Koh Tao project "Buoyancy World"

[mgmonk]

Stay off the shrooms!

 

[lord khram]

When I learnt to dive in Pattaya in 88, ( don't fret,LK, Aquanauts and Mermaids weren't around then), there were a few projects going on.

One was a reef made of bottles wired together, gave a great habitat but soon rusted apart and was a bit ugly.Be interesting to se it now.

Another was made of concrete drain hoops, nice coral grew quickly and it was fun swimming through them.

Yet another was made from car tyres and nothing grew at all, I don't mind man made stuff on the bottom, but that was too much ugliness to bear. I bet they're still there, just east of Koh Krok

Unfortunately, there are lots of old tyres and bottles amongst all the other litter on the seabed all around Pattaya, so I think it would be difficult after all these years to determine which if any still remain from these artificial reef creating projects you mentioned.
On the South East side of Koh Sak there are a series of concrete blocks at about 9m which I am told was intended to form a reef, I am not sure when they were put in the water, or by who, but certainly to date they just look like a mess on the seabed, and the reef forming project appears to have been unsuccsesfull.
On the west side of Koh Sak, we have absolutely disgracefull meddling with the reef by presumably the people operating the yellow submarine there. Corals are being brought from other deeper locations and 'stuck' to the existing reef which is at a depth of just under 10m, these obviously in time die, only to constantly be replaced.
At Hat Nuan, South end of Koh Larn There are some large concrete hoops that have been in the water a number of years, these indeed are home to a limited ammount of marine life, but even considering that are in my mind an eyesore.
I have witnessed a number of such projects at different locations in the world, despite all the well meaning intentions and great effort made to form such things, when such a project fails and the efforts become just more litter in the sea, I have never seen a comparable ammount of effort to retrieve the litter.
Majority of these type of projects that I have witnessed, I have found myself questioning the intentions of some individuals involved. Was it done to enhance the environment, or their bank balance?
Are we just not better to protect what we have and leave nature to take care of itself.

 

[Bowmouth]

Stay off the shrooms!

:crazyeye:

 

[lord khram]

LK, I asked for feedback, positive and negative, but can you help me out how to classify yours?

1) You find it unnecessary because instructors should "select such a site from his own initiative and should not need tellling to prevent his students from damaging corals"

2)You agree with Bowmouth that "all instructors should explain to their students, the importance of protecting the marine ecosystem, and explain/demonstrate this most important philosophy by keeping them away from corals and preventing any damage whilst they are learning to dive"

Where's the contribution to this post on your part? We're discussing a site that is coral free, in the sand, and at appropriate training depths. It fits every criteria you just mentioned. No one is going to be forced to go there. Instructors get to choose what sites they want to dive. If they want to avoid "Buoyancy World" they can.

I think it's also important to go back to Bowmouth's earlier post that certified divers need practice as much as students in some cases.

Perfect. The main focus is using the site to help teach Nav and PPB in the AOW course (not OW students), but there is no reason at all that DMs can't take fun divers there for practice as well. Essentially it is designed to aide certified divers become better divers.

The concept here is to have a permanent site off the reef system where instructors can do everything you, Bowmouth and myself all agree on. The real question is "why not?"

If it's a failure, if the structures don't last, if the deployment is a nightmare...
what was the real harm here. Getting competing shops together during the construction phase was a good sign for starters. I can't tell you how much the larger shops helped out smaller shops like mine. All of the work was volunteer, so no one was forced to get involved unless they found it worthwhile.

Once the structures are in the water, how long they last and how they get used are anybody's guess, but I, personally, can't wait to see them. There are some real creative ideas and some really beautiful structures that have been built.

Any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is more than welcome.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures and good news about the weather soon.

Originally Posted by mgmonk

One the one hand it sounds like Disney World Koh Tao H2O.
On the other, if constructed well and deployed with good judgment, it could reduce crowding and lessen the impact of new students practicing buoyancy over live coral.

The sentence above, your quote not mine. I will ask the question? Why currently are new divers being taken to practice their buoyancy skills over live coral? This in my mind is disgracefull behavior by any instructor.
I am not wasting my time responding to any of the other nonsence you have written above.
Personally when I go diving I dont want to look at man made objects on the seabed, however well intentioned the individualls were that put them there.
All too often after a relatively short space of time many things like this that I have witnessed break up and become nothing more than litter on the seabed.
Also in my experience a number of such projects have been undertaken with bank balances a bigger priority than the environment.
Why can we not just select a flat area of sandy sebed to practice our skills, and if we are in the water with the intention of learning/improving our diving skills, why do we need to be looking at man made artefacts whilst we are doing this.
Personally I think we should leave well alone and simply protect and enjoy what is already there.

 

[jamiemac]

Unfortunately, there are lots of old tyres and bottles amongst all the other litter on the seabed all around Pattaya, so I think it would be difficult after all these years to determine which if any still remain from these artificial reef creating projects you mentioned.
On the South East side of Koh Sak there are a series of concrete blocks at about 9m which I am told was intended to form a reef, I am not sure when they were put in the water, or by who, but certainly to date they just look like a mess on the seabed, and the reef forming project appears to have been unsuccsesfull.
On the west side of Koh Sak, we have absolutely disgracefull meddling with the reef by presumably the people operating the yellow submarine there. Corals are being brought from other deeper locations and 'stuck' to the existing reef which is at a depth of just under 10m, these obviously in time die, only to constantly be replaced.
At Hat Nuan, South end of Koh Larn There are some large concrete hoops that have been in the water a number of years, these indeed are home to a limited ammount of marine life, but even considering that are in my mind an eyesore.
I have witnessed a number of such projects at different locations in the world, despite all the well meaning intentions and great effort made to form such things, when such a project fails and the efforts become just more litter in the sea, I have never seen a comparable ammount of effort to retrieve the litter.
Majority of these type of projects that I have witnessed, I have found myself questioning the intentions of some individuals involved. Was it done to enhance the environment, or their bank balance?
Are we just not better to protect what we have and leave nature to take care of itself.

I pretty much agree with you, but in this case anything to get those huge boats of muppet divers not trashing our reefs is worth a go. The project will need everyone;s support and be used regularly to be of any use. Other wise it really will be more rubbish on the sea bed.

However I disagree with your statement saying not much effort goes into litter collection, I've dedicated my whole business and the last 15 years finding and then removing stuff from the seabed. Started with brass and porcelain but still gots lots left to go. Problem is you get accused of piracy!

 

[jamiemac]

Am I just romanticizing, or was last september and october much calmer? QUOTE]

I think so, when the rain does come everyone one say it's wetter than last year, same as summers were longer and Mars Bars were bigger when you were a kid.

Of course, it's always summer in Phuket and the Mars bars get bigger every year ( same as the lady boys)

 

[mgmonk]

now that's some feedback anybody can appreciate.

Thanks again for your offer to help, Jamie.

 

[Bowmouth]

I wouldn't mind seeing some pics of the structures while they're still on land.
And maybe a short description with each pic telling some more about the intended use (skill practice/exercise) of the structure when placed at depth.
And maybe something about how the structure is going to be fastened to the seabed.

I know; I'm asking probably way too many things here.

It may be helpful though for those of us (me!) to visualize the project a bit better and to be able to give some more input and comments.
I may also be helpful for "buoyancy-world-minded divers" located elsewhere to give them some ideas about the what and how of creating such a site.

I think Jamie is right about the Mars bars. They were much bigger when I was young and handsome...

 

[Bowmouth]

........

 

[mgmonk]

Working on the pics.

Avoiding the Mars Bars