Progression from OW to richelieu rock/similan LOB in 2 months

[safewaypharmacy]

Hello,
I did a fair amount of reading and am looking for some advice re: dive site/locale progression for 2 months in Thailand given my experience level.

- OW certified in vancouver, total of 5 dives in Philippines 3 years ago.
- I can choose any 2 months between Jan-April to spend diving. Will be solo.
- My goal is to be able to competently dive the must see/challenging richelieu rock/similan island sites.
- I do not mind doing this in Indonesia, if locales there are more suited to this goal. I am targeting Thailand at the moment because of close proximity to other countries for top side sight seeing after a few months of diving.

From research, I believe this may be a good migration:
1.~20 dives in Koh Tao
2. Phuket/PhiPhi based daytrips/liveaboard ~20 dives
3. Richelieu rock/similan liveaboard

Any suggestion appreciated. Hope to make it a good one.
Thanks,
C

 

[Quero]

Hi C. Welcome to ScubaBoard and to the Thailand forum! You show a lot of insight in simply asking this question, so my gut feeling is that you will be more than ready to dive Richelieu if you follow your plan. Why? Well because when people are as self-aware as you seem to be, they usually make fairly good progress in their skills development as they gain diving experience. There are lots of divers, though, with a stack of cert cards and a pages upon pages of logged dives who don't pay much attention to their development and so even with a lot of dives they are uncomfortable at Richelieu Rock. Self-aware divers consciously work on noticing where they need improvement and they take steps to work on techniques that will make them better divers.

One thing I will say, in addition, is that in those dives you plan to do before going on a Similans/Richelieu liveaboard, it would be a good idea to do the Advanced Open Water course. This will allow you to get the information and experience of doing deep dives under the supervision of an instructor, and perhaps also doing some night diving as well. Both of these feature prominently in the Richelieu liveaboard trips.

 

[stevenl]

Yes, it's a good idea to get some more experience and do your advanced course. And of course there is nothing wrong with doing the dives you're looking at doing before going to Similans/Richelieu Rock, where the currents can be quite strong.

But is really is not necessary, with around 15 dives most divers are able to dive there and enjoy the diving. Of course the more dives you have done in advance the more proficient you'll be and the more you'll be able to enjoy your dives.

 

[whooyeah]

I did my openwater on a liveaboard which took me to richelieu rock the day after I finished it.

yes there is some ramming currents but i was pretty fit and had no problems.


You definitely need your advanced. (I did my advanced straight after my open water.)

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

The more experience you have the more you will enjoy the dives at Richelieu. Advanced is a must, the site has some interesting marine life in the deeper area's. Maybe think about doing the Nitrox course too, usually these can be done on the liveaboard at a cheaper cost and include 2 tanks of Nitrox per day during the trip.

 

[lord khram]

Hello,
I did a fair amount of reading and am looking for some advice re: dive site/locale progression for 2 months in Thailand given my experience level.

- OW certified in vancouver, total of 5 dives in Philippines 3 years ago.
- I can choose any 2 months between Jan-April to spend diving. Will be solo.
- My goal is to be able to competently dive the must see/challenging richelieu rock/similan island sites.
- I do not mind doing this in Indonesia, if locales there are more suited to this goal. I am targeting Thailand at the moment because of close proximity to other countries for top side sight seeing after a few months of diving.

From research, I believe this may be a good migration:
1.~20 dives in Koh Tao
2. Phuket/PhiPhi based daytrips/liveaboard ~20 dives
3. Richelieu rock/similan liveaboard

Any suggestion appreciated. Hope to make it a good one.
Thanks,
C

What you are proposing looks a good idea. Advanced course will give you more scope to your diving, but get some of the diving experience and practice your basic skills before doing any further learning. You will gain far more from your advanced course with that additional diving experience under your belt, many people do OW and Adv courses back to back and I would never recommend that.

 

[TheWartHog]

Sounds like an excellent trip and Thailand is great for beginners/new divers.

Good idea to go to Koh Tao first, get your Advanced certification here and your dive numbers up and also, any other courses (Nitrox, etc.) as it's cheaper in Koh Tao than in Phuket and/or Similan Liveaboards.

Good diving!

 

[Buadhai]

By all means, do your Advanced course, but get a few more dives in before you do. Doing the Advanced course will give you some individual attention on specific skills, something you're not likely to get if you just do a bunch of guided dives.

I'm not sure if everyone will agree, but IMHO the skill you want to work on is buoyancy control. I'll say that again: buoyancy control. Mastering this will lead to more efficient breathing, reduced air consumption and, finally, the self-confidence you need to really enjoy the more challenging dive sites.

 

[MikkelBC]

Personally, I dove the Similans for the first time from a liveaboard after 6 logged dives 10 years previously. Before going, I consulted with the liveaboard operator who suggested that I took my Advanced Open Water on the boat, which I did. I probably wasn't the most competent diver in the area, but I wasn't the worst either.
The advantages to taking the Advanced Open Water on the liveaboard are:
- AOW is really a must because so much of the best stuff is below 18 meters.
- You will have an instructor paying close attention to you the whole time.

I agree that the more experience you gain before going to the Similans, the more you will enjoy it. But you will enjoy it with little experience too as long as you have a competent instructor taking care of you. And what's to stop you from going back to the Similans again and enjoying it more? I have been on 3 liveaboards there now, and I am about to book my 4th for Feb 2014.
If you choose to do your AOW before going to Similans, I suggest considering doing some other course on the boat just to make sure that you will be diving with an instructor that has time allocated to you. For example, you could do a Nitrox course (I did that last time).

Regarding time to go: if you are going to Thailand for 2 months, go in January-February. This is high season, but for good reason. The weather around the west coast deteriorates badly around April, and the Similans National Marine park closes to divers around May. The weather on land is also much better in Jan-Feb. After that it just gets hotter and hotter until rainy season starts.

Otherwise, I agree with what Quero said. The fact that you are actually putting thought into this question shows that you are serious about learning, which means that you will be fine on your Similans trip.
Have a great trip. Maybe we will see each other in Thailand!

Mikkel

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

Lucky you to have two months travelling. The Similans are lovely and the advice above , particularly from the Warthog is excellent. I know that it is not the very best time ,but Indonesian diving is heaps better that Thailand. It is alot cheaper , the coral in Thailand had a terrible bleaching in 2010.perhaps keep your options open , getting around between Malaysia , THailand and Indonesia is really easy and cheap with Air Asia.

Have a great trip.