Buadhai
Contributor
I received a PM from YLY asking about my experience with Scuba Explorer. I'll reply here as there might be general interest.
I was on their July repositioning voyage when they were moving the boat from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf. They picked us up at Songkhla. We did dives at Losin and Koh Kra. Everyone but me got off on Koh Samui. Thanks to Quero's negotiating skills I managed to stay aboard another day in order to dive Sail Rock. They dropped me at the beach on Koh Tao.
I enjoyed the trip so much that I'm going with them again when they move the boat back to the Andaman Sea in early October.
The boat definitely caters to Japanese divers, although they are prepared to accommodate speakers of English. The release form and boat guide are both printed in Japanese and English. All the dive briefings were in Japanese. However, when I was on the boat there was one Japanese guide who spoke very good English (university degree in English Literature) who was kind enough to give me the gist of the dive briefings in English.
(I should add that I speak a tiny bit of Japanese; not enough for a deep conversation but enough to know what's going on. I spent most of my adult life on Saipan where there are many Japanese residents and tourists. I'm pretty used to their ways. I got my first PADI OW cert from a Japanese instructor.)
When I was on the boat there were three other Western divers; one guide and his two customers. They dove together. I was grouped with two hilarious Japanese guys who were excellent divers. Ours was the English speaking guide. Although most Japanese know a fair amount of English, they are loathe to use it much. So, while you'll meet some very interesting people (with lots and lots of gear) you probably won't converse much.
The boat itself is very nice. The dive gear area is slightly cramped, but sufficient. The dive deck is big enough. One slight irritation for me is that they insist on using the dingy for almost every dive. Even if you surface less than 50 meters from the boat you have to doff your gear, climb in the dingy and then haul the gear out onto the dive deck. I'd rather swim, which I did once, only to be subject to much Japanese-style air sucking.
The food was delicious; a mix of Thai, Western and Japanese.
Except for one deluxe suite (I think) none of the cabins have en suite toilets. There are enough toilets and showers, but you may have to wait now and then.
I have posted some photos of the trip here: Out and About Thailand: Diving: Koh Losin, Koh Kra and Hin Bai (Sail Rock) (There are many poor underwater shots and few decent surface pics.)
I'd be happy to answer any questions; either here or via PM.
I was on their July repositioning voyage when they were moving the boat from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf. They picked us up at Songkhla. We did dives at Losin and Koh Kra. Everyone but me got off on Koh Samui. Thanks to Quero's negotiating skills I managed to stay aboard another day in order to dive Sail Rock. They dropped me at the beach on Koh Tao.
I enjoyed the trip so much that I'm going with them again when they move the boat back to the Andaman Sea in early October.
The boat definitely caters to Japanese divers, although they are prepared to accommodate speakers of English. The release form and boat guide are both printed in Japanese and English. All the dive briefings were in Japanese. However, when I was on the boat there was one Japanese guide who spoke very good English (university degree in English Literature) who was kind enough to give me the gist of the dive briefings in English.
(I should add that I speak a tiny bit of Japanese; not enough for a deep conversation but enough to know what's going on. I spent most of my adult life on Saipan where there are many Japanese residents and tourists. I'm pretty used to their ways. I got my first PADI OW cert from a Japanese instructor.)
When I was on the boat there were three other Western divers; one guide and his two customers. They dove together. I was grouped with two hilarious Japanese guys who were excellent divers. Ours was the English speaking guide. Although most Japanese know a fair amount of English, they are loathe to use it much. So, while you'll meet some very interesting people (with lots and lots of gear) you probably won't converse much.
The boat itself is very nice. The dive gear area is slightly cramped, but sufficient. The dive deck is big enough. One slight irritation for me is that they insist on using the dingy for almost every dive. Even if you surface less than 50 meters from the boat you have to doff your gear, climb in the dingy and then haul the gear out onto the dive deck. I'd rather swim, which I did once, only to be subject to much Japanese-style air sucking.
The food was delicious; a mix of Thai, Western and Japanese.
Except for one deluxe suite (I think) none of the cabins have en suite toilets. There are enough toilets and showers, but you may have to wait now and then.
I have posted some photos of the trip here: Out and About Thailand: Diving: Koh Losin, Koh Kra and Hin Bai (Sail Rock) (There are many poor underwater shots and few decent surface pics.)
I'd be happy to answer any questions; either here or via PM.
