Phuket & Diving

Drizzle and heavy cloud followed us on our journey to Phuket; although the weather continued to be humid.  We were met at the airport and taken to sort out our dive equipment and after a fairly brief wait we were taken to our dive boat: the Colona VI where we were introduced to the crew and fellow divers.  It was a fairly international affair with six Russians, three Americans, one Israeli and us two.  The first two days provided us with some excellent diving; although the swell was quite strong at times, which made getting back on the boat with our dive kit on quite challenging.  On the third day, however, everything changed and the weather deteriorated.  After spending two days in the shelter of a bay, staying out of the way of force 8 gales and seas to match, the decision was taken by the captain to abort the trip.  Obviously we were all very disappointed but agreed unanimously that safety was the first priority.  Whilst spending this time sheltering we got to know each other quite well, with the help of  some vodka, whisky and raki; with Mary learning some Russian and even a few words of Hebrew.  The captain and his crew were first class in every way.

PS typing this on the 4th April, we saw in this morning's newspaper that the death toll to-date, in southern Thailand, from the unseasonal storms, has reached 51.

Amit's photos!