A
largely unexplored area, the Burma Banks are a series of large
underwater flat-topped sea-mounts that lie approximately 180 kilometres
(100 nautical miles) northwest of the Similan Islands. The Banks'
surrounding waters are over 350 metres deep and large areas rise
to within the depth limits of recreational scuba diving. The name
derives from the fact that this 1,500 square kilometre area lies
within the exclusive economic zone of Burma. The Banks offer some
exciting, stimulating diving, but since this is true open-ocean
diving, they certainly are not for everyone.
These mountains rise very gradually from the depths and
are covered with hard coral growth and large patches of sand.
Although the huge plate corals (some of these 'plates' could seat
all the knights of the round table easily) are in many areas fantastic,
that is not the reason for travelling so far out to sea. After
all, the Similans and the islands north of them boast of some
of the loveliest coral in the world. No, the reason for diving
all the way out here is for what the Similans don't have; BIG
ANIMALS-and that means big sharks as well.
Close shark encounters are virtually guarantied here.
The most common type of shark is the nurse shark that grows to
over 3 metres in length. Where else can you go to see tens of
large nurse sharks freely swimming nose-to-tail over the top of
the reef on every dive, which have so little fear of divers that
they sometimes accidentally swim harmlessly (for both parties)
into us? They are truly the clowns of the banks as it is difficult
not to laugh at their frenzied movements. Not enough? How about
large silver tip sharks that when attracted by bait swim within
range of your Nikon's 15 mm lens?
If
the nurse sharks are the clowns, then the silver tips are the
stars. Reaching an impressive length of two to three metres, these
sharks -- often compared to the Galapagos shark and easily identified
by the white trailing edge on their pelvic, dorsal, and caudal
fins -- are full-bodied, serious predators. Although cautious
by nature, and certainly not aggressive towards divers, these
sharks are spotted on virtually every dive. And these days, all
three of the diving companies that visit the banks feature a controlled
shark attraction by placing fish in the water down current from
all divers, baiting the sharks in for an up-close, personal look.
These attractions offer the opportunity to photograph
these silver tips and nurse sharks, with the occasional tiger
or hammer head making an appearance. In addition, you'll see larger
reef fish than in other areas of Thailand, such as huge sweet
lips and the occasional grouper. The most common diving technique
at the banks are large drift dives over the mountain flats. Currents
can be quite tricky here-sometimes changing in direction 90º to
180º very quickly - and very fast. It is common to drift over
one kilometre on certain dives - assuming the current is taking
you in the direction you originally planned! All dive operators
that dive at the banks are strict with safety rules. Although
these vary slightly from operator to operator, it is roughly agreed
that all divers must dive with a 'safety sausage', a whistle or
other signalling device, and that either the dingy or the larger
vessel should follow the diver's bubbles on the surface. Finally,
it is a must that buddy pairs stay together at all times, and
in fact some operators insist that divers dive in a group of at
least four. To become separated from your dive boat this far from
land would surely be a disaster.
| At a Glance: The Burma Banks |
| Reef type: |
Underwater banks, fairly flat profile |
| Access: |
Liveaboard boat from Phuket or Ranong |
| Visibility: |
Variable from 10-50 metres |
| Current: |
Variable, often strong |
| Coral: |
Some good spots, but that's not why we're
here |
| Fish: |
Fantastic, very exciting; everything |
| Highlights: |
Silvertip sharks, nurse sharks, exciting
currents, really wild diving. Shark feeding |
