Location: Isla san Frnaciscito, Los Islotes (Espirito Santo), Sea of Cortez, Baja California
Comments: A strong north wind, typical of the winter and spring diving season in the Sea of Cortez, has been buffeting us for the last 24 hours. We had a moderately rough crossing from Isla San Franciscito to Los Islotes (close to Espirito Santo) but were rewarded with an amazing sighting of a baby blue whale.
At Los Islotes, we surprised some underwater harvesters fishing illegally. Unfortunately, they took off before we could get a good picture of them. Our divers had a couple of great dives and saw lots of neat stuff including California sea lion pups who came over to play with the divers. We also saw a huge school of 3-inch silver baitfish that were like a solid mass, parting only as the sea lions charged through. On the surface, snorkelers were surrounded by hundreds of mobula rays measuring 3 feet across. It was very cool to watch them leap 5 feet out of the water, madly flapping their wings (pectoral fins) and then come splashing down with a loud “SMACK.” The surprise of the day was finding a 7-inch orange seahorse hiding in the rocks.
Before the night dive, we went for a beautiful sunset beach walk by the mangrove swamp and salt marsh of Bahía Cardone. A lovely day was had by all.
–Captain Dave
Weather: North wind dying down to 20 knots, seas 4 to 5 feet, air temperature 79°F
Water: Sea temperature 77°F, visibility 10 to 25 feet
