Dive #264 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

Feels great to be diving again
Photo by Linda aboard the Queen Scuba 2010

Octopus
Photo by Kim at Koh Bon Ridge 2010

Dive Journal: Details of the previous dive day, on which I did not dive, March 13, 2010, were captured by Janel at torksinthailand.blogspot.com/2010/03/mangkut-jaaahmp.html.

Details of this dive day, March 14, 2010, were captured by Linda at torksinthailand.blogspot.com/2010/03/dive-dive-ride.html.

For the first time in my life aboard a liveaboard, I pass up a full day of dive opportunities. The migraine from Friday night continues to linger the next day. It's better, but I can still feel it poised to insert its knifepoint again. My cold is still with me, too, giving me sinus pressure and drainage. Better to sit out. It's funny, but I'm starting to wonder if I just can't enjoy diving as much anymore - maybe I'm getting too old for it.

I hang around the boat all day Saturday and try my best to rest. At each dive time, I get up and take a few photos of my girls either entering or exiting. When evening comes, I figure I won't be able to sleep, but no problem there.

Sunday March 14th arrives, and it's our last day aboard the Queen. Linda sleeps well - finally getting used to the rhythms of the boat. In fact, we both awake before the 7am call of "GOOD MORNING - WAKEY, WAKEY." I'm feeling better right away this morning and decide I might try the first dive. Yeah!

We head down for 1st breakfast and join Janel at our usual table for coffee and toast. Since we will be diving at Koh Bon (a site we have already visited) there is no real briefing. Kim asks us if we want to go deep instead of hanging arounnd the reef on the chance that we might get to see Manta Rays. The answer is YES!

From here out, I decide to lay off all the medications, except for continuing the antibiotics. I'm thinking the antihistamines and decongestants jack me up too much, and although they dry me out, they might be contributing to the sinus pressure.

We suit up and are in the water pretty quickly. We descend to around 90 feet. My ears clear fine. Tentative about my headache, I'm testing it often for the first half of the dive. No signs of it! Great! There is a great huge Napoleon Wrasse at the beginning of the dive.

In additon to no headache, I start enjoying the dive tremendously. It almost seems like I'm rediscovering the joys of diving after 24 hours on my back. There is a nice medium current here this morning. We examine dozens of big anemones and their attendant anemonefish. One coral head has 16 anemones! There are several great barracudas, and then an octopus. We check out a painted spiny lobster and more fire gobies.

About midway through the dive, I look up in awe as a huge flowing school of yellow band fusiliers angles out of the blue and descends onto the reef in front of me. As this happens, another long stream of blue band fusiliers intersects them at an opposing angle, changes angle, then merges through them. I'm transfixed, grinning. It is a gorgeous sight - the highlight of this dive.

We continue examining in the corals for awhile and then hear the unmistakable sounds of dolphins - high pitched whines, clicks and squeaks. Kim guides us out from the reef a bit and we crane our necks skyward, trying to locate them. No such luck.

During the safety stop at 15 feet, we spy a sea snake heading up to the surface for a breath of air. We lose sight of him and it's just as well - we don't really want to see him when we surface!

No headache on ascent! I'm grinning from ear to ear. I'm back and the diving is wonderful!

Postscript: I'd been a little concerned on this dive because my computer nearly edged into decompression mode. It never did, as we made gradual ascents barely ahead of it. Following the dive, I rechecked the computer, and it turned out it was my mistake. We all dove on 32% Nitrox this dive but I had failed to set my computer for it. It had defaulted back to "AIR" settings.

Sealife Observed on this dive:
big intersecting schools of yellow-band and blue-band fusiliers - GREAT!
napoleon wrasse
octopus
painted spiny lobster
sea snake, swimming to the surface during our safety stop
dolphin squeals ~2/3 through dive
clark's anemonefish - very tiny baby
coral head with 16 anemones and skunk anemonefish
more red fire gobies
great barracuda
jewel fairy basslet