Scuba Diving and Liveaboards Phuket, Thailand

We first had the opportunity to try out the Scuba Cat fleet when we went out on a Day Cruise on Scuba Fun to Racha Noi back in 2005.  My Wife, Amy and myself, Carl McKay were on a larger family vacation and we were all aboard, some certifying, some diving in what was our first visit to Phuket. We feel in love with Phuket, the water, the people.

We have been back almost every year since.

……..Second trip to Scuba Cat

Our family had encouraged us, to move up to the next level of diving:  A live-a-board.  A what-a-who?  Hadn’t done that before and after an explanation of the location at the Similan Islands, the boat and what we could see, we went for it.

The first trip was three diving days.  We arrived from Scuba Sport, the transfer boat, to the remote Scuba Cat Boat.  We didn’t know what to expect.  Surprise was our first expression.  Out in the middle of this clear blue water, we find some islands, a few boats and this mobile diving “experience” – I think you have to look at Scuba Cat, not only as a dive boat, but a place that you quickly connect with new faces that work on board and other guests who are there for the same reason.  It’s like going to a convention and finally everyone has a story to share, because you simply showed up and attended.

I think what made the experience so nice was how easy the diving became.  Setup in the back of what I think is one of the best ever designed platforms, wide open where easily four people can enter at the same time safely.  The crews at the back are able to help and quickly learn everyone’s needs and are always looking out for you.  They wash your gear off after every dive and clean up for the night too.  Easily you can do five dives in a day!

The Dive Masters, are comforting, knowledgeable and don’t stray from the manual; safety was always first.  The orientations prior to every dive spot on.

My Wife was in a peculiar position.  Unlike me, I was up for every dive.  She is safety conscious and honestly does a great check every time.  No shortcuts.  I was a Husband who wanted to have her on every dive.  What I needed to learn was that by doing that put her in a rushed mode and her comfort zone was being tampered with.  I just love doing stuff with her.

This is where Sarah came in and became Amy’s most trusted Dive Buddy and now a dear friend.  At that time, Sarah was on board as a Divemaster, now she’s the Queen of the fleet.

As mentioned earlier, Amy is safety conscious.  She likes to drop down when she is ready.  Diving shouldn’t be stressful as it is a vacation and why bother if you are worried.

I would go off with the rest of the family, Amy, still not too many dives in, was guided by Sarah. The perfect combination; Sarah’s experience and understand built confidence in Amy’s skills.  In a nutshell, they would usually jump in last and take their time.

Amy has since moved towards Advanced.  In addition, while most folks don’t care for night diving, within the first two days Sarah and Amy were down at night!  It blew me away.

Something that weighed heavily in building that trust was when Sarah approached us both to discuss an issue with Amy.  She was moving towards Advanced certification with the additional dives she as doing and taking tests on board Scuba Cat.  Sarah said that she didn’t want to move Amy towards Advanced, but offered an Adventure certification.  Simple put, given Amy’s regularity with diving and her comfort, she didn’t want to put Amy in a situation with another Dive Company somewhere out there and their expectations be a burden to her and put her at risk.  It allowed her to learn, move forward with skills and build confidence, but not rushed.

There are a lot of outfits that push you to move quickly through the certification because it makes revenue, I’ve seen some real bad skills and people call them selves Advanced.  Example:  No touchie, just lookie…  Yes, “Advanced” folks touching! NO!

I know that strays from the intent of this entry, but I am trying to show the consciousness of the now owner and integrity over selling another certification.

Diving is a great sport, opens travel to a whole other world, but like in any other sport you need to know your comfort level.  The addition of water isn’t to be scared of, it needs to be respected on every dive.  Experience isn’t the only factor, relearning and doing every check is important too.

Back to the “Cat” – Every Divemaster has been great, the food, amazing and the deck crew always smiling.  By the way, a reminder, if someone is taking extra care of you, it’s good to remember them when they are saying bye to you.  These folks work hard and are another fail safe in an experience on any boat.

We have been out to the Similan Islands five times now.  Every moment leading up to the transfer boat and the first glimpse of Scuba cat are Exciting.  Meeting new people, bumping into old friends, and sharing new stories.  The tough part is leaving.  A magical experience;  There may be other boats, but Scuba Cat was one of the first.  We just wish it were closer to get to…  I always say “Bye for now” then I know I will be coming back to visit and see great people soon too.

 

Tags: Dive Buddy, Divemaster, Liveaboard, PADI Advanced, Phuket, Racha Noi, Scuba Cat, Scuba Fun, Scuba Sport, Similan Islands, Thailand

This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Liveaboards, Similan Islands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.