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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One White Tip Reef Shark, two Grey Reef Sharks, three mating octopi, four circling Manta Rays, and a squadron of nine Eagle Rays… Not bad for one dive!

This 9 day trip to Burma was highlighted by incredible visibility and 29 degree water.  There were plenty of sharks to be had, including a three meter Nurse Shark and her two 80cm babies at Shark Cave.

While watching Mantas on Koh Bon (Similans) we saw a Guitar Shark (Shovelnose Ray) and her baby, with two attending cobias.  Black Rock was outstanding as usual, providing the epic dive mentioned above.

At North Twin North Pinnacle, a Manta Ray snuck up behind us and hung about a meter away for at least five minutes.  At North Twin South Pinnacle, the Pink Whipray mating season was getting started while a massive Mangrove Whipray looked on.

Then we did Western Rocky… Wow!  On our last dive here, we had two Guitar Sharks (Bowmouth Guitarfish), an Eagle Ray, and the most impressive encounter of the trip.  A female Whale Shark circled our group for a full fifteen minutes.  She was having fun checking us out and playing in the bubbles.  She was absolutely stunning, and provided great opportunities for photos and videos.

Burma provided everything from Nudibranchs to Seahorses to Cuttlefish to Sharks.  Brilliant!  Back in Thailand, we had two relaxing dives on Richelieu Rock and then visited some leopard sharks on Koh Tachai.

To finish it all off, we did three wreck dives (including a late-nighter) before heading back to Phuket.  We had lots of fun moments along the way, including a dive briefing at twenty meters, a footrace at fifteen meters, and some serious underwater break-dancing.  This was definitely a trip to remember!

MV Colona VI & MV Giamani
www.diving-thailand-phuket.com

Hi, I was on the Colona VI with Stephan from 16.2.-19.2. and want to say a big thank you. The trip was just great! The ship was really great, the food tasted perfect and the crew and guides were all just perfect.
Thanks to Steve and Torren.

And I just love those leopard sharks! And the great reefs. The similan islands and especially Richelieu Rock are just amazing. I have never seen such a big swarm. And also the ocean was so kind to us, so we had no waves at all. This dive safari - my first one - showed me, that this is just about the perfect way of holiday!

Greetings