diving samui - Big Blue Staff








		- Why us ?
		- Why us ?

		About us
	Big Blue Diving Samui is committed to give you the best possible diving or snorkeling experience regardless of your experience level. We believe diving is something wonderful that is for everyone curious enough to give it a try, but diving is also something that should be done with care. That is why when you dive with us you will dive with new equipment in small groups, fully insured including hyperbaric treatment. That is why we have an impeccable safety record. That is why, on a scale graded 1-5, our customers rate us an average of 4,9 (our customer comment forms are available for your reference). That is why our customers return!
		Staff
	Our staff are all dive professionals with vast experience diving in both cold and tropical waters. We work with diving because we love the underwater world and because we want to share it's pristine beauty with you.
		Andreas Fritz
	Ratings; PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Padi IDC Staff Instructor, PADI Emergency First Respons Instructor, SDI Instructor Trainer, SDI Solo Diver Instructor, SDI CPR 1st Instructor, SDI CPROX Instructor, TDI Nitrox Instructor Trainer, TDI Advanced Nitrox Instructor Trainer, TDI Decompression Procedures Instructor Trainer, TDI Rebreather Instructor Trainer, TDI Extended Range Instructor, TDI Entry Level Trimix Instructor, TDI Advanced Trimix Instructor, TDI Advanced Wreck Instructor Languages; Scandinavian and English Specialties; Drysuit, Deep, Wreck, Night, Navigation, UW Naturalism, UW Photography, UW Videography, Nitrox, Dolphin Rebreather, Ray Rebreather, IDA-71 Rebreather, Equipment, DPV, DSAT Gasblender Instructor Scubapro Certified Technician, Coltrisub Compressor Technician. Andreas, or Andy as everyone calls him, is Swedish and did his first dive in Thailand in 1986 and got hooked straight away! After working in the Caribbean, Red Sea, Philippines, Sweden, Seychelles and the Mediterranean sea for several years he eventually ended up at the starting point - Thailand. He is also our Director and UW videographer, so talk to Andy when you want to become the star of your own underwater movie!
		Michiko Suna
	Ratings; PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, PADI IDC Staff Instructor, PADI Nitrox Instructor, PADI Emergency First Respons Instructor, SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor, SDI Solo Diver Instructor, SDI CPR 1st Instructor, SDI CPROX Instructor Languages; Japanese, English, Turkish and a bit German Specialties; Nitrox, Dolphin Rebreather, UW Photo and Video, UW Naturalist, UW Navigation; Multilevel and Deep Diving. Mitch is Japanese, but grew up in the middle east, moved to Europe, Africa, USA and eventually settled in Koh Samui. With 2000 plus dives under her belt, Mitch is the instructor you can count on to give you the experience you deserve. Apart from this she also plays the guitar and sings her own tunes!
		Johan Widegren
	Ratings; PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, PADI Emergency First Respons Instructor, SDI Open Water Scuba Instructor, SDI CPR 1st Instructor, SDI CPROX Instructor Languages; Scandinavian and English Johan is swedish and came to Samui in August 2004 to complete his dive master training with Big Blue. After graduating as Instructor he joined our team of staff to settle down in Samui. Before becoming a dive pro, Johan was working with high tech electronic components supplying the swedish air force and the notorious swedish space program with parts, so if you have problems with your flash light or Sony Walkman Johan will be thrilled to assist...
		Frank Van Campenhoudt
	Ratings; PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, TDI Advanced Nitrox Diver, TDI Decompression Procedures Diver, TDI Nitrox Instructor Languages; Flemmish, English, French and German Specialties; TDI Nitrox, TDI Advanced Nitrox, TDI Decompression Procedures, DSAT Gasblender Frank is from Belgium where he lead dive clubs to various local dive sites as well as many excursions to the Red Sea. Having a background as an electrical engineer, he also put together his own gas blending system to improve the safety for the dive clubs, by using nitrox with air tables. Franks future goal is to gain further experience with technical diving and instruction.
		Gareth Jones
	Ratings; PADI Assistant Instructor, NAUI Open Water Scuba Instructor, Skipper and Pirate Languages; English and Maori Specialties; TDI Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreather Diver "Gareth" is not easily pronounced for Thais, so we quickly renamed him "Carrot" when he signed on to be the cruise director of Chonticha. Carrot was born in the jungles of New Zealand and grew up with the Maoris who taught him how to make dug out canoes out of corn rolls, how to sing like a Humpback Whale and how to display his tongue to intimidate his enemies. Carrot soon heard the call of the ocean and after sailing the seven seas as a deck swab for a couple of years, Carrot advanced to become the captain of the ship after a swift and non-violent mutiny. One event where Captain Carrot fell into the water and nearly drowned changed his perception of life as he quickly realized the usefulness of being able to breathe under water. Luckily, Commander Jacques Costeau's ship, Alcyone, was anchored nearby and after a successful raid against Costeau's ship, Captain Carrot seized one of the early "Aqua Lungs" and, under gun point, forced Commander Jacques to teach him how to use it. The modular system of scuba instruction was born! This and many other unverified stories are told by our entertaining cruise director while diving from Chonticha!
		Na
	When you visit our retail shop on Chaweng beach road you will meet Na, one of our our sales staff. Na speaks good English and will be more than happy to provide information about our courses and dive excursions or assist you with your equipment purchases. As we can also arrange kayaking, around the island tours and many other activities apart from diving, speak to Na and she will make it happen!
		May
	May is from Bangkok where she used to be a dancer appearing in music videos and on stage with many of Thailands famous artists. After a while she got fed up with the hectic city life and joined Big Blue to begin a new career in diving. May is a party girl, so ask her about events and cool places to go and she might bring you along! Daytime you will find her in our retail shop where she will help you to get signed up for diving.
		Chonticha Boat Crew
	Our mega friendly boat staff are Captain Jake and the two deck mates Bert and M. Jake have long experince piloting everything from big ships to small longtail fishing boats and know every reef and rock in the area. Whenever you board our boat, Chonticha, you will be pleasantly surprised over the high comfort level only Big Blue can offer. Jake, Bert and M along with our instructors will help you with everything from equipment rigging to packing and all you have to do is watch the fish!
		Sing Prechacharn
	Sing is from Krabi but moved to Samui to learn diving. At the moment Sing is managing Big Blue Bungalows, but go for an occasional dive once in a while. Sing speaks Thai, English and a bit Swedish as a result of a student exchange program that brought her to Sweden some years ago. Tell her how you want your breakfast eggs done in the morning and how cold you would like your beer to be in the evening, or vice versa!
		Damrong Prechacharn
	Damrong, or "Meen" as everyone calls him, is a jack of many trades. Apart from daily duties in the resort, he is also our driver, bartender, gardener, mechanic and pool technician. What ever questions or help you might need, Meen is there with a smile! Oh, except from Sundays when he is more keen to explain the rules of the thai boxing matches from Bangkok he follows on TV!
		Rakk Aimsakul
	Rakk speaks English and Thai and can mostly be found in our booking office at Chongmon Beach, where he will help you with equipment selection, accommodation reservation or maybe teach you a few good Thai frases. Rakk is a good diver and has vast knowledge from his 8 years organizing dive excursions in the area as well as a degree in customer relations from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
		Gen
	Gen speaks English and Thai. If you book your dives with us in advance our driver, Gen will pick you up at the airport. Apart from driving, Gen is proud to be in charge of our filling station. As we also mix nitrox and trmix our air has to pass rigorous purity checks before ending up in your tank. Gen changes our compressor air filters twice as often as required to ensure the highest possible quality of air.
		Big Blue and the environment
	Big Blue and our guests are frequently organizing reef surveys and clean ups in cooperation with the World Reef Foundation, Reef Check Organization and PADI A.W.A.R.E. The collected data is processed and compiled for world statistics and future reference. As of April 2000 we are also part of a whale shark research project and report our numerous sightings for further compilation. All this is something you can participate in, -a fun and great way to be a part of the solution!
		- Contact Us
	Big Blue Diving Samui
	17/38 Moo 3 Bophut, Chaweng beach, Koh Samui Surat Thani 84320, Thailand Office Tel/Fax: +66-77-422617 or Tel +66-77-422780 Resort Tel +66-77-231389 e-mail:samui@bigbluedivingsamui.com www.bigbluedivingsamui.com
	Copyright © Big Blue Diving Samui 2000 Last updated Sun, Jan 23, 2005 Site designed and maintained by Coal House