The Andaman Sea

The Andaman Sea in southwest Thailand/northwest Malaysia offers one of the best sailing possible in this part of the world.  Lovely bays, crystal-clear emerald waters, white powdery beaches, stunning limestone rocks and gentle trade winds orchestrate an awesome feast for the senses.  Places of interest include Langkawi, Phuket, Phang Nga Bay, Krabi, Phi Phi, Surin, James Bond Island, Similan, Mergui Archipelago, among others.  Short hops or long blue water cruises, your wish is our command.

Weather
Northeast monsoon wind blows November to April, bringing with it clear and sunny skies with average temperature of 30-32 degrees Celsius.  There may be occasional tropical showers but these do not last long and often bring a fresh respite from the heat.  Wind conditions are generally light to medium.  Only on very rare occasion is the sea rough.

The Adventure
Write your own adventure story - explore the limestone caves, check out the many islands, scuba dive into the amazing marine world, snorkel with the clowns, hook a fish for dinner…

Scuba Diving
Mary Ann was built with diving in mind and provides a dive compressor, tanks, tuition if you wish to learn, a comfortable aft deck for gearing up, and a specially designed dive platform at the stern to enter the water and return with ease. 

The Andaman Sea is a diver’s paradise.  With more than 155 offshore islands, the variety of dives is exceptional.  There are extensive fringing reefs, deep dropoffs, interesting caves and tunnels, spectacular granite walls, boulder out-crops, underwater cathedrals, coral-covered pinnacles, hard and soft coral gardens and seamounts in the open ocean.  The marine life is aplenty from miniature and colourful reef dwellers to Manta Rays, sharks, Giant Barracuda, tuna, trevally and the mighty gentle Whale Shark.  The best time for diving is between October and May. 

Some good diving sites are:
Hin Mouang – features the deepest dropoff in Thailand with depths over 70 m.

Hin Daeng – Manta Rays are still frequently encountered here.

Koh Lipong – one of the few places where the endangered dugong can be seen.

Koh Ha Yai – a bright cave with two entrances leading to two connected ‘cathedrals’, the larger one rises to an awesome 30m above sea level.  The ‘cathedrals’ are surprising bright with light coming through from the waters below.

Similan Islands – a group of nine island gems offering the clearest waters in the region with occasional sightings of Manta Rays and Whale Sharks.  Also home to many rare marine species not found in other parts of the world, for example pipe fish, sea horses, nudibranches and a large assortment of frogfish, stonefish, leaffish, etc.

Richelieu Rock – this small submerged rock is one of the best places in the world to meet the gentle Whale Shark and spot the guitar shark…

Longer cruises would allow visits to Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar. 

Mergui Archipelago
Also known as Myeik, the Mergui Archipelago is located in southern most part of Myanmar.  Comprises of over 800 beautiful islands, the only human inhabitants in the area are sea gypsies.  They live on boats during the dry season and remain on land during rainy season.  Opened to tourism only in 1997, much of this area is still unexplored.

The islands are similar to their Thai counterparts, with rugged, high-profile limestone and granite topography.   The obvious difference is their unspoiled terrestrial scenery.  One of the main attractions for divers is the high possibility of seeing big animals, especially sharks and rays.