Archive for the ‘Tuna’ Category

« Older Entries

Diving at Roca Partida has been GREAT!!!! We could see the bottom at 250 feet and a giant whale shark posed for us.. crew and guest blog – 02 June, 2010.

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Dancing with a Whale Shark at Roca Partida

The past two days diving here at Roca Partida have been great. We have had some of the clearest water ever, we could even see the bottom at 250′. Yesterday, on our first dive we were slowly drifting along the back side of the rock when Peter (the other DM) started swimming and making the shark sign over his head. He was pointing into the depths as a large spotted image appeared. And enormous Whale Sharks swam right up between the group and continued on her way. Everyone was very excited. It was a first for many of the guests on board… Hurray!!!

The next dive, we all entered the water with high hopes of seeing our spotted friend again, but instead we swam amongst a huge school (+1000) Skip Jacks. As the school swirled and circled the rock, we noticed that groups of 5 or 6 would break off from the group and rush upwards and spawn. It looked like a ferris-wheel of spawning fishes. Visibility went down a little in that area. There were a few Silky sharks and Galapagos sharks following the school waiting for their chance to catch an unsuspecting Jack. When we went into the water for our third dive, we found the east side of the rock had a smoking current so we all let ourselves drift around to the lee side. Apparently,the Whale Shark had the same idea as we did… take shelter from the current. Appearing again from the depths, the Whale Shark swam right through the middle of our group and continued until she encountered the head current coming around the southern point of the island. There, she turned around and came through the group again, as if she was posing for the photographers in the group. Once again she turned around when she hit the current at the north point and continued the same pattern for the rest of our dive. It was as if she was just another one of the group. A photographer’s dream. Everyone got to spend a little time with her.

By the next dive, the current had slackened and we only got one glimpse of the Whale Shark and she said her goodbyes. With great viz and tones of schools of fish around, the last dive of the day was very peaceful. A few sharks we seen as the light levels slowly dropped. It was a great day of diving. Today was full of sharks. On the early dive today, we were met by over 100 Black Jacks. They are impressive on their own, but in a massive school, they are beautiful. We also had several really big Tuna swim over our heads a few times. In the depths, we saw a few sharky silhouettes. It was not till the second dive that the sharks came around. A couple of people came out of the dive exclaiming that they saw two Mantas, but after examining the video, we are not sure if they were Mantas or Mobulas. During the last two dives, we saw the graceful Silver-Tip Sharks swimming along with some big fat Galapagos Sharks. There were even a couple of Hammerhead Sharks spotted.

There were more and more sharks and more and more current. There were only a few of us who did the fourth dive, but we were rewarded with plenty of shark action.

Surface conditions: Partly Cloudy, clearing up in afternoon… beautiful sunset. Light breeze throughout the day. Air temperature warm (74-76F).

Underwater conditions: Visibility +100′, Water temperature 73F, 100′ thermocline dropping to 71F, Currents strong on most dives, but there is always a lee side to every rock.

DM- Jessie “Sharkchick”

Our second trip with Nautilus Explorer.   We enjoyed the first trip so much, we had to do it again!  The crews are amazing in their care, concern, great personalities and knowledge of the area.   And of course the Socorro  diving is unique in so many ways.  - – - We will never forget the giant mantas in the Boiler at San Benedicto Island,  who played with us for at least a half hour.  Bob had the thrill of one coming down over him as he was adjusting his camera,  and “hugging” him with his cephalic fins.  - – - We look forward to diving with the playful sea lions which was a highlight of our previous trip, as well as snorkling with whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez.  Great trip! Do it!   Pat and Bob Watson

So I did a dive at Roca Partida today. I was hoping that the  whale shark from yesterday was still around. Alas, he had moved on. But there were some very neat happenings on my dive despite the absent whale shark. First I watched a group (of about 6) silkie sharks on the hunt. I love how stealthy and menacing they are when they’re looking for food. Then I spotted an octopus out in the open, which is rare around here. He was very beautifully colored and had his tentacles all spread out as if to display fully his beauty. Then, as I turned the corner I noticed it got very dark, very quickly. I looked up to see a school, in fact an entire city!, of skipjack tuna. There were thousands – they actually blocked out the light from the sun! The divemasters told me its their time for spawning right now, which would explain why they were chasing each other. It was really quite a sight to behold! Silvery fish darting every which way, only to run in to more silvery fish! I’ve seen large schools before, but never like the one I saw today.

Tonight for dinner we had the famous Nautilus burgers. It is always funny to me when the guests come in to the dining room for dinner and their eyes grow to the size of saucers when they see the feast laid before them – burgers of all types  - lamb, chicken, beef, veggie –  with all the fixin’s, including buns made from scratch that evening, sauteed mushrooms and onions, corn, french fries…. and as if that were not enough, crepes with ice cream and berries for dessert! Simply delicious! Tomorrow, diving at Socorro. Can’t wait to hear what adventures the diver’s will have there!
‘Till next time!

Hostess Ashley


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Guest Blog, Hammerhead shark, Manta, Nautilus Explorer, Octopus, Roca Partida, San Benedicto, Sea of Cortez, Silky Sharks, Socorro, The Boiler, Tuna, Whalesharks, shark, silvertip reef shark | No Comments »

Log from Socorro Island – Silvia – our most famous hostess – goes diving with a friendly whaleshark at Roca Partida. SUPER HERMOSA!! May 31, 2010

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Yesterday we left the marina at Cabo San Lucas for our final Socorro Islands trip of the season, another 12 day expedition which will end with 4 days of diving in the Sea of Cortez. All was calm and serene as we pulled away from the dock and I was anticipating a relatively smooth 220 nautical mile crossing south to the Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro). As I turned south and left the protection of the cape, however, a very stiff 25 kt wind hit us beam on and decided to make a liar out of me. Often times off of Cabo San Lucas we do experience strong winds created by the local effects of the peninsula which are not in the forecast. Yesterday these winds made for a crossing that wasn’t quite as comfortable as I had hoped and we did have a few guests who were a little green in the face. It’s really unusual to have bigger seas 2 trips in a row as the pacific ocean is usually quite benign in these latitudes. It’s not unusual to get up to 2 weeks of calm seas. The wind did drop off as we got further from Cabo and the ride improved throughout the crossing.

On approaching Isla San Benedicto we had a great performance off the bow from our resident bottle-nose dolphins and the sea smoothed out nicely upon arriving at our sheltered anchorage and first dive site, ‘the Canyon’. Conditions at the Canyon had improved since our last trip here, with visibility around 60 ft (18m) on dive 1 and a mild current. I’m hoping that it will get back up to 100 feet of blue water within the next couple of days. The hammerhead shark cleaning stations that make this divesite so good were, unfortunately, clean of hammerheads, but were alive and quite beautiful with a lot of colorful fish. Schools of Jacks and tuna were in the area as well as a lone silver-tip shark, who was our only ‘big’ animal spotted here today. Dive two was more of the same but with reduced visibility and a moderate current flowing through the site. So, a relatively quiet start to this one, but with Roca Partida coming up tomorrow and the next day I am anticipating a much more exciting read for you on my next log. Divemaster Jessie has promised us to do her shark dance in the morning which she assures us definitely might work ;)

Captain Gordon Kipp

Surface conditions: Winds around 10-15 kts on location with up to 25 kts on the crossing, seas 1-2 ft on location with swell 5-8 ft on the crossing, today mostly cloudy with some sunny periods, air temps a little cool at 72F (22C)

Diving conditions: Visibility 20-60ft (6-18m), current mild to moderate, water temp 75F (24C)

As the sun sets today in a glorious riot of colour and the ship rocks gently in the swells, I take a deep breath and look back over the last year. You see, today is my 21st birthday. Achieved my Bridge Watchkeepers Certificate, and took all the relevant safety courses (Marine Emergency Duties, First Aid, etc.). I lived in another city for several months for the first time. And to top it off, I began working on the Nautilus Explorer. Today began much like any other day. Up early enough to see the sunrise, pink and gold fading into a brilliant blue. We were in transit to the Soccoro Islands, so I did a quick walk around to check nothing had come loose with the movement of the boat during the night. We began with a dive briefing, both on safety and on today’s site, the Canyon. This was followed by finishing tank and station set up, which is always a wonderful opportunity to connect with the guests.

We arrived at San Benedicto around 1330-1400, and promptly began discharging guests into the water. The report upon surfacing was great visiblilty, lots of fish, but no mantas. When the guests had cleared the deck, Sandy (the first mate), and I went for a dive. As promised there were lots of fish. Moorish Idols, Jacks and lots of Moray eels. A Mexican Hogfish decided he really liked how my hair looked- he was determined to get a bite. Eventually he went away without mishap. We also saw a silvertip shark!
As this is my first birthday away from home, I anticipated a small amount of homesickness – however the day is always so busy and exciting and so different from home, there really is nothing to remind me that I’m not there. Now time to go eat my birthday cake!

Tess Szostakiwskyj
Deckhand on the Nautilus Explorer April – June 2010

The second day of diving in the Socorro Island, today we are in Roca Partida, this morning we have a big school of dolphins close to the island,and I decide go for one of my last dive of the season, sad because is the last trip of the season, but exacting, because that mean Guadalupe island with the White Great Shark is coming…anyway…the visibility was great!!! no, even after five minutes that I was there a WHALE SHARK show up!!!!! That was really great!!!!!!!!he is being there since the first dive of the morning, I”m glad that I went today because I was thinking go tomorrow,so I say, don’t wait for tomorrow if you can do it today!!!!!!!

The whale shark stay the whole dive, going back and forth, SUPER HERMOSO…. Is so nice to be in his world….can wait for my next dive adventure!!!!!!!

Hostess
Silvia:)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Captains Log, Destinations, Jacks, Moray Eel, Revillagigedos, San Benedicto, Sea of Cortez, Socorro, The Canyon, Tuna, Whalesharks, bottlenose dolphin, silvertip reef shark | No Comments »

Yellow-fin tuna hunting underwater and then becoming prey when false killer whales moved in on us – Captain, hostess and guest blog – May 22, 2010

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

More great diving at the one of a kind Roca Partida today, despite the wind and choppy sea state. For those of you not familiar with Roca Partida, from the surface it is nothing more than a rock, roughly 200 ft long by 100 ft high, jutting up in mid-pacific, hundreds of miles from any mainland and 65 miles from the closest island, Isla Socorro. It is covered in booby-bird guano and of course the boobies themselves, giving it a whitish hue. Because of it’s small size and location it does not offer any protection for us from the weather, so when we anchor out here we are literally anchored in open ocean. Luckily in these days of communications we receive daily updates on weather from Captain Mike who studies and watches the computer weather models very closely.  that basically decide when we can come dive out here. It has made diving at Roca Partida a lot more comfortable than in times past. Today unfortunately we did have to deal with some less than ideal weather conditions, inevitable from time to time. A fresh breeze from the North West made the seas quite choppy and made getting into the dive tenders a little more of an adventure! But, as always, we prevailed and managed to get in 4 great dives. Again today not as sharky as Roca Partida can be, but instead our guests enjoyed a huge school of yellow-fin tuna, hundreds (or maybe thousands??) of them hunting the food-rich waters surrounding the rock. To see a yellow-fin tuna hunt underwater is quite impressive. Usually the first thing you see is a huge school of fish suddenly scattering, followed by a sound like thunder as the tuna rocket out of the blue into the school of panicked fish. As fast as these tuna can swim, they can also be food for some bigger animals like the false killer whales, which appear similar to pilot whales. With so many tuna around right now we were not surprised to see a big pod of these impressive animals as we made our way back in the tenders after one of our dives today. They seem to be attracted to the noise of the outboard engines, so as the pod of 30-50 converged on us, all onboard donned their snorkel gear and backrolled into the blue to be surrounded by the curious animals. To keep their attention I had all the snorkelers in a tight group and drove the zodiac in circles around them, exciting the false killer whales as they danced and whirled around us for around 10 minutes. A great show!

Tonight we depart for Isla Socorro, where we will spend the next two days diving in search of more Giant Pacific Manta Rays and…who know what else??

Talk soon,

Captain Gordon Kipp

Surface conditions: Wind 15-20 kts, seas 6-7′ chop, mostly clear skies, air temp 78-80F

Water conditions: Visibility good to excellent 20-30m (65-100ft), water temp 76F, current moderate to strong

I dove “The Boiler” yesterday. If you know Socorro Island, you know that “The Boiler” is famous for its intimate interaction with the giant mantas. Sadly, there were no “Friendly Giants” around for my dive. (Although the divers before me saw 3 mantas!) Everything else was perfect for diving today – the sun was bright and warm, so much so that I could feel its warmth at 80ft down!, there was virtually no current to speak of, visibility was over 120ft… – the site was brimming with lively activity. Since I did not have any mantas to play with, I took the opportunity to examine the small things on the rock that are always overshadowed by the giant mantas. I saw a flounder for the first time! I saw a type and color of starfish I’d never seen before! I saw white-tip sharks, moray eels, lobster, box fish, yellowfin tuna, moorish idols and butterfly fish! I saw my favourite fish, the porcupine fish! Being a girl from the Canadian Prairies, places like “The Boiler” are a far-cry from home – no wheat fields! So I always try to seize every underwater moment I can. Although I did not see mantas today, I did develop a renewed appreciation for all things under the sea, big AND small.  I’d say that’s a good dive! ‘Till next time…  Hostess Ashley

Hai,Hai,Hai

wir haben heute einen Schnellkurs in “maentisch” bekommen und hatten tolle Interaktionen mit Mantas – unglaublich aber wahr. Es hat geblasen ohne Ende, die Sicht war maessig – aber trotzdem sehr, sehr geile Tauchgaenge ! Am Morgen hatten wir noch als Zugabe eine Hammerhaischule mit mind. 30 Tieren und der “Maennertauchgang” am Nachmittag war einer Feldstudie der pazifischen Leopardenflunder (Bothus Leopardinus) vorbehalten. Wir brechen jetzt auf in die unendlichen Weiten des Pazifics nach San Benedicto und harren der Dinge, die dort auf uns warten. LG Wir (Daniela und Martin aus Mannheim, Michael aus Idar-Oberstein, Joerg und Steffi aus Ludwigshafen)From Germany

Today we had three dives with Mantas (black and chevron) eye in eye at Cabo Pearce (Socorro Island) interacting with us, swimming up to us, hovering directly over us and enjoying the bubbles, crossing from diver to diver. At the end of the dive they were following us to the surface and seeming sad, that we were leaving them alone, but greeting us happily when we were returning for the next dive. All we had to do was waiting calmly in the water and sooner or later a manta would come up to us and trying to look in our eyes or taking a bubble bath. We saw some dolphins but they weren’t interested in us and the hammerhead we saw was circling in the blue. In the afternoon the current was getting stronger and we felt like a flag hanging on the rope of the anchor. With greetings from a wonderful trip (and it’s going on!) Bettina & Roland from Egelsbach, Germany


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Cabo Pearce, Captains Log, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, Moray Eel, Roca Partida, Socorro, Socorro Island, The Boiler, Tuna, dolphin, hammerhead, whales, whitetip reef shark | No Comments »

Overly frisky silky sharks & 50 false killer whales show up at Socorro Island. English y Portuguese. May 11, 2010. Guest and Divemaster blog.

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Today was a bit of a strange day at Roca partida. The direction of the current was a bit unusual in its direction. And the sharks around the rock where fewer then normal. Though we had schools of tousands of yellow fin tunas exploding in all directions when we got in between them. And Whaoos not a couple, not ten but more then 50 maybe even a hundred. To see that many whaoos at the same time is very very rare. We just spotted a few hammerheads and silvertips m but mostly deep.

After the 3td dive when we came back from the dive we spotted false orcas, relative to Pilot whales. So we went in and they came curiously in to us and sonared us and checked us up several times. Big group of them out there maybe a hundred. We had around a 25-30 with us. Suddenly being in the water the zodiak was with us more then 30 very curiouse silky sharks came quickly swimming up to us and stroke just beside our fins. I suddenly noticed that all my guests had got out of the water and sat in the inflateble. Funny I thought they came here to Revillagigedo to see sharks not sitting on the boat… But honestly the silkies where a bit frisky.. One silver tip came up with them as well. Nice to see that many sharks. And great to see the false orcas again, they make a lot of sounds in the water it is that load that you can hear them sitting in the skiff.

An other interessting thing was to see that a bottle nose dolphin was accompanying the pod of the false orcas. And talking about the bottlenose dolphin today we witnessed a single bottle nose dolphin chasing bigeyed jacks , picking one out and sonar it with load sonar making the poor big eyed jack puke up the bait fish, the dolphin takes the fish and let the jack alone. I think it is quiet fantastic.
Good day!

Dive guide

Sten

Surface conditions: Flat sunny  no wind, 27 C

Underwater conditions: Some current, mostly 110 ft Viz temp 75 F 24

Ola manta!!

Estamos em “Roca Partida”, apos 1 serie de 4 mergulhos, com um fundo a 3.500 mts… “Silkies”, atuns gigantes, wahoo’s e … muita alegria, com um servico de bordo fantastico, e uma tripulacao 5 estrelas!! Venham ver, pois vale bem a pena!
Do vosso amigo, que vos estima, e se assina: Quincas.   :-)

Ola pessoal da mergulhacao e nao so…. :-)

Depois de uma viagem de 24 horas de navegacao fizemos a nossa estreia de mergulhos em San Benedicto no spot The Boiler.
Estavam a nossa espera jamantas gigantes e tubarao baleia. Como inicio nao poderia ser melhor.
Com o mar calmissimo fizemos a travessia para Roca Partida onde depois de 4 grandes mergulhos nos encontramos para passar a noite e repetirmos a dose amanha. A comida e o servico sao de excepcao, bem como a tripulacao que alem de ser 5 estrelas tem uma disponibilidade acima de tudo o que seria expectavel. O ambiente nao podia ser melhor e o grupo esta animadissimo.

Vamos agora atacar umas espetadas deliciosas feitas no barbecue de bordo pelo nosso excelente cozinheiro, acompanhadas por um tinto chileno de alto gabarito.

Carlos Ramos

Nao podia ser melhor. Mar calmo, jamantas, tubaroes, jacks, atuns, etc… Muito bom o servico de bordo. Excelente comida, muita atencao de toda a tripulacao, com um cuidado optimo antes e depois do mergulho. Sempre agua e sumos junta da plataforma de mergulho, nao esquecendo a toalhas lavadas para o que o que for necessario. Nos intervalos entre o almoco e o jantar aparece um a tabua de queijos de fazer inveja. Aconselho este destino.

Joao Egreja

Sorriso de orelha a orelha….depois de mais um mergulho em Roca Partida fomos abordados por um cardume de dezenas Falsas Orcas onde apenas alguns tiveram a sorte de saltar para a agua com mascara e barbatanas…mas saimos rapidamente!!! quando demos por nos estamos a ser observados por perto trinta tubaroes silky e silver tip…foi o momento alto.

Rui Martins & Penetra & Carlos Carvalho

Ola PEOPLLE!!!

Daqui Penetra e Rui emitidindo directamente de Roca Partida, depois de 8 excelentes mergulhos vamos levantar ancora e partir para Socorro para mais mantas, tubaroes de todas as especies e feitios, atum gigantes e jacks para todos os gostos.

Esperam nos mais umas valentes milhas com o excelente servico a bordo do Nautilus Explorer, julgamos que viriamos perder uns kilitos, mas afinal sairemos daqui mais anafaditos e provavelmente pagaremos excesso de bagagem, isto se la chegarmos, pois ja nos comentaram que o vulcao esta a fazer das suas.

Amanha chegaremos finalmente a Socorro, motivo principal desta viagem. Grupo excelente e tripulacao 5 estrelas, hoje temos Hula Hula Party, para nos entreter na viagem. Abraco ao Pai ZE e restante familia Martins, e claro para a minha Weasel e a para a Ullecas

Ate amanha!!!

Oi malta, aqui estou eu, de novo, para mais uma mensagem telegrafica. Pois e, mais uma serie de mergulhos em Roca Partida, num azul quase sem fim, com uma visibilidade de mais de 50 mts, atuns, Black Jack’s e silkies de grande porte, e uns bons martelos, embora ao longe. O que nao falha e a comida, que e sempre fantastica e sempre diferente… vou jantar, ate depois!

Quincas

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in False killer whales, Hammerhead shark, Jacks, Revillagigedos, Roca Partida, San Benedicto, Silky Sharks, The Boiler, Tuna, Wahoo, bottlenose dolphin, silvertip reef shark | No Comments »

Impressions of 6 action packed dive days at Clipperton Island – it doesn’t get any more off the beaten track than this expedition. April 25, 2010. Diveguide log

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Our arrival was impressive we just got in to a massive bait ball with thousands of boobies falling like a massive waterfall pounding in to the water. Dolphins every where and down under must have been tunas and sharks. The bait ball moved fast in a 2-3 knots in speed. When we decided to try to take snorkelers in to the inflatables it stopped and it was over.

During our remaining days we never spotted a bait ball like that size again. In 2007 I remeber we had a bait ball as well but smaller, it also stopped before we got out , jumping in to the water all we spotted was a couple of silkie sharks.

The topography that we seen around the atoll is pretty the same Very deep approaching the island slooping sand that turns to a coral reef at the depth at 130- 180 ft with a steep slope (Some areas less then others) up to where there is a plateau that starts at 50-60 ft and slowly comes up to ca 25 ft and then the barriar reef that surrounds the island almost completely that makes it very hard for an landing on the island.

We have not spotted any real pinnacles sea mounts and solo boulders. The reef is quiet uniform in its shape and the reef building corals there are only detected 8 different species maybe 10. The coral reef is very healthy , no real signs of coral bleaching. In bedded in the coral there are traces of long lines all over. We did not see many new once. If that is a good new that long lining is getting less or is it bad that it is to much effort and to little sharks for getting out here?

Critters
There is a difference between the windy wavy side (the north) and the leward side (South) We had probably the most and best diving on the north side. Seems to be more sharks and a bit more of the pelagic animals.

Sharks
Though of what I could  hear a saw my self the hammerhead sharks, the biggest group where seen on the south side of the island. All the hammerheads that we saw were fully grown up big scalloped hammerheads. In three occasions we spotted big groups of silkie sharks. In one moment “whispering in sharks” We had easily 50 silkie sharks cirkiling us, they dissapeared as fast as they appeared! 1 Really exiting and a bit intimidating!. The silkies where not of the size that we see in Revillagigedo Islands. Still think we saw adults and also pregnant females.

Juvenile silvertip shark where everywhere and very curiouse as well sometimes laying in the blue we had up to 20 silvertip around us! We wonder where the grown up once where and the last dive of the trip we got to learn to meet the mother of them all small guys!!  She came in close and really nice and stayed with us for a while. Juvenile galapagos and we have spotted one shark that even our shark expert Mauricio cant identify. We see this species of shark in 3 different locations in two days , but always on the north side. Its  eyes where like a soup shark but the fins where different, the anal fin was huge.We will try to find out.

One diver John saw a big shark that had stripes ..so we think he met a Tiger shark.
A few white tip sharks came by as well. So we had Silkie, silvertip, galapagos, white tip, Tiger and maybe an other species we are not sure of.

Moray eals. We got the finespotted moray eals (starry muray some people calls them) that dominates, yellow edge muray also where among the finespotted murays Their behaviour of both of the species where very bold we actually had our dear repeater guest and filmer Harry got bitten in his hand and we had our other dear repeater guest and Doctor David (David Long fin) stitching harry up under educational instructions of a crew hungry of learning how…

We never saw an octupus and I think this would be a hell to live for an octupus with that many muray eals. This eals are known to get up in the tidal pools and grabbing the red land crabs on the island on land and crwl down back with the crab in the water.

Other species. Lots of leather bass. We saw Wahoos, yellow fin tunas and big guys. This trip we did not se either mantas or whale shark that we did in 2007.

I don’t think the amound of species are that many. I would guess about the same as revillagigedos and what I could see two endemic fish one is the Clipperton Angel fish . beautiful blue angelfish with a neon blue stripe on its fin and a white spot on each side. And a kind of white tail damsell fish I never seen before called Balwins Mayor this two are endemic for the island. There are other species that exist in other areas , but the coloration, and sizes and behaviour are different. Like the mexican Hog fish in Clipperton is very shy when it is even biting us sometimes in Revillagigedo islands and is very curious. Nicole has made a taxonomy and are up to about 60 species for now, we can probably get up to about a 100. Wich is not a lot and a bit typical for the islands on this side of the pacific.

Turtles.
We did see last trip a green turtle , none this trip.

Mammals. There are a lot of Bottlenose dolphins around the islands. It was easy to get in to snorkel with them. No whales what we could see. On our trip in between we came in to a pod of the smaller spotted dolphin.

Dive conditions. The current acted a bit funny in its directions, as being a round island, we got in split currents , meand that at one time the current moves one direction , then a bit further it goes 180 degrees on the other direction. Also seems like the current is more decided by oceanic current more then the tidal one. We never had real hard dive conditions. A bit of surge on the shallow and of course bigger waves on the north side. But the diving is not as demanding as our normal dives in Revillagigedo islands.

And warm!!! shorts and tshirt or a shorty. 28-29 C.

Surface conditions. We had mostly calm seas a swell at 5-6 ft at north side . Most was 8-10 ft first day. Mostly sunny and just a few drops of water. 2007 we had more rain. Normally more wind in the afternoon. Hot! 35 C and very humid.

There are more to tell. But I think our diving was more interessting this trip and also that we where not having as high expectations as last trip where we would see thousands of sharks and find a new under water Eden. But with open eyes and mind take in what we see and we had more action this time, learning from our last trip and this time we even documented more our dives and GPS ed them and add that in to our knowlwdge of Clipperton. We had some really beautiful and exiting dives during this 6 days! This was my 2nd trip to Clipperton. If I want to go again? Absolutely!! I love this trip exploring and have the privilege to go where very few people ever been and  dive it!

On our way to Roca partida.

Dive guide Sten

Shark photo taken by Jeff Bozanic.  All other photos by Scott Davis.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Clipperton Island, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Hammerhead shark, Moray Eel, Revillagigedos, Roca Partida, Silky Sharks, Tiger Shark, Tuna, bottlenose dolphin, dolphin, shark, silvertip reef shark, turtles | No Comments »

Some morays cooperate in hunting and others appear to be bitter enemies + large schools of silky and hammerhead sharks – Clipperton Atoll – Guest blog – 20 APR 2010

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

The diving here at Clipperton Island is great.  The reefs are full of fish and healthy coral.  The fine-spotted moray eels (Gymnothorax dovii) are amazing.   They swim free.  Some seem to cooperate in hunting and others are bitter enemies and battle for territory.  They show no fear and will attack.  I have had to push them away with my camera or hit them with my fist to avoid being bitten.  The sharks I have seen have all been small.  Many small silvertip sharks and a Galapagos today.  Today near four palms I found a large antique anchor.  The coral had grown around it.  From the construction I suspect it was from the early 1800s.  Shooting macro at many sites is difficult because of the surge and currents.  The currents can come up at any time, and seem to switch direction at random.  There seems top be no relation to the tides.  I am glad I came back to Clipperton Island, I have never seen anything like this place.

Having been to other remote atolls, Clipperton Island far exceeded my expectations in regards to coral abundance, the amount of reef fish, and overall beauty of the reef. What a pleasure it was to simply slip on a t-shirt and shorts, strap on a tank and hop in the bath like water. Going to a place as remote and relatively untouched as Clipperton would have felt more expedition like had it not been for the uber luxury standards of the Nautilus. Simply stated, an amazing trip with an amazing crew, and a great mix of passengers.
Scott

Clipperton Atoll….What an AMAZING adventure!!!!!!  From the schools of hammerhead sharks, to the tuna, silvertips, eels by the thousands….what an AWESOME part of the planet!!!! Doc Dave was able to perform surgery and save the day on two occasions as well as enjoy pelagic diving with fifty….read that again…FIFTY silky sharks that were a bit interested in altering his persuasion?! Thanks Sten!!!!!! The Nautilus Explorer and it’s crew have been OUTSTANDING….. food has been beyond belief and the service makes you want to come back aboard in the future for more of the same!  You can’t see things in the underwater world if you’re topside. The Nautilus Explorer and the crew make sure that the dives are not limited necessarily by the clock.  Spectacular diving can’t be limited based on a pre-determined dive time. Freedom to dive you own profile is another hallmark of Nautilus Explorer diving and this sets apart the Nautilus Explorer from most every other liveabaord. Now on to Roca Partida and more GREAT DIVING (hopefully no need for any more surgery)!!!!!  David

Different.  Dive where you will, but you have not seen this.  Moray eels at night?  No. Free swimming throughout the day.  One? Two? Five? Twenty-five? Fifty?  They keep coming! Stay back!  They move with purpose!  Juvenile Silver tip sharks (2-3′) on most dives for the last six days, and momma today! Some silkies today(not like two days ago when the paraded in from the blue).  Saw a 10′ tiger shark the third day (only picture is in my memory)identified by the flick of a large striped tail as it moved into them blue. The Clipperton Angels, Leather Bass, Surgeons, etc…..  all numerous  on every dive, fearless, and easily photographed. The Nautilus Explorer crew is outstanding!  On the boat, in the water, service is the objective.  Dives were exploratory, but well managed and timed with everyone allowed to dive to their own capacity and taste.  Onboard, no want goes un satisfied.  Now north to Roca Partida, happy there is more diving ahead!!  John B.

After over a week of diving all around Clipperton, I’ve come to the conclusion that the windward side of the atoll is definitely better for diving.  We’ve had more sharks, more eels, and generally more varieties of fish on the windward side than the lee. Couple that with surprisingly less surge and current, and you get some really fantastic dives.  Today, on our post-lunch dive, I decided when I jumped in that I would do a quick, deep dive towards the bottom portion of the reef, where the colorful coral peters out to white rubble.  There’s been a persistent thermocline down in the 170 foot range all around the island, and I wanted to see some of the life that preferred colder waters.  As I came back up to around 130 feet, I fell in behind a group of other divers from the boat, who were joined by a solitary big eye jack that decided he wanted to be part of the fun.  As the rest of the group bubbled across the reef, this lone jack dutifully tagged along behind the group all the way up until they made their safety stops in the shallows and climbed back into the zodiac.  If he could have, I’m he would’ve probably climbed into the boat with them and ridden back to the Nautilus.  The behavior of the wildlife out here at Clipperton is completely different almost anything I’ve ever seen before – from this lone jack to the bizarrely aggressive eels, it’s been a fascinating week of true expedition exploration.
Cameron E.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Clipperton Island, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Guest Blog, Hammerhead shark, Moray Eel, Nautilus Explorer, Roca Partida, Tuna, hammerhead, shark, silvertip reef shark | No Comments »

Diveguide Sten speaks candidly about diving Socorro + guest logs in spanish and english – April 10, 2010

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

After my time diving and guiding here on the Island of Socorro and the Revillagigedos. It is now my 5th season and my trip number 54 down here. I skipped my work in palau to come back to Socorro. It is not easy diving and getting in to big animals are not easy. It takes patience. As a guide it gets sometimes a bit frustrating. Big animals are often careful, and you have to read current, water temperature, fishlife and look around and UP! I see often scuba divers being far to much speeding around , going deep for no use wasting their bottom time and air for no reason, and with jerky fast movements making big animals move on or not approach. Chasing animals does not work either. I use to compare it if you want to see a deer in the forest it does not help if you are running like a crazy breaking branches and scream at the same time… The same in big animal diving. Go slow, look around, if it is sharks and especially hammerheads ..hide , giant mantas let them come to you, stay as shallow as you can. Over and over again I see divers swimming fast away from me when I got a animal just in front of my nose and then divers comes up and say they did not see anything. I wished sometimes that people used us guides a bit more and followed us instead of running away from us. My time as a shephard is over with following divers My work is to go go where I beleive I find the animals and hope that our divers will trust me and look where I am looking;)

So yes we have schools of 100 hammerhead sharks here at Socorro, we just have to find the hot spot!

So we are back with two nice days with calm seas finishing up at Roca Partida. We got a few repeaters who has been come to be Roca Partida Junkies. I am admitting I am one..

Each dive each dive is different. And learn to searching of this special spot where current, temperature and fish life makes a certain spot hot. And when it is hot….WOW!! This time we managed to get on the spot a few times and in a time we got in just in a massive wall of hammerhead sharks, 100 and more, just turning up from nowhere and as well we have been taken by surprise they are gone again. We have some massive Galapagos and not afraid at all, i whispered them in and a few time s it got enough excitments and stopped when they got to close. Interesting to see yellow fin tunas following Galapagos sharks and strike them self against the shark. Why do they do that? Is it a defense or to scratch parasites of them. Seen them do the same against the great White shark when we operate in Guadalupe Island.

The beautiful silver tip shark was there as well. Great two days diving at the rock. We could see a few humpbacks and hear a few, but not that many as last trip. We had one pass by a manta, it did not want to stay and play.

After last dive we started to go up north back to Cabo San Lucas. We are having a calm trip going up north, charing pictures and sleeping , reading books amd a few films and talking before we get back to Cabo San Lucas. No wish to go there..after days like this at sea. Diveguide Sten

Surface conditions: Long medium swell, did not bother much our loading of divers. 30C and mostly sunny

Underwater condition: almost no current at all, almost to calm under water. 24-25 C 75-77F Viz between 50 and 60 feet and up to 100 foot on the best dives.

Guest logs….

Perfect day of diving at Roca Partida! Four dives each one as exciting as the others. More sea life than one can comprehend at one time. Delicious yellowfin tuna, hammerheads, Galapagos, whitetip sharks and a supporting cast of thousands. The boat is wonderful and they give us cookies after every dive, what a perfect slice of life!!

Wow! What a day at Roca Partida. The Hammers were out in force today. We also had a few encounters with Wahoo. jodi

Excellent day, super visibility, and several cool shark encounters with Hammers, Galapagos, and the white-tips stacked on top of each other on their balconys. Huge schools and highways of massive fish – Wahoo, Tuna, Jacks, etc. Wasn’t totally over the top for us, but Sven and the Italians claim to have seen a wall of 100 maybe 200 hammerheads at the end of the 3rd dive (when unfortunately we had to surface due to empty tanks)… Too much fun!!

Un dia lleno de tiburones, emociones, profundidad y mucho buceo no paramos de asombrarnos de ser invitados por Galapagos, Silkies, Hammer a una fiesta de excitacion y excelentes fotografias.
Susana B.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Cabo San Lucas, Captains Log, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Giant Mantas, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Humpback Whale, Revillagigedos, Roca Partida, Socorro, Socorro Island, Tuna, hammerhead, shark, silvertip reef shark | No Comments »

Landing on top of giant manta rays on our first dive -Divemaster and guest log – english & spanish – April 4 – 5, 2010.

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

We came up at Cabo Pearce after our traditional navy inspection. Setting the anchor with a decending line for making it it easy for divers out on the lava finger that have been poured out from Socorro Islands Mount Everman. We dive it down for our scuba divers and move it to the place close the cleaning stations so we can maximize our bottom time and air as it is fairly deep. A bit of effort especially a day like today when it was what we say here a little bit “windy” underwater, but then the line makes it as well safe to hand by hand working your self slowly  and safe and not getting swept away from the dive site.

I like Cabo Pearce cause if you don’t like current dive we can dive by the same lava flow that has a nice cheer wall and no current at all. It does not have as much pelagic life like the sharks and Tunas, but often mantas and I have seen diving humpback whales passing by the wall with a few ocations. Today we got the best result for us who dived the easy one. We dropped straigt on a manta at 60 ft she liked us direct and stayed with us and cirkeled us over and over again left and 5 minutes came back and in the end of the dive a second manta cirkeled us. During the whole dive we have moved a distance of 40 m no more. You can chase all over , but often it works best to take a good spot and sit and wait and see what comes. The rest of the day was a bit harder on the big animals. A few hammerheads sharks and passing mantas nice humpback whale songs. A few dolphins came in and had a look at us but not the once that we play with her, wonder where she is this dolpins that have been giving me a hug with her pectoral fins pulling me backward holding my fins… A Tiger shark passed over our heads in a quick pass, nice to see they are here and a few silvertips came in when we wispered them in.

On our  Humpback whale trip we had both in water sighting some with beautiful film shots from some of our guests and above water close sights. But some times you need patience, but here some times it can be so many that you dont know wich whale group you will try to approach.

We had two good days at Punta Tosca and now looking forward to Roca Partida Diveguide Sten.

Surface conditions: 30 C calm seas cloudy with some sun.
Underwater conditions: viz was down to 40 ft temp 24-25 c 76 F Strong current out on the outside lava finger.

La danza de las mantas fue el dia de hoy acompanada por el dulce canto de las ballenas, Punta Tosca nos trajo un sonido de esperanza y dulzura de la naturaleza, un atardecer acompanado de fotos y experiencias compartidas, que mas se puede pedir….
Susana B.

Hoy en Punta Tosca, trabajamos haciendo los censos de peces en invetebrados acompanados de tres mantas, que transmitieron su tranquilidad e hicieron de nuestro trabajo un dia de relajacion, que convinado con el azul del oceano, nos dan mas ganas de seguir explorarando las bellezas del oceano, aunado a esto, tuvimos musica de fondo, el canto de las ballenas que te hacian sentir la vibracion circundante, haciendo mas placentero el dia…. trabajando en el oceano, disfrutando de las bellezas arrecifales, mantas, y cantos de ballenas, es un trabajo que muchos me han de estar envidiando, me encanta mi trabajo jejeje…
Arturo Bocos.

Today in our dive in Punta Tosca we had a very beautiful sunlight dance with a big manta playing with us for several minutes. We had then the opportunity to face humpback whales and dolphins, both mom and baby that came near us during our morning zodiac trip …

Well, today was the day we all came here for. All of the divers had multiple manta sightings, a few hammerhead shark sightings, whale songs all day and for the icing on the cake, in-water humpback whale encounters! We still have the night-time silky shark snorkel ahead of us. We’ll remain anchored in the same protected bay overnight and will hopefully do it all again tomorrow. In-between all of this diving we have been pampered by the crew of the Nautilus Explorer, non-stop. Fantastic meals and snacks after every dive. Every crew member onboard does their best to accomodate every guest’s wish. It’s going to be real hard to go back home after this!
John D.

First dive this morning was awesome. At the bottom of the line was our first manta waiting. As we made our way up the ridge we encountered a large male green turtle, before coming across two more mantas hovering above the ridge. Back near the ascent line a curious bottlenose dolphin cruised by taking a good look at us. Only a few minutes after that I looked up to see a big hammerhead slightly above us, weaving slowly back and forth at around 40ft, and only 30 feet in front of the hammerhead another manta was cruising along. On our safety stop two mantas hovered nearby, eyeing us up curiously. Lots of humpbacks around today too giving us some great topside views.
G-diddy

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Cabo Pearce, Captains Log, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Hammerhead shark, Humpback Whale, Manta, Punta Tosca, Roca Partida, Socorro Island, Tiger Shark, Tuna, dolphin, shark, whales | No Comments »

Lots of dolphin action. They came in close and were chasing big tuna at Roca Partida. Guest blog in portuguese and english. March 26, 2010.

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Snorkeling off the Nautilus Explorer has far exceeded my expectations. Huddling at the surface with my husband while we snorkeled around Roca Partida, watching a BIG galapagos shark circling below us, was my first experience being that close to such a large shark, and it was awesome! Everyday I’ve snorkeled has been amazing, we’ve seen Manta Rays, dolphins, white tipped reef sharks, moray eels, a turtle, big yellow fin tuna, and lots of other fish. All this from the surface. And to top it all off, the food is excellent, gourmet, and the crew is excellent (and I’m not biased because I’m the Captains mother). Ethel Kipp

Hoje fizemos nosso segundo dia de mergulhos em Roca Partida, aquela rocha no meio do nada. Muita vida neste ponto de mergulho: tubaroes de todos os tipos e tamanhos, moreias enormes, golfinhos, polvos etc. A quantidade de tubaroes impressiona. Vimos mais de 15 amontoados em uma pequena fenda. E praticamente impossivel olhar ao redor e nao ver algum tubarao. Ontem a noite presenciamos uma cena de filme: tubaroes rodeando o barco durante a noite, atraidos pelas luzes e pelo barulho. Muito legal mergulhar na presenca dos golfinhos, eles sao curiosos e vem verificar cada mergulhador. O local e bem radical e as vezes tem correnteza, mas e muito bonito, com paredoes verticais que descem no azul. A pedra e pequena e assim como a Laje de Santos, e coberta de coco de passarinho, parecendo neve. Pelo tamanho da pra dar a volta algumas vezes durante o mesmo mergulho. Hoje estavamos bem cansados e fizemos somente 2 mergulhos de manha. Nos 2 da tarde o pessoal do barco tambem ouviu o cant o das baleias novamente. Nos ficamos no quarto ouvindo as piadas do Tassao, descansando e falando besteira. Hoje durante a noite toda vamos navegar ate a Ilha Socorro, onde ficaremos os dois ultimos dias de mergulhos. Por la tentaremos mergulhar com as baleias e novamente com mantas. Beijos a todos do Brasil!!!

Guga: Gatinha, saudades de voces!!! Espero que voces estejam bem e nao vejo a hora de abraca-los e beija-los. Da um abraco no gordinho e aperte as coxas dele por mim. Beijo na boquinha!

Tasso: O Guga hoje ta meio gay! apertar coxas??? que medo!!! eu to no mesmo quarto…. Dereca, voreca, Bebe, Inho, Rodrigo, Me… bjs e juizo! Lu! o Rick ta um amor… nem te conto que delicia…!!!

Rick: Chiprenca… quem e a minha Chiprenca???? To morrendo de saudades de vc!!! Ta tudo bem ai?? Aqui esta. Fica tranquila… Ja, ja estou de volta. Manda bjs pros meus pais e pros seus…

Our second day diving Roca Partida started out with lots of dolphin action.  They came in close and were chasing some big Tuna.  We also had some sharks come in to check us out – Galapagos sharks, silver tip and silkies.  We had some fun hanging out with the white tip reef sharks on their ledges.  All the while listening to the sounds of Humpback whales!  Brad Bamford/ Jonas Jacobsen

It’s late in the fourth day of this beautiful Socorro Island cruise and we are all into the groove of scuba diving, eating, diving, eating, more diving, then its capped with a fine dinner and blissful sleep to dream of our awesome dives.  After a few days, the motion of the boat and water blend perfectly with the underwater surge, which is now fully integrated into our life this week of fun and play with new friends. We’ve enjoyed the beauty and incredible underwater wildlife of Roca Partida and are now off for a night cruise to Socorro Island. The weather gods have been smiling and have delivered fully sunny days, calm seas and 75F water temp.  Life is good on the Nautilus Explorer.

Posted in Animals, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Guest Blog, Humpback Whale, Manta, Moray Eel, Nautilus Explorer, Roca Partida, Silky Sharks, Socorro, Socorro Island, Tuna, dolphin, turtles, whitetip reef shark | 2 Comments »

First giant manta mating ever caught on film plus Socorro dive report from last trip – March 22, 2010.

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Check this out!!!  Mantas mating!!!!

Well, I guess we all know that our favourite big animals  -  giant mantas and sharks –  don’t always co-operate on every trip to Socorro Island.   While Socorro was closed recently for navy exercices, scuba diving continued unabated at nearby San Benedicto Island and Roca Partida and the diving was some of the best that we have ever seen in the islands:   large schools of hundreds of hammerhead sharks passing close by our scuba divers  (our secret technique is to dive commando style and stay tucked right in the rocks a la Cocos style to avoid scaring the hammers),  lots of fantastic friendly interaction with the giant manta rays, schools of silky and silvertip sharks (yes  –>>  schools!!), yellow fin tuna, extremely friendly bottlenose dolphins and such.    Trouble was that the very big seas and residual wavetrain of a couple of weeks ago stirred up the sediment and particulate and vis was unusually low on our last trip. First time in a long time that we didn’t get the sightings that we are used to. While such is the nature of oceanic big animal diving, we are getting in touch with each guest on last week’s trip and will be making them an offer they hopefully can’t refuse  to come back and experience the “the real Socorro”.    Trust and hope that the vis is back to normal on the next trip. Captain Mike

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Hammerhead shark, Roca Partida, San Benedicto, Silky Sharks, Socorro Island, Tuna, bottlenose dolphin, shark, silvertip reef shark | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries