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![Nautilus Gallant Lady]()
Smoothers seas ahead for the Gallant Lady
Read MoreWe have both built and restored dive boats a number of times over the last 27 years. First there was the 50 foot Nautilus VI which we converted from a yacht. Then the 85 foot Nautilus VII, an old wooden WW2 sub chaser that had seen much better days but was all that we could afford! Following that, the Nautilus Explorer was our first brand new build and she is beautiful. The 102 year-old Nautilus Swell followed and while she was originally launched the same year as the Titanic (1912), the ship was in immaculate condition and well-loved by all. Our big, beautiful Nautilus Belle Amie was our next new build, followed by a massive renovation and stretching of the Undersea Hunter of Cocos Island fame.
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![Sailing aboard the Gallant Lady]()
The Gallant Lady Sails! – Capt. Mike
Read MoreThe Nautilus Gallant Lady is beautiful. Really beautiful. We are so pleased and proud of how she turned out. I feel like a new papa taking loads of baby pic’s!!
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![Superstar Lucy was one of the highlights this 2018 season. Photo by Ortwin Khan]()
The End of Our Best Guadalupe Island Great White Shark Diving Season Ever!
Read MoreWe have now identified over 300 individual white sharks in the bay that we dive in. And most astonishing of all, we had trips with 3 dive days in which we saw over 50 different great whites.
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![Northern elephant seals are just some of the animals of Guadalupe]()
The Animals of Guadalupe Island
Read MoreDid you know?! The animals of Guadalupe Island include more than just great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)! The island was once home to out of control billy goats and is now a sanctuary for pinnipeds including Guadalupe fur seals and northern elephant seals.
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![Manila Galleons were part of the history of Guadalupe Island, Painting by Cornelis Verbeeck, circa 1618]()
The History of Guadalupe Island
Read MoreWelcome to Guadalupe Island! Situated in deep water off the continental shelf of North America, the history of Guadalupe Island is rich with Spanish and Portuguese explorers, pirates, gold and the Manila galleons, rapacious American and Russian sealers and fur traders. We love Guadalupe Island and hope that you will come to feel the same way. This volcanic island is estimated to be 8 million years old!!
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The Great Big White Sharks of the Season
Read MoreThe first great big white sharks of the season have shown up at Guadalupe Island. Each of these big mommas was 16 feet with enormous girth. Captain Gordon on our beautiful Nautilus Belle Amie reports 7 individual sharks cruising around the ship this morning including the first of these big mommas. It is very interesting that they have shown up so much earlier in the season than normal. We are wondering if the mommas recently pupped nearby, instead of over at Baja California, ie. Scammon’s Lagoon, Sea of Cortés etc. Our dive masters on the Nautilus Explorer reported seeing 2 tiny smooth baby great white sharks last trip that were <5 feet long (so cute!). I’m very doubtful that newborn great whites would have made the open water trek across from Baja California. Are these 2 big female white sharks the momma’s of the 2 babies that we saw last week? Fingers crossed that a great white shark nursery is rebuilding at Guadalupe Island! Dive safe, Captain Mike
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![Larry and what's left of cake]()
Names have been Changed to Protect the Innocent! (aka Larry’s Birthday Party)
Read MoreI always feel badly for Larry, our amazing and incredible chief engineer. Larry has been on the boats for years with us, and is well loved by guests and crew alike. Sorry, I forgot – Larry is also well loved by our sharks and giant mantas, and actually has a tattoo of his buddy “Shredder the great white shark” on his arm (we are all concerned that we haven’t seen Shredder for the last 2 Guadalupe seasons). Anyways, it is exciting, but also somewhat bittersweet that Larry recently accepted a promotion to Senior Manager and director of engineering and technical support. I’m thrilled to be working with Larry shoreside, but I know he will be sorely missed by everyone on the ships. Long story short is that Larry’s birthday comes around during shipyard refit every year. I have memories of many memorable birthday celebrations but this year, ummmm “took the cake”. Happy birthday buddy!! Thank you for everything you do. – Captain Mike
