a tec dive or two in Pattaya: who with?

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Makhno

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Who in Pattaya should I use for an easy tec dive to work on my rusty skills before doing some big technical dives?

I'm going to be in Bangkok for a while shortly before I go off to do some technical diving. After several years and a few hundred dives with the old wetsuit, now I've got a new wetsuit -- and I rarely dive doubles -- so I would like to spend a dive or two just getting my buoyancy control perfected with a twinset and deco bottles and my doubles wing. I also usually just use one deco bottle for my shallowish tech dives, so I want to work a bit on doing gas switches with two deco bottles rather than one, because I haven't done that for a long while.

Who in Pattaya do you recommend to help me out with that? From a cost standpoint, I have in mind just tagging along on the boat taking recreational divers to the Khram or the Hardeep or something, and then I and a local professional do a tech dive while the others on the boat do two recreational no-stop dives.

Is Mermaids my best option? What's Roger Smith doing now that Aquanauts lost its PADI membership (or so I read, here on scubaboard)? Or can you recommend someone else? I haven't been to Pattaya for about 7 years so I could use a recommendation. PM me if you prefer that to posting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
Tech Diving is not the norm in Pattaya. Most shops just run combined diving / fishing / snorkelling days out for general tourists, as Pattaya is really not a serious dive destination. Most shops in Pattaya, the closest you will get to tech diving is a basic PADI Nitrox course. If you find a shop that has the capability to do what you are looking for, you will still be dependant on the supply and demand factor and may find you will have to pay extra for a private boat charter as demand for such things in Pattaya is extremely low, most shops that visit the Pattaya wreck sites, do so for a quick dive then move on to shallower coral sites that will cater for their broad customer base, mostly they do not want to hang around at the wreck sites.

Adventure divers I believe used to do some tech diving courses so they may be worth a look, if not possibly try Mermaids, they are not a shop I would normally recommend, and their core business is based around instructor internships, but your choices will be limited in the Pattaya area. Aquanauts is long gone, after their demise the shop continued running for a short time under a different name, but closed and is now no longer a dive shop, no idea what happened to the owners / staff at Aquanauts, hopefully they have left Pattaya and the diving industry all together. Hope you can find what you are looking for. If you can't find anything in Pattaya I think Koh Tao, although further away from Bangkok would be a much better option, there are several shops on KT that do tech diver training and specific dive trips.
 
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Thanks for the reply, Lord Khram. Unfortunately I'll be on a tight schedule so I don't think I'll have time to get to Koh Tao and back. I may look into Adventure Divers and I may contact Mermaids to see how they reply to my enquiry.
 
Blue Label diving out of Phuket is in the process of setting up a satellite operation for serious tech diving. I haven't been out with Por Komaradat, but if Ben certified him as a full cave instructor he's going to be good. BLOG & NEWS - Technical Diving Specialists- Thailand - Indonesia and Australia

Bruce Konefe used to be associated with Seafari, I don't know him other than by reputation, but he is one of the local early tech divers. Steve Burton is also around but very hard to schedule.

Pattaya dive center has a French fellow, whose name is eluding me that did his training for tech instruction w/ Matt Partridge's outfit in Koh Tao. I have been out with him on a simple recreational wreck penetration dive. He would also be a good choice.

The Ex-Aquanauts & Mermaid tech dive guys haven't impressed. Adventure divers can run tech dives out of their boat, and I have been out on their boat many times, but I personally would not use them for instruction.

If all you want is a doubles refresher, I'd go with the French guy. If you want some additional course training I'd talk with Blue Label. Feel free to PM me for more information.
 
Thanks for the reply, red_barbarian.

I also know Bruce Konefe only by reputation, unless you count a quick "hello, nice to meet you" a few years ago. Since I'm not looking for any instruction, I assume that he will be out of my price range just for a fun dive to practice some valve drills and get my weight and trim perfected.

I thought Stever Burton was Mermaids' tech guy . . . guess not. Again, I'm not looking for a course, just a fun dive on the Hardeep or something since it's been a number of mornths since I've dived doubles.

I'll look into the French guy with Pattaya Dive Center, and also check in with Adventure Divers.

Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
The time I met Steve he was doing his own thing, he may contract out with Mermaids sometimes, but mostly he was busy doing his engineering thing. That was probably 5-6 years back so he may be associated with Mermaids in some fashion now. The French guy is Vincent Boche at Pattaya dive center, also I know Andy Jennings there may be able to go out with you for a trim and backmount dive. I noticed your in Taiwan, there may be a shop in Taiwan now that can accommodate tech diving, the folks at Blue Label went up there a few months ago and certified a whole group on rebreathers. You might want to contact Simone Reyments(sp) for contact info. Wish we had met up when I was living in Taipei.
 
I noticed your in Taiwan, there may be a shop in Taiwan now that can accommodate tech diving, the folks at Blue Label went up there a few months ago and certified a whole group on rebreathers.

Yeah, I know some technical diving instructors in Kenting who can set me up with doubles and deco bottles, and I know a couple others up north in Taipei too . . . just not sure if I can fit a dive weekend into the busy schedule before I go to Thailand.

Wish we had met up when I was living in Taipei.

Me too. Get in touch if you return, and we'll do some diving together.
 
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