23 January 2009
Great start for the trip.
When we arrived at San Benedicto the dive site for the check dive was occupied by another boat so we had to change plans and go to the Boiler, the premium manta site. We had two mantas with us for the entire dive. And the same continued on the 2nd dive. Visibility was slightly less than you would normally expect but then on the other hand the water was warmer around 25 degrees. 3rd dive at the canyon with a school of some 15 hammerheads. Not a bad start at all
visibility 15+ m, water temp +25 .
24 January 2009
Stuck in the Canyon
Strong winds from the north made Boiler and other northern and wester dive sites of San Benedicto inaccessible so we spent the day diving the Canyon and the Lava Flow just north of the Canyon. Due to the waves there were lot of sediments in the water and the visibility was worse than yesterday. The highlight of the day was the second dive at the Lava Flow with 3 mantas, one of them stayed with us for the whole dive and the others made occasional appearances. And some divers were lucky enough to experience close passes by a large solitary hammerhead. Smooth evening cruise to Socorro Island
visibility 10-15 m, water temp +25
Took an easterly heading along the ridge in the Canyon. Ventured over the ridge hoping to encounter hammerhead sharks and was not disappointed. At about 105′ I was greeted by about 12 to 15 hammerheads circling just below eye/level. My presence didn’t seem to bother them. They circled for a couple of minutes before I made my way back to the top of the ridge.Very nice.
25 January 2009
Diving at Cabo Pierce on Socorro Island. Dropped off on the East end of the
Cape. Visibility was a bit low along with a decent head current. However, the dive was well worth the effort with an encounter of several minutes with 5 to 7 dolphins. The largest member of the group took a close vertical pose seeming to know that it would enhance the video. It was, indeed, quite special!
