Who should we bump into but 10 – 15 Humpback whales travelling slowly in a tight group. Soccorro, 03/04/2012.

What a great last three days we have had. In spite of the fact we have had one of the largest storms in the NE Pacific this year, some 2500 miles away send down a large wave train that has affected some of our usual hots spots, we have been sitting on the eastern side of Isla Socorro diving in good conditions but more importantly than just getting wet it has been great diving. Giant mantas and Hammerhead sharks every dive last two days at Cabo Pearce, this morning it was a little less active so we elected to move around the corner to the ‘petit boiler’ which on a low tide the top just breaks the surface, it is protected from the large current volumes that flow over Cabo Pearce at times so made for a nice relaxing couple of dives, it is a small pinacle that has thousands of fish surrounding the rock, eel gardens on the sand at 120’/35 M  Water temps have been creeping up now 73 F/22 C occasionally slightly warmer and once in a while when upwellings occur a bit cooler. Vis the last few days has been in the 40-60′ range.
For some of the guests and crew the best was last today. Just getting underway from Cabo Pearce to try a dive at the NE end of Socorro, when was should we literally just about bump into.
How about 10-15 humpback whales travelling slowly in a tight group. They allowed us to simply drift along with them for about an hour. All the time they, the whales and us being accompanied by a large pod of dolphins. As we made the decision that the NE Pt dive was going to have to be another day we came back towards Cabo Pearce and what should we see but 8-12 mantas at the surface feeding all around the boat again as we simply drifted and watched in amazement. So what started out to be a good way to hide from the angry seas in one place turned into a thing of beauty for the crew and guests alike.
Heading off for the Boiler at San Benedicto tomorrow moring early.
Captain Al
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It’s been a great trip here on the Explorer. After a hiatus I returned to Mexico and diving the Pacific. The first dive day saw us at the Boiler, with four Mantas swooping and soaring through our bubbles for the full time we stayed below. To say they were mesmerizing would be a vast understatement. Rays have always been a favourite of mine and to see the graceful dance of these giants was hypnotising, and not just for me. After two hours we actually sent down a hook and used the davit to haul out the last two stubborn divers (ok, maybe that last is a bit of an exaggeration, but surfacing was tough). In the following days we dived at Cabo Pierce, where our stealthy divers were able to sneak up on a school of hammerhead sharks orbiting the point of a lava finger stretching out into the ocean. It was an eerie feeling gazing into the blue to see those alien heads appear and glide towards us, unconcerned by our bubbles and stumbling efforts at integration into a world that so clearly belongs to them. Tomorrow we will begin our homeward journey after a final day diving. I look forward to the next trip and my next opportunity to spend the day playing with my new friends.
Divemaster Tony