Phuket Diving Gossip

Author: Iain Page, May 2007

This month:

• Wedding Blessings
• Fish of the Month
• Smile of the Month
• Abbie Update

Wedding Blessings

Once again we were privileged to attend the wedding of customers/friends Francesca and Rupert from England. We've known Francesca for years having taken her to Master Scuba Diver level but this was our first opportunity to meet her husband-to-be and what a pleasure it was. Rupert and I went out for the most popular local day trip to King Cruiser, Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai. Undoubtedly Rupert's favourite was the King Cruiser and not surprising really. With large schools of snapper covering the upper deck, big eye trevally swooping in for the kill and a large school of blackfin barracuda this site gets better by the day! Unfortunately Fran was unable to join us as she is five months pregnant. As it says on the Guinness advert "Good things come to she who waits"

The wedding itself (actually a blessing as the couple had already married in the UK) was held in Khao Lak, just north of Phuket. A beautiful morning ceremony, including Rupert arriving on an elephant, was followed by an excellent lunch and then relaxing afternoon drinks. We were sorry to leave before nightfall but commitments in Phuket had to be kept. Apparently we missed out on a very enjoyable karaoke evening. Oh well, at least Oui and I's lack of presence meant that the guests did not sustain serious ear damage. We may be good divers but when it comes to singing...forget it!

Fish of the Month

As a new point of interest we have decided to add "Fish of the Month" to our gossip column. This month's offering is the ever-popular "Western Clown Fish" made famous by the film "Finding Nemo". A member of the Anemone fish family unsurprisingly these striking creatures can be found living within the protection of sea anemones. Together they form a symbiotic relationship with the clown fish protecting the sea anemone from potential predators whilst the sea anemone offers a safe haven within its tentacles for the clown fish. Although the anemone's tentacles contain stinging cells to help keep predators away the clown fish has over time developed an immunity to these stingers.

The western clown fish is widely spread all around the dive sites of Phuket and Phi Phi as well as to the Similan islands in the north. Probably the most common place to seem them is at the dive site of Shark Point with its anemone covered limestone rock formations. Trying to get a photo can be interesting as these small fish are very very protective of their homes. They certainly will not hesitate to give you a small nip should you dare to approach too close.

Smile Of The Month

Another new gossip section now gives you the opportunity to get your five minutes of fame on the Sharkey Scuba web site. All you have to do is SMILE!

This month's winner is a joint effort by Giles and Ruth of England who took the Discover Scuba Diving program, a one day introduction to the joys of being underwater including two open water dives. With a visit to the sites of Shark Point and Anemone Reef the day's diving was spectacular to say the least. No sharks but two eagle rays at Anemone Reef - no wonder those grins are so big (including mine too!).

Chill Baby

Like father, like daughter, Abbie is very quickly learning the art of chilling out. Quite happy just to sit and watch the world go by she is reminiscent of her father as can be seen by this accompanying photo. The main difference is that she prefers a bottle of milk in her hand to daddy's bottle of beer!

Growth continuing well. Current vital statistics: weight 6.8 kg, height 60.5 cm. Abbie is now getting quite mobile and loves to play with her musical cube from customer/friend Mike. Thanks Mike, this toy gives her hours of pleasure and us hours of peace!