Instant Reader Report
on Ocean Rover / [same] in
Thailand / Similans, Mergui on
2003/05
by
Wayne Batzer , HI, USA
Report Number 030512075102836

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 Hawaii, Micronesia, Bali, Midway, New Zealand, British Virgin Islands 

Dive Conditions

No planned deco dives.  

Two large freshwater tanks, large wet and dry work areas, plenty of AC
outlets (110 and 220) for recharging, plenty of room for computers for
digital photography.  The staff is very muched used to photographers
(frequent professionals on board) and very attentive.  E-6 processing is
available, but was not used by any divers on this trip.  

Overall Rating

  This was an absolutely fantastic trip.  I had positive expectations,
given previous reader reports, but absolutely everything was superb.  The
boat has 12 Thai crew, and two dive guides (for 10 divers).  Company
policy is to do the cruise whether full, with 16 divers, or with just one.
 Food was great, with a wide range of Thai dishes, plus standard western
fare at each meal.  The diving was wonderful, and quite varied.  There
were nice coral formations, large sea fans, areas with interesting
topography and swim throughs.  The sea life was also quite varied, with
enough to please everyone, including sea horses, nudibranchs, many
varieties of morays, longsnout filefish, napoleon wrasse, cuttlefish,
squid, nurse sharks, leopard sharks, decorator and anemone crabs, fire
urchins, frogfish, large schools of goatfish, jacks, barracuda,
scorpionfish everywhere, bluespotted stingrays, lionfish, manta rays and
whale sharks (I was able to swim with one for many minutes, and 36 photos,
quite an experience!).  
  The boat is beautifully maintained, with comfortable, airconditioned
cabins, sundeck, large lounge, and very spacious dive area.  Diving is
sometimes directly from the boat, more often on short Zodiac rides.  A
Zodiac was always nearby upon surfacing.  The guides are very helpful in
pointing out whatever you want to see, and excellent briefings, with dive
area maps, are given before each dive.  The schedule was announced in
advance, varied only to provide the best diving, with as many as 4 dives
per day and a night dive.  I did 37 dives on this trip.  This was the last
trip of the season, leaving from Phuket, and covered a lot of territory,
including the Similan Islands, Burma Banks, and Mergui Archipelago (diving
in both Thai and Myanmar waters).  
  This is an attentive, safety conscious, topnotch outfit, which I
recommend without reservation.   

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