Posts Tagged ‘scuba’

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“…it’s a life changing experience.”. Socorro, Mexico. May 18, 2012.

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Dear staff at Nautilus (and Mike),

I just want to extend a thank you for the great trip. What a marvelous experience! The boat is great, the crew superb. I particularly appreciated Joel for his help in the dives, I only had 35 dives on my logbook, that making me the least experienced diver on board, and it was my first time dealing with strong currents and oceanic swell. Joel was very nice to always dive with me and make sure I was safe. We had a blast.

The giant mantas were amazing, there are no words to express the emotions that go on in your whole body when you glide underwater with them, it’s a life changing experience.

I also very much enjoyed the shark lectures by Erich Ritter. It was an  unexpected, very pleasant, surprise for everybody, you should make that a regular part of the trip if he does have the time. We all learned a lot about “shark psychology” and it was even nicer to recognize and experience these behaviors first hand in the water.

Thanks again,

Manuela.

 

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Sometimes you just get lucky. Socorro, Mexico. May 16, 2012.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Agonized a bit yesterday about staying for another day and 4 of the 5 of the Russian guests said they would prefer to move on, wanted to see a whale shark. Well, stayed for the day and whale shark has been circling Roca Partida all morning, everyone has seen him multiple times, albeit it is a smaller juvenile about 3 metres long. So have big smiles all around. Wind was up this morning but has started to drop again, now less than 10 from the ne, with a 3-5′ swell mostly from the north. Two more dives this afternoon and will be head back to San Benedicto.

Captain Al

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Today I discovered the wreck of an American LST that had been lost for 70 years. They should name it Tad’s wreck! Socorro, Mexico, May 15th, 2012.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Dived the U.S. navy LST today!! Definitely it!! Brought back pics. Lost for 66 years or so and now it’s found.

Elaine

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The trip so far has been amazing! I discovered an American LST (over 300 feet long) which was a military vessel that ran ashore in 1943? Stunning! Can’t say I’ve ever re-discovered a ship that has been forgotten for the last 70 years. Hope I can at least get a dive site named after me, Tad’s Wreck.

On the way back to the evening anchor, pulled in two wahu and one bonito! Hand line! Fresh fish makes everyone happy!! The reefs are untouched and gorgeous! Large schools of reef fish, jacks, and antheias. Macro life is not all that great, no big pelagics, no turtles, no big scholls of sharks this trip. That said, the stop at San Benidicto on the way here:  manta rays x4, hammerhead sharks x6, reef octopus, huge moray eels, and schools of bait fish that make you lose your sense of direction.

All that said, I do miss the one’s I love, and I hope you’re are all well. Sarah, LUB! Mom, love you too.

TWW

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Tony is a great guy, really he is.

Saw yet another wreck on the first dive of the morning. Very old, overgrown with coral and almost unrecognizable.  I could make out the outline of part of a ship from above.  When I saw the remains of a staircase almost hidden beneath the coral I knew for sure it had at one time been a ship. Have no clue which one that was. Kept trying to get a good, face forward, picture of a Clipperton Angelfish.  Think I finally did it. For some reason, autofocus just doesn’t want to on their faces. Saw the first semi aggressive moray behavior today they seemed fairly normal the first few days compared to trips past. Today the eels seemed more like the legendary old crazy eels I’d had to dodge and evade on past trips to Clipperton. Anyway, 82 degree water rocks!!!!!!

Elaine

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Hard getting up this morning, diving non-stop certainly allows for good sleeping! Good dive this morning. Viz was down a bit, great fish, 1st snowflake moray, and a naso tang (my favorite)!

Lots of medical issues on this trip: a sprained ankle, a crushed big toe, hypovolemia, black urchin punctures, knife lacerations, and a moray eel bite! Told the captain he needs to put me on the payroll, or maybe a discounted trip next year. Today, the captain will make the decision to head back to the Revillagigedgo (sp) islands a day early. There has been some large swells over the last couple days, which is cause for some pause before heading back. Likely going to be a rough two days transit, uggghhh. Should be worth the trip, the one dive stop on the way here was one of the best dives I’ve done. Having 3 days there will be fantastic forsure. Not saying Clipperton hasn’t been amazing, just not much variability. After 5 days, pretty much been there, done that.

I miss my Sarah, and my crazy 4 legged girls at home! All is well, and will make every attempt to keep it that way! Sarah, can’t wait to see you in 6 days! LUB! Hi Momma, Hoey, Halley, Drew, Grif, and Lola! Love you all!!!

TWW

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Great diving on Clipperton. Surge to deal with, but that can be fun once you figure it out. So much life to see. Tons of stuff all over the place. Only one dive where it was too difficult to make the dive enjoyable. Huge corals of all kinds.

Karen

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24hrs into the transit from Clipperton to Roca Pardito. Think I’ve slept 16 of the 24. Been a bit of a rollercoaster trip! Lots of reading and eating, thank God Juan Carlos is a great chef! Thought I might lose a few pounds on this trip, doesn’t seem to be the case. Glad I’m not losing pounds over the gunnel of the ship! -note to future adventurers: bring scopalomine patches~!

Hi Sarah! Miss you! Can’t wait to spend a week at Casa Panter with you! Hope you’re getting excited. On second thought about the rental car, might be a good idea. If you find a good internet deal out of the airport, book it! I’ll call you again this Friday about the same time we spoke last week. Love ya!

Been a great trip, and certainly shaping up to finish out that way. Really excited to dive Roca Pardito and San Benidicto. Should be some great pelagics and shark activity! Trying to keep my expectations low and my optimism high!

TWW

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On our first dive we got our asses handed to us by the current and then a giant manta glided past, loaded with hitchhikers. Baja California, Mexico. May 14th 2012.

Monday, May 14th, 2012

On our first dive, we got our asses handed to us by the current and then a giant manta glided past, loaded with hitchhikers

We were severely warned that we must blog on a daily basis, otherwise the crew and guests would suffer. I take on this great burden because I understand the consequences; keelhauling, lashes with the cat o’ nine tails, bread and water in the brig. Still no pirates on the horizon, however you can just see the outline of the island of San Benedicto on our first stop. Birds were circling the boat, identified as either boobies (stop right there) or brown encrusted twerp awks. Honestly, birds aren’t my thing. They look hungry. Think I’ll go back to my room.

I found a dusty old tome hidden amongst the books on the library shelf. It refers to the native inhabitants of these mysterious volcanic islands, describing their appearance, customs, and mating habits. I’ll write more in the next blog.

SOOOOO! We’ve been banned from Socorro island by the NAVY. (nudge nudge, wink wink.) You could see strange lights and hear weird sounds coming from that direction. Some kind of secret government experiments. I suspect the crew is in fear of alien invasion, or perhaps the captain keeps a harem there. Otherwise, first dive, we got our asses handed to us by the current. At one point I was hanging on a rock, my fins vibrating behind me in the current, and a giant manta floated by, loaded with hitchhikers, swimming effortlessly against the current. If I Hadn’t been breathing at 40 breaths a minute, I would have been excited, I’m sure. As it was, I thought he was an insufferable showoff. Second dive was better, water temperature was bracing, the current still strong. The illusive frog fish showed his face, and looked as though he had lost a fight with a boat propeller. Octopus were spotted, and fish of all sorts abounded. Back on the boat, the food was superb, the staff brisk and efficient. I’d like to comment on the third dive, but I was too busy snoring away in my bunk.

Third dive was best of the day. No mantas‚ or sharks, but loads of big fish and dramatic underwater scenery. A few octopus, lots of huge morays, some totally in the open. Above water scenery is also quite dramatic. We are diving at the base of giant shield volcano, hundreds of miles from Baja. The trip out is a bit of chore, particularly if you are inclined to seasickness, but all indications are that the gain will be worth the pain.

Tom A | Dublin, California

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Posted in Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »

Who should we bump into but 10 – 15 Humpback whales travelling slowly in a tight group. Soccorro, 03/04/2012.

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

What a great last three days we have had. In spite of the fact we have had one of the largest storms in the NE Pacific this year, some 2500 miles away send down a large wave train that has affected some of our usual hots spots, we have been sitting on the eastern side of Isla Socorro diving in good conditions but more importantly than just getting wet it has been great diving. Giant mantas and Hammerhead sharks every dive last two days at Cabo Pearce, this morning it was a little less active so we elected to move around the corner to the ‘petit boiler’ which on a low tide the top just breaks the surface, it is protected from the large current volumes that flow over Cabo Pearce at times so made for a nice relaxing couple of dives, it is a small pinacle that has thousands of fish surrounding the rock, eel gardens on the sand at 120′/35 M  Water temps have been creeping up now 73 F/22 C occasionally slightly warmer and once in a while when upwellings occur a bit cooler. Vis the last few days has been in the 40-60′ range.

For some of the guests and crew the best was last today. Just getting underway from Cabo Pearce to try a dive at the NE end of Socorro, when was should we literally just about bump into.

How about 10-15 humpback whales travelling slowly in a tight group. They allowed us to simply drift along with them for about an hour. All the time they, the whales and us being accompanied by a large pod of dolphins. As we made the decision that the NE Pt dive was going to have to be another day we came back towards Cabo Pearce and what should we see but 8-12 mantas at the surface feeding all around the boat again as we simply drifted and watched in amazement. So what started out to be a good way to hide from the angry seas in one place turned into a thing of beauty for the crew and guests alike.

Heading off for the Boiler at San Benedicto tomorrow moring early.

Captain Al

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It’s been a great trip here on the Explorer. After a hiatus I returned to Mexico and diving the Pacific. The first dive day saw us at the Boiler, with four Mantas swooping and soaring through our bubbles for the full time we stayed below. To say they were mesmerizing would be a vast understatement. Rays have always been a favourite of mine and to see the graceful dance of these giants was hypnotising, and not just for me. After two hours we actually sent down a hook and used the davit to haul out the last two stubborn divers (ok, maybe that last is a bit of an exaggeration, but surfacing was tough). In the following days we dived at Cabo Pierce, where our stealthy divers were able to sneak up on a school of hammerhead sharks orbiting the point of a lava finger stretching out into the ocean. It was an eerie feeling gazing into the blue to see those alien heads appear and glide towards us, unconcerned by our bubbles and stumbling efforts at integration into a world that so clearly belongs to them. Tomorrow we will begin our homeward journey after a final day diving. I look forward to the next trip and my next opportunity to spend the day playing with my new friends.

Divemaster Tony

 

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Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Giant Mantas, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | 1 Comment »

The Washington Post – Indonesia struggles to combat shark poaching in protected areas. Baja California, Mexico, 2012.

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

Indonesia struggles to combat shark poaching in protected areas

By , Monday, May 7, 9:50 AM

Local and regional authorities in Indonesia caught 33 poachers last week who had taken sharks, manta rays and sea cucumbers from a marine protected area that scientists have identified as one of the sea’s most important sites. But after confiscating their illegal catch and gear, the patrol officers had to let them go.

The incident left conservationists and villagers frustrated, and underscores one of the biggest challenges in protecting the ocean: Setting aside swaths of the sea from fishing only works when there’s adequate enforcement.

Residents in several parts of the Bird’s Head Seascape — a series of marine protected areas in Indonesian waters — agreed in 2005 to cut back on fishing to rebuild depleted fish stocks. The poaching took place in the Kawe Marine Protected Area, part of the seascape, which has no fishing in 97 percent of the reserve and ranks as Southeast Asia’s largest no-take reserve.

The villagers “are capable of managing their local resources,” said Ketut Sarjana Putra, executive director of the advocacy group Conservation International in Indonesia. “They don’t have enough capacity to do very good enforcement and patrol.”

The poached sharks, manta rays and sea cucumbers are all coveted by Asian consumers and were worth more than $160,000. Sharks are used to make shark’s fin soup, a Chinese delicacy, and sea cucumbers are sought by Japanese diners. Shark fishing is banned in the territory where the poaching took place, although Indonesia still boasts the world’s largest shark fishery, according to Conservation International.

“The government should impose heavy penalties to the shark finners,” said Hengky Gaman, leader of indigenous people of the territory of Raja Ampat, in a statement. “They have stolen from an area we protect.”

Conservation International provides $200,000 a year to fund patrols in this region of Indonesian Papua. Last week’s patrol team — which included six community members, two Indonesian naval officers and a local police officer — confiscated illegal long-line fishing gear and air compressors, which are often used to illegally take fish from the sea floor.

But they lacked the manpower to take over the poachers’ boats: After they instructed the fishermen they caught to follow them to the port of Waisai, the poachers fled.

In the wake of the incident, the Indonesian navy sent another patrol team to a nearby patrol post and announced it plans to boost its presence throughout the protected area.

The Bird’s Head Seascape boasts a stunning array of marine life: Researchers have catalogued 1,350 fish species, 700 mollusks and 540 species of hard coral. The entire Caribbean, by contrast, has one-tenth as many coral species.

Now that fish stocks are on the rebound, Putra said, the Kawe reserve attracts fishing vessels from outside the region.

“The site is remote, and from the fishermen’s perspective, this is the only fish stock in the eastern part of Indonesia that’s still healthy,” he said. “The only problem we see here is the outsiders.”

Marine biologists who work in other remote areas of the Pacific have identified similar problems.

Julia Baum, an assistant professor at British Columbia’s University of Victoria who just published a study showing reef sharks in the Pacific have declined by more than 90 percent in recent decades, wrote in an e-mail that she regularly sees a large fishing vessel in U.S. waters near Kiritimati atoll in the northern Line Islands while conducting field work, and this operation hires local villagers to cut fins from sharks.

“The reserves are not good if they’re not well enforced,” said National Geographic explorer-in-residence Enric Sala, who has also worked in the Line Islands. In some of the most remote marine protected areas, Sala added, “permanent presence is not practical” and authorities have to rely on remote-sensing satellites.

But in areas where community members have the ability to curb poaching, the results can be stunning. Sala and other researchers published the findings of a decade-long analysis last year of Cabo Pulmo National Park in Mexico’s Baja California, which experienced a 460 percent increase in the total amount of fish in its reserve between 1999 and 2009.

 

Citizens living around Cabo Pulmo, who now make money taking tourists to dive in the reserve, strictly enforce the no-fishing rules even though the national Mexican government does not assist them.

“Those guys are out there every day — by being there, it’s a deterrent,” Sala said. “So peer pressure and local enforcement without help from government agencies is also possible.”

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Manta city AKA The Boiler at San Benedicto Island – non stop. Roca Partida, Mexico, 2012.

Saturday, May 5th, 2012

Boiler was the hot spot this last week, we spent two days at the canyon and it was ok, another two days at Roca partida and it was ok, but our last two days we decided to spend them at the Boiler and boom we got to the point where we had 4  someone said 5 different Mantas just hanging out with us. They just couldn’t get enough of us and the other way around. Awesome way to finish a trip.

Air temp.- 28-30C (85-90F)

Water Tem 23C (74F)

Vis.- Around 15-20mts (45-60)Ft

DM Joel IHO

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We had a start at the canyon which we ended up staying for the day we had mantas on the surface so we had an hour snorkel with the mantas as the silky, and Galapagos sharks surround us which was so cool to see that for the first day. Roca partida is the shark city with more than 5 different sharks we saw the 5 main ones which were hammerheads, silkys, Galapagos, silver tips, and white tips. We also saw a huge school of 40 to 50 lb tunas. For 2 days the visibility was about 60 to 80 ft and temp. 70-73 F. Last but not least was the manta city AKA The Boiler we had 2 days of full action non stop plus dolphin and the whales singing what a way to seal the trip it was just one of those trips that you have to do and see for yourself. Anyway, I will continue to keep you posted .

DM Juan

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Posted in Destinations, Giant Mantas, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Socorro | No Comments »

Some damn good scuba diving at Roca Partida!! Too much to describe. Socorro, Mexico, 2012.

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

On our last stretch home we spent the last 3 days diving Roca Partida and San Benedicto! Some damn good scuba diving! Definitely lives up to its reputation. Too much to describe.

This is the time where I thought accolades for the boat, and her crew, would be appropriate. To start, this boat is awesome! CLEAN, ample room, easy dive access, great skiffs, and a nice layout. But the crew makes the ship, and this was a great team! To start, Juan Carlos put together some of the best meals I’ve ever had on the water! Gordon (our Captain) a real class act, working right along with the crew and definitely not afraid to get his hands dirty. Larry (our ship’s engineer) competent, safe, and a great guy just to shoot the shit with. Carmen and Aldofo (hostess and host) made the whole trip very enjoyable! The two of them worked great together, the level of service was 5 star! Kevin (1st mate) the kind of guy who makes his presence known in actions, not words – fish on! Our dive masters Joel, Tony, and Philipp – were all spot on! Always there to help, but at the same time giving you plenty of room to hang yourself – if you so decided. And last but not least, Lauren (deck hand) never stopped the entire time out to sea! That girl’s a worker!

I’ll definitely be back to have another adventure on this boat! But to all the rest of you, stay away, because I’d prefer to not have to make my reservation 2 years in advance J

TWW

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So much fun I can hardly find the words! I could start with MANTA’S and finish with HAMMERHEAD! Socorro, 2012, Mexico.

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Giant Black Manta Socorro Mexico Scuba Dive

You can fill in the blanks from there.  We were treated to multiple displays from a few humpback whales, that was awesome. We also had quite a few dolphins taking turns riding the bow wave, even a copy of barrel rolls. I think they enjoyed themselves.

First dive of the trip, straight down to a cleaning station and immediately we had giant Mantas and Hammerhead sharks.

J Janne

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It is special to see an all black manta but to see 3 different ones in the same day is definitely a treat! Socorro, 2012, Mexico.

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Hi,

It was a real great Day in Socorro at Cabo Pierce, the best Dive at the Trip, so far. At the first dive on this day we saw a school of Hammerheads, and it was a really fantastic experience. Three Mantas passed by playing in the bubbles, awesome. Also a lot of Octopus, Morrays, and Jackfish..

Best regards,

Anja and Christian

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Hallo Tauchfreunde, mit der Nautilus Explorer ist es eine wahre freude zu reisen, momentan auf Socorro. Die Bedienung, sei es der Koch oder die Crew ist auf einem hohen Niveau ausgerichtet, sehr freundlich und zuvorkomment. Das Essen vorzueglich (1 ˆ 2 kg pro Woche Mehrgewicht). Die Tauchgaenge gut vorbereitet und viele grosse Fische, Mantas, Hammerhaie. Einfach super.

Regula,

Tanja, Malte und Gilbert

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Black Giant Manta Socorro Mexico Nautilus Explorer

Today was a beautiful day at Cabo Pierce. We were greeted by the dolphins as we rounded the point and immediately during the first dive there were 3 mantas just waiting for us. I was dropping off and retrieving divers and during the entire process a giant, all black manta stayed near the surface and played with the divers during their safety stops. I had a chance to go on a swim along the wall and as I was admiring the colorful fish and the contours on the rocks, 2 all black mantas appeared as if out of nowhere. They circled me and came up to the shallows to greet me and I continued my swim as they swam just under me. It is special to see an all black manta but to see 3 different ones in the same day is definitely a treat!

Lauren, Deckhand Nautilus Explorer

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