Sail Rock · Thailand · Pinnacle · Pelagic & blue water
Sail Rock Pinnacle
Occasional whale sharks and manta over a 45 m pinnacle
Photo: (WT-en) Titofan at English Wikivoyage · Public domain
An iceberg-shaped pinnacle that rises off the sandy floor of the Gulf of Thailand and stands 15 m above the surface, roughly between Ko Samui and Ko Tao. It is dived as a circuit of the rock, down the face to around 40 m, with barracuda, batfish and jacks holding around the stone and large pelagics passing it. Among the Gulf's first dive sites.
Also known as Hin Bai, Sail Rock.
Where it is and how deep
9.9269° N, 99.9770° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The rock is a single iceberg-shaped tooth that stands 15 m above the water and keeps going down to sand below it, so the dive is a circuit rather than a route. You drop straight onto the pinnacle and pick a direction according to where the current is sitting. It varies considerably and is generally moderate to strong, and it decides how much of the rock a group actually gets around before it is time to come up.
Depth is the other thing that shapes the dive. The deepest published point on the rock is 45 m and the site is dived from the surface to about 40 m, so groups take the depth on the first pass down one side and then trade it back for bottom time as they work around and up. This is where large pelagics turn up: king mackerel and tuna past the rock, and whale shark and manta both reported here, though only occasionally.
The schooling fish are the dependable half of it. Barracuda, batfish and jacks hold around the pinnacle along with a long list of other tropical fish, close enough to the stone that a group works the rock rather than the open blue. Because the rock breaks the surface, the last stage of the dive is spent in the shallows against it rather than hanging on a line.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Whale sharks
- Manta rays
- Tuna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Sail Rock: The Gulf runs opposite to the Andaman coast: Mar–Sep is best, and the north-east monsoon closes it from November into January.
Know before you go
- Current varies considerably and is generally moderate to strong — agree a direction round the rock before descending and expect the sheltered side to be a different dive from the exposed one.
- The rock runs to 45 m, deeper than the 40 m the site is dived to, so it is easy to drift past your planned depth while following the stone down.
Dive videos
Sail Rock, Thailand: Walls of Fish, Eels, and 30 Meters of Granite · Solo Travel 50+ on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Sail Rock?+
The site is dived from the surface to around 40 m, and its deepest published point is 45 m. The pinnacle rises from there all the way up, standing 15 m above the water.
Can you see whale sharks at Sail Rock?+
Whale sharks are reported here, along with manta, king mackerel and tuna, but as occasional visitors rather than a sure thing. The reliable sightings are the schooling barracuda, batfish and jacks around the rock.
How do you get to Sail Rock?+
Only by boat — the rock sits in open water between Ko Samui and Ko Tao. The crossing takes about 45 minutes, and Ko Tao shops run it weekly or bi-weekly rather than every day.
Sources
- Diving in Thailand — Wikivoyage
- Ko Tao — Wikipedia
- List of deepest dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand — Wikipedia
- Ko Samui — Wikivoyage
- Ko Tao travel guide — Wikivoyage
- Koh Tao diving — Divezone
Photo credits
- Dive boats moored and daisy-chained beside the pointed rock of Sail Rock, Gulf of Thailand by (WT-en) Titofan at English Wikivoyage, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Cheapest places to scuba dive, and the catchTrip planning · 15 min read
- Where to dive with whale sharks, month by monthBig animals · 16 min read
More dive sites in Sail Rock
Pinnacle
A rock that never breaks the surface, topping out at 9 m
Cave & cavern
Enter a slot at 18 m and come back out of the rock at 6 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A vertical chimney inside the rock, from 18 m up to 6 m
Offshore granite tower where barracuda and jacks school in the blue
A current-swept pinnacle from 30 m to within 5 m of the surface
Mantas and a swirling barracuda vortex over a current-swept plateau