Posts Tagged ‘Ensenada’
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Anacapa marine reserve, Channel Islands, California, USA
Giant Black sea bass.
We are getting very excited about our upcoming Guadalupe great white shark trip next week. First trip of the season. So after been over in a very windy but extremly rich San Miguel with tons of Abolon and even a wolf eel. We arrived in a calm sunny Anacapa.
We got in to a kelp bed and watched Giant 200 pounder Black Sea Bass. Just enorm!! It does not work to rusch towards them , It is like being in the forest looking for an elephant or big game. Sneeking up on it behind the kelp and the rocks and trying to hold your breath. Really fun and really exiting to see this giants.
Surface conditions: Temp 25 C sunny and calm until afternoon when weather picked up.
Underwater conditions: 61-63 F around 16-17 Viz from 10 m 30-35 ft. No current.
Dive guide Sten
San Clemente , Channel islands , California USA
Harbour seals and Mola Mola in dense kelp forest at San Clemente.
This morning the vizibility was really good , water was blue and it was a real joy to get in to the water first meeting bat rays swimming in the border of the sand and the kelp. Viz got a little bit less but compensated us with a clear blue sky and sun. James one of our guest spotted a mola mola down at 90 feet, and several of us played around with harbour seals in the kelp , really curious quiet thing!
San Clemente gave us a lot of playground in looking at cracks and holes. there seems to be langustins every where! As well the soup fin shark or the Tope shark was vizible as last trip , but not as common as we had them last week. Some of the divers came over an old wreck that we did not knew about a surprise. It was probably one of the most apriciated dives of this week. We just have enjoyed Enriques pasta and are soon on our way back to land Ensenada. The seas are mild, so the crossing seems like it will get smooth. We will be back next week for sure!
Surface conditions: sunny 25C calm weather deep long swell.
Underwater conditions: to start a 5-60 ft viz that went down to 30 ft in the day. A bit surgy. temp colder then last week , down to 54F 11 C
Dive guide Sten
I had four hours to pack, find my passport and convince my wife that this was a good idea. The phone call I’d received was brief – I knew the Nautilus Explorer was in drydock somewhere in Ensenada Mexico and they needed help as Transport Canada sprung a huge task list on them without any warning. They were apparently in the process of cutting holes in the outer hull to allow access to void spaces and such. One ferry, a cab, three flights, a bus, a trolly and one Mexicoach ride later, I found myself walking through Ensenada. I could smell the ocean from the bus stop so I trusted my nose (and not my terrible Spanish) to find the harbour. As luck would have it, there she was. The Nautilus Explorer – high and dry. Not knowing what I was in for, I proudly marched up to the vessel and announced my arrival. Two weeks and countless hours of back breaking, sweat wrenching, muscle aching work later, the ship was finally relaunched and I saw her float for the first time. During the refit I had seriously considered (more than once) the option of walking away from all the hard work and enjoying a cervessa and a beach somewhere in the sun. But now I felt proud of what I had helped accomplish. And as an unexpected reward, I was asked to join the next charter as a crew member in order to help finish what had not been completed while “on the hard”. Although the days at sea were still long and filled with hard work, the experience was something very special. Our first day out, we were completely surrounded by whales! I had never seen so many whales at one time and so up close! A few days later I swam with dolphins! Now, nearing the end of my second week at sea, I am training and working as a deckhand. I’m told that the novelty of the job will wear off sooner or later but I honestly can’t see how. So with just a few hours notice, I left home for what turned out to be a month. I’m glad I did but next time – I will pack more socks.
Xander
Tags: Channel Islands, dolphins, Ensenada, mexico, mola mola, Nautilus Explorer, San clemente, san miguel island, tope shark, whales
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Destinations, Ensenada, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, San Clemente Island, San Miguel, dolphin, mexico, mola mola, tope shark, whales, wolfeels | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Divemaster Dan here. Writing from Vancouver, British Columbia where I left the warm water and wonderful pelagics behind for “doing time” in the office (it’s actually really easy – I just talk to people all day about how cool it is to have a staring contest with a Great White Shark from only 4 feet away, or what it feels like to ‘dance’ with a Manta Ray)!
So I haven’t posted in a while and I thought I’d drop by with a little note to update everyone on some of the very exciting things happening on the Nautilus Explorer.
The Socorro season ended well. The last trip combined diving the Revillagigedo Islands (Socorro) where all our favorite friends came out to say good bye – Dolphins, Hammerhead Sharks, Whale Sharks and of course the Giant Mantas (check out the pictures below) – and the Sea of Cortez, where we were reminded of just how much Baja, Mexico has to offer: Sea Lions were the most welcoming – maybe TOO welcoming (next time you see hostess Ashley, ask her about her new camera being a sea lion’s snack!), octopus, stingrays and the photographer’s favorite macro subjects: Nudibranchs and Seahorses!
So what now? Well as I type this, one of the largest crews we’ve ever had onboard (about 25 people) are all hard at work finishing up a huge overhaul on the boat in Ensenada. You, our guests, have made your suggestions and comments over the years and we have listened. The next time you see the Nautilus Explorer you will find a brand new head on the dive deck. So no more how-fast-can-I-rip-my-wetsuit-off dances to get down to your cabin head in time! We have also done away with our dorms. Instead we have converted one of our staterooms into a triple occupancy room with full air-conditioning and an en suite bathroom for more privacy and comfort. If you already have a booking in the old dorm, no worries, you will be upgraded to the triple at no additional cost.
And the big change that is going to have everyone talking: Two new luxury, high-end suites added to our hot tub deck. The new Dofleini suite has all the comfort and space of the Nautilus and Rosario suites. Then there is the brand new Emerald suite, our premium accommodation with “all the fixings”. A very private bedroom with a queen size Simmons Beauty rest mattress with pocket coils for ultimate comfort. Two plasma TVs; one in the bedroom and the other in the Emerald suite`s private lounge. Also in the lounge is a futon providing additional sleeping space. Sitting on this couch you can look out of the suites window and enjoy spectacular views of the ocean and islands.
We have also dropped our single occupancy rates as we know for some folks, having a little more space and privacy is very important. Give us a call or send an email and we will be happy to tell you about out different rates.
If you are on our email list, keep an eye out for our latest newsletter, hot of the press. It will have more details on the new layout and some great photos and diagrams too. If you are not on the email list and want to be, go to our website www.nautilusexplorer.com and feel free to sign up. Otherwise, just drop us an email or phone and we will be happy to add you to the list.
Also we are thrilled to announce that our Grand Prize draw for all 50/50 entrants has been made and the winners will all be announced in the upcoming Newsletter. We have given away over 25 great prizes including a free trip to Guadalupe or Socorro, pay for one and your friend comes free and lots of free upgrades and free rentals and your bar-tab paid for etc…So be sure to check that out!
Thank you for all your support of our conservation efforts in Socorro and Guadalupe. Together, we have raised over $140,000 dollars! Find more details on that in the newsletter.
And after the refit is done? We have a few Channel Islands trips and then it’s all about Guadalupe. Here we go again! 102 different sharks and counting. We are all looking forward to seeing some of our favorites like Stumpy, Bruce, Chica and Shredder. And of course we hope to make a few new friends this season. We have had a lot of bookings and the season is filling up fast. However, its not too late to snag the Emerald suite or maybe get a last minute berth in the new triple stateroom. Please send us an email, call us or check out the website for detailed information on availability and schedules.
Well that is it for me. I better get back to work here! Enjoy the photos (my favorite is the one of the crew making the end-of-season, celebratory leap off the back of the boat!)
Dan
Thanks to DM Peter Schalkwijk, Captain Gordon Kipp and Jacqueline Weideli for the photos.
Tags: British Columbia, dolphins, Ensenada, giant manta, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Hammerhead shark, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, nudibranchs, Revillagigedos, Socorro, socorro island, Whalesharks
Posted in Animals, British Columbia, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Destinations, Ensenada, Giant Mantas, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Hammerhead shark, Manta, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Socorro, Socorro Island, Whalesharks, dolphin, mexico, nudibranch | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Location: Ensenada to Guadalupe, Baja California North
Imagine a dive trip where you get to dive with Great White sharks, followed by sea-lions in an untouched kelp forest, followed by Giant Manta Rays, dolphins, hammerheads, silkies, and galapagos sharks, to name only a few. I don`t think there is anywhere else in the world you could do this, which is why I am so excited for our latest expedition of which we have just completed dive day 1. We departed Ensenada, Mexico yesterday morning, a day late due to heavy swell offshore. Despite the forecast we had one of our smoothest crossings of the season out to Isla Guadalupe and were treated to a rare encounter with several big Orcas, only a few miles out of the harbor, who swam alongside the vessel for at least 10 minutes before swimming off in search of their next meal. Conditions here at Guadalupe once we arrived were great above the surface, sunny skies and calm seas with no wind to speak of. Visibility however was a little soupy due to heavy swell the previous couple of days. First part of the day in the cages was very quiet, with only a couple of quick shark sightings as one cruised by just on the edge of our visibility. Around 2 pm though our hero for the day showed up, with her very distinctive caudal fin deformed from an injury, once Lucy decided she wanted to play she wasn`t going anywhere. She provided us all with plenty of thrills as she charged up from the depths towards our submersible cages, circling us in tight formation and making plenty of eye contact. It always makes me smile when a guest climbs out of the cage after their first ever white shark encounter and starts shouting for joy before they can even say one word! Two more days of white sharks and then we`re off to San Benitos, 155 miles to the east, for some world class kelp diving. We`ll be ending the trip with 5 days of diving at the Ìslas Revillagigedos, better known as Socorro, a further 590 miles south of San Benitos, featuring the most interactive Giant Manta Rays in the world. Can`t wait to get back in the water!
Water: Temp 67 F, 19 C, Visibility 50 ft
Weather: Skies clear, seas calm, winds light
Tags: dolphins, Ensenada, galapagos sharks, giant manta, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico, orcas, Revillagigedos, sealions, silky shark
Posted in Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Galapagos Shark, Giant Mantas, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Hammerhead shark, Orca, Revillagigedos, Silky Sharks, Socorro, dolphin, mexico, sealions | No Comments »
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
Location: On our way home from Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island to Ensenada, Mexico
What a trip!! The sharking was amazing and fabulous. Who needs tuna throwlines anyways.. We had the best sharking of the last 4 years on this trip and I am absolutely convinced that our new submersible cage has a lot to do with it. The only question in my mind is whether we should offer 2 or 3 sub cages next season. Personally, I think that the excellent sharking was also because our Mexican sharks were trying to show our Australian friends a thing or two! Memorable events included an ENORMOUS female who kept on circling the Nautilus. Another great white who insisted on following our inflatable around – the perspective we have as divers is “odd” as we were thrilled to be followed by a great white shark when one would think the more normal reaction would be HOLY SH*T, the shark that won’t quit following us is as big as our skiff! We had one big ‘ol female stick her snout inside the viewing port of one of our surface cages - there was no bait or chum involved and she didn’t get excited. My understanding is that she just swam up and took a closer look at some of our divers. With the engineering and strength that was built into our shark cages, the whole incident was a non-event except for our lucky divers who had the presence of mind to keep their cameras going. I had my own “moment” in the submersible cage on Day 2. I’ve developed the habit of riding the top of the sub cage from just inside the guard rail while leaning over the side and peering down into the blue abyss. It’s very cool and a great way to watch the sharks. A big honking female swam past and as I leaned out, I suddenly realized that I was very, very close to this shark. It was a cool moment but I beat a hasty retreat! Zale was in the cage with me and later told me that it looked like I was making out with a great white shark! As always, when we have a group of experienced and concerned divers onboard the talk at cocktail hour seems to turn to conservation and the enormous fishing pressure that sharks are under. I think that just about every diver feels sick at the illegal raping and pillaging of what is left of the shark population. We chatted with Rodney Fox at length about this and I was struck by his very apt slogan “Let the sharks live”. Pretty well sums it all up. Why can’t we leave the remaining 5 percent of the world’s shark population alone and let them live in peace. Captain Mike. ps. please email me if you are interested in trying to make a difference and letting the sharks live. mike@nautilusexplorer.com.
Weather: Hot, clear, sunny, calm and beautiful.
Water: 100 foot visibility for the most part. 69 degree water temperature.
Tags: Baja California, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, shark
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, mexico, shark | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
Location: Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
Well, we’re back on station at Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island. The good news is that this trip is a fund raiser for the Historical Diving Society (HDS). We are very lucky to have some industry icons onboard including Rodney and Kay Fox from Australia, Zale Parry who we all love dearly, Chuck Davis and Dan Orr and a whole cast of other individuals each of whom we are very glad to have with us. Many many thanks to Ed and Leslie for putting this trip together. Our toothy and very big great white friends showed up this morning for some very hot diving. I divemastered a couple of splashes in the submersible cage today and was struck by the contrast – and the serenity – of life as usual in the wonderful blue water of the ocean versus the chaos and all the bad news about the economy and crashing stock market shoreside. Couldn’t help but be struck by this as I watched very little and very BIG fish swim past me. The bad news was that we had our once-a-season bout of very bad weather on the last trip. The timing worked out well as we were able to hole up in fairly protected water in Shark Bay in company with the 130 foot submersible tender Argo from Costa Rica. I went onboard for a visit and it is a lovely ship. Kind of neat to see the Argo and the Nautilus side-by-side given the derivation of the vessels’ names. Argonauts were “men of the sea” in Homer and the Odyssey and Nautilus derives all the way down from “naut” via Jules Verne and a long list of interesting submarines. Funny how it all ties together. Anyways, once a season we seem to get very big waves and it was quite something to look at the north end of Guadalupe Island and see huge 20 foot (and bigger) rollers surfing around the point. I delayed our departure by 15 hours to hit the projected weather window and had a decent ride home after toughing out the first hour or so. Our voyage back to the island was very smooth and despite the delay (and because we ran at high power settings), our inbound divers missed less than 2 hours of diving in total. The excellent sharking more than made up for that with 4 – 5 sharks circling the submersible cage at one time today. Oh yeah. Fox and the white sharks?? Rodney Fox has been involved with over 100 film productions including one detailing the amazing story of how he was attacked by a great white, survived (550 stitches) and went on to champion and try to protect sharks. The name of that particular film is Fox and the White Sharks and I felt very privileged to watch it with him. Cheers all. Captain Mike.
Weather: Clear. calm seas, no wind. Beautiful and sunny and nice and hot..
Water: Visibility 125 feet in very blue water. Water temperature 69 degrees.
Tags: Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, shark
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, Sea, mexico, shark | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Location: Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Our crossing was smooth and just got better. On our way towards Ensenada we passed over this sea mountain ridge that often gives us blue whales. We saw some blowing in the distance but they disappeared too soon. Chasing Tunas and a few hundreds of common dolphins kept us entertained for a while. We arrived in Ensenada at 13 30 to get back to another reality. As crew, I just want to get back to my office in Guadalupe island. Sam and Sten.
Tags: Ensenada, Guadalupe Island, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Sharks
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, Tuna, mexico | No Comments »
Monday, October 6th, 2008
Location: Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico.
Just a couple of passes down deep and a baby mako was seen before breakfast. The rest of the day was great! Most of the time we had 3-4 sharks coming and going for the rest of the day. A huge HUGE! Female with an enormous girth of maybe around 16-17 feet long came up straight to the cages both sub and surface. We estimated her to get on a weight of around 4000 pounds! You really feel small and the males that you think are impressive really look like midgets beside her. To sit in the submersible and get a big old mother like that passing over you makes you feel almost naked and unprotected even if the cage is very heavy-duty and designed by a naval architect (so it should hold…) This is our 8th trip with the submersible and becomes to be the crew’s favorite toy and very much appreciated by guests. You see the sharks from a different view and they definitely show interest in it. It has also helped to drag these sharks higher up, yet keeping them in an environment where they belong so that we could study their interaction in-between each other. Also, now we can get lowered down under the big school of mackerel that likes to hide in the shadow of Nautilus and witness tunas chasing them on horizontal level with the sharks. It is just great! Gives a new dimension to cage diving!
Again we witnessed the tunas tailing the great white sharks several times. A sealion had also decided to play with a great white. It is a bit funny to see the animals that are supposed to be on the Great white’s menu to be chasing the predator and even now and then to see the sealion nibbling the tail and playing with it. I suppose it prefers to be behind than in front of one of these Apex predators. We got a full breach from one great white not far away from the stern of Nautilus. We had sharks until we had to pack up and head back towards the mainland this evening. No one of us wanted to leave. Divemaster Sten and Sharkmaster Sam.
Weather: Sunny in the morning with a bit of wind that calmed down after midday and warm and sunny in the end.
Water: Underwater conditions very clear.. Easily 150 feet. 70 degree water temperature.
Tags: Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, shark
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, mexico | No Comments »
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
Location: Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico.
Unbelievably it rained today at Guadalupe Island which is extremely unusual. There was a very bad forest fire on the Island 2 weeks ago which wiped out 80 percent of the cedar and pine forest that was delicately balanced along the ridge line of Guadalupe. It’s too bad it didn’t rain then. Had a slow start as the rain seemed to make the divers feel a bit sleepy. Despite the rain, a lot of us still went out for an early morning ride in the inflatable. The clouds and the impressive high rocky wall stretching straight up from sea level to 4500 feet made for a very dramatic sight. The sharks as well as the divers go more active after lunch and we kept the submersible cage going up and down nonstop until 5 p.m. when it got a bit murky in the water. The cage was very popular with both our divers and the sharks. 7 different sharks turned up - 3 females and 4 males. Divemaster Sten and Sharkmaster Sam.
WeatherL 2ft swell. Rain in the morning! It after breakfast and got better and better in the afternoon until the sun came out.
Water: 20 C . A bit colder than normal with also a bit more current than normal. Viz 120 ft.
Tags: Baja California, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico, Nautilus Explorer
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, mexico, shark | No Comments »
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
Location: Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico.
Divemaster Sten and Sharkmaster Sam reporting. Buzz and Mike are both on time off right now. The crossing at the end of the last trip was mirror smooth with just a very long soft swell. You could have woken up this morning and believed that you were already back in port. We get crossings like this about 1/4 of the time, the rest of the crossings usually have a 5 – 6 foot swell which is comfortable on a stabilized steel ship like the Nautilus. We have to be honest and admit that a couple of times each season we do get seas that are bigger than that unfortunately but nothing the good ol Nautilus can’t handle. The highlight of the crossing was an adult blue whale surfaced very close to the Nautilus 25 miles back from Ensenada. Arrived back at Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island at dinnier time after another easy crossing and got our cages set up before turning in for the night. Sharking started out slowly on October 4th but just got better and better after breakfast. We could easily see the anchor chain at the bow of the Nautilus from the cages and estimated the visibility at 150 feet in VERY blue water. During the day we had at least 8 individuals. Shredder a big scarred male we only seen once this season came and visited us a few times. Happy to see him back again, last year he was with us almost every trip. An unidentified big and very round female we saw first time last week made closer passes. She is so round around her girth that it looks like she is pregnant. The sharks had an tendency to be a bit low, but the lowering and resurface the submergible cage made them come up more often and do several close passages both surface and deeper down. Several times we had the mackeral panicking and the yellowfin tunas in the hunt behind them. A couple of times we witnessed group of 3-4 tunas or sometimes a single tuna “tailing” the great white shark the same way we have seen rainbow runners stroking themselves against the shark’s sandpapery skin. We ended the day with an inflatable tour along the shoreline and were accompanied by hundreds of bottlenose dolphins. They where everywhere!! We also took a look at the Guadalupe fur seals. Interesting to note that they are close relatives of bears and trace the same lineage back 65 million years. Finished the day off with a lovely dungeness crab feast under the stars on the upper sun deck.
Weather: Mostly sunny, flat calm seas, temperature in the mid 70’s..
Water: Visibility 150 feet, water temperature 69 degrees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Myz0wmsJhIo
Tags: blue whale, dolphins, Ensenada, fur seals, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, mexico
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, blue whale, mexico, sealions, shark | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Location: Shark Bay, Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
Divemaster Buzz at the laptop here as Captain Mike is still on time off.. We are having a superb trip with lots of excellent white shark sightings and loads of interesting behaviour. It’s funny how variable the diving can be as our last trip was the quietest in recent memory and yet 2 days later, we are once again inundated with great whites. Had a good mix of animals today with one very large female great white shark and a couple of surprisingly large males. At one point, 2 males were very close to each other and actually crossed right in front of the cages to our photographers’ delight!! They even touched briefly before speeding off in separate directions and resuming their swim patterns. None of us have ever witnessed behaviour like that before and in fact, Sam our shark wrangler from South Africa, insists that it simply doesn’t happen. We are extremely fortunate on this trip to have film maker Ralf Kiefner onboard and he treated us last night to a film that he and Andrea, his biologist partner, have been working on for the last 7 years. The productions shows some very rare and interesting interaction between divers and great white sharks and tiger sharks. Amazing stuff and totally debunks the myth that sharks are mindless killing machines. Even our shoreline tours were super hot on this trip with 400 dolphins swimming past the Nautilus Explorer this morning. We were also joined on this trip by our great friend Mauricio Hoyes who is now in his 6th year of researching the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island. His evening presentation was well received and generated many questions from our guests. To top it all off, we have been seeing tuna buzzing through the school of mackeral that are always hanging out around the ship AND a very large female great white. Her girth is so enormous that we suspect (and hope!!) that she is pregnant. There has been a lot of speculation as to whether Guadalupe Island is a white shark nursery and perhaps we will finally get the “evidence”!!!
Weather: Sunny and flat calm seas and no wind.
Water: Water temperature 70 degrees. Visibility 100 – 125 feet.
Tags: Baja California, Ensenada, great white sharks, Guadalupe, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Sharks, Tiger Shark
Posted in Animals, Baja California, Captains Log, Destinations, Ensenada, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Nautilus Explorer, Tiger Shark, mexico, shark | No Comments »
