What is a Nudibranch?

Nudibranchs are Gastropods in the Phylum Mollusca Or, said another way, nudibranchs are mollusks in the Class Gastropoda, which includes snails, slugs, limpets and sea hairs. Many gastropods have a shell. Nudibranchs have a shell in their larval stage, but it disappears in the adult form. Gastropods also have a foot (more on that below) and all young gastropods undergo a process called torsion in their larval stage. In this process, the entire top... Read More

Fun Jellyfish Facts

Jellyfish only live between the time span of a few hours to that of a few months and come in every size imaginable from giant to microscopic. They do not need a respiratory system since their skin is thin enough that the body is oxygenated by diffusion. They have limited control over movement, but can use their hydrostatic skeleton to navigate through contraction-pulsations of the bell-like body; some species actively swim most of the time, while... Read More

National Geographic Says….

Koh Lipe, Thailand The Perfect Beach Thailand’s sun-drenched jewel in the South Andaman Sea, Koh Lipe has recently risen to the top of intrepid beach lovers’ A-list of island paradises. Considered an alternative to the overexploited Koh Phi Phi (which gained fame as the setting for the film The Beach), Koh Lipe is accessible only by boat, with departure ports that include Krabi and the nearby Malaysian island of Langkawi. Crystal waters and... Read More

Seahorses

The seahorse is an interesting creature; while he looks very unlike our traditional image of one, he is indeed a fish. A fish that eats constantly, having no real stomach seahoreses are almost always consuming plankton, even when they look like they’re not. Perhaps one of the more interesting facts about seahorse is that while the female seahorse produces them, seahorse eggs are held inside the male’s body until they hatch; he is pregnant... Read More

Indian Ocean Walkman

The Indian Ocean Walkman (Inimicus didactylus) also sometimes referred to as a Demon Stinger or Devil Stinger is a strange little fish, similar to the scorpion and stone fishes. He is well camouflaged, typically lying partially buried on the sea floor or on a coral head, covering himself with sand and other debris to further hide himself. The Indian Ocean Walkman has a sharp venomous spine yet no known natural predators.   When disturbed by a... Read More

Congratulations on a Dive Master course completed!

Big congratulations to Ben Nicols for finishing 7 weeks of Dive Master training. Ben was a great addition to our team and a master of the spinning scrabble board! While our new Dive Master Trainee, Tom is doing his best to beat Ben’s high scrabble scores and infections laughs we still miss him dearly! We wish Ben good luck in his next adventure… hopefully he’ll see some sharks in Australia!  Read More

Omar Osman – PADI Open Water

Congratulations to Omar for completing his Open Water Diver course with Castaway Divers… Now for some fun-dives!  Read More

Why Beachcombing is Bad

Beachcombing; its something of a pastime to many, a relaxing walk along the beach with a basket collecting shells and bits of broken coral seems harmless enough, but is it actually bad for the environment? The answer is yes! Shells and broken bits of corals serve a purpose, what do you think those beautiful sandy beaches your walking along are made of? Shells and coral debris break down over time forming the sandy beaches that we as tourists so love... Read More

Squid Vs. Cuttlefish

Many people ask me, what is the difference between squid and cuttlefish? Squid a member of the cephalopod family, have a hard inner-body shell called a pen whereas Cuttlefish (also belonging to the cephalopod family) have an internal structure called a cuttlebone, which is porous and composed of aragonite, to provide the cuttlefish with buoyancy. The cuttlebone is unique to cuttlefish, and is one distinct feature that makes them different from their... Read More

Ben Nicols – EFR and Rescue Diver

Ben is now officially a Divemaster in training, having completed his EFR and Rescue courses he is on his way to being a PADI professional. He will be working with us over the next 7 weeks to finish his Divemaster course through our internship program!  Read More