Koh Tao project "Buoyancy World"

[mgmonk]

this sounds really a good idea. How can one help? If the idea is to address carrying capacity it does seem quite silly to put it at Twins. Why is it not somewhere less dived?

From what I understand (it does seem reasonable to me) when they came up with the list of potential sties, it was based on finding a site that almost all companies visit regularly. There's no way that the larger schools with mixed level students are going to dedicate one boat to go off the main sites just to utilize BW. That limits it to only a handful of sites, all on the W coast.

Then there was the depth and bottom topography issues. Finding a spot that was sandy and shallow enough for skills.

By choosing Twins, a big school like BV or Bans can take out OW courses, AOW, DMTs, and Fun Divers (which they would do anyway), and the boat can moor up on one of the main lines at the site. Only a short surface swim away, and those that want to use BW for teaching or those wanting to guide there don't have to worry about asking an entire boat of instructors and DMs to change the boat plan.

It's a bit of a toss up. Choose a more remote location (like they did with the BioRock), and it's very unlikely that many people will be able to utilize it. Build it in the middle of a known site (well you can see the problem there). I think they balanced it as best they could. I don't know how well you know the system out here, but those big boats (and a lot of them) are going to go to Twins no matter what. A million times over schools have tried to come up with schedules that alternate site use by time, by day, by course vs FD, but it's yet to work. This way, the companies can carry on doing what they would do anyway, but the more curious DMs or the less "set in their way" instructors can mix things up a bit without trying to reschedule boat plans.

I still have my fingers crossed

 

[lord khram]

It's a bit of a toss up. Choose a more remote location (like they did with the BioRock), and it's very unlikely that many people will be able to utilize it. Build it in the middle of a known site (well you can see the problem there). I think they balanced it as best they could. I don't know how well you know the system out here, but those big boats (and a lot of them) are going to go to Twins no matter what. A million times over schools have tried to come up with schedules that alternate site use by time, by day, by course vs FD, but it's yet to work. This way, the companies can carry on doing what they would do anyway, but the more curious DMs or the less "set in their way" instructors can mix things up a bit without trying to reschedule boat plans.

What is the motivation behind the project?
Is it to protect and enhance the marine enviroment as has been suggested earlier on the thread?
Or is it to make instructors/DC's lives easier/more profitable?
From what I am reading here it would suggest the latter.

 

[mgmonk]

What is the motivation behind the project?
Is it to protect and enhance the marine enviroment as has been suggested earlier on the thread?
Or is it to make instructors/DC's lives easier/more profitable?
From what I am reading here it would suggest the latter.

Hello Lk,
I think we've covered this one before, no? It's a combination of seeing what marine life will spring up (read my post about "Artificial Reef" in Mabul), and reducing the amount of traffic on an over crowded site.

To achieve the first goal, the project had to be deployed, and then we cross our fingers.

To achieve the second goal, the BW site has to be close enough to where the big boats are going to go anyway. Making instructor's lives easier is not the goal, it's a means to an ends. If instructors have access to permanent CESA lines, reels, and other items for the NAV course, then they are more likely to use it. In fact, you could argue that using a particular instructor's "laziness" will double the benefits for that particular instructor. He or she doesn't have to set up her own lines/hoops/reels, etc., AND he/she can practice skills well off the site preventing confusion for the students and preventing an overabundance of Neoprene Fish.

There is a third hope that has been mentioned several times in this thread, but which yo didn't bring up. The customers that are diving the "main site" are going to have better dives if most of the coursework is being done a few hundred meters away.

Like I've said over and over, it's not my project, but I am very much looking forward to it.

LR, one last thing, how does profit motive come into play here? I know you're very skeptical (which I can both appreciate and relate to), but if the boat has 16 OW students with 2 instructors and two DMs, 4 AOW students with 1 inst., and a mix of 8 DMTs and Fun Divers with a DM, how does BW profit from this (that's a typical day on one of the big boats, by the way.... thank god I work for a company with a staff of three)? The OW students can get in and use the CESA lines first or last (after Dive 2), and The AOW students can use the obstacles. If all of the instructors Dms agree (on one boat it's much easier), then they could stagger their times. Meanwhile Twins has 32 less people all coming in at the same time. Students and Fun Divers can rotate at BW, and suddenly you have happy customers and instructors that have made life even easier on themselves.

Meanwhile, give it a few years and see what amazing things pop up there! As mentioned, Twins has sea moths and sea horses to name a few of the rarer KT life forms. They might be quite happy to move from the sand to a a group of artifiial reefs.

I don't follow the argument on how profit motive follows suit.

Well, deployment is not too far away. For those that support it, wish it luck.

 

[lord khram]

I certainly hope this is a success and I dare say most if not all involved are well intentioned.
Sorry for my scepticism, but it is not unfounded, I have seen such projects in the past fail for various reasons.
having said that, I do hope this will not be the case. and I also wish those involved good luck, and I hope many people gain pleasure from diving the new site.
Only time will tell?

 

[mgmonk]

I certainly hope this is a success and I dare say most if not all involved are well intentioned.
Sorry for my scepticism, but it is not unfounded, I have seen such projects in the past fail for various reasons.
having said that, I do hope this will not be the case. and I also wish those involved good luck, and I hope many people gain pleasure from diving the new site.
Only time will tell?

Hey..... I don't know who this is, but you better give us LK back.
I'm sure we can scape together some ransom.

Don't worry Lord Khram, just hold tight and help will arrive!
:viking2:

 

[mase]

Hey..... I don't know who this is, but you better give us LK back.
I'm sure we can scape together some ransom.

Don't worry Lord Khram, just hold tight and help will arrive!
:viking2:

Yea, what the hell happened? New meds?

 

[jamiemac]

just seen some pictures of the structures underwater, looks great,

Sorry i couldn't help as promised, I'm stuck in the Uk for a bit

 

[ayeshacantrell]

I've out a couple of times now and taken some photos ..... you'll find a few snaps here ....

Buoyancy World Learn To Dive On Koh Tao

 

[ayeshacantrell]

Further to my last post - I have now written an article about the site and posted it to another part of this site - so sorry for the cross post but I was looking for some more feedback from other sites around the world..........if anyone has any prior experience or anything more to add to the discussion of artificial reefs in general I would be interested to hear....see my other post here...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/project-aware/329901-artificial-reefs.html

 

[lord khram]

Anyone got an update on what happened with this project?