There are sunken ships that offer great diving opportunities around Pattaya. This was the message received from Sheena Walls at the July 29 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club. Master of Ceremonies Roy Albiston introduced Sheena noting that she has been general manager of Mermaid Dive Center for the past 5 years. Before catching the diving bug, she was a sales director in the hotel industry having worked for Marriott, Hilton and Le Meridian Hotels.
Sheena mentioned that she has been living in Pattaya for seven years and that she came to Pattaya to get her instructor training from Mermaid Dive Center. Later, she went to Cyprus and then returned to Pattaya when she had an opportunity to work for Mermaid Dive Center. She began by highlighting the services offered by Mermaid which include all levels of diving instruction, equipment, and one of the latest video cameras for capturing sports activities of all kinds as well as underwater pictures. They also have four boats that they use to go to dive sites.
Manager of Mermaids Dive Centre in Pattaya, Sheena Walls, describes Mermaids wide range of diving classes and facilities with 4 boats, and approximately 30 staff. One of the main points to come from her talk is the paramount importance of safety in diving.
Sheena said that Pattaya does not have the underwater visibility that divers can find in Phuket; however, Pattaya has something that Phuket does not, that is sunken ships close by that can provide for some excellent scenery while diving. She said that visibility in the waters around Pattaya is generally around 5 to 15 meters.
The main scuba diving areas around Pattaya are located in what is called the “Far Islands”. These are the second ring of islands about 20 to 30 kilometers from Pattaya. The islands are controlled by the Royal Thai Navy, and no permanent structures are built there.
There are many different types of soft and hard corals, and large schools of jacks, barracuda and tuna. On virtually every dive, you can see blue spotted stingrays, porcupine pufferfish and moray eels.
Former PCEC chairman, Richard Smith, updates members on the activities in Pattaya for the upcoming week.
The HTMS Khram was sunk by the Royal Thai Navy just south of Koh Phi and has fast become a favorite among local divers. An incredible amount of marine life already has been attracted to this sunken ship in a very short period of time.
The HTMS Khram is a former US Navy Landing Ship Medium (LSM) given to the Thai Navy in 1962. The depth to the top of this sunken ship is 15 meters and the depth to the sea bed is 30 meters. This ship has been well prepared by the Thai Navy as a dive site as it is free from armaments, oil and most hazards to divers. Also, large holes have been cut in many areas and penetration dives through the ships passageways rarely takes the diver out of natural light. The bridge/radio room is the highest part with entry into the area being simple and safe.
Another area is the Samae San area with two large intact shipwrecks. The Petchburi Bremen is an old freighter sunk in 21 meters of water in the Khram Channel (Sattahip). It is home to many Grouper and Barracuda. The steamship Petchburi at the beginning of World War I was interned in Bangkok and confiscated by the Thais.
Board Member Lawrie McLoughlin conducts PCEC’s Open Forum, where answers to the mysteries of life in the Orient may be slowly unveiled.
It was renamed the Kaeo Samud. In 1920 on a voyage from Bangkok to Swatow she ran ashore near Koh Sichang and sank. The Hardeep (S.S. Suddhadib) is a cargo ship sunk in 28 meters by allied aircraft during World War II. The Hardeep is completely intact, and can be navigated from bow to stern entirely inside. It is lying on its starboard side at a maximum depth of 26 meters, with two 1,000 pound unexploded bombs nearby.
Sheena concluded her presentation with the showing of a video of the Hardeep including some of the ordinance nearby. She then answered several questions from the audience including that you do not need to know how to swim to scuba dive and you are never too old to dive. In response to some members who may have gained a few kilos as they aged she said that they do have equipment available that would suit them.
The meeting concluded with MC Roy updating everyone on upcoming events and calling on Lawrie McLoughlin to conduct the always interesting and lively Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about expat living in Thailand; Pattaya in particular.
Read more about the Club’s activities on their website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
Some of Mermaids new students go snorkeling off Pattaya’s far islands.
