MV Scuba Adventure recently completed a great summer trip to the Phi Phi Island’s for 3 days 2 nights, here is what our customers said about the trip.

“The diving exceeded our expectations, the boat was well organised and planned (although the dive deck would have been too small for many more divers – we were lucky we were a small group), the cabins were simple but comfortable, clean and the AC worked well.  The food was plentiful and excellent, the crew helpful and cheerful.  The diving itself was great – we saw much more than we thought we would, our guide, Vincent, was very knowledgeable abut the area and was able to show us a wide variety of life – from the tiniest nudies to lots of sharks/turtles.  The reefs we visited were vibrantly colourful and full of life – obviously very healthy.  We had an excellent holiday.

We also had perfect weather – so much for monsoon season!”

Thank you – Hope to see you again soon guys!

Thanks you to Scuba Cat’s two new Divemaster’s Sarah and Cal who organised this mornings clean up on Patong Beach.

At 7.30 am this morning we met at Scuba Cat Diving in Soi Wattana, Patong.

Just after 8.00am, after two cups of coffee we were ready to get to work!

We arrived at Patong Beach and were each presented with a pair of “Orange” Rubber gloves and a black bin bag. Cal and Sarah arranged us into two teams, starting in the middle of the Beach and working away from the other team. We had 1 hour! Lek, one of Scuba Cats Drivers, was with us all to act as the collection point for the morning. Bottles, cigarette ends, used condoms!, to name a few things we found…… oh how we wish there were ashtrays and trash bins on the beach, what a difference that would make!!!!

Thanks to Sarah and Cal, Divemaster’s for organizing the morning, Bryan and Reidar for helping us during their IDC, Matt DMT and  Max, Ben and Thibault for joining us during their University Internship with Scuba Cat.

And of course a big thank you to the “Bin Men” from Patong, for helping us dispose of the Rubbish afterwards.

We realized an hour wasn’t long enough to really make a difference so we have decided to carry out a beach cleanup in Patong on a monthly basis as part of our IDC, along with our already scheduled monthly Underwater Cleanup.

If any one wishes to join us for either event please contact us for more details.

Two weeks ago a family came in to see us at Scuba Cat to ask about Scuba Diving trips for the father, Matt Hutchinson and two of his friends. I asked his partner if she was diving and she said she couldn’t as Kayla and Sean (their two children) were too young to be left alone.

Sang, who works in the office at Scuba Cat, filled the role of a child minder perfectly. She is learning to Scuba Dive at the the moment having already completed four Discover Scuba Dives and will later on be completing her Open Water Course and loves any opportunity to get out on the water. This was the perfect solution to allow the whole family to enjoy the day out together, with out Matt and his Partner having to worry about the safety of their children.

This is what the children thought about the day……

“Dear Scuba Cat,

Thank you for a fantastic day. We had lots of fun in the water and boat. We went snorkelling with Sang, we saw lots of fish and stingrays. I can’t wait until my next holiday with you. Sang was wonderful with us, Looked after us and kept us safe. When I felt sea sick she gave me lots of cuddles and made me feel better. Sean went to sleep on Sang’s lap on the way home. Next time we come can Sang come with us please?

Love from Kayla and Sean”

See you all soon and of course Sang can come with you.

Could Sang help your family?

Here at Scuba Cat Diving we have a long history of working to preserve our reefs for the future generations. We cannot do this alone, we need your help!

It is important that all divers have a good understanding of their roles in Reef Conservation and how their diving practices can affect the reef eco system.

Learn to Scuba Dive at a responsible dive centre, ensure you will be taught to the highest standards, remember the Cheapest price is not always the best service for you or for the environment!

Here at Scuba Cat we are a 5 * CDC which is the top rating any dive centre can get from and the course quality reflects this. The maximum group size is 1 instructor to 4 candidates, the instructors all work for Scuba Cat Diving on a permanent basis, all our equipment is maintained and serviced by our full time engineer and we operate our own boats with maximum number of divers on them MV Scuba Fun 20, Our own Liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure, 12 and MV Scuba Sport is only 10. we do not believe many other companies can offer you this quality. We recently received many awards from , Project Aware and Reef Check for our environmental work, including the  first Dive Centre in Thailand to be presented the prestigious  Green Star Award.

The quality of our courses means you learn in a calm, controlled manner and also means there is much less impact on the environment whilst learning. Our Instructors give particular emphasis to teaching good buoyancy skills underwater. If you are not in control of your buoyancy you can injure yourself and our precious reef systems. A responsible diver in control of their buoyancy will not interfere with the Ocean life by damaging Corals or breaking sea fans. Practice your buoyancy over sand away from the reef, after  you have mastered this you can conformably swim over the reefs.

Once you are a Certified Diver dont become complacent about your buoyancy. Every dive is different, some sites will be more challenging than others. Always dive within your limits, you have been trained to that limit for a reason both for your own safety and the safety of others.

We strive to ‘make a difference’ to the environment with our diving. With a maximum ratio of 4 divers to 1 guide, means that we can look after everyone and make sure they do no damage, dramatically reducing the impact of our divers on the reef. Ultimately as Certified Divers you are responsible, the Open Water Course certifies you to dive to you limits to a maximum depth of 18m, with a buddy. The guide will do exactly that, guide you… was your training adequate for you to be responsible?

If the answer to this is no, dont worry. We have a whole range of courses to help you become more responsible divers. Why not look at your Advanced Open Water Course, completing 5 more dives under the supervision of a Instructor. This course will teach you new skills required for different diving environments, two core dives will teach you about safe Deep Diving practices and give you basic navigation skills. Included in your optional dives are great skills to help you become a responsible diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Aware Fish Identification and Underwater Naturalist to give you a few examples.

Also there is a whole range of Specialities to enhance these skills further. The more that you learn the more you will see and enjoy, this will also make you a safer diver, for yourself, others and the environment. You could also look at becoming a Reef Check Diver, learning how to monitor the reef.

Always make sure that your skills are up to date, if you haven’t dived for a period of time make sure you take a “refresher” course or a Scuba Review to bring your confidence back as a diver, do this for your safety, the safety of your buddy and the safety of the environment.

Ask our staff on board the boat to help you with your ideal diving weight. The weights you will need will vary on different dives. Are you used to diving in Fresh Water? What type of exposure suit are you wearing? What type of tank do you have? Our qualified staff are there to ensure your days diving is aas enjoyable as it can be. If you are over weighted your legs and feet will be dragging downwards. Did you know even if you are not touching the reef,  kicking up sand can have a negative impact on the corals around you?

At Scuba Cat we have a no touching policy, remember the precious corals and Marine Life can be destroyed even by the gentlest touch. Many marine animals have developed a camouflage to help them survive along with a stinging defensive system, can you be sure that you know them all?

Please take photographs, this is a great way of sharing the underwater world with many friends and family. However  it is easy to become distracted when trying to get that perfect shot and accidentally kick the corals with a fin tip or lie on the rock/corals to get nearer your subject, please dont, would you like it if a giant stood on your house? Why not get our Professional Videographer to make a memory of your day for you.

All our instructors are aware of the importance of protecting the reef and they remove rubbish from underwater, if they see any. This doubles the effect as customers see us taking care of the environment and follow suit and show a good example by removing anything underwater that should not be there. Once a month we hold an Underwater Clean up event in conjunction with Project Aware and there dive for debris initiative, why not join in with us?

We want you to come and dive with us, enjoying the trip leaving us as a better informed, responsible, and environmentally aware diver.

Bryan Donaldson is Scuba Cat latest Divemaster having completed all the requirements for the course this week.

"Bryan"

This is a very proud moment for all of us here as we have known Bryan for a while now and he has completed all of his courses with us here at Scuba Cat. Bryan is very unique to us as I am sure he is to , nearly all of his theory training has been done using Elearning, even one course that he has yet to complete the Practical training for!

Bryan spent along time working overseas and used the evenings to complete all of his theory before he came to us to complete all of the diving in Phuket.

We first met Bryan over a year ago when he came to Scuba Cat to complete his Open Water Course with our Master Instructor, Sean Porter. He had already completed the E learning theory for this course. After a successful course went on to complete his Advanced Open Water Course then returned home but his diver training did not stop there.

"Briefing"

Whilst away he completed his training for the Rescue Course, Nitrox, and Digital Under Water Photography on line again.

Bryan came back to Scuba Cat later that year doing his Rescue Diver Course and EFR with another Master Instructor Claus. And the speciality training with Tony Lock completing 5 specialities, Night, Deep, Search and Recovery, Nitrox and Wreck. He was now with ‘s elite… Master Scuba Diver.

"Bryan"

Returning back to his day job again Bryan embarked on his elearning for the Divemaster, not only completing this but also completing the Dive Theory online too.

Bryan came on board MV Scuba Adventure as part of his training to Hin Dueng and Hin Mueng where he practiced leading dives, got an insite into boat Management and of course drew maps and gave briefings, a great addition to his Divemaster Course. (and still found time to sleep!)

"Hard at Work!"

The practical portion of this course was recently completed, by his original Instructor Sean having been started by Master Instructor, Vince Callahan.

Bryan qualifies as a Divemaster on 18th June 2012 with 120 Dives and lots of experience assisting Courses, on Daytrips and Liveaboards.

We are looking forward to starting Bryan’s IDC (Instructor Development Course) on 1st July, and yes you guessed it he has already completed the elearning portion of this course too.

Congratulations Bryan! Do you want to be next?