Dive Review of Ocean Rover in
Myanmar/Burma

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Ocean Rover, Mar, 2007, by James Jenkins, CA, United States ( 1 report). Report 3265.
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 one of the best liveaboards, and possibly the best crew ever -– certainly we were more pampered than anywhere else. The diving was very good in general, but poor visibility significantly detracted from making this a really great trip. The weather was generally sunny the entire trip (only one, brief shower); the seas were calm; however, there was a 1 meter swell which rolled the boat significantly the one time we moored in open water on a pinnacle. Underway, the boat was as steady as a cruise liner. Visibility ranged from 15’ to 45’ in Thai waters to 10’ to 30’ in Burma waters. In addition to the expected plankton (which, after all, brings the big stuff!), there was an algae bloom or red tide of some sort that took vis down to almost nothing in some areas. Never did we see any real blue water, even in open ocean. That said, nearly every sort of marine life was present except for sharks such as grey reef, white- and black-tip, etc. Some of the big stuff we saw: mantas, leopard (or zebra) sharks, eagle rays, marble rays, fan-tail rays, schooling jacks, barracuda, tuna and lots of schooling reef fish. Macro subjects were plentiful including ghost pipefish, a comet fish (that actually posed!), harlequin shrimp, tiger tail seahorses, nudibranchs, huge Spanish dancers and more. Cuttlefish, scorpion fish, octopus, sea snakes, and other photogenic reef dwellers were plentiful. There was one whale shark sighting, but we didn’t see it. The topography varied from typical coral reefs, to rock walls and boulders. In Thai waters, we often anchored among four to six other boats! However, the crew timed things well: only on a few dives out of 35 did we find ourselves among other groups. Once in Burma, we saw the Mermaid on one site then were alone. The service was the best ever. How about having the dive crew put your fins on? The crew – the entire crew (except the captain who watched the boat) -- helped out on suiting up, boarding the inflatables, and at the end of dives. They were observant and watched for opportunities to help. E.g.: the Engineer noticed that I needed help with my wetsuit and was there every time to help; after two mornings, the Steward noticed that I fixed myself a bowl of muesli and thereafter had it ready for me! I would love to dive with this crew and on this boat again; however, I would not want to experience the same visibility issues again.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, California, Cocos, Galapagos, Hawaii, Fiji, Truk, Palau, Solomon’s, PNG, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	75-81°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	10-50 Ft/ 3-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	The dive masters did not enforce any hard rules; they did, however, work with individual passengers to ensure safety. A couple divers had physical problems and were restricted from diving in Burma waters due to the complexity of leaving and evacuation.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	> 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	Very good. We had only about six “amateur” photographers and didn’t use up half the space. A full boat of photographers and videographers with full-sized rigs might get a bit crowded.

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Dive Review of Ocean Rover in Myanmar/Burma

Ocean Rover, Mar, 2007,

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 Ocean Rover in
Myanmar/Burma