South East Asia Explorer Club (S.E.A Explorers)

South East Asia Explorer Club (S.E.A Explorers) is a technical diving and exploration centre located on Koh Tao, Thailand. Established in 2009, the club has built a reputation for catering to divers who want to push beyond recreational limits, focusing on deep wrecks, cave systems, and technical gas management.

The centre operates as a hub for serious explorers, maintaining close links with Davy Jones Locker and Tech Dive Thailand.com. From the main pier at Mae Haad, they facilitate dives that range from local technical training sites to ambitious expeditions in the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca.

The team is composed of experienced technical instructors and explorers who are deeply involved in the regional diving community. They provide instruction across several major agencies, including PADI, TDI, ANDI, DSAT, and BSAC, ensuring a wide range of certification pathways for technical divers.

Beyond training, the centre is actively involved in marine conservation, participating in reef clean-ups and the removal of discarded fishing nets. This commitment to the local environment is a core part of their operational identity.

The course catalogue is extensive, catering to everyone from those starting their journey with a PADI Open Water Course to advanced professionals working towards a Divemaster qualification. For those entering the technical realm, they offer Intro to Tech, TDI Intro to Tech, and TDI Decompression Procedures.

Advanced technical training is a primary focus, with specific programmes for wreck, cave, and trimix diving. This includes ANDI Cavern/Cave, TDI Full Cave, and a variety of technical packages covering New Tech 40, 45, and 50 levels. They also offer specialised training such as DSAT Tech Trimix 90, PADI Trimix, and Hypoxic Trimix CCR, alongside BSAC certifications like Dive Leader and First Class Diver.

The centre is equipped to support technical diving profiles, offering Nitrox and Trimix services for those requiring advanced gas blending. For those looking to progress through technical stages, the facility supports various configurations including back gas and sidemount setups.

While the centre focuses heavily on expedition-style diving, they provide the necessary infrastructure to prepare for deep and overhead environment dives, ensuring divers have access to the gases required for complex decompression profiles.

The waters around Koh Tao and the wider Gulf of Thailand are home to diverse pelagics. You may encounter whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) at sites like Chumphon Pinnacles, alongside various species of rays, including blue-spotted stingrays and Southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus).

Reef life is abundant, with large schools of fish including jacks (Carangidae), bigeye trevallies (Caranx), and various barracuda such as great barracudas (Sphyraena barracuda), yellowtail barracudas, and chevron barracudas. You will also see triggerfish (Balistidae), including titan triggerfish, and various species of snapper and grouper (Epinephelus).

The reef structure itself is built from hard corals (Scleractinia) and soft corals (Alcyonacea), featuring gorgonians, sea fans (Gorgoniidae), and various sponges (Porifera). Look closely to find colourful reef fish such as butterflyfish (Chaetodon), angelfish (Pomacanthidae), and parrotfish (Calotomus).

For macro enthusiasts, the environment supports a variety of smaller creatures. You can find nudibranchs, various crustaceans, shrimp (Caridea), and octopuses (Octopus vulgaris). Scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae), stonefish (Synanceia), and various species of pipefish and gobies (Gobiidae) inhabit the crevices of the reef.

Diving conditions in the region can vary significantly depending on the site. At the Chumphon Pinnacles, currents can range from moderate to low, and visibility is known to be variable. On expedition sites, such as those in the open sea, the swell can become quite heavy.

For cave and wreck penetration, divers must be prepared for silting and restricted environments. Technical sites like the Unicorn Wreck may have limited visibility due to silt, while deep wrecks like the USS Lagarto SS371 offer excellent visibility of over 20 metres.