| Distance | Walls,
ridges, pinnacles, boulders |  |
| Boat
Trip | Live-aboard boat only | | Diving
Depth | Great, from 15-30 metres |
| Visibility | Variable,
often strong | | Currents | Excellent,
especially soft coral | | Surface
Conditions | Fantastic large and small |
| Diver
Level | Whale sharks, guitar sharks,
soft corals in a rainbow of colours, schooling pelagic fish | |
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The Surin Islands, although visited by several dive operators from
Phuket, are more appropriately famous for their beautiful coves, bays and dense
jungle than they are for their diving. Spending a few idyllic days on a sail boat
or other yacht here are the stuff dreams of paradise are made of yet the serious
diver will be bored easily after a few dives because of the generally poor visibility
and lack of fish.
Surin's ace card, however, is a small submerged rock
about 18 kilometres east of Surin. Richelieu Rock, just exposed at the lowest
of tides -- thus a navigational hazard for those boats not equipped with a GPS
navigation system -- rates as one of the best places in the world for swimming
with our gentle giant, the whale shark. Encounters with these fish -- the largest
of all fish -- are rare almost any place in the world. But for some reason, Richelieu
attracts more than its fair share. Swimming with such a large animal, known to
grow to lengths of 20 metres or more, has to be a high point for any diver. Sightings
occur 50-70 percent of the time, depending on the time of year. Generally, February,
March and April are the best times for a visit. The big difference between diving
here and other areas that are famous for whale sharks, such as Western Australia,
is that we don't need spotter planes as the sharks cruise around the rock, and
the visibility is normally excellent. Who knows why they are here, but the sharks
aren't around because of plankton blooms like in Australia. Thus, clear water.
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