Dive Review of Ocean Explorers/Buccaneer Inn in
Canada/Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

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Ocean Explorers/Buccaneer Inn, Jun, 2003, by Tom Liles, NM, USA . Report 749.
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 our first Pacific Northwest diving and it met all our expectations. The water was cold and the visibility was not the best (summer not great for vis). Visibility ranged from 5-10 feet to 40-50 on our best dive. Was normally bad until down about 50+ feet. We were wearing Mobby's Twin Shell drysuits with thinsulate undersuits: kept us fairly warm, though colder towards the end of the week. But much better than wetsuits! The invertebrate life was incredible: all sorts of anemones, nudibranchs (huge!), starfish (huge!), flying scallops, jellyfish, sea cucumbers, sea pens. Everything was large! 8 inch nudibranchs! Most of the small fish we saw were different varieties of rockfish, some greenlings. Larger fish included lingcod and cabezon. Only saw one wolf eel, no octopus. Forests of plumose anemones (metridiums). Did two dives on the Saskatchewan: first was lousy w/ 5-10 ft vis, second was great with 40-50 ft vis. Ship is covered with invertebrates! Other dives we enjoyed were around Snake Island (metridium forest, nudibranchs), Jessie Island (metridium forest), Clark Rock (tube anemones, basketstars), 4 Fathom Reef (swimming scallops) and Neck Point (sea pens, huge nudibranchs). Terry the divemaster was very helpful: put on our fins after we waddled to the rear ladders. The larger boat was nicer, with a nice heated cabin. A smaller boat had small cabin, both had heads. Two days there were only 2 or 3 of us, so the small boat was used. The divemaster normally doesn't dive, so you are on your own. Need fairly good navigation skills to get back to the anchor line, otherwise difficult to do safety stops in that 0-5 foot soup at 15 feet. The Buccanneer Inn was nice and a great value! Diver friendly with a monitored storage room for gear and an outside rinse station. Lots of good places to eat in and around Nanaimo.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	All over the Carribbean, Central America, Hawaii, California, Palau, Yap
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	48-52°F / 9-11°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	5-50 Ft/ 2-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No restrictions were enforced.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	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	Camera rinse bucket provided on boat on request. No separate camera table or facilities.

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Dive Review of Ocean Explorers/Buccaneer Inn in Canada/Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

Ocean Explorers/Buccaneer Inn, Jun, 2003,

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 Explorers/Buccaneer Inn in
Canada/Nanaimo, Vancouver Island