Wreck Diving off Pattaya

[slim]

Anyone done any wreck diving off Pattaya ?

Particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has dived the Hardeep and Horizontal (formerly vertical !) Wrecks.

Anyone know what type of penetrations are possible or what type of visibility to expect in mid to late November ?

Any other wrecks in the area worth considering ?

Recommendations of dive operators, particularly any supporting technical diving, would be good.

 

[ssra30]

There are a few options but it seems like the Hardeep is one of the better wreck in the area. I have not dove there myself. Visibility around Pattaya on a good day is around 7-8m but it can also get downright ugly.
For some reason most of the wrecks there are in location with very strong currents.
The previously vertical wreck has been moved away and from what I was told, toll line broke before it reached its final destination so now it is in a pretty much inaccessible site for diving although very good for fishing.
Other wreck near Pattaya, Kram wreck near Koh Pai, horrible horrible site for a planned wreck, strong currrent and horrible visibility. although it is only about a year old and already started to have some soft coral growth on it. I give it another year or two then it should be quite nice but the location is really bad.
There is a wreck in Samsaen called the Juthatip, a small fishing boat about 30m at the bottom. Quite nice actually and you can penatrate the whole boat, basically just a one big room inside. Again, current can be strong but visibility is quite fair. Have not dove there for about 12-13 years so I am not sure what condition it is in now.

Pattaya is ok for diving year round but the water condition changed rapidly so it is hard to predict with any certainly.
However, by late November the monsoon should be just about over so the sea should relatively be ok.

 

[cmdasia]

There is some more techy stuff on Thai wrecks here..

http://www.damnam.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=886#886

 

[daodiver]

I dove the hardeep couple times. The wreck is kind of throughly penetrated. Medium or strong current can be expected. Vis is limited. In my op, hardeep is the best wreck in the area. BTW, you can find many dive shops in Pattaya. They usually have daytrips to the hardeep every weekend.

 

[dolevr]

I hust came back from Pattaya tonight.

I went on a day trip (with Mermaids - of which I should and would post another one ...) that included the Hardeep.

As you can see in their (Mermaid's) web site, and other places -

The Hardeep was sunk in 1941 and since than lies on it's side.

The wreck is very well penetrated and can be accessed through the funnels, the aft and some other holes.

There is also a hole in the left (upper) side - as it lies on the side.

The bottem is 26-30 meters deep (depends on the tide) and the top of the wreck is about 14-16 meters.

As dive time is limited, you better slide down the rope to the top of the ship urrent - could be very strong ... and the rope buoy is under water) and then down the side to the bottom.

From there we wnet to the aft and penetrated throught the engine room all the way to the cargo bays and out the open hatches.

We went a little bite more to the front and penetrated through one of the stacks (??) and then started making our way through the wreck to the top.

All is all about 25 minutes (including the stops).

Visibility was yuck (compared to Thailand ...) maybe 5-6 meters going down and 3 meters inside the wreck.

Many small fish, some barracuda's.

A lot of vegetation.

A great dive.

I went down with a shorty, and got my legs (both) scraped.

 

[cmdasia]

It beats me why all of the operators with one exception, to my knowldege, put divers onto the hardeep in current - obviously because they are selling it as a 2 day dive package with deepest dive first so thye feel duty bound to put you on the wreck before 11 so you can have a shallow dive in the afternoon.

Without exception (except for one who I will not name here because my post is not about that) they all do this - my advice to anyone diving the hardeep is to demand the operator check the tide table and dives on slack tide. It is a really sweet dive! Do not bother with the second dive - if it is going to affect diving the wreck on slack tide - as all the Sameasan shallow sites are pretty crappy.

One good dive is better than two crappy ones

 

[dolevr]

1. The seond dive was a deep dive as well (we went down to 22 meters) -- can't remember the name of the small island -- but it is used for target shooting of teh Thai navy. The seabed around it is FULL of shells, mortars etc. We spent about 1.5 hours between the dives so we had enousg ST.

2. Regarding the issue of reading the tide charts - I will add more whn I have the time to commnet on the dive club. Basically I do not think they know how to read the charts ...

 

[Mr. Sunday]

I just got back from Pattaya last night. I have been there for 2 years working as a DM. We do have a few wrecks that are worth diving.

Hardeep at about 26 meters is great. Yes currents can be strong but easily avoided if you use the charts. Good penetration through the bomb blast holes. If you are trained to penetrate! I saw a Whale Shark on this dive once.

The Bremen wreck at about 24 meters. The wreck is
in pieces is also pretty good. Giant Rays can be found here often.

There is also a WWII landing craft that has recently been sunk off of Pattaya. It is at about 22 meters. It is also a fair dive. But they did not seal the openings and I am affraid someone may be hurt someday penetrating.

If anyone would like any further info or has any questions about Pattaya or Thailand PM me.

Ken

 

[milktrayman]

Hardeep is good.. i like the khram myself.. there's a new one , the Kood...

 

[CaptainDan13]

How is the diving in Pattaya compared to that in Phuket? I know both are great for topside activities but is it worth taking a couple days out of a short vacation to check out the dive site in Pattaya?