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7 great white sharks swimming around 1 cage!!! Guest and crew log – August 24, 2010.

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Today was a fantastic day!  We may have seen up to seven Great Whites to start our day. Everyone is very comfortable with their diving and being safe here at Guadalupe Island. We’re all sharing stills and video at the end of the day while we capture them. A few crew members went in the water in just their bathing suits and masks – they were total troopers. Bruce, our large white friend, showed up just at the end of the day and is such a camera ham. He was the final icing on the cake.

Matt, USA

After a slow first day of white shark diving, this morning started off with a bang. Shortly after jumping in on the first cage dive of the day we had five to seven white sharks of various sizes checking out the three cages in the water. Later in the day when the Mexican Navy showed up for inspection, the shark activity died off somewhat.     We still had at least two sharks whenever we were in the cages. What a great day!

Ben, USA

What a beautiful night. It’s just past 10pm, and I’m navigating the Nautilus Explorer south-southeast towards our next destination on this 10-day combo trip, while watching the ghostly moonlit shadow of Isla Guadalupe slide by our starboard beam. The seas are calm, the winds light, the moon almost full, and the sky is almost totally free of clouds. Gentle, long-period swells 3 feet high are slowly overtaking us from our port quarter as we rock ever so softly towards our next destination, Escollos Alijos. It’s nights like these that make me feel privileged to be a mariner.

Of course, most sailors will have the opportunity to experience at least a few beautiful nights at sea. But how many of them get to enjoy la noche hermosa after having spent 3 days at arm’s length from a great white shark! We’ve had a wonderful start to our 10 day combination trip with the awesome spectacle of Guadalupe’s famous toothy residents giving us all some exhilarating moments over some 36 hours total cage time. Our resident shark whisperer extrordinaire, Jessie “Sharkchick” Harper, said more than once that our last of the three days on site was one of the best encounters she’d ever seen, and the first two days weren’t exactly boring either. Up to five sharks at one time, coming so close to the cages and from so many directions that we didn’t know which way to turn.

All this, and the trip isn’t but half over. Still awaiting us is the remote and rugged group of deep-water pinnacles called Escollos Alijos, where we will be exploring some very unique diving opportunities while not exactly sure what to expect. We’ve heard some exciting reports from other diving and spearfishing charter operators about the rich ecosystem to be found there (including the potential for spotting Galapagos sharks), and I for one am looking forward to breaking some new ground.

Finally, we will be finishing our trip off with the beautiful (and surprisingly cold) waters around the islands of San Benitos, home to some of the most beautiful kelp forests in the world. It really can be like strolling (or, rather, flying) through a sunlit forest while darting sea lions and bright orange Garibaldi provide colorful highlights through the rich green backdrop. I’m looking forward to seeing them again.

I should wrap up and return to the job at hand – navigating the Nautilus Explorer safely through the night. Having recently returned to the vessel from my vacation, I have enjoyed the renewed rush of challenge, responsibility, hard honest work, decision making, stress (of course!), and being thrown back into the dynamic mix of crew and guest experiences and personalities.  And a night like this, after a great white shark experience like the past few days, helps to drive home how unique and special an experience like this can be.

Sandy Curtis

First Mate

Nautilus Explorer

Photos courtesy of Daniel Kendzia and Kiki Fabritius

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Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Destinations, Galapagos Shark, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Nautilus Explorer, shark | No Comments »

Guest blog from Guadalupe Island with very candid comments – as well as some testosterone issues among the great white sharks – 20 August, 2010

Friday, August 20th, 2010

We just finished another SharkSchool trip down to Guadalupe on the NAUTILUS EXPLORER – and it was fantastic again. The sharks, the weather, the team… what can I say… It was all there, and I have to admit that I am looking forward to sail again. We were blessed with the whites, quite a bunch of nice sized males… some attitudes, some testosterone issues among them and one can imagine what that meant underwater… we saw a lot of awesome things – beside all the machoism – yawning, gill puffing, hunching, all the different swim patterns, chasing each other, and “pooping!” What a difference to “my sharks” in the Bahamas. When those decide to let go it is in an “orderly fashion” but when the whites “go for it” it leaves quite a cloud… and we all had a good laugh… but truly astonishing were the breaches we saw. Not that common around Guadalupe, but then again, it is Guadalupe and one can expect everything…

EK Ritter

Hallo an alle,

heute ist der dritte Tauchtag vor Guadalupe und das Wetter ist herrlich.

Aufgrunddessen scheinen auch die grossen Weissen heute besonders zugaenglich zu sein.

Ein Weibchen und ein Maenchen sind sehr neugierig auf unsere Kaefige und probieren zeitweise mal das Material – einige von uns waeren bestimmt schmackhafter.

Zwei weitere Boote haben heute die Anker vor Guadalupe geworfen, doch unsere “Jungs” haben sich an uns schon gewoehnt und bleiben immer in unserer Naehe.

Wir werden heute und morgen noch sehen, wie nah sie uns noch kommen wollen.

Dann gibt es neue News !!!

MARCUS

Dear Shark Lovers,

today is the perfect day for sharks…we’ve had about 5 to 6 different

sharks surrounding us on our last dive. Must have been 2 females and 3

to 4 males. One of the smaller males was a bit nervous but it didn’t

prevent me of going up on top of the cage. It was awesome guys! He

passed the second cage and was swimming straight in my direction. I was

like: “What to do now? Stay where I am? Step back? Step forward?”

I decided to stay and he passed really close…my camera loved me for

doing so! ;-) There is a lot of action going on today, unfortunately

we’ll have to leave the babies tomorrow.

Paul

Hy Guys,

we are on our third day of cage diving and it gets better and better. First day 2 breaching sharks (they only wanted to greet us – “Halloooooo”. Afterwards in the cages they were a bit shy but slowly coming nearer and nearer. Today was aaaaawesome.  The sharks are lovely and really nice creatures of the ocean. Also some school of tuna were following the sharks and some of them were biting them in the tails and cleaning themselves on the tails of bigger mails. The sharks seemed not very interested in them and after a while they dove away.

The crew on board is sooo nice, friendly and helpful. If you ever want to have the same awesome experience as we had so far, you should watch out for the Nautilus and their crew.

Shark your senses, dudes!!

cheers, Nina and Anke (survivors of the insanity)

PS: Live the dream!!

Dear folks,

greetings from Guadalpupe, the weather turns to sunny, cloudless conditions after we arrived on this island.

The mexican chef does his best to fill up our stomachs.

The Great Whites are amazing and good looking guys… like our Captain. Ohhh I looove cakes, erm… the Captain.

But sharks are just like humans, when one female saw 2 Carinthians steping on the cage, she jumped out to see our bright, wonderful looking austrian eyes.

Dear dairy, I need to close now, cause we have a date with some Great White Sharks under the boat, I’m afraid that there is no candle light for the dinner.

Best wishes from 2 very nice looking austrian guys on Guadalupe.

Tom & Chris

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Posted in Animals, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Nautilus Explorer, shark | No Comments »

After communing with these great white sharks for a few days, I am moved to become an ambassador for their continued existence – guest log – Guadalupe Island – August 8, 2010

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Diving with great white sharks is on my bucket list – and nearing ‘middle age’ I acted on the opportunity when my husband was convinced this “mid life crisis” trip was cheaper than a Mercedes SLK and said GO GO GO.  The research pointed to this boat as the ORIGINAL, the safest, the most experienced … essentially THE one. Now I’ve been on live aboards, many of them over last 20 years.  After MANY liveaboards, I was nervous about the quality of the boat, staff, and service.  But even if the boat was horrible, it was only 5 days.  Two weeks after I sealed the deal and booked the trip/airfare – my little brother sent me a link to a “cool, awesome, adventure” – it was the same boat, same trip.  I laughed and told him he was a little late – but better book it because I was going.  This boat is amazing.  Larger rooms than I have experienced in 90% of the liveaboards I’ve experienced. The staff has been incredible – so customer service oriented … well all except Sten who is a bit of a smart aleck, but there has to be one in every crowd.  The highlight of the trip – other than the WHITE SHARKS was Jessie.  The shark chick who started this adventure, created the original shark ID program, invested her time, resources, dedication to putting Guadalupe on the map. She is the most modest world renowned researcher and white shark guru.  Onto the diving – WOW – it is cold!  But it is the most amazing experience to see white sharks cruise past your cage so effortlessly, so powerfully.  They kept coming back and occasionally posing for the many, many photographs.  If you have a deep desire to see white sharks up close and personal – this is THE boat to book, this is THE staff to hang with and share your experience. After communing with these sharks for a few days, I have a deeper respect for them with no fear. I am moved to be involved and become an ambassador for their continued existence.  Thanks for reading  this – and I hope you book it soon before the Mexican government changes the rules and bans this activity.  Dawn Milbut from Tomball/Houston, TX and little bro Patrick Miller from Austin, TX.

I have never dived or even snorkeled.  Don’t let that stop you!  Thanks to the care, encouragement and knowledge of the crew, I have experienced great white sharks up close at Guadalupe Island .  An experience too surreal for words.  And away from the water, the crew has provided super service and the chef has fixed special vegan meals for me. I have only good things to say about this trip!  Worth every penny! Robyn from Bakersfield

I have been very happy with this trip.  The crew was ” Awesome! ”  I was also able to count the number of teeth on the sharks many times.  There’s about 250, FYI, owowowowow.  Scott from Bakersfield.

Before going on this adventure of a lifetime, I was REALLY nervous that I would get all the way out here and not see any white sharks.  Well, I was completely wrong. Every dive so far has exceeded my expectations…sharks circling and coming in closer than ever imagined.  It was UNREAL.  The crew was exceptional and all in all it was the trip of a lifetime.  I cannot believe I was able to experience this trip.  Great whites are amazing creatures that I truly wish everyone could see up close.  I cannot wait to show all my middle school science students all my photos!  Leslie Chadwick from San Diego.

My seventeen year old daughter can not stop talking about what she has seen and how great this trip has been. The crew is fantastic. If you are concerned about the quality of the boat and service, it’s excellent!!!! I would be happy to recommend this adventure to anyone. You have not lived until you have swam with the white sharks of Guadalupe Island!!!!!

Tom and Chelsea Spruance from Delaware

After Day 1 I was so certain that there could be nothing more we could see to top the experiences of those first few dives but Day 2 was nothing short of spectacular. The sharks were more curious and we were all too willing to satisfy that curiosity! The crew has been amazing and definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Amazing experience and 100% one of the most exciting, interesting, eye-opening 4 days of my life so far… Can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us…

-Wade – Montreal, Canada

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Posted in Animals, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Nautilus Explorer, shark | No Comments »

Taking a chance on an earlier than usual start to Guadalupe great white shark season pays off – dive guide log – August 4, 2010.

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Captain Mike decided to take a chance and start our Guadalupe Island great white shark season earlier than usual this year.  we had always heard the stories from local fishermen and scientists that the white sharks are present at Guadalupe at the end of July.  Sure enough  today is our 4th day with shark diving has been real good, It has been sharks  from morning to evening, not too many individuals . Mostly there has been 4 males in size from 3.5 to 4 m long 10-12 ft. We spotted a small 7-8 footer that just swiftly passed by with no wish to stay with its bigger brothers.

In total I counted 7 different individuals.

It has been sunny , dead calm seas, great viz and we have been totally spoiled of sharks. divers are smiling , It is a dream to bee working in this kind of conditions!

This morning we took a few trips with the skiffs to have a look at the Guadelupe furseasls and a few resting elephant seals as a change of all the sharks. We did not get to see the beaked whales close up , but they are out there, We spotted them with binoculars yesterday.

In the early evening we did our last dive with sharks following up in the end there where only 2 left but they did not leave us, even when we sat up the cages.

We packed and lashed our cages and secured all gear and cameras and wetsuits ready for going back to Ensenada. A great 12 days trip with good company of excellent guests and the team of Nautilus Explorer. The variation with the Channel island, Island opping and end up here in Mexico starting up the new season of Guadalupe.

Lets do that again!!

Surface conditions: Flat water, 28 C in the sun, Sunny

Underwater conditions: Viz 120ft-40 m Temp: 16-18C ca 65F

Dive guide Sten

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Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guadalupe fur seals, Nautilus Explorer, mexico | No Comments »

The great white sharks have returned to Guadalupe Island.. yahhhyyyyyy… diveguide and guest blog – August 1, 2010

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

So after finishing of 6 days diving in the Channel islands our trip has now reached Guadalupe Island. We arrived with grey weather but after a couple of hours the sun burned through and we had a beautiful sunny day and dead calm seas. It was a real treat. The first two hours we only had one sealion passing by, at a time thoughts where thinking are we to early in the season?

Then finally at the surface a 3,5 m male came by and he was a frisky one! Quick turns , steep dives and ascents and just passing inches away from the bars of the cages. Eyeballing  us. He continued staying with us until an other male a bit bigger and better fed took over and dominated the water around  Nautilus Explorer. He was not getting in as close to us as the first one but was giving us a good show until light was out and we finished the day. Again we see the funny behaiviour with a young male Californian sealion playing with the white shark, at one moment it looked like the shark would have a chance but the sealion out manouvered him.

Sun , calm seas and good viz, Good start of the new season! Nice and fun to be back again!

Surface conditions . Sunny , dead still seas 28 C 82F

Underwater conditions. Viz 100-120 ft, could clearly see the anchor chain. Temp 16-17 C 65-67F

Absolutely great dive with big great white sharks around, so close that I am able to kiss them, i love those sharks! I’m shark addicted!

They are beautiful, I never thought they would get so close to us before I came. And I never thought they would show up so quickly, either.

And a beautiful crew too! I love Nautilus Explorer and all the crew members, everybody working perfectly together. Thanks!

Sabine

First of August 2010 – Swiss National Day – we had fantastic dives at Guadalupe Island and saw  Great White Sharks.. One of them was very curious. That was great fun being in the cage! :-) all of us had great fun and the photographers are very happy with the taken pictures and are preparing now thrilling slide shows being showed at home demonstrating how courageous we are. This trip is worth being recommended to everybody, it is incredible to watch this perfect predators! Dani

Erscht Auguscht 2010 – Schwizer Nationalfiertig – moer hond super touchgaeng vor guadalupe ka und bis zu vier wissi hai glichzitig gsaea. Oana vo dena isch mega neugierig gsi und haed useri kaefig mehreri mol agschubst und probiert drizbissa. denn isch amel was los im kaefig! :-) es haed allna spass gmacht und d’fotografa send uebergluecklich mit da gschossna bilder und stellid etz spannendi dia shows zemma zum dahom zoaga, wia muetig moer alli do gsi seand! Ma kas nu allna empfehla, isch wirklich unglaublich zum dena riesiga raeuber zuazulaga! Dani

Mein tausendster Tauchgang und soooo schoen: unser Kapitaen Gordon war als Cage Master fuer uns zustaendig und fuehrte uns direkt in 12 Meter Tiefe zu drei weissen Haien. Einer des Trios war sehr interessiert an uns Vieren im Kaefig. Er kam uns so nah, dass wir ihn haetten beruehren koennen, will heissen: er landete mit seinem Maul im Kaefig. Doch ueberrascht wie wir waren, begnuegten wir uns mit neugierigen Blicken und machten schoene Bilder von diesem unglaublichen Geschoepf. Diese Leichtigkeit und Eleganz, mit der er sich durch das tiefblaue Wasser bewegt, ist ueberwaeltigend. Man kann sich gar nicht satt sehen. Drei Tauchgaenge am Tag vergehen wie im Fluge und wir sind schon gespannt auf morgen…Tag drei in Guadalupe, wir warten!

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Posted in Animals, California Sealions, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Nautilus Explorer | No Comments »

Bring on Jaws!!! Captain’s Log for Guadalupe Island great white sharks and guest comments on California Channel Islands – July 31, 2010

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

The sky is overcast, but the wind is light and the seas calm, making for a very comfortable and relaxing transit for our first white shark cage diving trip of the season to Guadalupe Island. Being in the water and up close to a white shark is one of my favorite things in the world to do, and as I sit here writing this I have a feeling in my stomach something like I used to get on Christmas eve when I was waiting for Santa Claus to come. Well, something like that anyway. I’m excited, a little anxious, and I can’t wait to open my presents. In this case my “present” being a 15 foot torpedo shaped mass of  muscle and cartilage with a mouth extremely full of teeth.

Not as scary as it sounds. In fact, not scary at all once you’ve experienced it.  Awe-inspiring, humbling, enlightening, adrenaline-inducing, definitely all of those things. But I have never experienced anything resembling fear in my previous two seasons of cage diving at Guadalupe, and I have seen a lot of big sharks very close-up. For some people it’s not the fear of white sharks, but the idea that ‘cage diving’ isn’t really diving at all, and it would be boring to be stuck in a cage. If that’s how you feel, then you have not cage dived with us at Guadalupe Island. I love scuba diving, and I have experienced many beautiful dives with Giant Mantas, whalesharks, schooling hammerheads, sea-lions, humpbacks and beluga whales, but probably my best three dives of all-time have been from inside (or on top of) a cage at Guadalupe. It is that awesome!

Ok, I’m finished preaching. I actually wasn’t intending to when I started this log, I promise. We’ll be arriving at Isla Guadalupe around 0900 tomorrow morning, dropping our anchor in 240 ft of water just over a couple hundred meters from the cliffs on the sheltered side at the north end of the island, and hopefully spending the next four days in the company of that famous white shark ’smile’. I can’t wait to see that first big dorsal fin breaking the surface and hear the shouts from the crew, “Shark!!” Stay tuned for updates from the shark files!

Captain Gordon Kipp

The first two dives  on our last dive day in the California Channel Islands were really good, lots of life in the kelp, we saw a lot of bat rays, maybe 15-20. And one time as I was swimming through the kelp I looked up and saw two birds (cormorants) swimming next to me underwater! It was really nice. Dive 3 was not so good with very low visibility.

Everything is great, except the hot tub makes my beer warm.

Wolfgang

Everything has been perfect! Two beautiful dives this morning at Anacapa Island full of life in an amazing kelp forest. Although the water is cold the hot tub is always there waiting to warm you up. And the crew always trying to bring you more beer in the hot tub!

Peter

The diving was great today the vis could have been better… but the kelp looked like a underwater garden. Also some sea lions were playing at the dive site 40km off shore… quite a swim!

Stefan Pircher.

“The California Channel Islands”, das sind verspielte Seeloewen, 2m grosse Barsche, flinke Fledermausrochen, gut getarnte Engelhaie und die leuchtend orangen Garibaldis im Kelp. Eine Kulisse wie im Maerchenwald, in den diffus die Sonne scheint und sich die Strahlen brechen. Da ist aber auch die Bohrinsel “Eureka”, welche man bei laufendem Betrieb betauchen darf: ein Moloch, der als Fremdkoerper mitten im Pazifik steht und schon 1m unter Wasser komplett bewachsen ist wie ein intaktes Riff mit all seinen kleinen und grossen Bewohnern und uebermuetigen Seeloewen, welche die Plattform fuer sich als perfekten Rueckzugsort vereinnahmt haben. Mit einem Trockentauchanzug und 5mm Handschuhen laesst es sich im durchschnittlich 15 Grad Celsius kuehlen Wasser eine Stunde komfortabel tauchen. Sechs aufregende Tauchtage sind vorbei, jetzt sind wir bereit und aufgewaermt fuer 4 Tage Kaefigtauchen mit dem grossen Weissen…

Christiane Floren

Wenn man in den channel islands taucht, fuehlt man sich in eine andere welt versetzt. atemberaubende kelpwaelder wiegen sich in der brandung, die einen mikrokosmus fuer eine unzaehlige vielfallt von tieren darstellen. ein urlaub, den ich sicher nie vergessen werde.

Alexander Wasenbelz

The diving is amazing and after some days you get used to the cold water too. We have seen everything we wanted sea lions, angel sharks, cow nose stingrays lots more and lots of kelp which is interesting for diving. The sea lions are wonderful, playing around so fast and curious just gorgeous. Now we are pretty exciting for the Great White.

Claudia and Ewald

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Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Channel Islands, Destinations, Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Guest Blog, Hammerhead shark, Humpback Whale, Whalesharks, hammerhead, kelp, sealions | No Comments »

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

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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 »

We expected a lot from this trip and so far it even got much better!! After the first 5 days of diving we have seen more .. (* note from Captain Mike – this is the nature of big animal diving – some trips are super hot and the diving sizzles while other trips are quieter. Not every trip is going to be this fantastic… darnit *) Guest blog – June 4, 2010

Friday, June 4th, 2010

It is easy to get jaded about diving when you work on the Nautilus Explorer. For example, I went diving in Hawaii this past April and, although the dive was quite pretty, I couldn’t help but feel a little unfulfilled when the dive was over. No sharks, no mantas, no dolphins…. This afternoon I dived “The Boiler” at San Benedicto and Socorro  - if I had wings I would be soaring with sheer delight! Even though I’ve dived this site many times, and have played with the giant mantas many times, it still amazes me just how friendly and interactive they really are. As soon as I jumped off the back deck of Nautilus and started my decent to the rock, I was very pleased to see FOUR giant mantas waiting for me. I went down to about 17 metres and was very quickly surrounded by big, beautiful, black-and-white mantas. Above me, below me, beside me – eye to eye, finger tip to wing tip. Wow. I didn’t even have a chance to swim around The Boiler because the mantas stayed with me the entire dive! 40 minutes with some very friendly mantas. Can it get any better?
‘Till next time…     Hostess Ashley

We had four fantastic dives at Punta Tosco with lots of MANTAS, DOLPHINS, SHARKS!!! What else can a diver wish? We found everything we expected and even more!!! Lets wait for tomorrow.   Andrea from Austria

Faboulous Diving at Punta Tosca!!!  Not only MANTA rays, but also DOLPHINS, playing games with us on 3 of 4 dives!!! Nice reef with lot’s of fish, big big lobsters and stunning swarms. For me it was the first time diving with dolphins in more then 970 dives, so big, big smile and lot’s of fun. This trip is really great from both diving and crew how does everything to get us happy and smile… now that we had those, were snorkeling with sharks and already WHALESHARK and many other sharks at rocca partida, only the whales itself and seals are missing… Hello from a very happy diver :) Ruth/Germany

We had expected a lot from this trip – and so far it even got much better! After the first 5 days of diving we have seen more than in several dive holidays before – and most of the animals not just only seen but long time contact – interaction… the whaleshark we had circeling around us for more than half an hour at one dive, the dolphins kept ‘playing’ with us and the HUGE (!!!) mantas enjoy circeling and looping around in our bubbles. Even the first hammerhead shark we saw… and are looking forward to the next days of diving with this very professional – and all of them absolutely enthusiasticly – diving and helping crew. But now we will enjoy another fine dinner (my girlfriend already wants to marry the chef cook) being served by to really charming young ladies ;-)  Andreas Ritzenhofen/ Germany

We had a nice day today, my first interaction with a manta ray. Wow!!!… I think one of the best dives I ever had the last 10 years. I ll be sure we coming back. Service from the crew is unbelievable.( 24 hours eating, sleeping, diving.) Never seen this before like so professional.  Roman and Elvira/ Germany


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Posted in Destinations, Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, Hammerhead shark, Nautilus Explorer, Punta Tosca, Roca Partida, San Benedicto, Socorro, The Boiler, Whalesharks, dolphin, 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


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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 »

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

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

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

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

Talk soon,

Captain Gordon Kipp

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

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

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

Hai,Hai,Hai

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

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


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

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