This morning we dove the Kled Gaew wreck. This vessel was decommissioned and deliberately sunk off the coast of Phi Phi Ley in 2014 to attract marine life and serve as an artificial reef. It is loaded with fish. The top of the superstructure is at around 14 meters, whereas the hull rests on the sand at 26 meters. Open water divers are certified for a maximum of 18 meters depth; as such, this is considered a deep dive and our students received special training for it. They did great and the payoff was even better. Soooo many fish. The purpose of diving here was to show the students the value of wrecks as artificial reefs, which can take pressure off the natural reefs.
The vessel was an auxiliary transport ship for the Royal Thai Navy. It's 49 meters in length (a little more than half a football field for the metrics-challenged).
Loads of snappers all around the wreck
We saw quite a few porcupine fish as well
Here's a scorpionfish. They're cryptically colored and hard to see, so we have to be careful because they have venomous spines on their dorsal fins.
Cam and Grace.
Cam.
Still more snappers...
A lionfish is trying to be undetectable to smaller prey.
After the dive, we ascended a safety line to the surface.
It's still amazes me when I see my middle child underwater! Lol I have only ever seen the fish you captured on TV and can't believe she is swimming with them! This looks like something at amusement park made to look "authentic". Beautiful ❤️
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge accomplishment🐠
ReplyDeletewow so cool Alexis💪😘
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that they all have learned to dive and are able to learn and discover all about our beautiful oceans ❤
ReplyDeleteAlexis, I am in awe with you and your classmates and all that you have accomplished on this amazing trip. I think you might be the first scuba diver in our family. Keep it up. We are all so proud of you! ❤
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome pictures and I honestly think that the scuba diving part is the best part of the trip.
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