Location: The Boiler dive site, San Benedicto Island, Socorro, Islas Revillagigedo, Mexico
Comments: Gloria is a star! For those of you who read this log on a regular basis, you will remember that we had some amazing interaction with a giant manta over the new year that the guests named Gloria. She appeared on day 6 of this trip with the obvious intent of becoming a star and spent 3 hours with us.
Over the years, we have seen that the manta rays at San Benedicto seem to like to interact with scuba divers, coming back and making eye contact and as divemasters we have felt that they will always single us out and make a close pass as if they recognize us. There are three models/freedivers on this trip who have been diving down and swimming with the giant manta rays and one of them has definitely been singled out by two of the mantas that we encountered. Every time she dives down the mantas will turn into her and circle around her and get very close. The other two divers, one male and one female, are getting are far less interest from the mantas. Hmmm…
By the way, for anyone who has ever felt like working in art or the movies I am here to tell you that it is lots of hard work. We spent 6+ hours in the water every day concentrating on what was going on around us, waiting for something to happen and hoping that when it did everything would go right. The models floated in the 73°F/23°C water in 2mm wetsuits ready to spring into action at any second and acting as if it were warm. The film team maneuvered the movie camera and two still cameras changing film in our inflatable skiff and making sure that the when the opportunity arose the tools were all in place for the creative team to take photos. The raw footage that we were able to see after the shoot each day was fascinating and we are all waiting for when we can see the final product on Ashes and Snow, it will be awe inspiring.
–DM Tricia
Weather: air temp 85°F, sunny, light breeze, low swell
Water: water temp 74°F, visibility 80 feet
