Posts Tagged ‘socorro island’
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
Against the surreal backdrop of the Ash Cone on San Benedicto Island sitting defiantly just off the islands shore lies “The Boiler.” Some say it gets its name from the white foam of breaking waves when the sea is angry or maybe it is the days when the current runs south along the shore of the island. The water parts and dances around the boiler churning the water behind it into field of small standing waves. That’s what makes The Boiler such a special dive, when the conditions are right it is hard to argue that a better experience can be had. Yesterday and today were just those kinds of days. The sea state was small, yet the current still presented a challenge. As we planned our diving for our guests the position of the Nautilus Explorer was crucial to the success or failure of each dive.
We have spent the past two days diving with more mantas than we have fingers, it was a special time for all. Simply step off the back of the swim grid, let the current carry you to the boiler and all your new Manta friends, position yourself to see the Mantas coming in to the cleaning stations. Oh yes and did I mention the most important part – Repeat, Repeat!! As we head north for Cabo San Lucas we have one more day to practise our French with our guests from France.
Captain Al
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We had a wonderful trip with 2 groups that joined us on the Nautilus. They all had full in the sun and in the water as we headed to Socorro island. As we got close to San Benedicto a pod of dolphins escorted us to the first stop, the Canyon. As we got ready for the checkout dive there were Hammerhead, octopus, and silver tips! We had a good start, we went to the boiler where I call it the Manta city too many mantas. I could not focus on one, they were coming from all angles, there were about 5 in total. After that we headed to the shark city, Roca Partida AKA the snow rock. As we try to do our briefing the breeching of the whales just kept us from staying focused on the dive briefing. We went and did the dive, there were schools of Galapagos, silkys, hammerhead, white tips, dolphins and the whales singing throughout the whole dive we saw pretty much everything that we were expecting. Just a blast I enjoy it more and more every day as I see more action every time. This is just a little idea of what’s happening and what we are seeing.
DM Juan
Tags: dive, liveaboard, mexico, scuba, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Animals, Captains Log, Giant Mantas, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Saturday, March 24th, 2012
Well this is a question, tears in my eyes, the song of the siren calling me to them. Come to me… so loud so beautiful, the high pitched calf, the mommy.. sometimes feeling the vibration off my chest when they are so close! Sadly vis was not good, so we could not see them underwater. Trying to focus on the mantas, one, two, three… the song of the whales, interrupting the vision in front of me. Come to me my baby whales of the sea. So close, yet so far. They breaching at the dive site, breaching between the zodiaks… come closer so I can see your face, your eyes! What a day!!!!!!!! Another 5 star day!!! Mantas mantas, whales, hammerhead. Life is good here!
Cindi LaRaia
Tags: dive, diving, humpback, liveaboard, Mantas, mexico, scuba, Socorro, socorro island, whale, whales
Posted in Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Monday, March 5th, 2012
This is reblogged from
Christopher Spencer. Originally published at http://www.travelinggeologist.com/
Kirk Schleiffarth (fromschlifeisgood) was gracious enough to share he adventures battling volcanos in Mexico. Kirk is a graduate student at Washington State University doing a MSc in volcanology. Kirk is an avid mountaineer, socialite, and troubadour. Thanks Kirk for sharing.
Isla de Socorro, Mexico
Socorro Island is 650 kilometers (~400 miles) due west of Manzanillo, Mexico in the Pacific Ocean. It is a volcanic island, which stands 1050 m above sea level and 4000 m above the ocean floor. The volcano most recently erupted in 1993 in a submarine flank eruption, where large amounts of pumice were found floating off the western shore of the island.
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| Isla de Socorro, Mexico |
The volcanic islands off the coast of Mexico were formed as part of an archipelago located on the northern Mathematicians Ridge. This abandoned mid-ocean ridge was largely abandoned about 3.5 million years ago when ocean spreading shifted to the East Pacific Rise. The Isla de Socorro is the only seamount in the Pacific composed dominantly of silicic peralkaline volcanic rocks. This is in contrast to the majority of volcanic islands which are predominantly ocean island basalts (OIBs).
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| from Google Earth |
The only major establishment on the island is a Mexican navy base, which is manned by approximately 20 soldiers all year around. The only way to access the island is via the Navy and so I found myself in the middle of the ocean floating towards Isla de Socorro on a navy ship. In fact, the navy ship was an American WWII ship sold to Mexico following the war.
After 36 hours of rolling with the waves in the open sea, the island came into view. It was definitely a volcanic island. The island was dotted with red and black cinder cones, lava flows, domes, and a prominent peak almost 4,000 ft above sea level. My team and I were heading to the peak to collect samples, thermal temperature data from the peak and radon data in the hydrothermal system in the area surrounding the peak.
We made our way up to the peak following our GPS coordinates and tracks. The islands ecosystems varied with altitude. We crossed through volcanic desert plains, through dense jungle and alpine terrain. The group dropped off their heavy packs and equipment in a forest a mile from the peak, of course I found myself too curious to stop short of the active volcanic dome.
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| Kirk Schleiffarth |
The view from the peak was incredible. I turned 360 degrees and scanned the whole coastline. Yep, I was on an island. 50 miles in the distance I could see another island, San Benedicto, part of the aborted rift. Its volcanic cone was protruding from the low clouds. I watched the sunset, snapped some pictures and found a nice flat place to set up my tent on the windy, dark summit.
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| San Benedicto |
I got up before sunrise with the thermal camera in hand and scanned the entire dome before the sun rose and could distort the true temperatures of the active dome. With camera in hand in the dark on a quiet island in the middle of the Pacific, I realized that I have a sweet job and a lot to anticipate.
At sunrise, my team and I analyzed and collected Radon measurements and gas measurements from the variety of fumaroles scattered all over the dome. The dome resembled Yellowstone topography with sulfur deposits, boiling mud pits, and steaming fumaroles.
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| Fumarole |
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View over the Pacific Ocean from Isla de Socorro
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Tags: diving, mexico, scuba, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Destinations | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Allein der Name Boiler fuer den Tauchplatz laesst schon viele Spekulationen zu. Diese wurden durch interaktives Tauchen mit Delphinen und vor allem durch die grosse Anzahl der Mantas bestaetigt und uebertroffen. Bei allen 4 Tauchgaengen waren diese an der Putzerstation anwesend und genossen sichtlich den Kontakt mit den Tauchern. Dass die von allen erwarteten Mantas auch noch von Delphinen, Weiss-Spitzenriffhaien und springenden Tunas ergaenzt wurden, konnte so nicht erwartet werden.
Dies macht Lust auf den naechsten Tauchplatz Roca Partida, der noch besser sein soll!!! Ich bin gespannt was uns dort erwarten wird.
Euer Schorsch.
Einfach genial so nah an den Tieren zu sein. Die Tiere sind entspannt und haben Freude an der Begegnung. Unvergesslich dieser Tag.
Toni
Um Mantas, diese phantastischen und majestaetisch dahingleitenden Tiere, hautnah, wieder und immer wieder erleben zu koennen , fuer den ist es ein Muss diesen entlegenen Top-Tauchplatz auf Socorro zu besuchen. Als Beigabe ziehen Weissspitzenhaie ihre Bahnen und als Dreingabe gibt es beim Auftauchen Begleitung von Delphinen.
Es wird mit Spannung der naechste Tauchplatz erwartet.
Erich J.
Tags: Roca Partida, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Animals, Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
Terceiro dia de mergulho! Vida muito dura Caimos quatro vezes em uma imensidao azul, repleta de vida! Golfinhos em transe, tubaroes de todos os tamanhos e tipos (galapenhos, silver, galha branca recifense, martelo) empilhados em cavernas e nadando com cavalas, atuns, xareus Para nos aliviar do trabalho duro, um passeio de barco ao redor da ilha, alguns intervalos de superficie na Jacuzzi com os cuidados e mimos da tripulacao! Para terminar bem o dia uma sessao de Yoga ao por do sol gracas ao professor Robin. Jantar com o mais novo brasileiro do barco. Jim: we love you!
Ate o final da viagem vamos declarar Revillagigedo territorio brasileiro!
Clarissa, Fabiana & Noelix, Brasil
DAY TWO AT ROCA PARTIDA
One of the true joys of this trip is being up early on the sun deck to watch the last of the night sky with brilliant stars, shootings stars and an occasion satellite overhead. Then the early chat of the birds on Roca Partida and the dawn which eventuates into another day and drifting in the deep blue realm of our hosts!
PS: I love the Brazilians too!
Jim Smith, Maine USA
We have had two fabulous days at Roca Partida. First of all the weather has been amazing with very little wind and lots of sunshine as well as very calm seas which is always good. Our dives yesterday had almost everything that this dive site has and started off with dolphins almost as soon as we dropped in. Some dolphins whizzed around whilst some merely hung head up, tail down and let people get very close. The other dives had lots of different sharks, schools of hammerheads, schools of Galapagos as well as Silver tips in the mix. This goes without even mentioning the white tip reef sharks that sleep stacked up on to op each other in the small overhangs on the East side ˆ sleeping seems to be their major past time! There was a vague attempt to count how many booby and frigate birds live on this rather inhospitable rock. The common consensus is about 267, more or less!! Our second day was great also with more morning dolphins as well as lots of sharks. Everyone is getting rather blasé about all this and if they have not run in to a school of hammerheads or frolicking dolphins say it was good at any other dive site elsewhere an average dive here would be rated virtually top of the best ever dive list! One more dive to do here and we are all expecting pods of dolphins swimming through schooling hammerheads with Silver tips and Galapagos sharks cruising around – why not?? It could happen!!
Belinda, Dive Master
Tags: dive, dolphins, liveaboard, Roca Partida, scuba, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Giant Mantas, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Que nos creiamos? Que no quedan delfines para bucear con ellos? Que son pocos los sitios donde ˆsin ser una piscina- puedes bucear con ellos? Solo queda una cosa por decir! Aqui estaban! Han venido esta manana a saludarnos, y nos han hecho mil y una monerias! No ha sido un simple paso, te saludo, y me voy! No!!! Han estado jugando un rato bien largo con nosotros! Ni burbujas, ni ruidos, ni asustarse por nada. Unos campeones! Pero no acabo aqui las cosa. Por la tarde hemos buceado en el mismo sitio, y aparecieron los tiburones, a saber, puntas blancas, galapaguenos, martillos (solo dos, snif, snif), y algun otro. Vida, hasta dejarlo de sobra, y visibilidad, estupenda. No os lo perdais!!!!!!
Marisa, Spain
Tags: dive, diving, dolphins, manta, scuba, shark, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Giant Mantas, Guest Blog, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Saturday, February 4th, 2012
Routine check in with the Navy base. A happy meeting and New Years hugs in between the navy guys and us. After the years here we have established a good relationship. They are also the guys that has been helping us in medical emergencies or have responded when we have reported illegal fishing activities. (Though today they just have two small pangas…)
We chose Cabo Pierce and we did not need to get out far on the lava arm until we spotted a good group of Clarion Angelfish. So we thought we would stop here and just see what happens. Well two full dives with mantas on 5-10 m 15-30 ft coming from all direction and getting cleaned by the Clarions. We just could sit and hover and watch how the mantas stopped and slowly sank and had to move to not sinking to much or stall and getting swarmed by the clarions. Over and over again. In one moment we could count 7!
It become a manta day and we did not even reach the shark cleaning station cause this was just too good! Right now we are heading to Punta Tosca to snorkel with the silkie sharks.
Surface conditions a bit windy in the morning that slowed down towards the after noon. Temp 25 C.
UW conditions Viz from 15-22 m 50-70 ft. Temp 24-26C 74-76 F.
Dive guide, Sten Johansson
Tags: Dive Mexico, Dive Socorro, giant manta, liveaboard diving, scuba, Socorro, socorro island
Posted in Captains Log, Giant Mantas, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, shark, Socorro | No Comments »
Monday, June 6th, 2011
The boiler today proved once again that diving here can be like swimming in an aquarium. We entered the water with schools of Big Eye Trevally Jacks in the blue around the boiler and thousands of colourful Wrasse’s all around the top of the boiler. Dropping down and moving around the nooks and crannies are filled with lobsters, moray eels, hawk fish of all sizes and varieties, and an occasional octopus den. Moving deeper we found groups of Moorish idols feeding along the wall and Bluefin Trevally swimming just outside of us trying to figure out what we were up to. Rounding the north end of the boiler we ended up in an unusually large school of Burrito Grunts. After a fantastic lunch by Juan Carlos we returned for a second dive at the boiler that proved to us once again that thousands of fish in all shapes and sizes and colors would adorn our dive. In the distance beyond the jacks we had a large school of Yellow Fin Tuna that circled the boiler for most of the dive and just before we were getting ready to head in we had one last visit with a Giant Pacific Manta that swam into our group and waved us all a goodbye.
Tags: burrito grunts, giant manta, Jacks, lobster, manta, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, socorro island, yellowfin tuna
Posted in Animals, Destinations, Guest Blog, Jacks, Manta, Nautilus Explorer, Revillagigedos, Socorro, Socorro Island, The Boiler, Tuna | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Photos: Richard Salas
Tags: fish, giant manta, mexico, Nautilus Explorer, silky shark, Socorro, socorro island, Whale Shark
Posted in Animals, Destinations, Giant Mantas, Manta, Silky Sharks, Socorro, Socorro Island, Whalesharks | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Tags: dolphins, pictures, Revillagigedo Archipelago, Socorro, socorro island, Whale Shark
Posted in Animals, Destinations, dolphin, Revillagigedos, Socorro, Socorro Island, Whalesharks | No Comments »
