I am pleased to say that the resulting conditions from today’s substrate survey were not as dismal as we expected. It was truly a fantastic site. Some dives just have life everywhere and today fell into that category. The May 31st Videos link will demonstrate exactly what I mean by this. Truly spectacular! As an added bonus I got to crawl into some of the weathered limestone caves formed by the continuous wave impacts on shore as well. The dive took place on the opposite side of the island and it was refreshing to feel a cooler persuasion to the water around us. Bodes well for the coral that calls it home.

After the dive we immediately cleaned up the gear and travelled to Sairee where we met a few others we have met while on the island. They will be leaving tomorrow, which given the friendships that come with this type of common goal and love of diving gave way to drinks and dinner while watching the infamous fire throwers on he beach while enjoying good music and food. Given our festivities, I bid you adu’ earlier this evening in an effort to get some sleep for tomorrow’s schedule. I look forward to speaking more on today’s events as well as those in the coming day soon!

Please take a look at the videos for today. It is most definitely the best collection yet!

So let me start by saying that walking along the ocean floor is an incredible experience. Frankly, I never thought it would be so exhilarating. Today was the first day since we have been here that we were able to work on artificial reef habitats. The conditions these last weeks have been very detrimental to coral in this area. Bleaching has been occurring in a high percentage of the coral we have seen. Because of this introduction of new coral structures only provides additional stressors to the environment.  Today, there was a recorded temperature increase of 0.4 degrees C, turning the outlook for this magnificent marine life into a much brighter picture.

Our task is during the dive was to gather large baskets full of rocks and stubble from the barren areas around the artificial structures and pack them around the steel framework. This “packing” allows more space to be available for coral implantation and colonization.

As far as the diving aspect, it was one of the weirder dives I have done. The dive plan was to descend to the ocean floor at around 50 ft. where we would mark off a collection area for rocks and rubble. Then we would rig a guide line back to the steel reef structure to guide our path back with full baskets. The kicker during this little moon landing was the process behind moving the baskets loaded down with rocks. Given the buoyancy change when going from a full basket to an empty one, a great deal of the air supply would be used making necessary adjustments if one were to attempt to swim deliver the loads, so to mitigate this and conserve air we removed our fins upon completion of the collection, clipped them to our gear, and used the weight of the basket to quite literally walk along the guideline to the structure where we packed the rocks. After emptying the basket, it had to be a quick donning of the fins to return and repeat the process. I found it quite hilarious to near the end of the packing with a relatively empty basket where I would start to shoot straight up. Definitely a lesson in peak buoyancy control. Haha!

You will notice that, there is quite a large addition to the available photos. I was finally able to upload all of the images I have taken so far as well as some videos. I hope you guys enjoy them. you will undoubtedly see some movie making improvements as time progresses. Given the tasks we have to perform while on the dives, it can become quite tricky to balance with taking good video. There are a few videos that are quite literally the camera hanging off of my gear directed toward the ocean floor. I did do this on purpose because it gives an idea of what we are surveying during the dives but unfortunately for those of you who get a little woozy at shaky video, you may have to take slow.

Tomorrow we will be doing a substrate survey which is largely consists of analyzing precise half meter increments of the ocean floor to determine what the current state of the reef  is in terms of health. Although we are blessed enough to be seeing incremental temperature increases, it takes weeks sometimes months for coral to recover from an episode of bleaching like this one so we are probably gonna be seeing some pretty dismal health. I will definitely be posting more about the results and let you guys know how it went.

What a title huh? Well it fits today and later on I’ll explain why but first I wanna give you a little idea of what life is like at night around here. After all it is when I prefer to sit down and write these little accounts of  the day.

So we’ll say it’s around 6:45pm here, and the sun is just starting to tuck itself away behind Taatoh Rock as you look out into the bay. Slowly one by one spotlights begin to pop up on fishing boats like fireflies. Every so often you’ll catch a green glow in the distance coming from inline fishing lights refracting through shallower depths where local fisherman are readying their equipment for a night of catching squid and cuddlefish. The technique capitalizes on the nocturnal nature of the animals as well as their attraction to illuminated objects. From what I have heard, this “jigging” is composed of moving the submerged lights around slowly, which ultimately allures these animals in so they can be caught in large nets. Along the beach tiny fires begin to burn just below the straw overhangs of a large majority of the beach watering holes while the beach is walked by couples and singles alike. Dogs are daring themselves to jump in and out of the water, or just running around from person to person wanting some love. Kristen and I normally plant ourselves in two bean bags at the end of the coffee-house platform in order to watch the sunset. She works on her dissertation and I, well I just sit back and take it all in. Thankful that I have a woman beside me that can balance the relaxing care free atmosphere with her ambition. Right behind us, people begin to place themselves at the tables or meet up with others. From what I have seen, the end results are a night of drinking at the local bars followed by what most likely will be a muay thai fight or the night wanes with their original seat either on the internet or from the looks on their faces thinking over and over, “now this is life and why have I not realized it before now”.  Not long ago I finished Aurelius’s Meditations for the second time and this particular thought brings a quote to mind.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”    – Marcus Aurelius

It just fits what I can imagine is the conclusion of the day for most who visit this place. It certainly has proved to be mine.

Today’s lecture was quite a lesson in scientific nomenclature and taxonomy. We ventured into the world of sea slugs. The vast array of species and behaviors is overwhelming. To say I had no idea is no justice done. I have spent the last four years of my life trying to contemplate scale in both the micro and macro physics arenas and what I have been taught in just the last few days has stirred the same incredulity as I had the first time I realized what the math yielded for the mass of a neutron star. It stirs a very distinct form of reverence that can only be matched by something sharing that unique domain. I suppose some would say the above is a drastically romanticized description, the purpose, to endorse a certain political agenda or encourage a “hippy” way of thinking. I disagree. It is, in fact, nature.

nature – the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.

You’ll notice I emphasized two words. I think the rest speaks for itself.

I would love to share all of the incredible behaviors and species with you but unfortunately I do not yet know even a small fraction of them which is what brought me here to begin with. The particular species of slug and marine life we were searching for today are generally found in what is called the muck. These dives take place at increased depth compared to coral reef dives. I would say somewhere around 60-70 feet from what we saw today. Think of the coral reef sites as large cities whereas muck dives are performed in more rural areas. Much of the scenery is nothing but a flat expanse of sand with the occasional bit of life. Most of this life being what we sought to observe. Unfortunately, this particular dive proved to be quite the mess, literally. The past two days, Koh Tao has experienced bouts of storms consisting of heavy wind and rain. This type of weather results in heavy chop on the water and a circulation that destroys visibility, especially in areas laden by material of a sandy consistency.

We began this dive with the initial plan of effectively taking six divers and forming a flying V over the muck bottom at around 50 – 70 ft, slowly working our way to shallower waters. When we reached the bottom, it became quite apparent that this was gonna be a problem. The goal was to keep the diver next to you in sight at ll times in  order to stay with the group. Well, at around five minutes into the dive, the V became a “i” with around three divers forming the main body of the letter and three being on top of one another for the point of the letter, haha. Needless to say the visibility was horrible. I would say it was no more than 2 to 3 feet. Shortly after this pile up I turned around to catch a glimpse of my dive buddy, Kristen. She was gone.

Now normally, when leading a dive, proper procedure dictates that at any time a diver is lost on their own, an immediate ascent is required with the proper surface marker (due to boat traffic) and safety stop if depth was substantial. This being said, it is not what took place on this dive. Upon the realization that she was gone, I immediately took a reciprocal compass heading and began a forty degree sweep and was joined by a fellow french diver. The rest of the group pressed on, probably due to failed communication during the confusion. I knew Kris would handle the situation as she always does, clear thinking and little to no panic. Although not a horrifying situation, at sixty feet in the ocean with little to no sight of the bottom and nothing but a glow of light coming through the murk, disorientation can approach as a likely predator and get the best of you if you let it. Ocean diving is amazing but the lack of boundaries and reference points can turn a relaxed calm dive into a bad situation quickly if you’re not careful. Needless to say, Kris is fine, she surfaced after a few moments of trying to find the group and was picked up by our dive boat, and my french friend and I surfaced after a good ten minute search. Sadly we did not find her. Bested yet again at the infamous Waldo search.

At the conclusion of the dive, we found that she was not the only Waldo in the bunch. Several others had in fact become detached from their group. The poor conditions just happened to get the better of the group today but well certainly be back again next week!

New pictures of the path we take to the input point, the ride to and from the dive shop, and the dive shop itself in the days photo link!  We will have the weekend off to explore so I will make every effort to keep you updated on the excursions. The diving will resume again on Monday.

The little restaurant where I sit and write is quite a nice little place. I suppose a full description of the area would be helpful to really set the scene so you can get a small idea of why I think so. There is quite literally one main road that circumvents the island with roads that branch down to the little bays scattered about. We are located on the southernmost portion just south of Maa Haad. It’s a small, tucked away corner right around the bend from shark bay where we start pretty much every dive we do. As you come down the road from Maa Haad, it’s about half a mile from the main dock that you round a bend and see New Heaven Dive School and Resort. It’s quite the little section of paradise with the dive school attached to a bungalow area with straw roofing where the restaurant lies. If you peek out above the straw roof you see four little rooms with sliding glass doors, the beginning of the resort portion. Unfortunately we were not so lucky as to get one of these, haha. Where we make birth is immediately across the road and up what I have started calling “The stairway to heaven”. It seemed to fit the situation. Really have never tried to imagine what it would be like stepping into the daily affairs of Swiss Family Robinson, but I have a good idea of where I would go with it now. All kidding aside, if you look up from the main road next to the dive center, you can see a small opening between the trees where you see bungalow after bungalow after…well you get the point. It is precisely 159 stairs we have to climb each time we ascend to camp 1 at Mt. Koh Tao. I will say that buns of steel will no longer be a wish upon departure. Not to mention the mile swim we have to perform getting to our descent point from the boat everyday. Anyhow, I hope this gives a partial picture to the area.

As for sleeping, well now, that is quite a story all its own. In the tale of our nightly dreamscapes you will find howling winds, short but intense downpours, and in the early morning hours the desperate screams of what appears to be some sort of tree bound creature. More on the identification when it is attained. I surmise that if anyone ever wanted to commit the perfect murder, they could quite literally scare their target to death by placing this animal within a fifteen foot radius whilst they sleep. All in all it is a relaxing and rejuvenating rest for the most part. It does get a little toasty at times in the absence of air con but we have adjusted to open doors and windows to facilitate a breeze through the room ( or in later hours gale force winds).

The schedule we keep is fairly relaxed and routine. We awake around 6 or 7, shower to cool off and wake up, and make our way down to the little restaurant where we meet up with some of the other team members. At around nine we gather to receive a lecture in subject pertaining to the days dive, eg. Invertebrates, fish, coral ecology, and so on. Normally these lectures take roughly an hour and then we break for a bite to eat. The truck normally arrives to pick us up with our gear an hour or so later and from there we travel to shark bay where a small motorboat is taken to the main dive boat. Usually the dive takes about an hour and a half to two hours depending on the depth we stay at. I would say the average is around 30 feet. This generally means I can stay under for around an hour and a half. If you literally have fish in your gene pool like Kris, about 2 hours. We then come back much in the same fashion as we came out but this time we get to climb roughly 250 stairs to get from waters edge to the little dirt road where the truck awaits us.

These truck rides to and from the site are an experience all their own. Did you know… that you can fit approximately 22 people with all of their dive gear and conservation equipment into, scratch that…onto a crew cab toyota tacoma ? … Nope I didn’t either but I assure you it is possible.

Moving on to today’s dive. The task was to do a fish survey. This entails the deployment of a measuring line over a 100 meter stretch and swimming along it identifying whatever species we can as well as how many there are. Very interesting to say the least. Imagine the setting of Gulliver’s travels except your are one of the lilipoocheans lounging around in your home underwater when a giant head suddenly appears in your window. Naturally you would frantically scatter and eventually retreat to the closet. That is precisely the setting for which this particular survey takes place. We make our away along the line and peak in to the holes and crevices on the reef looking for various species. Some of these include:

Parrotfish, Surgeon fish, Butterfly fish, Snapper, Triggerfish, Grouper, Amore Eels, Aninomes, and many others…

The challenge being remembering the classifications and what each fish actually is, thus the need for our 9am classes.

I have posted some videos and pictures taken on today’s dive in the dropbox link at the end and I do plan on developing the process a lot further. Today was most certainly a trial run but you’ll get the drift (pun intended). Among these, there is one of Kristen, my one and only, checking out a piece of coral that really turned out well. The videos are primarily following the deployment of the line and some of my survey attempts. You do have to look closely at some. In one of the photographs there are long black spines protruding from a crevice. This is a type of urchin that at the center of its spines has a bright orange spot that looks identical to an eye. It is quite fascinating to behold, but in a shocking revelation I received the other day is quite literally the butthole. So yes, I spent a good bit of time today swimming around looking at buttholes.

Well, until tomorrow, I hope this reads well and gives slightly more insight into the schedule we keep as well as this particular day’s events. Enjoy the photos and vids!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8wnbat26fr9iomk/AAAJl5Al9zTjCb5-tDrUiygAa?dl=0

Beautiful yet grey overcast this morning in Koh Tao. Descending the multitude of stairs leading up to our bungalow opens up a view of the bay that New Heaven resides on. In the earlier hours of the day, the tide has receded completely exposing various forms of marine life temporarily stranded until later in the day. Local fisherman take advantage of this by scavenging for the trade. Very simple scene in itself, comprised of various people wading through the eddy pools with the local dogs running around close by. I have never seen so many random dogs. I have never seen so many mixes of breeds. An island of mutts to say the least. This makes sense given the harsher living conditions. They would have to have the resiliency and health associated with mixes to stand up to the everyday life and lack of veterinary care. 

Today’s plan is a little up in the air since Spencer has contracted some sort of sickness (stomach bug). This is quite common here given the bacteria in the main water supply. Simple hygienic tasks are done using bottled water or some other purified source. I suspect he contracted the ailment after trying to jump start a water pump used for cleansing the water in a tank built to cultivate coral for transport onto new artificial reef structures. These are frequently placed to facilitate new coral growth in sections decimated by mass bleaching events.

On that note, I think I have wrapped my head around the concept of coral bleaching and why it has become more prevalent in the last ten to twenty years. Coral has an interesting process of life in that it has a clear layer of skin approximately 2-3 mm thick and under this layer there are tiny organisms called zooxanthellae. These organisms absorb incoming radiation/light to produce the energy necessary for coral to feed. The process is identical to the photosynthetic processes used by plants. This also creates a vast array of colors which make the surface of the various species of coral vibrant in color. When bleaching occurs, the zooxanthellae absorb to much energy from higher temperatures and increased radiation which results in the release of ozone gases. These by products are toxic to coral so they effectively eradicate the organisms to preserve life, the result being nothing but a clear line of sight down to the white skeletal structure of the coral. During this unfortunate event, coral feeds on it’s retained fats and oils to survive and its digestive processes only operate at around 10-15% efficiency. Of course it can only maintain this state so long before death so the length of time associated with higher temperatures plays a critical role in the amount of damage the reefs sustain. 

Because of this process, reef restoration has halted for the time being. It is useless to place more coral in the path of destruction while the conditions are still present so we have turned our attention to the removal of one of the most detrimental species to the heart of coral reefs, the crown of thorns star fish. During bleaching events, this COT stands to do the most damage by feeding on the coral in its weakened state. In light of this, our job today is to use long pairs of tongs to remove as many COT as possible. There disposal is most commonly done at the bases of trees to allow for the absorption of nutrients from the decomposition. It promises to be a challenging task due to the poisonous nature of its spines so cautioned must definitely be exercised, haha. 

To wrap up this entry, I think it important to recognize the dynamic equilibrium ecological systems such as these depend on. this being said, the resilience demonstrated is remarkable in the face of natural obstacles but as I mentioned yesterday, it is far from being able to stand up to the impact of human beings. Although this induced imbalance is not always direct it can still be traced back to our macro impact on our surrounding environment and atmosphere in the use of fossil fuels and other processes that introduce large mounts of ozone gases. In a random flight that can only be attributed to my education I noticed while looking at a graph of significant bleaching events a strange resemblance to something I spent quite a lot of time analyzing in the past years, the solar cycle. This could be nothing but a small influence, but it seems as if the major bleaching episodes seen in the last fifteen years or so are concurrent with some of the higher points of solar activity. During these times, higher neutron release occurs from energetic releases (most commonly solar flares/coronal mass ejections)  on the suns surface. Given a 70% coverage of the earth’s surface by oceans it is reasonable to assume that the increased rate of high energy neutrons during these periods would result in a large majority piercing the atmospheric layers to impact the shallower depths of our oceans. Impacts from these higher energy particles would impact Hydrogen and H2O molecules imparting large amounts of energy. Since energy is nothing but temperature wrapped up in a convenient little packet, could it be that it is responsible for increments increases in the temperature. the shallower depths pave the way for the effects we see on coral reefs given their strict depth restrictions. They require just the right depth to absorb enough energy through light. If too shallow, too much energy is absorbed resulting in bleaching. If too deep, energy is too little, making it impossible for coral to feed. I read an astounding statistic today. Coral reefs comprise 0.01% of our oceans but support circa 25% of all marine life. Incredible.

Today was day three in our conservation education where we performed our second dive in roughly 3-4 meter water located in shark bay. Today’s task was trash collection. During yesterday’s dive, Kristen brought a good point to light when she remarked that with the large efforts in coral and marine life conservation one would think that trash collection and proper disposal would also be a priority on this particular part of the island. This came up when we took the initial journey to the site where we would make our way out to the dive boat. Along what seemed to be one thousand stairs leading to the area we would meet the small motor boat for transportation there is heaps of trash everywhere. Our team leader, Spencer, remarked that the large majority of the islands population were Burmese immigrants trying to make enough money to send back to their families in Burma where economic conditions are poor, and that they were more driven to respect and consider marine efforts due to the prevalent fishing trade than trash disposal on land. He did say that on certain days such as earth day and a few others, the team does try to orchestrate mass collections in the area but unfortunately these infrequent attempts do little to clean up the area. Seeing this, really speaks to the difficulties that these areas face on a day to day basis. 

Another person worth mentioning in the team here is a 20 year old Burmese dive hand that New Heaven employs. He was originally sold into the slave trade for fishing boat hands on the island. Ironically, the fishing trade here is incredibly detrimental to the efforts we are here to help, marine conservation. Now, given the awesome team here at Dive Heaven, they were able to pick him up to assist in shop duties and boat duties. Seeing him work is inspiring to say the least. Every thing he does is done well and with a smile. I would expect he is genuinely thankful to have such an opportunity to escape the alternative.. On this note, there are many just like him on the island that perform jobs we back in the States would deem below us with nothing but a smile. I definitely plan on observing this more. It really fascinates me and depresses me at the same time. Why do we make life so incredibly complicated? There is a beautiful simplicity to the everyday strides on this small little island that encourages both therapy and rejuvenation if you remain open to it.

Moving on to the dive, it was incredibly beautiful. Ironic given the sole purpose we were there, to collect trash. Performing what felt like surgery with a pair of dive shears to remove an entangled net from a sea cucumber really tugs at your psyche. It really is difficult to imagine the impact of our irreverence in the face of nature until you have tried to remove half of a plastic bottle from a section of coral that had grown around it to try and maintain life. Despite my efforts I was unable to remove it completely without breaking off the coral from the surrounding substrate. For the first time in a very long time I actually teared up. Man is truly an enemy of nature and decidedly the most destructive force on this beautiful planet. What kind of life do we claim to live if indeed we fail to acknowledge our contributions to its destruction. 

On a brighter note, moving through the interwoven sections of the reef was incredible. The sheer amount of different species that call this area home is awe inspiring. The colors, the movement, the interactions, all come together in perfection that is best described by flawless symphony. I would expect nothing less from such a complex and inter-dependent ecological system.

I can say that my skill as a diver will reach new heights after leaving this little corner of the world. The buoyancy control one must have to perform the day to day task required in this program is nothing short of difficult. I would be lying if I said I already possessed such control but in time I expect that I will be closer to such a level. It most certainly will not hurt my cave aspirations. Kristen did well! She had some problems with proper weighting yesterday but today it seemed she had it a little more under control. Tomorrow she should be golden. She had the pleasure of having several Amore’ latch onto her today. A fish that is parasitic in nature and normally found near the mouths of sharks to remove excess food and feed on the bacteria that might be present. Of course with Kris, it quickly detached when

its efforts were in vain haha. Also, tomorrow I believe I am going to begin videoing the tasks. I think I am adequately acclimated to  the flow of operations, making me ready to add video into the mix!

They say when you come here to assist in this conservation effort , you may never want to leave. I can honestly say that already, after three days, it has become quite clear why that would be the case. I admire these people and their persistence in what would appear to others as a lost cause. In the end though, if an effort like this is deemed unworthy of our attention then there is little we can do for ourselves.