techdivethailand

Unicorn Deep Wreck Dives - Koh Tao

September 2, 2007 on 1:41 pm | In Extraordinary Dive Experiences |

Off our new RIB, we’re running frequent wreck diving trips to the Unicorn Ship Wreck north of Koh Tao.

The Unicorn is a large cargo vessel, lying upright on the seabed close to Koh Tao. The wreck lists slightly to one side - the deeper side at 46 metres, with the sand off the side of the wreck at 48 metres.

This depth makes it perfect for us to run an introduction to technical diving - giving people a taster of decompression diving, allowing them to discover it they’re up to taking a full tec diving course.

We’ve just returned from an intro to tec session with future PADI DMT Rosie, Go Pro Intern Leona and retired Sairee Hut PADI Divemaster Storm.

Images:

1. DJL Diving instructor Matt and Storm on the RIB

2. A strong sonar return showing an image of the Unicorn Wreck standing proud of the seabed

3. DJL Instructor Arne prepares alongside Rosie & Leona for the deep wreck dive

We commence the intro to tec program with a theory session. This covers important concepts of deep diving - equipment, dive planning, decompression procedures, narcosis management . . . we normally run this session the evening before the dives are scheduled.

Images:

1. Many soft corals grow on the Unicorn Wreck north of Koh Tao

2. Colorful fish swim past a winch support on the Unicorn Wreck

On the day of the wreck dives, we load all the dive equipment onto the RIB then head out to the gps mark of the Unicorn Wreck. We time our arrival so that we reach the wreck during periods of slack tide to make the diving as easy as possible. First we locate the wreck using a sonar, then send two technical divers down to secure a line on the wreck (which we can then anchor our boat to).

We’ll then jump in for the first dive - descending down the line we plan for a 42 metre dive around the bridge area, for a planned bottom time of around 10 minutes. During the ascent, we’ll follow a simulated decompression schedule - we’ll make a 10 minute stop at 10 metres and conduct a respiratory minute volume check (RMV) to determine how much air you’re consuming. We’ll then step up and make simulated stops at 6 and 3 metres to assess your ability to control your buoyancy during decompression stops.

Images:

1. Coral crusted structure of the Unicorn

2. A beautiful soft coral growing on the wreck.

During the surface interval, we’ll look at the info collected on the first dive and project this into a second dive on the wreck. The second dive is likely to be a little deeper - in this case 46 metres for a 15 minute bottom time, with full deco during ascent. We’ll get to further explore the bridge and forward mast areas, taking a swim along the deck and inspecting the open cargo holds.

Images:

1. Tim deploys a lift bag during a dive on the Unicorn ship wreck

2. A ladder on the bridge of the Unicorn ship wreck.

If you’re interested in trying DJL Diving’s into to tec diving on the Unicorn shipwreck, contact us and we can discuss your wreck diving trip!

Images:

1. Rosie, Arne & Storm make a deco stop after their 46 metre wreck dive

2. Go pro intern Leona on a Unicorn Wreck dive

3. Rosie & Leona pose for a photo on the RIB mooring at Hin Wong Bay Koh Tao

Thanks to Stuart Shaw for the underwater images of the Unicorn Wreck.