Location: San Benedicto, Islas Reviegigedos, Baja California, Mexico
At day break this morning, we pulled up anchor and headed for The Boiler at San Benedicto Island. The mexican navy has closed Socorro Island for the next month or so but that’s fine with us and our guests because we think the very best diving is “usually” at San Benedicto and Roca Partida. Maybe we should start calling these trips by the correct geographic name of Revillagigedo Archipelago (of which Socorro is just one of the islands). With humpback whale spouts on the horizon and leaping dolphins on the bow, we arrived to find great diving conditions. Everything looked perfect, very little current,crystal blue water, great visibility, and to top it all off a rainbow on the horizon.
The first dive was great! As the divers were suiting up, a pod of dolphins passed back and forth between the boat and the rock. They stayed around during the dive, periodically visiting the divers and swimming circles around a few of us. A very friendly giant manta also came around to check out the scuba divers. All throughout the dive, we all kept looking out into the blue expecting a Humpback Whale to appear out of the blue… but we only heard and felt their songs. Coming back up on deck, we could see their blows off the bow, but they were too far away.
During the second dive today, the same manta ray from before came in again. This time, the giant manta went from diver to diver checking out each one. There was also a large school of jacks hanging mid water making a beautiful circling pattern. With such a mild current, it was great to hang in mid water and watch the parade of fish species. A couple dolphins were seen at a distance, too shy to interact this time. With such great visibility, nearly the entire pinnacle could be seen from the surface.
Our third Boiler dive was just as great as the other two. The friendly manta, several small groups of dolphins making appearances, and a couple of Hammerhead sharks. Unfortunately, the weather had started to pick up a little by the afternoon and the viz had dropped a little. It was decided to pull up anchor and head for the Canyon for the final dive of the day. Back at the Canyon, we had beautiful blue water and a strong current. Not deterred, the scuba divers jumped in, went down the line, and went straight to the wall. As before, just over the rocks, was the school of Hammerheads we were all looking for. It was wonderful to see the size and numbers of these animals schooling together. As they disappeared into the depths, we wanted to follow them, but our time was up. One by one, we let go of the rocks and flew back toward the boat. While hanging at our safety stop, another manta came in to say goodbye.
divemaster Jessie
Underwater Conditions: Temp. 76 F, Viz. 50-100′, Current ranging from mild to strong.
Announcing the launch of a brand new Nautilus Explorer. She is beautiful. Shiny white just like the original Nautilus. Suspiciously familiar lines. Accomodations seem a bit more compact. Still no head on the dive deck. But looks really good otherwise. Hmm, yup, she has a twin to dive skiff Inde on the back deck. Shark cage deployed over the side. Briefing board in the main salon across from the bar. Cappuccino machine in the dining room. WAIT – it’s a miniature Nautilus Explorer only 1.5 metres – 5 feet – in length, specially built by our friend Juergen, master craftsman from Stuttgart, perfect in every detail and currently on display at the dive show in Dusseldorf, Germany. Next public display will be in Chicago on 18 February and we invite everyone in the area to drop by our booth to take a look at this masterpiece. Captain Mike
Whale songs and Leaping Dolphin at the Boiler
