Colona Liveaboards

MV Colona VI CO36

We had a full boat for our 4 day northern trip and had high hopes for a whale shark, after several reported sightings in the area, including three trips in a row by MV Giamani! Alas, it was not to be (this time) so the guests will have to hope they are luckier on their next trip on MV Colona VI.

No whale shark but a Manta will do

However leopard sharks, both black + white tip reef sharks, ghost pipefish and a blotched fantail stingray all featured during the trip, with a fantastic dive on the Boonsung wreck before a brief cruise into Tap Lamu pier. A special mention must be made for Marco for keeping everyone entertained throughout the trip!

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
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MV Colona VI CO35

Unfortunately heavy weather prevented us from reaching Hin Daeng and Hin Muang on this southern trip, but we still managed to get some fantastic diving in at Koh Haa and Bida Nok in Phi Phi.

Leopard Shark

The second day we managed to get a peaceful early dive on the fish-filled King Cruiser wreck before seeking out the leopard sharks at Shark Point. After a gentle wall dive at Koh Dok Mai we enjoyed some of Mummy’s fine cuisine on the short cruise back to Chalong.

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
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MV Colona VI CO33

Leopard sharks, white-tip reef sharks, black-tip reef sharks, napoleon wrasse and ghost pipefish were just some of the highlights of this six day northern trip.

We also managed a couple of beach trips, including a visit to the Moken sea gypsies in Surin National Park. The guests’ collective favourite dive site was Tachai Pinnacle, for the sheer abundance of marine life, as well as the huge Great barracuda and the manta which joined us for the last ten minutes of the dive.

Moken Sea Gypsies

On the cruise back to Patong we were also treated to a pod of dolphins catching fish from an abandoned floating fish trap. Congratulations to Team Deutschland, Andreas und Andreas, on completing their Nitrox and Advanced Open water certifications onboard.

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
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MV Colona VI CO32

Leopard sharks were coming out of the woodwork on this trip. We had five of them and a white tip reef shark on Koh Bon Pinnacle, as well as a manta on an afternoon dive in Koh Bon Bay.

Leopard Shark with Remora

Tachai Pinnacle has proved a firm favourite recently among our northern dive sites, especially as current has been very forgiving and we’ve been seeing leopard sharks and mantas. Congratulations to Jennifer and Travis for gaining their Advanced Open water certifications onboard.

Manta Ray

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
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MV Colona VI CO31

With guests of six different nationalities onboard we headed south to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang before stopping to dive the beautiful ‘Cathedral’ at Koh Haa on the way back to Phi Phi.

On day 2 the guests all enjoyed 15 mins with a big leopard shark at Bida Nok for the 1^st dive before moving onto a fish-filled Shark Point and relaxed wall dive at Koh Dok Mai.

Congratulations to Marco for completing his Open water course onboard over the weekend.

MV Colona VI CO30

Five Italians and a Dutchman made for an interesting four day northern cruise. Favourite dives included Tachai Pinnacle for mantas and Koh Bon Pinnacle, where we had five leopard sharks.

Chromodoris Annulata laying eggs

On the way back to Patong at the end of the trip we were also lucky enough to see a manta which swam around the boat at the surface for fifteen minutes including some fantastic breaches where almost the entire manta was airborne.

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
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