Location: The Canyon and The Boiler, San Benedicto Island, Islas Revillagigedo (Socorro Islands), Mexico.
Comments: Captain Dave reports that the famed giant manta rays of San Benedicto Island finally took an interest in interacting with our divers today! Yaayyyhhhh. The difficulty on this last trip has been that for the first time in a very long time, the giant manta rays appeared to be content with just doing “fly-bys.” It is, of course, wrong to chase or approach mantas. The magic of Socorro Island is that these resident mantas actually choose to approach divers on their own terms. We’ve always felt that there must be “something” in the water around Socorro, as a number of resident animals choose to approach and even initiate physical contact with divers. Not just the manta rays but dolphins, Lumpy our favourite leather bass, and even some of the Socorro lobster.
Dave tells me that a lovely black manta and a large chevron manta were at the Canyon and finally chose to closely interact with all of our divers. Manta behaviour at the Boiler is an unknown on this last trip as the seas were too rough on the last dive day to stage operations there. The anchorage at the Canyon was calm and protected as usual although the unseasonably strong winds were picking up clouds of ash and pumice from the volcano on San Benedicto Island and depositing them on the poor old Nautilus Explorer. Safe diving.
Weather: Partially overcast, air temperature 78°F, winds from the north at 20 – 25 knots, seas 2-foot chop in the anchorage.
Water: Water temperature 73°F. Visibility variable from 40 to 100 feet.
