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Just a Couple of Pirate Divers

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July 13 – under the sea

We don’t set many alarms when traveling but today was an exception. Our drive shop suggested we arrive at 7:00am for a 7:15 departure, so at 6:45 the alarms went off and we dragged our selves and our bags out of our bungalow. We made the short walk to our new hotel, dropped off the bags in our new (much improved) rooms and arrived at the dive shop by 7:15, sweat pouring down Tom’s face. The pickup truck was loaded with gear and Tom and the kids literally piled in the bed of the truck. 

Around 8 we were at the shared pier as other dive boats loaded up and we waited for guests from another shop to join us. 14 Divers and 7 instructor set off for our hour long cruise to Sail Rock. The seas were calm and along the way we got briefed by our South African guide Jace (Sue &Tom) and the kids’ Slovian guide Boris. The kids were anxious and excited and listened attentively to Boris’ instructions. Tom and Sue eves dropped as a refresher as Sue hadn’t been diving since being certified in Koh Phi Phi 23 years earlier. 


Around 10 we anchored, geared up, and made one giant step into the clear blue seas. The visibility was exceptional and the water warm and calm. The kids were led to a buoy with a rope attached to allow them to manage their decent and practice their buoyancy. The adults paddled backwards to the edge of the rock and when clear sank effortlessly down 10 meters. 

The diving was incredible. Tom later described the dive as “what you think diving will be like, but usually isn’t. There were schools of barracuda, huge grouper, colorful angel fish, parrot fish, trigger fish, gorgeous coral, and many other unknown fish. All experienced with a sense of aloneness in the vast blue of clear seas.”

While there were other divers around (nicknamed bubble fish) we never felt crowded or encroached upon. We even managed to go through the famous ‘chimney’ with no other Divers around. Cool! After 50 minutes, it was time to surface. Neither Sue or Tom had significant issues with equalizing, buoyancy or mask clearing. As promised, the skills we learned 20 years earlier returned with little effort. 

Back at the boat, we learned that the kids had done exceptionally well. They felt confident underwater and their joy was expressed with repeated dives off the boat from the first and the second floors. After a quick lunch, we were all back in the water for our second dive. The kids having mastered the rope decent were allowed to swim freely around the rock accompanied by their awesome instructor Boris. While technically restricted to 6 meters, they actually dove to 10 meters without issue. Sue and Tom swam to a nearby feature called the pinnacle. Half of the boats that had been at the rock for the first dive had left for Koh Tao and the second dive was equally enjoyable. 


Around 1pm we were back on the deck, rinsing with fresh water, dining on watermelon and buzzing about our incredible dives. Boris, with his wonderful Pirate sounding accent, raved about the kids and kept saying ‘they have the bug, now you just need to get them certified.’

The seas on the journey back were calm and we spent much of the time reviewing the dive book, marveling at how many different kids of fish we had seen. By 2pm were back on land and by 3pm we were back at the dive shop, overjoyed with our good fortune. 

We settled into our room and relaxed before heading out for an early-ish night of dinner and card games (exploding kittens and set) at the mot popular restaurant on the beach. Salad Beach is very popular with families and small kids as the quiet bay is shallow for 100m and most of Sweden, France, and Germany seemed to be selected our beach. When we moved hotels, we got the last two rooms and many of the hotels Sue had inspected were fully booked. For our entire time at Salad Beach, were heard only a couple of American voices. 

At dinner we began to discuss options for the next few days on Koh Phangan and doing another dive trip was high on everyone’s list, so while we waited for the burgers to arrive, Tom made the 7 minute walk to the dive shop. Yes, another dive was possible either the next day or the day after. Alternatively, Nick suggested, the kids could spend a day getting scuba certified. If they did, the two dives from the day before would count towards certification. Otherwise, if they chose to become certified in the f untrue, those dives would not transfer. The price for certification and the allure of essentially private lessons was compelling so Tom returned to dinner with the update. 

Spend 3.5 hours in a classroom, followed by 3 hours doing skills in a pool, followed by 2-3 hours of testing? On vacation in Thailand? And then we’d be scuba certified for life?! Tyler needed about 15 seconds to get to yes and after some deliberation, Evie joined him in agreement. Sue ever cautious was mildly skeptical but willing. Wasting no time, Tom wandered back to the dive shop and signed all the paperwork. 

With the kids’ next two days arranged, Sue and Tom decided to rent a car to explore the island while they were in school. After seeing two people walk out of the clinic with major road burns (scooter accident) and witnessing a scooter wipe out on the drive to the pier and having Nick the dive master show us his two chin scars from his accidents, we decided a car was worth the extra expense. 

Around 9pm, exhausted from the day, we settled into our comfy beds and easily fell fast asleep. Welcome to Haad Salad aka Pirate Beach.