Measuring 91 metres by 45 metres by 34 metres high, the island is actually the lava plug from a volcano that gradually eroded away around it. It is an amazing 11,000 feet deep around the volcano and we gingerly anchor the Nautilus Explorer in 245 feet of water very close to the lava tube. Roca Partida is a “magnet” for mantas, sharks of all kinds, wahoo, tuna, dorado and all other manner of sub-tropical fish.
Read MoreVisibility was variable at the outer cleaning station, but we had good sightings of 4 different mantas, schools of tuna, a couple of inquisitive Galapagos and silky sharks, and small schools of scalloped hammerheads as well as 1 possible sighting of a 12 foot long great hammerhead.
Read MoreWe dove both Punta Tosca and Cabo Pearce today with some really mixed experiences. One lucky group of snorkellers were approached by a humpback whale calf until Mum zoomed in (15ft away!) and dragged the calf away. We also had some great dolphin encounters, and about half the divers encountered a very playful giant manta ray.
Read MoreWe all fell in love with a really tiny baby silky that had to be a newborn, and couldn’t have been more than 20″ in length – AT MOST! He was very, very cute and our guests promptly named him NafNaf. NafNaf was certainly a fearless shark, and he kept on getting in the way of the larger sharks to the point of snatching a piece of fish out of the mouth of one of the big guys! All of our hearts went out to him.
Read MoreI recently noticed that the highest pinnacle at the north end of the ridge sticks up into the current and seems to be somewhat of a “magnet” for giant manta rays – I suspect that it is a cleaning station for mantas. So I dubbed it “manta rock,” and have been encouraging our guests to hang out there as well as the other cleaning station. Everyone has been having very good luck finding giant manta rays there.
Read Moreow! Yet another flat calm day on the open ocean. We’re on our way back to San Benedicto Island after turning the ship around, and it’s even calmer than our last trip. It was rougher in Cabo San Lucas harbour with all the pangas, dive skiffs and jet skis flitting around than it is out here!
Read MoreHad a great run from Roca Partida straight back to Cabo San Lucas. Sometimes it is a rough crossing with 6 – 8ft seas. Most of the time it is pretty nice, with the ship gently pitching up and down and an easy roll from side to side. And sometimes it is flat calm. This crossing was so calm that it was as if we were already tied up to the dock!
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