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Scuba anyone?

Hobbies and Pastimes
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  • G
    Giles
    IHUK Crew
    Joined: 22 Sept 2009

    Ha….

    About 25 years ago when I was in corporate life, I went to some sort of business seminar.  I sat down next to some random guy.  As I settled down, he leant over a whispered in my ear, "Got rid of those crabs yet Giies?".......

    Turns out he was my roommate for my first year at Uni, we had not kept in touch, but he sure did remember my travails....

    "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

    last edited by 8 Oct 2022, 00:38 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • G
      Giles
      IHUK Crew
      Joined: 22 Sept 2009

      Frogfish…..

      Seahorse

      Mantis Shrimp

      Nudibranch

      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

      last edited by 10 Aug 2022, 03:51 8 Oct 2022, 03:37 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • G
        Giles
        IHUK Crew
        Joined: 22 Sept 2009

        Cuttle Fish

        Nudibranch

        Crab (carapace 2mm across)

        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

        last edited by 11 Oct 2022, 05:49 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • G
          Giles
          IHUK Crew
          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

          More Nudibranchs….

          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

          last edited by 13 Oct 2022, 23:26 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • G
            Giles
            IHUK Crew
            Joined: 22 Sept 2009

            Pygmy seahorse - yeah it's effing tiny….....

            "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

            last edited by 13 Oct 2022, 23:29 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • J
              Jett129
              見習いボス
              Joined: 17 Aug 2011

              I can’t imagine how difficult it is to get a shot like that,or for that matter,any of the insanely beautiful pictures you’ve been posting.

              last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 00:26 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • G
                Giles
                IHUK Crew
                Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                None of them mine of course 🙂

                Harlequin Shrimp (about 1cm carapace)….

                Mantis Shrimp, my favourite reef-thug.  One of them hit my pointer stick yesterday and I felt the jolt, and the things are no more than 3" long….

                Factoid (stolen from the web).....A mantis punch arrives with the acceleration of a . 22-caliber bullet, 50 times faster than a human eye can blink. Underwater, the low pressure bubble left in the wake of the punch collapses upon itself in a burst of light and heat, reaching an estimated 8,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

                "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 00:41 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • J
                  Jett129
                  見習いボス
                  Joined: 17 Aug 2011

                  I know that you didn’t take them but as someone who has ,at times,attempted underwater photography, I know how difficult it is. For starters the fish aren’t exactly posing, and your operating under water in a current. Add that to maintaining neutral buoyancy etc. And the list goes on.

                  last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 00:50 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • M
                    mclaincausey
                    見習いボス
                    Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                    Badass shots! Mantis “shrimps” also have hyper spectral vision and independent eyes in addition to the cavitation bubble claw. Amazing creatures.

                    Think it, be it.

                    last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 02:38 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • G
                      Giles
                      IHUK Crew
                      Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                      @mclaincausey:

                      independent eyes

                      I love watching them from above when they are in their burrows. Their eyes moving completely out of sync fascinates me…..

                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                      last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 03:03 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • G
                        Giles
                        IHUK Crew
                        Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                        Leaf fish

                        Dragon fish

                        Ghost pipefish

                        Shrimp fish (and Paula)

                        Turtle

                        Cement mixer

                        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                        last edited by 14 Oct 2022, 03:07 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • G
                          Giles
                          IHUK Crew
                          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                          Nudibranch

                          Octopus

                          Garden eels

                          Clown fish

                          Turtle and human

                          Porcelain crab (again, but one of my favourite critters to find - not difficult when you know where they live)

                          Wheel

                          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                          last edited by 15 Oct 2022, 23:26 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • J
                            JDelage
                            啓蒙家
                            Joined: 13 Jan 2012

                            Lovely pictures! I've never seen mats shrimps; I'd like to. They are very cool indeed.

                            Where are you Gilles? It looks like a super rich spot!

                            last edited by 15 Oct 2022, 23:41 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • G
                              Giles
                              IHUK Crew
                              Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                              Mantis shrimp are fairly widespread in the tropics, the pretty ones mainly in the Indian and Pacific oceans.  I'm in Indonesia and have seen more free-swimming (rather than hiding in their burrows) ones here than anywhere else….

                              "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                              last edited by 16 Oct 2022, 00:26 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • J
                                JDelage
                                啓蒙家
                                Joined: 13 Jan 2012

                                Aaah, very nice! Currently looking at options for Raja Amat…

                                last edited by 16 Oct 2022, 00:29 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • G
                                  Giles
                                  IHUK Crew
                                  Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                  Very nice.  We've been a little disappointed with the number of divers here, basically if I have to look in front of me to make sure I am not going to hit a diver coming the other way, or when I look around, I can't immediately recognize my group, then it's not for me.  We've decided that from now on we will try and find areas a little less travelled, or do liveaboards where we can get to remote places to cut the number of bodies in the water down…

                                  Hands down, the best place we have dived is Socorro.  It's hard to get to, but absolutely amazing (if you like big stuff).

                                  We're looking at going to the Hallaniyat Islands in Oman as soon as we can.  I know the islands from my fishing exploits, they are bursting with marine life and have a resident population of Humpback whales.  And I believe, there is only one dive operation that goes there.....

                                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                  last edited by 16 Oct 2022, 00:39 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • J
                                    JDelage
                                    啓蒙家
                                    Joined: 13 Jan 2012

                                    Liveaboards are great. My best experience diving was a liveaboard in the middle of the Red Sea. Amazing mix of coral reefs and pelagic creatures.

                                    last edited by 16 Oct 2022, 02:24 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • T
                                      T4920
                                      見習いボス
                                      Joined: 27 Apr 2022

                                      I'm going to be diving for the first time next month in Thailand. Doing the PADI Open Water course and possibly Advanced too, depending on how much time I have.

                                      If anyone has dived in Thailand before, can you provide any recommendations for place to take these courses? As it stands I'm thinking Koh Lanta, as I only have two weeks in the country and it's location lines up with the rest of my itinerary, but I'm open to other suggestions.

                                      “𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑖𝑡, 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡.”

                                      last edited by 16 Oct 2022, 19:41 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • G
                                        Giles
                                        IHUK Crew
                                        Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                        No experience of diving in Thailand I am afraid. But my strong recommendation is do your open water, then enjoy diving for a while. Then add advanced (and Nitrox if you think you will dive a lot) at a later date.

                                        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                        last edited by 17 Oct 2022, 03:39 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • E
                                          endo
                                          見習いボス
                                          Joined: 29 May 2020

                                          @T4920:

                                          I'm going to be diving for the first time next month in Thailand. Doing the PADI Open Water course and possibly Advanced too, depending on how much time I have.

                                          If anyone has dived in Thailand before, can you provide any recommendations for place to take these courses? As it stands I'm thinking Koh Lanta, as I only have two weeks in the country and it's location lines up with the rest of my itinerary, but I'm open to other suggestions.

                                          Did my PADI Open Water there about 30 yrs ago. On Koh Tao, but the diving is much better in the Andaman Sea (where I went later, around Rai Leh, beautiful reefs and some wrecks) than in the Gulf. Agree with Giles, just do the OW and dive as much as you can.

                                          si tacuisses

                                          last edited by 17 Oct 2022, 04:36 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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