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Phuket Diving Guide
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Shark Point and Anemone Reef By John Williams, photos by Ashley J. Boyd
Shark Point, or Hin (Rock) Musang rises out of the water from surrounding depths of only about 18-20 meters. Considering the small extent of the rock above the water, the actual size of the reef underwater is a big surprise to most divers. Beginning from the relatively steep main rock pinnacle, the reef flattens out to the south until it rises towards the surface again about a half kilometre away. This second rock does not break the surface, and depending on the current, is an excellent place to begin the dive. Like many places in Thailand, Shark Point's most colourful features are the profusion of purple and pink soft corals that cling to the rocks. The strong currents that sweep over the pinnacle provide food a-plenty for hundreds of different species of hard corals and Indo-Pacific tropical fish. Literally every square centimetre is covered by something living, and at times it seems that every square centimetre of water surrounding Shark Point is filled with fish!
Anemone Reef or Hin Jom (Submerged Rock) lies just underwater, about 600 meters to the north of Hin Musang. As the Thai name makes clear, no part of the pinnacle is exposed, and underwater the rock drops off more dramatically to a depth of between 20-27 meters until reaching a bottom of sand and oyster shells. Although not as colourful as Shark Point, the fish life here is excellent as well and our friends, the leopard sharks, often are seen free-swimming at the top of the rock in six meters of water. A couple of years ago, my dive buddy and I counted 92 lionfish in less than 20 minutes at this dive site! Although this is not an everyday occurrence, as lionfish seem to move around from place to place, I know people that have spent years diving without seeing this many in total, much less on one dive. This gives you the idea of just how dense the marine life is in these areas.
Source: ©Siam Dive n' Sail |
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By
far the best and most popular dive sites by day trip from Phuket
or Phi Phi, these two pinnacles are located approximately 25 kilometres
east of Chalong Bay in Phuket. Given official Marine Sanctuary status
in 1992, these two dive sites are the only day trips in Thailand
that offer truly world-class quality diving and except for the limited
visibility, these are two of the best dives in the world. The rock
explodes with life; the sheer density of fish and other marine life
makes diving here a wonderful, sensual experience.
The
name of the site comes from our common leopard (zebra) shark (stegastoma
varium), a docile creature that hangs out in the sand surrounding
the pinnacle. These completely approachable, trusting sharks grow
to lengths of a little over two meters, and most divers think that
they are one of the cutest sharks in the ocean. Divers who are not
accustomed to seeing sharks are genuinely surprised at how big and
approachable they are. Unfortunately, many times these sharks are
taken advantage of and handled unnecessarily. Handling by divers
can injure the animal and expose it to infection. Touching an animal
in no way benefits it and-more often than not, seriously harms it.
Located
just south of Ao Phang Nga and all of its fresh water rivers, visibility
averages around 10 meters, often less. Although conditions such
as this are not what divers dream of when they think of perfect
vision, the amount of marine life more than makes up for the often
limited visibility. On days when the water becomes so clear that
you can see the bottom, diving here feels like taking a breath of
fresh air and even the fish seem to be happier. Unfortunately for
the local diving community, conditions are virtually impossible
to predict so I can offer no advice about the best times to go.
The only downsides of these sites are the visibility and the occasional
strong currents, making both locations intermediate to advanced
level dive sites. Beginners should be closely supervised by trained
professionals and this is certainly no place to conduct beginning
diving courses.