Phuket Whale Shark

OK, so strictly speaking this is not exactly a Philkade issue, but lets look at the facts as to why it's on the Philkade blog. Number one, both Mik and Kerry (Philkade dive staff) were present. Number 2, Philippe (one of Philkade's owners) was present. Number 3, Anil (a Philkade 2008 customer and from here on in to be referred to as the 'whale shark magnet') and his family were present. Number 4, there were whale sharks present. Plural.

Put simply, on a day diving trip to Kingcruiser, Shark Point, and Ko Doc Mai on Wednesday (23rd July) MV Atitara was between Ko Doc Mai and Shark Point when a cry went up that there were whale sharks around. As we raced to the scene it became obvious that there were at least 4 of them, and they were feeding on the surface!! After few moments of manoeuvring and deciding which shark to pick, all 8 customers and 3 dive staff were in the water with these amazing creatures for well over half an hour. It appears that they were drawn in by the clouds of Tunicates (sea squirts), as they were very obviously eating while the going was good.

Though no member of staff aboard on the day has seen more than one whale shark in one place at any one time (with a combined 15 years experience and some 4500 dives between them), our whale shark magnet was not surprised. On a Burma liveaboard trip aboard MV Philkade in 2008 he managed to draw one in to Shark Cave so all our customers could experience the joy of the biggest fish in the ocean. For anyone wishing to see a whale shark in the coming season the whale shark magnet is currently contemplating both an Andaman Island cruise and a Komodo cruise. Contact us to find out when he will be on board for the best chance you will ever get!! Seriously, it's quite freaky.

Many thanks to staff member on the day Max Hand for the use of his pictures. And also thanks to the whale shark magnet....keep up the good work!

Pre-season liveaboard trips

As many people who know how Phuket liveaboards work already, in previous years there has been no real restriction on when you can dive in Thai marine national parks. Yes, they had an opening date, but if you went in there a little early then you simply paid the fine (which bore a remarkable resemblance to the park fees) and all was well. In this way, liveaboard companies were able to organise their seasons as they saw fit, though in reality the weather had at least as much of a bearing on the season start date as the park opening date. But things are changing.

This season the government has decided that in order to protect the reefs, they will be enforcing the opening and closing dates vigorously, stating that any boats entering the park outside of the opening dates will lose their licence to operate in the national park. If this effectively protects the reefs then all well and good, but as far as Phuket operators and holiday makers who are tied to October through flights or trips booked before this announcement, what are we to do?

At MV Philkade we have had many requests for liveaboard cruises in the latter half of October, as well as several confirmed bookings taken before the national park announcement, and it is for this reason that Aquamarine Divers has announced 2 'pre-season' trips. Warm up trips if you will. Our 4 day/5 night trips will take in the best of the Racha Islands, Ko Haa, Ko Phi Phi, as well as Shark Point & the Kingcruiser wreck, among others. With 16 dives on some of the best sites in the area, we think this is a fantastic alternative.

To see the full itinerary and prices simply go to MV Philkade pre-season trip itinerary. These two special trips will be running on the 21st - 26th October and the 27th October - 1st November. We'll see you there.......

Hello & Welcome!

Finally... We've done it. Mik & Kerry (the current dive staff on board MV Philkade) have put together MV Philkade's Blog.

The reason is simple. We have a great boat with fantastic crew/staff (you would never guess who wrote this!) and... well, we want to be able to share with anybody linked to Philkade, or even those of you that happened to have come across us by accident, the latest news, special offers, pictures, trip reports, boat changes (God forbid!) & staff changes (hopefully not - ha!).

This Blog will be for guests past, present & future. It will be for our families & friends as well as for guests' families & friends. It is even for you random web-surfers that have happened upon us. We welcome you all!

Keep watching this space as we will use it each time we return from a trip to update everybody on MV Philkade's latest antics including our infamous trip reports and trip photos!

And for those of you who might already know who Mik & Kerry are, or for those of you who want faces to put behind all the words, here we are...



Enjoy the Blog!

Stay safe & keep diving,

Mik & Kerry :)