Khao Lak Rescue Course - look who's dying today!

Ricky ran a large rescue course for several of the new Divemaster Trainee's.

On this day there was a horrible "accident" involving Sara and Brad.






It appears that there was severe bleeding and much screaming.





Of course the ketchup bottle ran dry and all was well.














-Similan Diving

DMT Sara's First day out!

Sara is just about to complete her Divemaster course and her she is all packed up and ready to take our some guests out to Bon Soong Wreck.

Sara is just finishing off the last parts of her course and then she is off to work on the Perhentians in Malaysia.


After seeing how hard she works and how she is concerned about safety - she'll do a great job!



-Similan Diving

SIMILAN ISLANDS LIVE ABOARD TRIP # 37 (02-04/03/09)

"Sea Gypsy exploration"

(left): Abby and her first certification course on the wicked liveaboard.
(right): Knoble sister were enjoying snack on the island...Yummm...



(left): Team Singapore Shah, Fay and Mark.
(right): Tom from UK and his divemaster Church.







(left): "YES...we are OK!" Tuk, Abby and Stephen.
(right): Mark from Singapore and Marc from Canada were accidentally met on this wicked fun trip offered.







(left): Erik and his snorkelers.

(right): Afternoon snacks on the beautiful beach "Surin Islands"




(left): You're not that bad, Mark but they were just chilling out..."i think (?)" Oh! by the way, did you managed to swim backward ?

(right): Sea Gypsy's Visiters.




(left) : Everybody was WICKED!

(right): Sea Gypsy village, where we were spending the whole afternoon before a Night Dive.






(left): "3..2..1.."POSERS!

(right): Ms.Abigail (Abby) the Jr. Open Water Diver. YEAH!!!...congratulations!!! and her supporter Ms. Miriam (she can't wait to go under. well...take it easy, Mim).




We'd like to thank to all of you guys for your visited, also congratulate to Shah the new Advanced Open Water Diver. Marcy, Alena. Special thanks to Verena and Thomas for your 2nd and 3rd visited and hopefully you guys had a great time for your first live aboard, 2nd or 3rd and you guys will always welcome to come back for the next one, see what's in for next by keep in touch with us.
Enjoy traveling, be safe and have a great holiday.

Cheers
Tuk
Wicked Diving

PS. Just in case IF it's freezing and rain while you're reading the BLOG. We've got thing to warm you up, check it out right below and see you again in the next wicked fun in the deep blue.


Similan Diving
Phi Phi Liveaboard
Thailand Divemaster Training

WD36 27Feb-1Mar

The trip from 27th Feb-1 Mar brought our Angel Parinee to the Southern Similans. The Belgian boatmaster Filip finally made it out of the office to go diving again, having French Valentin to not only obtain his Open Water Diver certification but even Deep and Night adventure. The Swedish flavour was added by Divemaster Thomas and DMT Sara - she made Aurelie to see a Manta Ray snorkeling!!! German Thomas had obtained his Open Water beginning Feb, went home to Germany for 10 days and suddenly pops up out of the blue to join us for another 2 trips. Official excuse, Germany is too cold, right Thomas we'll buy that excuse. Him and Sven did their Avanced course and Tanja, Sonwan, Brad, Christie and Swedish Navy diver Fredrik went fundiving. Fredrik had to get used not to encounter any torpedoes in the crystal clear waters though. Apart from the Manta Ray we were pleasantly welcomed by Humphead Parrotfish, Napoleon Wrasse, Whitetip and Blacktip Reefshark as well as Cuttlefish mating. Valentin had the honour to make an appearance in Wicked Kangaroo Court-Judge Filip, Prosecutor Sonwan assisted by defendant Captain Keaw had the show going on. Found guilty of course his punishment was to sing a French song during breakfast - well done Valentin.

Global weather changes also affect Similans

The once so idyllic viewpoint on Similan Island nr 8 has been affected by global warming lately. Nina Pichler and Kathi Mahler have decided to change their dive gear for the snow boots (notice the mask on the forehead ?!?). Or maybe is it just that the world famous Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuhel (Austria) has hereby been Wickeded? Looks as if the Wicked name has been engraved in the eternal snow area. Thanks a lot girls, maybe next time a Wicked flag from the top of the Eiffeltower maybe, just an idea...

Wicked Diving Video- Guests and fun

A day out on the boat!




Similan Diving!

Similan Diving Video - Lionfish

Lionfish are such posers! These elegant creatures sure bring a sense of peace to the dives. But those spines are chock-full of poisons! Really painful stings from these guys.


"
The lionfish is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region of the world, but various species can be found worldwide. Due to a recent introduction, the lionfish has recently been spotted in the warmer coral regions of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Lionfish are an invasive species in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea regions. Successful breeding of the lionfish in captivity has not been reported. In early 2009, the Lionfish was spotted in the Florida Keys, seemingly increasing its range. They have also spread throughout the Bahamas in the process decimating indigenous reef fish.

Size

There are many types of lionfish that vary in size. The common lionfish generally reaches a size of 30-35cm, while smaller lionfish, like the Fuzzy Dwarf, are typically the size of a tennis ball, not including fins.

Caution

NOAA encourages everyone (divers and fishers) to be extremely cautious and avoid contact with the venomous spines of the lionfish. Although they are not deadly, they are very painful.
Venom

The lionfish is one of the most venomous fish on the ocean bottom floor. Lionfish have venomous dorsal spines that are used purely for defense. When threatened, the fish often faces its attacker in a head-down posture which brings its spines to bear. However, a lionfish's sting is usually not fatal to humans. If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. A common treatment is soaking the afflicted area in hot water, as very few hospitals carry specific treatments. However, immediate emergency medical Feeding

Lionfish are voracious predators. When hunting, they corner prey using their large fins and then use their quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. In captivity, lionfish can be trained to eat frozen brine shrimp, mysis, and krill.

Predators

The lionfish have very few natural predators, but the grouper and other lionfish have been found with lionfish remains in their stomachs."


the best place to see these are at our local wrecks - Bon Soong and Premchai


-Similan Diving

Wicked Diving Video - funtimes

Good fun, silly times and sweet diving.

Yup - that about covers it!

-Similan Diving

Similan Diving Video - Leopard Shark

Getting up close and personal with one of our friends! Leopard Sharks are frequent visitors to our waters. These guys are also really relaxed.

With their mouth located under, instead of forward you can see that they prefer to eat things in the sand rather than attack things like a Great White.

That is a Remora on his side - a cleaner fish that eats the left-overs and also various parasites that may attach to the body of the shark.



"

Common name

The name zebra shark is given because as a juvenile the shark has zebra-like stripes. When it matures these stripes change to cheetah-like spots. A name widely used to refer to Triakis semifasciata, a small benthic shark found in the Eastern Pacific coastline of North America.

Distribution and habitat

The zebra shark is found in the tropical Western Pacific and Indian oceans at depths of about 5 to 30 m.
Anatomy and appearance

It is a very sleek and slender shark, about 3.5m (11.5 ft) long. In addition to the long tail, the zebra shark has distinctive ridges running down its body. As its names suggest, it is patterned; young sharks are dark with yellowish stripes, changing to an adult pattern of a tan color with dark spots, found all over including the fins. The snout is rather rounded, with small barbels (whiskers).
Zebra shark in a aquarium.

Behavior

The zebra shark is a slow-moving type, often just sitting on the seafloor in the vicinity of coral reefs, on sandy or rocky bottoms. Unlike most types of sharks, it does not need to move, and instead pumps water through its gills. This is known as the ram-jet effect.

Diet

It feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish that it sucks out of the sand at night, and is capable of wiggling through small holes and crevices in its search for food.

Importance to humans

Zebra sharks do well in captivity, and a number of aquariums around the world have them on display. They are fished commercially on a small scale. They are often seen by scuba divers, and will lay still on the bottom as long as a diver does not come too close. They are harmless to divers as long as they are not disturbed. In addition several aquariums have shown them to be easy learners, even teaching them to respond to touch by flapping their gills. Due to its large caudal fins, this species are a prized catch for fishermen to make shark fin soup."

-Similan Diving

Similan Diving Video - Frogfish

This little treat is only a few CM across (like 2 inches)

Frogfish are amazing. They are basically unable to swim an depend on serious camoflauge to blend in. They even have their gills hidden Behind their pectoral fins so that neither predators nor prey can see them breathing!

From the Wikipedia"

They are generally small fish, less than 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) in length, with large globose heads. They can be distinguished from other anglerfish by the three extended dorsal spines on their heads. The first dorsal spine is modified as a fishing lure to attract prey. The lure consists of the illicium (the spine) and the esca (the bait), and may resemble a worm, crustacean, or small fish. Frogfishes do not swim in the conventional way; instead, they "walk" on their pectoral fins or use 'jet propulsion' (forcefully expelling water from the small opercular opening generally behind and below the pectoral fins).

They are mostly bottom-dwelling fish, typically living amongst coral, at up to 100 metres (330 ft) depth, where they lie in wait for prey. They are able to change their colour to match the background with high precision, and their camouflage is further aided by numerous warts and filaments on their skin, giving them an appearance similar to rough coral^"

^{Jet propelled fish! In this video, wathc it couple of times. Just bove the eye is a small clear looking thing - that his "lure" which he has hidden right now (it's kind of small). But when he is "fishing" he will have that extended and boucning around in front of his mouth to attract smaller fish!}

^{This looks to be the species....}

Join our Similan Liveaboard to see more things like this!

^{-Similan Diving}

Similan Diving Video - Clark's anemonefish

While everyone loves seeing the dramatic footage that makes the Similan Islands so famous...sometimes you should take a moment to watch the little stuff too!

The Clark' anemonefish is a nice treat. They live their whole lives here in this anemone! Sometimes they might get adventurous and check out the underside of the anemone - but that's it!


Wicked Diving heads out to see the Similan Islands for 3 Day and 2 night tours. We also visit the Surin Islands and Richelieu Rock.


Why not join us the season for our Phi Phi Liveaboard!



-Similan Diving