Hey, Wanna Hang out at Roca Tonight I Thought One Fish Said to Another. Your Brain Has a Hard Time Coming to Terms with what you are Seeing.. Soccoro Island. Guest and Captain Log 28 NOV 2010

Today  was incredible.  The first dive of the day was easily one of my top five dives of all time: three different, majestic giant mantas swimming within feet of us for the duration of the dive, from our first drop to 80 feet to our final ascent to 30 feet.  These creatures are incredibly curious and unafraid.  Add this to the Nautilus Explorer wonderful experienced crew and accommodations, and it is making for the perfect adventure.
Jessica
WOW….. is one of the only words that comes to mind!  Your brain just has a hard time coming to terms with what your eyes are seeing!  The sights were grand with octopus and a stupefyingly huge lobster and then…..HERE THEY CAME. The size and grace of the giant mantas leave you breathless – maybe because you seem to forget to breath with the grandness of the sight.  They are friendly, flirty almost, coming back pass after pass.  The BEST safety stop of my life!  We were just hanging out, gazing off to the blue and in seconds we had four giant mantas all at once.  I could have stayed there forever…alas that darned air – The very worst time to be so low.  The crew is utterly fabulous by the way.  Sincerely friendly, knowledgeable and you can enjoy every minute and feel safe and pampered thanks to their hard work!  Thank you Nautilus!! Jan Orange County, CA
Waking up to see Roca Partida out my port hole always puts a smile on my face. The little castle in the middle of a huge ocean with the light of sunrise is always a promising sight. Today was a good day at Roca Partida. We did four dives throughout the day and each one was very different from the next. In the morning, we had great viz and tons of little fishes. As the day progressed the sharks started to come up from the depths. And by the late afternoon, there were sharks circling off the north and southern points of the rock: Silver Tips, Scalloped Hammerheads, Galapagoes Sharks, and of course the swarm of little White Tip Reef sharks vying for a spot on the balconies.  There were many pelagic hunters that came in to feed on the swarm of young Creol fish as well. There were many Wahoo, Yellow fin tuna, Sierra, and Skipjack all chasing the school around… It is amazing how much life gathers around this little rock pinnacle.  It is home to many creatures that live on the rock itself too. Different species of eels make use of the vertical cracks while the lobster and urchins us any nook or krany they can find. In one hole I saw one of the biggest lobsters I have ever seen sharing space with two species of Morrey Eels and a couple of White Tip sharks. They seemed cozy enough.
As the light levels started fading, it was as if someone turned on some romantic music and all the fish pared off for some courting. The Leather Sea Bass were particularly amorous swimming around each other in tight circles. Perhaps the pinnacle is more of a meeting point for fish to hook up? “Hey, wanna hang out at the Roca tonight?” I thought I heard a passing fish say to another.
Today was a really good day here at the rock. Tonight we are off to Socorro to see if we can find some of our big Manta friends. We will keep you posted.
Surface Conditions: Partly Cloudy, Breezy, Warm 75-80F, Big Swell running.
Underwater Conditions: Viz Great +100′, Temp. 78F, Current mild to strong off the points of the rock, Surge.
Till next time,
Divemaster Jessie “Sharkchick” Harper