact Daniel and we will give it a shot!
Below some images from local marine life taken by Paul Rowe on one of his trips here. For more images have a look hereand as always...Happy Bubbles!

It's all about skills

Yesterday we refreshed the CPR and first aid skills from our Dive master trainees, John and Daniel. Both had a lot of fun redoing their
EFR course and found out that you actually have to practice these things on a regular base on order to provide the best help possible when needed.
After an evening full of laughter, bandaids and wrapped up arms and ankles we took of to the pool this morning to do the skill circuit.
As a Dive Master you have to master and be able to demonstrate the 20 basic skills. Hard effort was put in by our two canditates, who realised that the only way to success is practise, practise and even more practise.
Well done to both of you, you're on the right track! Tomorrow we start with Daniels Underwater Navigator Specialty, which will be his second speciatity that he receives after he successfully got the Enriched Air Specialty earlier last year.
Details will follow on how Daniel (hopefully) found his way home and an update about the visibility and general diving conditions.

Happy New Year !!!

Our Team wishes you and your family a wonderful 2010 with lots of luck, love and excellent diving!

A new year means new intentions, and this year is no different than any others, so ours is to keep you informed about the diving and all what's related to it on Koh Chang. We've made small changes in our daytrips to give you that extra bit of comfort and flexibility.

Our new website http://www.divingscool.com/ is online since a few days and we would love to hear your reactions on this.

Below you will find a small gallery with some pictures from our main office in Bang Bao. It is finally starting to look like we want it ;-)

Last but not least we will bring you regular updates from how are divemaster candidates are doing. They are in their final weeks, so things starting to get pretty serious now ;-)

Bye for now and as always...Happy Bubbles!!!