Richelieu Rock (called ''Hin Plo Naam'' in Thai) is a dive site in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...

about 200 km northwest of Phuket. It is part of the Mu Koh Surin marine park although being about 18 km east of Surin Island. The horseshoe-shaped reef discovered by

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...

is known for its purple corals as well as diverse marine life ranging from small fish and harlequin shrimp to large pelagics like whale shark, manta ray, barracuda, and grouper.

Discovery and name

There are many stories about the naming of Richelieu Rock - many of which are demonstrably false. One such story is Richelieu Rock was discovered as a recreational scuba dive site by diving pioneer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, with the help of local fishermen. The problem with this however is Cousteau never came far enough north during his visit to Thailand. On his Andaman expedition he came as far north as Koh Bon island whilst waiting a permit for Myanmar (which was never granted) and no further. The origin of the name is disputed. Some say it was named by Cousteau after the red colour of

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

's robe due to the red to purple colours of the soft corals on the reef. Others claim it was named after General Richelieu, a commander in the Royal Thai Navy. This theory is supported by the existence of official Navy maps mentioning Richelieu Rock from the early 1900s, predating Cousteau's first visit to Thailand, in 1989.... Other evidence supporting this story are the fact that Richelieu was the first person to complete a hydrographic survey of the Andaman Sea including the area in question.

Location

The reef lies at in the Andaman Sea, about 80 km northwest of

Khao Lak Khao Lak ( th, เขาหลัก, ) is a series of villages, now tourist-oriented, mainly in the Takua Pa District and partly in the Thai Mueang District of Phang Nga Province, Thailand. The name "Khao Lak" literally translated means 'Mai ...

off Thailand's Phang Nga Province, very near to the provincial border of Ranong and about 18 km east of Surin island. There are no islands in the immediate vicinity of the reef. Similan Dive Center - great whale shark

Marine life

Partly due to its unique geology as a solitary pinnacle standing out from around 30m. depth to just under the surface it is said to attract a variety of different pelagic species of all different sizes. Reports claim regular appearance of Snappers, Bannerfish, Lionfish, Triggerfish and Shovelnose Rays. Several sources also report sightings of filter feeders like

manta ray Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...

s and

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...

s, scavengers such as

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

s though fishing is said to have made their appearance less frequent. Richelieu Rock is also well known for its large variety of small and rare marine critters, such as

sea horses A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...

frogfish Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are f ...

, harlequin shrimp,

pineapplefish The pineapplefish (''Cleidopus gloriamaris'') also known as the Mailfish is a species of fish in the family Monocentridae, and the sole member of its genus. It is also known as the knightfish or the coat-of-mail fish, due to the armor-like scale ...

, orang utang crab and several other species of crabs and shrimp.

Dive site

Richelieu Rock is considered by some to be one of Thailand's most iconic dive sites. It is usually accessed by live-aboard diving boats during cruises, as it is too far off the coast to be reached by usual dive boats, though there are speedboats that can go to Richelieu Rock as a daytrip. Richelieu Rock is part of the Surin National Marine Park and is closed from 15 May until 15 October each year.

Depth

The limestone pinnacle rises from the sea floor depth of about 50 m. up to the surface at low tide.

References

External links

* {{Wikivoyage-inline, Diving in Thailand/Richelieu Rock, Richelieu Rock
padi.com
Andaman Sea Tourism in Thailand Diving in Thailand