It does feel really good to be back in the water after 4 months of ocean deprivation, and what a way to start again! We are sailing the Belle Amie up the Sea of Cortez with our guests and we are all packing a lot of energy and excitement for being out here, smiles are on every faces – behind the masks of course! – and there is a very good vibe from all these beautiful people. Diving has been very rewarding so far: giant manta and turtles at La Reyna, and a massive school of thousands of green jacks. Today playing with cheeky sealions at las Animas. I missed these fellas so much, they are like little puppie dogs of the ocean. They stare at you with there big brown eyes and swim like torpedoes underwater. We have California sealions and for some unknown reasons also some Guadalupe Fur seals, our furry friends from the pacific. The crew is very international, and we have all been working on the Nautiluses for a while. Dealing with the Coronavirus means an extra-load of work (desinfection, organisation of food/beverage service, split briefings and access to the backdeck by groups, more rotations with the skiffs to respect social distancing…) which we all tackle with a smile: there have been so many long days sitting at home that we cant complain about any long day at sea! I am really happy to be able to share these underwater moments, our guest Enzo saw his first giant manta, Rachel and Kyle played for the first time with a sealion, and today I saw my firsttime Shovelnose guitarfish! The marine life in the Sea of Cortez is very rich and so different from the usual animals in Socorro islands, I have a blast rediscovering this amazing ecosystem.
Oh and I almost forget that we splashed in a massive school of more than 50 bottlenose dolphins for a snorkel time!
DM Yann, onboard Belle Amie
