Location: Guadalupe Island to Ensenada and return and then anchored in Lighthouse Bay
Comments: Well, we had a fairly easy run from Guadalupe Island back to Ensenada yesterday with 7 footers for the first 6 hours and then much calmer seas after that. Our return back to Guadalupe today was the polar opposite with flat calm seas on departure and then building seas with 7 to 8 foot “moguls” for the last couple of hours. As always, the Nautilus Explorer handled the beam seas very well with our guests commenting that this is one of the smoothest riding liveaboard diveboats they have ever been on.
Unfortunately – to be honest – even the ship’s stability system combined with scopolamine patches didn’t stop a couple of our guests showing a “physical manifestation” of their seasickness. The good news is that it will be reasonably calm and protected in our anchorage for the next 3 days.
So we got some incredibly exciting news from Mexican shark scientist, Mauricio Hoyos, when we arrived on station. Mauricio just finished spending 22 hours tracking a 1.5 metre great white shark that he tagged. A 1.5 metre shark is a NEWBORN!! We have seen two 6 footers and a 7 footer over the last couple of weeks (6 – 7 feet would would be an animal less than 1 year old) but this is the first time that anyone has seen a newborn out here.
The implications are stunning to those of us who love sharks – this discovery could well mean that Guadalupe Island is a nursery for newborn great white sharks. Which is an idea that would mean a complete revision of what we know about the life cycle of these sharks. Mauricio is going to continue tracking this baby shark as much as he can over the next couple of weeks. Or at least until the battery on the attached radio tag dies. Stay tuned for more exciting news.
–Captain Mike
Weather: Windy, overcast and a moderate swell of 2 – 3 feet in our anchorage (although I wish it were otherwise – this is our first rough day of the season).
Water: Water temperature significantly lower at 68°F, visibility 75 feet.
