Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Ocean Rover in
Indonesia/Islands of North Sulawesi

Ocean Rover, Jul, 2004,

by Jim Chubb, ID, United States . Report 1143.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Ocean Rover has got to be the best dive operation on the planet. Service is amazing. On our 9 diving days we were in Lembeh's world, at strong currented Banca, up towards Mindanao in the Philippines into the seldom visited Sangihe archipelago, huge volcanoes and drop offs into open ocean. Then back south to dive the smoking Siau volcano's flanks, salt water hot springs, and onward to Bunaken, Manado Tua, and the flats south of Minhassa lagoon where in the grass 24 species of pelagic juvenile have been spotted, all the other critters typical of Lembeh, yellow and red sea horses galore, 3 species of seas-snake, and a large very obliging bright yellow rhinopias (holy grail) scorpion fish. The water is clearer here than Lembeh.
Beautiful coral dense reefs packed with life everywhere on the cruise. Multiple varieties of everything, a lot of it very small. Some of the dives you flowed with currents others you could remain still. There are down currents at places and washing machine effects here and there while surfacing behind current swept open ocean seamounts. You'd best learn reflexive buoyancy control. The viz never got crystalline but it was certainly good to very good for the most part except dim in Lembeh and up in one enclosed lagoon in the Sangihe archipelago. A great trip. Dramatic scenery. Nitrox package. I wish I'd known how good the service would be as I certainly would have brought along more cash than the usual 10%.
Before and after our Ocean Rover cruise we stayed at the Lembeh Resort which is very friendly, lovely, sweet and simple and affords three nitrox dives a day. Their nitrox doesn't seem state of the art with tank O2 concentrations ranging from 27 to 40 in one particular batch of tanks. And the Oxygen meter looked tired. The dive master suggested setting our computers to air and having a huge safety margin, depth not being an issue. Guides were good. Food service was a trifle tardy at times but I think they are working on it. The cook had a tiny kitchen to work in, with a few woks and pans and a three burner stove. On a bad night 14 people arrived at once to eat. On the other hand, every now and then there is a barbeque that leaves you babbling about the local grilled pork and all you can eat fresh seared ahi tuna.
Rooms are comfortable with nice outdoor bathrooms and outdoor shower. At night we discovered we needed to stuff towels into gaps in the door to keep mosquitoes totally out. The area is supposedly Malaria free.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving [Unspecified]
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, cloudy, dry Seas currents, noCurrents
Water Temp 76-84°F / 24-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 15-100 Ft/ 5-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1386 dive reviews of Indonesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Looking for Biodiversity, critters, Komodo, Raja Ampat, temples? We specialize in adventures to Indonesia.

Want to assemble your own collection of Indonesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.13 seconds