Archive for the ‘Sea of Cortez’ Category

« Older Entries

From Socorro to the Sea of Cortez we saw it all :: from seahorses to mantas, sharks, sea lions and even nudibranchs — dive guide and first mate blog – June 9, 2010

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

From South to North, Big and Small, We saw it all: Sea Horses, Mantas, Sharks, Sea Lions and Nudibranchs.

Let us remember back a few days to those spectacular dives at Socorro where we left you off with our last Dive-Master Log. Our cruise North into the Sea of Cortez, was very smooth until we got close to the southern Baja peninsula where different currents and winds meet. There, for a few hours, the going got rough but once we made it into the Gulf of California it smoothed back down, allowing us a good nights rest before our first dive in our new enviroment. Being only a couple of hundred miles north you would expect similar conditions, but that is absolutely not the case. The Sea of Cortez is colder and this time of year there is a lot of algae and plankton in the water making the visibility somewhat limited. But, with so much food in the water you also have a lot of life.

Our first dive in this area was on the southern tip of Cerralvo island, a site I don’t have the luxury of visiting very often due to it being a little to far to visit from La Paz where I have lived for the past ten years. This site is Spectacular!! It is a long shallow ridge that is covered in very healthy coral that makes a labyrinthine maze ideal habitat for all kinds of animals including a small colony of California Sea Lions and plenty of grunts, goatfish and barber-fish.  In the afternoon we did a couple of dives at La Reina reef, which like always, lived up to its name of Queen of reefs. There were Sea Lions on the Rock and all kinds of beautiful life in the water. Jessie (DM) had told everybody in the briefing that this was a good site to search for sea horses and true enough, a yellow and an orange sea horse were spotted.

The following day we did an early dive at the Salvatierra, an old ferry boat wreck that sunk in 1975 and is now nearly totally destroyed but still makes for an interesting dive. Midday we went on a quest to El Mogote to see if we could find a Whale Shark to snorkel with. Unfortunately after two hours of careful searching we came out empty handed, they just didn’t want to be found!  We Spent the afternoon at Suwani Reef diving with huge schools of spot tail grunts, barracudas, goat fish and scads, but my highlight of the day was a pair of Cortez stingrays that one of the guests spotted. The male stingray held on to the female so hard that when she swam away he just stayed stuck. We did a night dive here too which was calm and beautiful.

Yesterday we began the day diving at Fang Ming Wreck and then spent the rest of the day at Los Islotes, probably the most famous dive site in the area due to the permanent colony of California Sea Lions that lives there. Everybody spent most of the day enjoying the magnificent show that these animals always provide.  This Morning we did our two last dives of this magnificent trip again in La Reina with the Se Lions and the Sea Horses, before motoring back towards Cabo, where tomorrow morning this chapter of the adventures of the Nautilus Explorer will come to a happy end. I believe everybody will leave with a smile on their face and a warm heart because of the beauty and greatness of these waters!

Surface Conditions: Windy and cool in the morning developing into a very hot calm mid-day and cool breezy afternoon. A few small swells less than a foot in the morning with calm waters the rest of the time.

Underwater Conditions: The visibility was somewhat limited at between 60ft in the best dive site, and 25ft in the worst case. Temperature was quite cool between 71F and 73F. There was no current most of the time and when we did encounter one, it was very mild and totally negotiable.

DM Peter

Greetings,  Well here we are, at the end of another successful season of diving at the Revillagigedo (Socorro) islands and the Sea of Cortez. And what a season it has been! I’ve been on board since the middle of February, and it was intriguing to witness the dynamism of the environment evinced in my 10 trips this season.

During the winter months, we were graced with the presence of the seasonal visitors to the islands, the humpback whales. These beautiful animals provided a constant source of fascination from the surface, and an unending hope that maybe we might be one of the lucky ones to see them under water! Ah, but huge and majestic as they may be, they can be frustratingly coy. Still, although the chances may be hit and miss, we were blessed with a few magical encounters.

As the months rolled on, temperature and humidity rose, bringing with it more energy to the above water conditions, characterized by more rapidly changing wind and sea states. It also brought an end to the humpback whale season, but as we bade farewell to the whales, so we gave welcome to the sea lions and fish-filled reefs of the Sea of Cortez!

It’s always nice to shake up the routine a bit, and I very much enjoyed the chance to be onboard for our “combo” trips between Socorro and the calm, beautiful scenery of the waters surrounding La Paz, Mexico.  But amongst all that diversity, all the different experiences that touch our trips in one way or another, there was always one constant to look forward to: the eerie, strangely intelligent, curious, and stunningly beautiful giant manta rays.

Leaving the Socorro islands at the end of a season (and our more seasoned clients may attest to this as well) can feel like saying adieu to old friends, and although I may have been working in these islands for the better part of 4 years, I never fail to be touched by the chance to see the mantas.  I could go on – the scalloped hammerhead, silky, Galapagos, silvertip, white tip, and even whale sharks; the bottle nose dolphins, the false killer whales, and pilot whales; the turtles and moray eels; the schooling yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and jacks; and the abundant populations of reef fish. But to do it all justice would require more space than I have here. Suffice it to say I’ve found there’s something for everyone who is enamoured with the natural world.

Time to go now – there’s always work to be done!  Even on my birthday, which was celebrated in fine style by being serenaded by our recent group of German guests! Our chef Juan Carlos even fattened me up with a delicious birthday cake.  Until next season Socorro, vaya con Dios. Next up, Guadalupe and the great white sharks!

Sandy Curtis,   First Mate,   Nautilus Explorer

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, California Sealions, Captains Log, Destinations, El Mogote, False killer whales, Galapagos Shark, Giant Mantas, Humpback Whale, Nautilus Explorer, Nudibranch, Revillagigedos, Salvatierra, Sea of Cortez, Silky Sharks, Socorro, Tuna, Whalesharks, sealions, shark, stingray, whitetip reef shark | No Comments »

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 »

Orange seahorse that we spotted here 2 weeks ago has moved a total of 2 metres — mate and diveguide log – Nautilus Explorer – May 30, 2010

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Another successful trip!

I’m writing this by the pale, ghostly light of a full moon shining over a flat calm sea on a warm night near San Jose del Cabo, driving the Nautilus Explorer back to port after a 12 day trip to the Socorro Islands and the Sea of Cortez.

What a beautiful night. It’s nights like these that make me glad to be a seafarer, and although I’d like to say the weather’s like this all the time at , our friends who have been on previous trips will be quick to tell you that we’re not always so lucky! That doesn’t detract from the beauty of tonight, however.

We’ve been blessed with beautiful conditions for most of this trip, save perhaps the sole exception of a rather bumpy transit north from Socorro to the Sea of Cortez. Nothing that the Nautilus Explorer’s beautifully and very strongly built steel stability hull can’t handle, and nothing our guests couldn’t take care of with suntanning and napping! And to top it off, as soon as we made our turn around the Baja California into the Sea of Cortez the seas dropped down to nothing and we’ve enjoyed 4 days of glassy smooth weather.

I’ve got some new underwater memories from this trip, including a dive I did with our new deckhand Tess, at Cabo Pearce. Boy that was some current! Hanging on to our (very prudently and thoughtfully placed) descent line we felt like flags in a stiff breeze! There were 2 beautiful Giant Manta Rays gliding effortlessly through the easily 2 knot current, and they approached us eyeball to eyeball as if to ask us what we were doing in that kind of current!

I also dove in Los Islotes, in the Sea of Cortez, again with Tess and our chief engineer Larry. Boy those are some curious and playful Sea Lions! The hardest part of the dive is keeping your head on enough of a swivel to keep track of these sleek animals rocketing through the water around you, as if to finally drive home how clumsy and awkward we humans are in the marine environment. Photographing sea lions at play is a challenge to say the least! You have to be quick with a shutter.
Well, back to the job at hand, driving the Nautilus Explorer through this moonlit night. I’m looking forward to one last trip to the Socorro Islands and the Sea of Cortez before saying goodbye to Baja California Sur for this season. We had a great one, and made lots of new friends and new memories. Now bring on the Great White Sharks of Guadalupe!
Sandy Curtis

Espirito Santo and la Reina , Sea of Cortez Baja California Sur. Mexico

So I took the computer and am sitting on the top deck writing this log. I am looking to the west and see the sky red , orange by the mountains of Baja California Peninsula as the sun went down since an hour ago down looking to the south a fullmoon has risen first deep red and have now been changing colour to silver. The sea is flat.

To come up in the sea of Cortez is making such a change in caracter above water as well under beneith compared with Islas Revillagigedo that always moves and is more dramatic. It is nice to during the same and one trip meet two totally different seas. The big stuff in the Socorro islands and then a bit slower paste and more slow meditative diving in the Sea of Cortez. And the amount of fish this waters has!! Tousands and ten tousands of schooling scads and grunts , Creol fish that just in a never ending traffic like rush hour in Mexico City it just comes and comes and comes. Then for those who want to get harrased by the playful sealion, spinning around you and makes you feeel as agile as a refrigerator.

Or go for a nudibranchunt , or blennies and gobies , want to see a few houndred pufferfish, I mean schools of them? Go to the wreck salva tierra. It is loaded of them. And snappers and groupers. Or the funny looking bluespotted jaw fish peeking up with its head looking like kermit from the muppet show. And its big brother the finespotted jaw fish that reah up to 40 cm in lenght. Kormorand birds hunting under water swimming quickly trying to grab the scads. You can just park your self at a spot and sit there and watch. On top we still see dolpins, common dolpins today, we still had a left over humpback and the mobula rays that are juming high up in the air looking like they try to fly but lands with a big splash back in water. Or snorkel with the whaleshark by the mogote. And in the evening jump on a beach of thean island and get away  and take in total stillness watching the sun settle behind the mountain of Baja. It is just a beautiful place to have as a change now after been working down in Revillagigedo To actually work where I started 8 years ago and close to home. Diving in my backyard and show people this pearl of the planet. We finished up our days diving at la Reina . Lots of playful sea lion and , the orange seahorse that we spotted here for 2 weeks ago had moved maybe two meters since last.

Good way to end up the trip and for me to take a vacation for a month and next time meet up with Nautilus Explorer in Ensenada to start a exploratory dive trip to isla Guadelupe the 3 of July.

Until then dive safe.

Sten

Surface conditions Sunny hot 32-34 C south slow wind in the Sea of Cortez

Underwater conditions Viz was a bit low as 8-12 M best this trip in la Reina with 15 M temp varies a lot from 21-26C Low 70s to 80 F This trip mild current

Posted in Baja California, Cabo Pearce, Captains Log, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Humpback Whale, Los Islotes, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Sea of Cortez, Socorro, Socorro Island, sealions | No Comments »

25 different species of coral at Socorro Island and more diversity than in all the mexican pacific + voyage into the Sea of Cortez – crew and guest log – May 28, 2010

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

This is my last trip of the season to Socorro Island, with a group of German divers and a mexican researcher Laura Escoboza which has a Master degree in Marine Biodiversity and conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in Ca, USA. I made a couple of dives with her and she share her observation she found 25 different species of coral. These islands is where you can find more coral diversity in all the mexican pacific. Between those species you can find pocillopora captata, P. Verruscosa, P. Meandrina, pavona gigantea, to name a few. Between the dive sites the Boiler hold the most variety, although it is the smaller place. Most of the coral larvas come from the Indopacific sea where is located the golden triangle of coral. I found this interesting and is good to have researchers working on this amazing place which is too remote and hard to come but thanks to the people like Capt. Mike Lever, owner of the Nautilus Explorer, and other dive operators it has been possible. Also Mike Lever been a pioneer and founder of the Nautilus Foundation in cooperation with other dive operators in the area and thanks to all our guests that have been helping with their donations and been involved in benefit of our beloved islands, Mantas, sharks, dolphins, you name it we have it! We hope to protect them. Soon will be time to leave to another spectacular place, a new adventure Guadalupe Island Great White Shark submersible cage diving. I can’t wait!  If you want to know how the Germans liked my last trip, they said Fantastic!   Divemaster Pedro

Another adventure in the Sea of Cortez, since the beautiful sunrise that I saw today to the calm ocean, it’s interesting how some guests don’t want to miss any dives, and others are happy to enjoy the sun and the great view of the hills. This is a group of Germans, tranquilo, and very nice they get happy to see everyday the sunset. They look like they are so relaxed and are without worries. That is they way to have a vacations! Diving, relaxing and see all the wonderful places that we have, like Socorro and the Sea of Cortez. One more day in the paradise, what else can we ask for?   Hostess Silvia

Today was an exciting day for the divers. First, whale sharks, then playing with sea lions, then exploring a wreck! All in one day! What an adventure! Tonight for dinner we had an assortment of delicious pastas. It’s one of my favourite dinners of the whole trip – I’m a sucker for spaghetti! And Juan Carlos does a delicious meat sauce with lamb. Mmm mmm! Oh, and my caramel cinnamon squares this afternoon were a huge hit! Yay!

Sadly, the trip is nearing it’s end. One more day of diving in the Sea of Cortez. We’re going back to Los Islotes to play with the sea lions again tomorrow. I’ll have a chance to get in the water too, and I’ll be sure to bring my camera! The divers have already taken some great photos of the sea lions, I’m excited to get some pictures of my own!    ’Till next time…   Hostess Ashley

Another great day with a Great crew on an awesome ship.  Besides the weather being great so was the diving and company.  To start with I took a few guests on a site seeing tour and had some close experiences with some Sea Lions,we took some pictures and almost got close enough to pet them.  Later in the day I had a great dive with our friendly Mate,Sandy.  We saw lots of tropical fish and played with a young sea lion (hope the pictures and video turns out)  Off to La Reina.  That’s all for now
Chief Engineer Larry

The trip is about to end, tomorrow will be our last diving day, and suddenly you want to extend the day more than 24 hours. It has been a one of a kind experience! Socorro Island is a  healthy ecosystem; you can find little species, such as sea cucumbers and urchins, all the way to the big ones (silky sharks, mantas, false killer whales). Also Revillagigedo represents the most diverse place in the Mexican Pacific regarding corals, a total of 25 species have been register here and it exists the possibility to make the list longer since the islands are a stepping point of the larvae that make it from the Indo-Pacific. I also noticed that many fish species are some how “unafraid” and really curious, I never had experience something like that and maybe it has to do with the fact that there is no fishing allowed and that the amount of scuba divers is really reduce. Hopefully all the conservation efforts that have been put up will grow and continue, Nautilus Explorer is one of the several actors pushing for better and greater actions. At the end you will have a true wild diving experience!! And to top it all we had the chance to visit several places at Sea of Cortez. The experience couldn’t have been so great with out the terrific crew members that help you and go beyond what ever you need. And if you feel like learning how to fill tanks and basic boat procedures, they will do that for you. Thanks to all for making the trip so fun and unforgettable. I leave with an expanded horizon of ecological information and, most importantly, with good friends.    Laura Escobosa

Photos taken by Robert Wilpernig and DM Sten Johannson

Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Los Islotes, Manta, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Sea of Cortez, Silky Sharks, Socorro, Socorro Island, The Boiler, Whalesharks, dolphin, sealions, shark | No Comments »

We finished the day strong with an adrenalin inducing night snorkel with feisty silky sharks – Captain and crew blog – May 23, 2010

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

The sea state was actually not too bad when I woke up this morning at 0530 for my turn on watch. A fairly long 6-10′ from the NW which we were riding over quite smoothly. I must have done something to upset the ocean G*ds though because around 20 minutes after I stepped onto the bridge the wind started blowing, leading to our present state, with a stiff 20-25 kts from the NW, turning the original long 6-10′ into a choppy 8-12′. Not what I was hoping for on this transit north, but certainly nothing that this ocean going vessel can’t handle, just a little lumpier than our guests were anticipating. After departing Roca Partida we have spent the last three days diving at Isla Socorro and Isla San Benedicto, and have had some superb dives. Pta Tosca on the west side of Socorro delivered a beautiful morning dive with 2 Giant Pacific Mantas spending nearly the entire dive sharing themselves between all of the divers in the water, circling around and overhead, and making eye contact as they cruised by only a few feet away. The afternoon at Pta Tosca was not so hot, with visibility diminishing and our manta pals moving on to other more important things apparently. However we did finish the day strong with an adrenaline inducing night snorkel with around 6-8 feisty silky sharks!

Up next was Cabo Pearce, where we stayed a full day and completed 4 great dives. The day began with an amazing dive featuring 30-50 schooling hammerheads AND 6 Giant Manta Rays, all of which circled closely giving all the divers in the water some great Manta lovin’. Visibility was great at around 80ft/24m and our 6 lovely Mantas stuck around for dives 2 and 3, with at least 4 of them being ‘players’, coming in very close and providing some great interaction. Also had a couple brief dolphin sightings, a couple solitary hammerheads, and a huge school of Bonito that swam by in the blue and seemed to go on and on forever. By dive 4 the current had increased to very strong and the big animals said their goodbyes. We rounded out the Socorro part of our itinerary with a day at San Benedicto. After a very brief and murky dive at the canyon we spent the rest of the day at the Boiler, having some more great Manta interaction, this time with one ‘player’ and one ‘dancer’, one interacting with divers while the other showed off its agility with moves that would have made a stealth bomber look bad. A couple of big Galapagos sharks cruised around on dive 4, eliciting some high fives for our divemasters after the dive!

Now on to the Sea of Cortez. ETA for our first divesite is 0800 tomorrow morning, and we’re all looking forward to the very small seas forecast for the next few days of diving on the east side of Baja California Sur. More to come from the Sea of Cortez.

Captain Gordon Kipp

Surface conditions: Wind moderate (avg 15 kts), sea state at Socorro small to moderate (5-7′ swell), air temp 75-80F, mostly sunny

Diving conditions: Visibility  poor at Canyon (10ft/3m), to excellent at the Boiler (80-100ft/24-30m) and everything in between, water temp 76f, current mild to very strong.

I’m the newest deckhand on board the Nautilus Explorer. I began working here just under a month ago, and every day has been filled with wonderful experiences followed by beautiful sunsets. On my way here I was worried about fitting in with the crew as they are a very close group – almost like family. However, my fears were groundless. As soon as I arrived, they began showing me the ropes (ha!) and were very understanding during my learning curve.

In the past few weeks I have seen all sorts of interesting creatures, both from the surface and underwater. At San Benedito, I saw manta rays and whale sharks from the surface, and a moray eel underwater. At Roca Partida, I watched magnificent frigate birds stealing fish from masked boobies as I waited for the divers to surface. While we were en route to the Nautilus dolphins frolicked in my wake. At Socorro Island I again saw mantas but this time underwater – truly awe-inspiring. We also did a night snorkel with silky sharks, which was incredible. Film doesn’t quite pass on the atavistic shiver when you see a 6 foot shark swimming towards you out of dark sea. Upon leaving the Revillagigedo Archipelago we continued on toward the Sea of Cortez, where I swam with sea lions, and saw vultures and sea hawks circling.

Truly it is a privilege and a pleasure to work here regardless of  the long hours. It is more a way of life then a job.
Thanks for reading!
Tess Szostakiwskyj
Deckhand on the Nautilus Explorer April – June 2010

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Cabo Pearce, Captains Log, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Giant Mantas, Nautilus Explorer, Punta Tosca, Revillagigedos, Roca Partida, San Benedicto, Sea of Cortez, Silky Sharks, Socorro, Whalesharks, dolphin, hammerhead, sealions | No Comments »

50 trips to Socorro Island and I still find new experiences above and below the water to take my breath away – First Mate Log – May 17, 2010

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Good evening! This is first mate Sandy writing, from the beautiful Sea of Cortez near La Paz, Mexico. We have anchored in a small bay on the island of Espiritu Santo for the night, before heading back to the local California sea lion colony, Los Islotes, for some adrenaline-filled diving with some gregarious marine mammals tomorrow morning.  It’s been more than 3 years since I’ve been on a trip to the Sea of Cortez, and there certainly is something magical about it. Some may say that her day is past – that the crowds of pleasure boats and luxury yachts have encroached upon the serenity of the islands, or that the inevitable byproducts of a dramatically increased human presence in Baja California has lead to a negative impact on the local ecosystem – but for anyone whose curiosity may have been piqued by Steinbeck’s classic will still find much to marvel at in the calm, turquoise waters or the stark desert coastline.

It has been my pleasure to work aboard the Nautilus Explorer for more than 4 years now, and although I may be fast approaching 50 completed voyages to the Islas Revillagigedo, Socorro and the Sea of Cortez (in addition to Alaska, the Channel Islands, British Columbia, Clipperton Island, and Isla Guadalupe – phew this boat gets around!), I still find new experiences above and below the water to take my breath away. Diving with giant manta rays, schooling hammerhead sharks, great white sharks, sea lions, dolphins, and humpback whales for many would be more than enough to hold the appeal of a unique job like this for many years, but in addition to all the wonderful natural splendour that we are exposed to in this work, I am also honoured and humbled to have had the opportunity, and the pleasure, of meeting many wonderful and fascinating people, crewmembers and guests alike, from all over the world. To be caught up in a swirl of languages, social backgrounds, political viewpoints (now now, let’s keep it controversy free!!), cultural differences, and unique perspectives, all from the shared common base of a love of the natural world, can be a heady experience and lead to very interesting discoveries about one’s self and the world around us.

Having only recently assumed the role of first mate onboard the Nautilus Explorer, I am enjoying the fresh challenges and learning experiences presented to me in my new capacity, even if I may sometimes complain about having less time in the water! Being involved in the management and planning side to keep an operation like this on an even keel can be quite an interesting adventure. For instance, it wasn’t until recently that I found out that this boat isn’t run on diesel fuel at all. In fact, it’s actually run by a combination of paper, emails, coffee, and checklists. Oh, so many checklists. So many checklists, that we’ve found ourselves having to make checklists for our checklists! Now I wouldn’t go so far as to describe it as Kafka-esque, although sometimes if I’m a little behind, it can certainly feel that way. But hey, that’s why I attended nautical school – to learn how to use a laminator!

The sheer distances and vast differences in cultural regions that we operate in can lead to their own interesting experiences. Around here, just to deal with our day to day work, we all need to speak English, Spanish, Spanglish, Espanglais, Franglish, French, Espancais, Englespanol, and simple pointing and grunting. Hand gestures take on a life of their own. The skill of screaming at people can sometimes be elevated to the status of art.

Boat driving, fixing things that are broken, ordering parts, dealing with bureaucratic paperwork and yelling at contractors can certainly take up a large slice of the workday pie, but whenever we can we all like to find the time to remind ourselves why we do all this in the first place. For me, I usually encounter at least one hour of every trip that brings it home to me why I do what I do. It may be underwater, eye to eye with a giant, beautiful, eerie manta ray. Or it may be on the top deck, on a quiet moonlit night in a secluded anchorage, gazing up at a limitless panoply of stars. Or perhaps it’s that moment of tranquility that occurs just as the last of 24 divers have just jumped off my skiff and dove beneath the surface, leaving only their bubbles breaking the still, dappled surface of a calm day at Cabo Pearce.

It is everyone’s right to complain about their jobs. And I believe that human nature is such that no matter how perfect things can be, someone will find something to complain about, even if they have to make it up. But the moments of magic that occur above and below the surface on every single trip I’ve ever been on are what keep me here, and keep me proud to be involved in such a unique operation such as this. It’s an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything, and one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. If you don’t believe me, come on board and see for yourself. You won’t regret it.

Sandy Curtis, First Mate, Nautilus Explorer

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Alaska, Animals, Baja California, British Columbia, Cabo Pearce, California Sealions, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Clipperton Island, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Hammerhead shark, Humpback Whale, Los Islotes, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Sea of Cortez, Socorro, dolphin, mexico | No Comments »

Return to the Sea of Cortez for some really nice diving brings back memories – dive guide log – 14 MAY 2010

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

So after finishing up last day diving in San Benedicto and Socorro Island with A LOT of hammerhead sharks at the Canyon and actually no big animals at the Boiler we decided to run north to the Sea of Cortez for a couple of days of scuba diving. . We met som decent waves on our way up north that made the activity on board was a litle less then normal. Coming in to Sea of Cortez we met flat sea and started of with a whale shark search bby the mogote, we had 3 whalesharks , but not for so long. So we went up to Swanne reef and did an hour and a half dive on the shallow reef. Playing with a group of california sealions and watching various small neat cleaning stations. Coming from Revillagigedos all the time scanning the blue water for big animals , Sea of Cortez makes a nice change to dig our heads in to the sand and rocks looking at fish beahviour and nudibranchs, kind of contemplation.. well until the sealions comes to bug us!

Ah ! We also watched the bird Cormorant fishing under water. It reminds me of some kind of stressfull cartoon caracter speeding around the rocks after fish.

We ended the first day in the sea of Cortez with a night dive at los Islotes. Great spot to see a lot of stuff coming out at night you would never see at day here. Like the seaslug the sea hare , up to a foot long and having a strange behaviour to stick its head in the but of an other sea hare…The biggest sea hare can get are up to 14 kg!! Even if ours here had just gets up to a kg. The arch gets full of yellow cup corals that blooms and make the walls golden.

Our second day we did two dives at Los islotes, we let our Rebreather divers have the possibilities here to make 3 hour dive if they wanted. It is a good place to do so, as it is easier to  have control watching over the divesite.

Sealions and fish, big groupers in shallow waters. Viz was not the best though.
As a lat dive we steamed down to La Reina and had a bunch of sealions playing around. A lot of  male youngsters now days in the spring that have been chased away from Los Islotes  by the the bigger bulls. A little surprice was to see a orange seahorse hanging hard on a barnacle in a sweeping current.

A nice dive to end the trip with. Actually we had some of our guests that said that the best dive of the trip was the first dive and the last dive.

Surface conditions: Sunny , flat water. 30 C

Underwater conditions: all from 21-25 C 72-76F Calm water except La Reina that was a bit “windy”

Dive guide Sten

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Destinations, Hammerhead shark, Los Islotes, Revillagigedos, San Benedicto, Sea of Cortez, Socorro Island, Whalesharks, sealions | No Comments »

Hammerhead shark field report – big jump for shark research project conducted onboard the Nautilus Explorer on the Clipperton Island expedition – Guest blog – April 23, 2010

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

We are coming back from Clipperton island by now. This was a small step for our project but a big jump for shark research. We set three different underwater receivers located to the NE, south and NW of Clipperton. In previous years we have tagged several species of sharks in different island from the Pacific. My colleague James Ketchum has tagged scalloped hammerheads and galapagos sharks in Galapagos, Cocos and Malphelo. They have found connectivity between this three islands of the Pacific but the puzzle its bigger than that. We have the theory that long migration species such these follow a “migration corridor” in the Tropical Pacific from these islands on the south as north as Baja California including The Sea of Cortez. Because of this, we have started a project covering all the Mexican Pacific islands. Clipperton (previously Mexican) was the most ambitious project that we included on the project. Thanks to the support of the Nautilus Explorer we started with a great success. All the crew from the boat was very supportive with our research and without the help of every person on the crew this endeavor would have been impossible. The shark population looks better than on the last trip of the Nautilus Explorer on 2007. In that trip the sharks were not seen often and they thought that it was because of the illegal fisheries. We could witness in all the diving sites long lines on the bottom that are used to target sharks. Fortunately we saw several sharks in almost every dive including the following species: Carcharhinus albimarginatus (silvertip), C. falciformis (silky), C. galapaguensis (galapagos), Sphryrna lewini (scalloped hammerhead), triaenodon obesus (white tip reef) and one that by now is unidentified. We have pictures and footage of one shark that looks like a requiem shark (Genus Carcharhinus) but with two conspicuous characteristics that do not match with the species recorded for this island: its anal fin its almost as big as the second dorsal fin and its eyes are maybe three times bigger than the eyes of most carcharhinids. I am going to send this pictures to Dr. Jose Castro and Dr. Leonard Compagno (both shark identification specialists) in order to identify this weird looking species. Maybe we will have a new species named Carcharhinus nautiliensis!

Dr. Mauricio Hoyos (responsible on the field of the project: Clipperton and Revillagigedo shark tagging program)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Clipperton Island, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Guest Blog, Hammerhead shark, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Sea of Cortez, shark | No Comments »

Yes, we really were approached in the water by curious false killer whales!! Divemaster Log. January 22, 2010

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Location: Canyon and The Boiler dive sites,   San Benedicto Island, Socorro, Revillagigedo’s, Mexico

Finally on Day 4 of this trip we got our giant  mantas!   You never know when the big animals are going to show up on these trips.  Sometimes it’s right at the beginning. And sometimes it’s not until the last 2 days.   It’s not Disneyland and that is part of the magic.  The mantas come up at us after the second dive and started to pose infront of us just direct of the back of Nautilus Explorer. So it is very comfortable scuba diving. For some of us who went out exploring a bit further out we got sourrounded of a big school of yellowfin Tunas swimming round and round of us and like sitting in a giant well formed by tunas and from the bottom of the well a school of scalloped hammerhead sharks came up!! We looked at each others and clapped our hands of excitement. Lots of Wahoos this day.

Then we thought we spotted dolphins..? No I recognise that fin and blow , false killer whales!!   mini orca’s!!  A  group of 7-9 animals caught interest of us and stayed with us for a 10 -15 minutes. They just stayed 1 foot beside the boat and we could smell their breath. We could hear them squeaking and whistling and getting close  they made their clicking sound checking us out. Very impressive to see their curiosity on us, 1 baby was with about 2 m long. It really warms your heart seeing them but as well a bit intimidating with a big animals as the about 4-5 m long. The False orcas went and instead 6 silky sharks started to get in closer and they wanted to come back on board

Last dive the swell had picked up a lot a very long but deep swell un usually big for this area , it is affected by a storm that is taking place up the Californian coast. The visibility was so low that we did not even dive the boiler instead we decided to dive in a pocket of better viz beside the nautilus looking at wahoos , Big school of big eyed jacks and Yellowfin Tunas.

The waves where impressive! They crashed in to the west shore of  San Benedicto The spots where up to 40 to 50 m high up in the air!!

Next day we went on the Canyon and stayed here the rest of the day.  First day gave hammerhead sharks ,but no manta rays. Viz was down cause of the swell so we tried a new kind of diving we done before. We went BLUE!! With a buoy and 3 teams staying tight to the line of the buoy. We had 44 min of nothing more then a few Tunas and Wahoos, and on the 45th minute the giant manta ray that was tagged last trip called Obama a big black manta started to play with us, So it ended great. An other group had hammerheads. Always fun to try different diving . The 3 dive was just great under the Nautilus we had two Giant mantas at the cleaning station and we stayed and played with them the whole dive one was a small chevron female manta that also was tagged last trip and so friendly she totally stopped. And a huge easy 18 ft black manta. It was probably the best dive of the week,/ last dive we had silkies and a couple of hammers, the visibility dropped a lot of the huge swell , letting up silt.

We are expecting heavier swell and Captain Mike has been closely watching and worrying about the weather in the shore office.   One of the biggest storms on record for this time of year is pummelling California which makes us to the decision to move up to Baja Peninsula before it get worse and save our crossing to be safe and comfortable and end up diving our last day up in the Sea of Cortez. Not much to do about it then do the best of it! We have worked enough time at sea and with experience of not challenging the mother of sea to much cause she can have temper!! I am personally curiouse of some of the dive sites we are going to tomorrow, they are new for me even living here in La Paz diving Sea of Cortez luckily we have our old time diveguide Pedro Cervantes who lives in San Jose del Cabo since long time. He will show us his back yard tomorrow. So loocking forward to that.     Divemaster Sten.

Surface condition: 30 C big huge long swell sunny , no wind

Underwater: 24C to 77F  Viz from 60ft to 10 ft A bit  of surge  close to bottom or underwater obstacles.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Animals, Cabo San Lucas, Captains Log, Destinations, False killer whales, Giant Mantas, Hammerhead shark, Revillagigedos, San Benedicto, San Jose del Cabo, Sea of Cortez, The Boiler, The Canyon, Tuna, Wahoo, dolphin | No Comments »

« Older Entries