We’ve been diving Socorro since 1978 and have never seen a season like this. Yeah. In the old days, the diving was phenomenal, with stories of 30 giant mantas circling the divers and loads of sharks. Our first boat was the funky old 120 ft wooden Baja Explorador, a converted research boat sans air conditioning (everyone slept on deck to stay cool) and a slow-turning diesel engine that lulled all the guests to sleep. A wee bit different than the luxury liveaboards we now run out to the Revillegigedos, complete with hot tubs, fine dining, fine linen, air conditioning, apres-dive drinks of choice served to the dive deck, and much more. But best and most important of all, the number of mantas, sharks, dolphins, and big pelagics has rebounded from the over-fishing days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
What was special about this season? How about 8 blue whales at Socorro, including 1 beauty that hung out 20 metres off the bow of the Belle Amie. Cuvier beaked whales. Schooling pilot whales. Plus all the usual giant mantas, sharks, super playful interactive dolphins, giant schools of jacks, and all our other friends. Water temperatures are all messed up and we think that’s what brought all these animals in. We are used to seeing 80°F water temps by June, but this year we experienced temps as chill as 66°F. WHAAAAT?? The coolest water we see is maybe 71°F in February during the humpback whale migration. We are sure this is related to the current El Niña event with upwellings of cold deep ocean water off the west coast of the Americas. Vis has been lower than usual, presumably because of all the nutrients being pushed to the surface. All in all, our guests have been super happy. Our Socorro season is just winding up, but we will be back the very day the park reopens in the fall.
Following is what some of our June guests had to say…
Everything about this trip is truly otherworldly! You feel like an astronaut in the ocean, exploring the unknows and meeting graceful aliens. Diving with oceanic mantas is indescribable: they are so serene and curious and really love interacting with the divers. No matter how tough you are, you will have tears in your eyes when a manta choses you and allows you to swim with them, bathing them in your bubbles. Nowhere else in the world have I encountered such magical moments. It doesn’t stop with mantas; every dive is amazing, and the crew really makes you feel at home and safe. It’s not our first time travelling to Socorro with this crew, and definitely not our last!
July 3, 2024
F…K me, what a day…….. What a day…. Simple morning with again giant mantas, reefies, little current and lovely tachos. Afternoon dive, hammers x2 mantas little current. Dive four last of them all Blue dive, school of hammers off shore and on returning to cleaning station we were greated by 1 solo dolphin, then mantas then 6 f…g dolphins with mantas….. wtf this dive was the s…t Best dive by far and Pascal made me take my camera and thank f….K I did. Pascal is an awesome dive guide and it’s like he talks f…..n animal. They just show up for him, what a day, what a dive and now smashing a wine…. AVEE ITTT!!!!! C, BRISTOL, UK
June 26, 2024
I’ve been diving for over 30 years and the diving in Socorro has been the best I’ve ever had. Just to see the animal interaction, the dolphin was there because it wanted to be there playing with people. Amazing.
June 26, 2024
At the beginning of our third dive of the day at El Boiler, as we’re all getting ready to backroll into the chilly blue water, our skiff captain Juan starts pointing into the water.
“Hammerhead shark there.”
“giant Manta there.”
“School of jacks there.”Already we’re excited to get in! Then the countdown begins and we all enter the water together lead by our dive guide Marcel, descending along beautifully unique stone walls, passing the resident whitetip reef sharks along the way cuddled up together.
The mantas quickly caught up with us, with a black and a chevron manta sticking with us throughout our dive, including into our safety stop. They swam together gracefully, one never too far behind the other. Finally, it’s time to surface and as some of reach the skiff and begin the process of removing our gear, Juan suddenly starts pointing again.
“Whale shark! Whale shark!”
At first we thought he must be joking! But there it was: a stunning whale shark right at the surface coming straight toward us. With some people still in full scuba gear while others had already handed up their fins, we all put our faces back down into the water and watched in awe as the whale shark did a couple of slow passes before heading off into the blue. We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to have been here in this moment (and lucky to have had such good eyes on the surface!) No two experiences on board the Nautlius are the same, and this was truly an unforgettable one for me.
June 20, 2024
