Location: Roca Partida, Island, Revillagigedos, Mexico
Comments: Dive day 5 and day two at Roca Partida, the small rock in the middle of a large ocean. Once again we had wonderful conditions with calm seas and excellent visibility. Surprisingly the water at Roca Partida was warmer this trip than last. We had stronger currents and some upwellings and the overall temperature is up 2-3°F. This was probably why, much to our surprise, some of our divers had an encounter with a whale shark on dive 3. Typically, we do not see whale sharks once the water cools off during December since they prefer warmer waters however, with a warm current coming through this 20-25 foot animal provided much excitement and photographic opportunities as it swam within feet of the divers on their safety stop. Then, just so that there was no fighting amongst the guests, the whale shark stayed around for dive 4 so that almost everyone got to see it. We were also treated to the sound of humpback whales on many of our dives at Roca Partida and one guest video taped silvertip sharks swimming off the point with the humpback song on the audio which made it onto our trip DVD. And then there was the humpback whale that swam between the Nautilus Explorer and Roca Partida during our lunch break, went twice around the rock and then slapped the surface with its pectoral fin before heading off. Maybe they have been watching us and are trying to imitate the scuba divers?
Weather: Air temp of 88°F, sunny, light breeze, low swell
Water: Water temp of 75°F, visibility 100ft
