3 days of diving at San Benedicto Island before heading out into open ocean for Roca Partida. Guest and Divemaster log – March 7, 2010.

Swam with manta on every dive site, giant manta very friendly….
DAVID SPALDING, KY
Aujourd hui, 3eme journee de plongee, San benedicto island sur la chaudiere (the boiler) Le bleu du pacifique n est pas une legende, plongees avec le chant des baleines et le bolchoi des mantas… Antipalier avec les baleines en visuel dans une eau a 39 C (jacuzzi sur le pont du bateau ;-)) HLM de langoustes et de cigales…, Requins marteau , des galapagos (1), pointes blanches faisant le sieste (comme nous…). On a connu des moments plus durs…
les frenchies  a bord
desole pour les accents ;mais clavier qwerty et americain,
San benedicto,aujourd hui: premiere plongee, defile de requins marteaux, j ai arrete de compter a 30… Deuxieme plongee, bcp de courant +++, manta et safari photo sur une pauvre raie torpille, Troisieme plongee, chants de baleines, baleines sans doute tres proches mais trop timides… par contre ballet de mantas sur la fin de plongee, courant +++4 eme plongee: seulement ;-), 2 mantas, 1 requin marteau, 1 requin pointe blanche, langoustes et avec la bande son des baleines… cookies excellents….
mais qui ?
Location: The Canyon, San Benedicto Island, Socorro. Mexico
When the Nautilus Explorer goes looking for Hammerhead sharks and keeps finding Giant Mantas can you really complain?
Well it was a party at the Canyon today!  We arrived at San Benedicto Island (Socorro)  this morning under blue skies spotted with only a few clouds.  We had briefed the dive and everybody was ready to go and see the Hammerhead sharks that the Canyon is so well known for.  I was in the water first with a group of about 10 guests.  We approached the cleaning station slowly and low so as not to frighten away the sharks.  With the visibility pushing 100 feet (33 meters) I figured the guests were going to be in for a good Hammerhead shark show but alas no sharks met us at the cleaning station.  Plenty of colouful fish and Morays and Stone fish but no sharks.  Disappointed and with bottom time dwindling, we turned to leave the cleaning station and head back to the descent line.  As soon as we turned around three beautiful Giant Manta Rays came sweeping past in a row as if to say “welcome back, we were waiting for you”. 2/3rds the way through the season I thought I knew what a friendly manta was but these Mantas exceeded my expectations yet again (and I think the guests’ too!) They were so curious in us.  They gracefully circled back over and over again, closer and closer, visiting each diver individually and getting within inches sometimes of the divers.  Wonderful!
We did three dives in total today and both the second and third we went looking for Scalloped Hammerhead sharks.  Twice more we didn’t find Hammerheads (except for one or two well in the distance), and twice more we had all the Manta company we could hope for.
Tomorrow I am going to go looking for Giant Mantas.  Maybe then I will see some Hammerhead Sharks.
Dan
Surface conditions: Slight breeze and slightly cloudy.  Mostly sunny and 28 C in the air.