Dive Review of MV Nautica in
Myanmar/Burma/Similan Islands and the Surin

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MV Nautica, Dec, 2009, by Sandra Holloway, CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports). Report 5549.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	December 2009. Eight day live aboard on the M.V. Nautica to Similan Islands and the Surin Islands in Thailand and Andaman Islands in Myanmar. The M.V. Nautica holds 7 crew, including 2 dive masters and up to 13 passengers. On this trip we had only 3 passengers, including me. A highly respected, west coast dive travel agency (whom many of us use) told me that no live aboards had itineraries longer than 2-4 days in this region and that no boats went north into Myanmar for multi-day trips (at least not anymore). I found the M.V. Nautica on the internet and told my dive travel agency about them. The agency did some research and booked the trip for me at $3400 USD. I later found out that the two other passengers (one German and one Swed) each booked their trips for about $1800 USD through a local Thai dive shop, over the internet, from their respective countries. Live and learn! (Looking back I still think the trip was a decent value for the money – even at full rack rates). I typically go solo on these trips, leaving my husband (a golfer) at home. Live boards work out well for me. They are much more comfortable than going solo to a land based resort. I’ve been diving for 20 years although only take 1 or 2 of these trips per year. I’ve been diving in Bali, Komodo, Maldives, Fiji, PNG, Hawaii, Caribbean, Palau, and Thailand/Myanmar a few years ago. Logistics: I left out of Phuket, from a hotel close to the airport, on the north end of the Island (JW Marriott). The drive north to the boat, from my hotel was about an hour. Incidentally, Phuket is about 1 hour flight from Bangkok, a bit more from Singapore and made recently accessible non stop from Hong Kong. Nautica Cabin Accommodations: I am a 5-star live aboard kind of gal. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to have a full passenger load on this boat or for that matter, even a room mate, as the cabin living space is very small. Each room has a private head/shower and air-conditioning. There is plenty of fresh water for showers and flushing and bottled water for drinking. Storage space is minimal. Most of the rooms, called “deluxe” rooms, have two small single beds that can be pushed together to make a larger bed. There is one upscale room for a couple hundred dollars more. It’s definitely an upgrade – but I think you’d have to keep the curtains closed all the times because it is on the floor next to the wheel house. There are also 2 budget rooms that have bunks (upper and lower) and may not have individual heads. On a scale of 1:10, with 10 being high, I would rate cabin accommodations a 5:10, although with a small number of people on the boat the accommodations were absolutely good enough. Nautica Boat (not including the cabins): The Nautica is a steel motor yacht, 80 foot by 17 foot, built in 2004. It has fully redundant systems (2 engines, air conditioners, water systems, navigation systems, and so forth). The boat is in very good shape and looks well maintained inside and out. The boat carries a wide range of rental equipment, including a digital camera or two. Nitrox, and a host of advanced PADI classes, are available. The boat has a spacious dive deck, so even with a full passenger load; there is plenty of room to gear up. Only one rinse tank – cameras only, although there are 2 warm outdoor showers and an indoor head and shower on the dive deck. There are nice sun areas, covered outdoor dining / gathering area with a TV, DVD, stereo and small charging station (220V). No separate camera table exists – but with three guests it was not a problem. Diving is almost always from the mother ship with only an occasional dingy dive entry. On a scale of 1:10, with 10 being high, I would rate the boat (not including cabins) a 7:10. Nautica Service: No chocolate on the pillow or warm towel after each dive but none of that is a necessity. The service was excellent. The crew of 5 (not including 2 dive masters) included a cook, a hostess (waitress/room cleaner), 2 ship / dive crew and a captain. All five spoke Thai and little to no English. The same group has been together for many years and seemed to work together well. All worked long, hard hours, were very competent at their jobs, helpful and accommodating. Service on a scale of 1:10, with ten being high gets a high 9. Nautica Dive Masters: Dive masters were extremely competent, but quite moody. One of them quit smoking on the trip – so maybe that explains part of the moodiness. The head dive master Duke, was particularly knowledgeable, quite safety conscious. He earned our respect because of his knowledge. Dive master rating, on a scale of 1:10 is higher for safety and competence but lower for personality points – averaging about 6. Nautica Food: Lots of it! There were always 4-5 selections, buffet style. Usually many vegetables and a dish of fish, pork and chicken. Great fresh fruits and a lot of wonderful soups. The cook made great Thai dishes. Spice level was perfect for me. She did better on Thai dishes that western dishes. I would have preferred less fried food – but I could avoid it and eat other dishes most of the time. Food rating, on a scale of 1:10 gets a 7. Thailand and Myanmar Diving: Water temperature 80-82 degrees the whole trip. Glorious weather. Thailand: Visibility in the Similan Islands was the best on the trip at about 75 feet. The Similian Islands is a National Marine Park in Thailand. Entrance to the park for 4 days cost about $200 USD on top of boat coast). The Similin Islands are quite popular with short-trippers out of Phuket and consequently quite crowded with other divers. We counted 11 dive boats at the famous Richeleau Rock site. Great site but way too many divers. We dove it 3 times on the trip. Each time it was packed, people every where, some trashing the coral. We even saw a family (mom, dad and an 8-10 year old kid at 40 feet) tromping across the corals. Currents were mild, scenery great, water warm; sort of like diving in a bath tub. Myanmar: Visibility in Myanmar was not so good. The best visibility was at Western Rocky where we had visibility upwards of 100 feet. The dive master said visibility was best at Western Rocky because it was the deepest site. Myanmar diving was great for macro pictures but wide angle photographers, or those looking for big fish, sharks, or an adrenaline rush, would be disappointed. Great color and lots of small strange creatures. Brilliant soft corals and many caves and swim-throughs. No big fish at all, no sharks. Two times we heard (or saw the results of) dynamite fishing. I was here 5 years ago in Myanmar, just at the start of the rainy season. It seemed like a lot more dynamite fishing at that time; a good thing. Currents were mild to medium, surge mild. All in all a very pretty place to dive. Diving, overall, on a scale of 1:10, rates a 7. Miscellaneous: We were able to get off the boat in Myanmar three times. Twice on glorious powder sand beaches, including one time at an exclusive resort, called Nabucc Adaman Resort, in the middle of absolute nowhere, on a deserted beach. Both times we were eaten alive by sand flees (which ate right through my bug repellent). The third was at the town of Kawthaung, the southern tip on the Thailand boarder, where you go to get through Myanmar immigration. In this little “city” I bought a lot of pearls and rosewater boxes and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t need using both USD and Thai money. Is there such a thing as a 4th world country? When we checked into Myanmar (approximately day 3) an immigration official and a “facilitator” came aboard the boat. They reviewed (and kept) our passports, a couple cases of beer and some “tips” (all handled by the captain). Then an “agent” was placed on our boat for the entire duration of the journey in Myanmar territory. I was never quite sure what the “agent” was supposed to be doing, while on the boat for 4 days. Maybe just to keep a watchful eye on us whilst in Myanmar. Luckily our Myanmar government agent spoke some English and was very helpful on the dive deck (probably to keep from going stir crazy). Our agent used to sit on the bow of the boat and listen to Voice of America, in Burmese, and keep us up to date on world news (which seemed quite ironic to me). We did see a couple other dive boats during our few days in Myanmar – although not many. Deep into Myanmar we saw a live aboard called the Mermaid that looked quite nice as did the Sea Bees. We heard good things about a boat called the Sea King. A cattle boat to avoid, (75 divers) is South Siam Divers out of Koh Bon. All in all, I was a bit apprehensive about this boat, knowing in advance it was not a 5-star live aboard and that it did not even show up on my US dive travel agent’s radar. I was pleasantly surprised at how much this boat offered and how little I really needed in order to be comfortable. www.myanmarmobydicktravel.com or info@mobydick-myanmar.com.mm Sunrise divers – phuket - contact Jamie This is the local Thai dive shop that the boys used to get the deal
Websites	MV Nautica MV Nautica
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Thailand, PNG, Maldives, Indonesia, Caymans, Turks, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Micronesia, Fiji,
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	25-100 Ft/ 8-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Only 3 divers on the boat - when the first one ran out of air we all had to come up
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	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	No special facilities for UWP. No rinse tank, no camera table. Easy to work under those circumstances though dues to large outdoor dining tables, a lot of light and gentle crew.

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Dive Review of MV Nautica in Myanmar/Burma/Similan Islands and the Surin

MV Nautica, Dec, 2009,

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 Nautica in
Myanmar/Burma/Similan Islands and the Surin