Dive Review of MV Coral Star in
Panama

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MV Coral Star, Apr, 2006, by Tracy Johnson, CA, USA ( Contributor 13 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 3016.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my sixth trip on a Panamanian live-aboard. I love watching the big animals. Lots of white tip sharks resting in caves and on the bottom. In addition to the large animals we saw frog fish, lots of lobsters and eels, plus sea horses. On one previous trip I spent my safety stop in the middle of a school of dolphin. The trip starts with the first night at the Caesar Park Hotel Panama City. Early the next morning we fly to David and it's a short ride to the boat dock. We board pursuits for a two hour ride down river to the mother ship. The ship has 8 cabins and each have baths and air conditioning. There is also a small personal fan in each cabin also which worked well for me since I like a cool cabin. On this trip we had 3 fishermen (2 ladies, 1 man) and 9 divers. The fishermen leave early in the morning on 28 foot Pursuits. Coral Star has a fleet of of ocean fishing/diving boats to take us to dive sites quickly. Fishing is an option during intervals. The size of their fleet provides the Coral Star with more than adequate backup should there be mechanical failure on any of the support boats. They even have a 56 foot LCM support boat to bring fuel to the mother ship. Most dive trips were on the 34 foot Delta. I used a 1.5mm wet suit with a vest. One of the nice things about diving in Panama is the opportunity to do exploration diving. We tried a site that had not been explored to date, unfortunately visibility was bad but there was still the excitement of exploring new sites in addition to the tried and true sites which don't see divers more than 10 times a year. This is a great trip for experienced divers due to the huge tidal changes creating strong currents.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	California, Florida, St. Lucia, Martinique, Turks & Caicos, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, San Salvador, Cozumel, Hawaii, Bahamas
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	currents
Water Temp	74-82°F / 23-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-70 Ft/ 6-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	130 feet max, most diving was on pinacles with a dive master
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Had to ask for fresh water cameera tub but wasn't a problem

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Dive Review of MV Coral Star in Panama

MV Coral Star, Apr, 2006,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of MV Coral Star in
Panama