Dive Review of M/V Pawara in
Thailand/Similan Islands

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M/V Pawara, Feb, 2008, by Randy Saffell, OK, USA ( Reviewer 4 reports). Report 3984.
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	The Good: The M/V Pawara is a 2 Y/O ship. It is in excellent condition and very comfortable. The dive deck is large and spacious with a good distance between tanks. There is room for 20 divers, on our trip we had 14 so we were divided into two groups of 7, each with a DM that led each dive, if you wanted to go with him. I found out that it was a good idea to go with them as they knew where the stuff was I wanted to see. Ghost Pipefish, Harlequin Shrimp, Dancing Shrimp, Seahorse’s, Rock Fish, etc. However, if you wanted to go alone with you camera all you had to do was wave at the DM. As normal all you had to do was take off your 1st stage and the crew filled your tank and put it back on for you. We did 4 dives a day plus 2 the last day for 22 dives in the 6 days, with 3 night dives. We had no dive related problems for the week. Music was piped over the intercom 15 minutes before briefings so everyone could assemble or in my case, wake up! There was 5 meals a day, all were great. Since this is Thailand there were the usual “what is this” questions. Some of our pickier divers passed on things that I thought were great, but I had no idea what it was. There was non-alcholic beverages on the boat and beer could be purchased. Some of the divers brought there own beer or other beverages. The crew was more than happy to put it in the refrigerator for them. The boat was always moving between dives so we would not have to dive the same place twice unless we requested it. We did spend 1 day and all four dives at Richelieu Rock, but that was a unanimous request as there was so much to see. There were 2 wreck dives, Beacon Reef and Tuna Wreck, both loaded with marine life. Just luck of the draw we did not see mantas or whale sharks, but there was enough other stuff to make the trip. If you want a small live aboard that caters to divers with no overcrowding and great accommodations this is it. The Bad: The ONLY thing I could complain about was the mattress. They were very hard as were the pillows. Some of us would sleep on the lounge deck or in the inside lounge as they were softer. If I was going to make this trip again, (and I would) I would take a small air mattress and my own pillow. That’s all, it was perfect in every other way.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Truk Lagoon, Bonaire, Saba, Guadalupe, Cozumel, Florida, Gulf Of Mexico
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Divers were given the option of staying with the DM or diving in buddy teams after the first day or so.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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	There are no camera tables near the dive deck but two large camera barrels. The inside lounge area has numerous places to charge batteries but it is upstais and sort of akward to get the cameras up and down the stairs each time. However, I have NEVER had a crew handle our cameras with such care and concern. Any physical limitations the boat had was overshaddowed by the crew. They knew how to hold cameras to get them in/out of the water and were very careful when they put them in the water buckets. Very Impressive, they could give lessons to other crews I have seen. Kuddos to the crew!

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Dive Review of M/V Pawara in Thailand/Similan Islands

M/V Pawara, Feb, 2008,

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 M/V Pawara in
Thailand/Similan Islands