Dive Review of
Nautilus Explorer in
Canada/Juneau to Vancouver

 California, Galapagos, PNG, Cocos, Bonaire, Belize, Revillagigedos, Truk,
Palau 

Dive Conditions

Dives usually limited to 50 or 60 minutes depending on location. Depth/Deco
limited only by experience and total runtime.  

Rinse tank, large camera table with chargers outside. E6, Light table, 2
TVs inside.  

Overall Rating

This was a 14 day trip starting in Juneau Alaska and finishing in Vancouver
BC. We dove darn near everything in between. Diversity was the name of the
game. We did reefs, pinnacles, walls, fjords, wrecks, piers, icebergs,
freshwater streams and more. Visibility ranged from 5 feet underneath the
icebergs to over 100 feet. Most of the time it was in the 40 to 50 foot
range.

The sites near Sitka featured by far the most colorful and dense
encrusting life I've ever seen. Truly unbelievable.Some of the other sites
were more drab but nearly all were interesting in their own way. Other
highlights included being scared out of the water by rambunctious Stellar
Sea Lions, an amazing school of moon jellies rivaling or surpassing Palau's
Jellyfish Lake, deep trimix dives on pinnacles that probably have never
been seen before, snorkeling in a Salmon Stream (next year we'll time it
right so we get actual Salmon and not just trout!) and more.

Dive difficulty varied as much as the content. Many of the dives were
perfectly suitable for less experienced divers; assuming they have proper
cold water training. Someone trained in Seattle or Monterey with a few
dozen experience dives would have a good time on this boat. Once-a-year
Caribbean divers maybe not so much. Drysuits are a must. The extra effort
in training and gear is worth it though, as this is truly world class
diving.

Note that a trip like this doesn't offer quite as much time underwater as
a warm water trip. My dive buddy and I made 31 dives in 14 days. This is
due a) to the cold and b)  the fact that many dives are controlled by the
tides and the good sites are only diveable at slack, and c) the other
activities offered were fun too such as kayaking, whale watching, cultural
tours, hiking etc.

This was my 4th trip on the boat and it was terrific as usual. How many
other livaboards happily accomodate you when you ask for 4 K bottles each
of He and O2 for tech diving? While at the same time offering great diving
for the  more laid back single tankers?

Of particular note is the dramatic improvement in the food which is now
top-notch. I'll be on the boat again for New Years and Alaska again next
summer. Another plus is that you only have to fly to Vancouver which is a
heckuva lot easier that going to New Guinea!

I've got something like 16 hours of video to sort through so it may be a
bit before my website is updated. Until then I have other pictures and
reports from this boat available now:

http://www.metridium.com

Similarly you can see shots by my dive buddy here:

http://www.kelpdiver.com 

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