Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Canada/Juneau to Vancouver

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Nautilus Explorer, Jul, 2002, by Clinton Bauder, CA, USA . Report 188.
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 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: [metridium.com link] Similarly you can see shots by my dive buddy here: [kelpdiver.com link]
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	California, Galapagos, PNG, Cocos, Bonaire, Belize, Revillagigedos, Truk, Palau
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	43-48°F / 6-9°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	5-100 Ft/ 2-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dives usually limited to 50 or 60 minutes depending on location. Depth/Deco limited only by experience and total runtime.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	>2
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	Rinse tank, large camera table with chargers outside. E6, Light table, 2 TVs inside.

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in Canada/Juneau to Vancouver

Nautilus Explorer, Jul, 2002,

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 Nautilus Explorer in
Canada/Juneau to Vancouver