Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
The Continental USA/Alaska

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Nautilus Explorer, Jul, 2005, by Rich Orman, CO, USA` . Report 1792.
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	We did a 7 day Juneau Alaska-Prince Rupert, British Columbia trip aboard the Nautilus Explorer in July 2005. All the diving took place in Alaska. This was our first trip on the Nautilus Explorer, and it was a wonderful experience from first to last. The boat, in my opinion, is the most perfectly designed live-aboard dive boat possible. Most of the diving is done from a skiff, which also has a wonderful design, complete with four entry-exit points, and a recessed handrail running down the outside of both gunwales so you can hang on while waiting for a ladder or having a divemaster pull off your fins. Of course, the diving was cold water diving, but there was an incredible amount of life and beauty in the waters of Alaska. The dives consisted of a variety of wrecks and reefs, including one exploratory dive site that had never been scuba dived before, at least to the captain and the crew's knowledge. We had five days of diving, and I logged 13 dives. One day was devoted to Tracy Arms, which is a beautiful fjord with a tidewater glacier at the end. We put on our drysuits and snorkled with the icebergs that had calved off the glacier. How many live-aboards can boast that kind of activity? There was also plenty for my non-diving spouse to do, including sea-kayaking and bear-watching trips. The accomadations were great, and the food was tasty and plentiful, but the crown jewel of this trip was the diving. They don't hold your hand on this boat, they let you dive. You don't get saddled with a buddy that you don't want. They don't tell you how deep to go. If you want to dive rebreathers, they have the stuff you need. If you want to do deco-dives, that's okay, although they generally have a one-hour dive time limit because the slack tide only lasts that long. They have nitrox availalbe, steel tanks available, and even tri-mix available. The boat and crew really cater to all levels of experienced divers, and the facilities for photographers and videographers are world class. The diving in Alaska was the most striking that I have ever seen, and the "macro" stuff was everywhere. I would give this operation, and this trip, 11 points out of a possible 10.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents, noCurrents
Water Temp	45-52°F / 7-11°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	20-70 Ft/ 6-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Back to safety stop with 500psi. Divers doing deco diving had profiles checked by divemaster prior to dive.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	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	Very large area devoted exclusively to uw cameras and video equipment. Two freshwater tanks exclusively devoted to uw cameras and video. There was a seperate area next to the camer tables devoted exclusively to battery chargers for the uw equipment, with a plethora of plugs available.

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in The Continental USA/Alaska

Nautilus Explorer, Jul, 2005,

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
The Continental USA/Alaska