San Ignacio Gray Whales
Choose from 4 to 12 day adventures!
All blogs from Nautilus. Get inspired before your trip.
Far and away the coolest thing we saw on our afternoon dives were spawning sea urchins! Yup, we happened across in-water sexual reproduction as the urchins released sperm into the water column. It looked almost as if the urchins were sending up smoke signals with puffs of white “smoke” (sperm) spiraling up from the top of these amazing echinaderms. You have to think that it is a very long shot that eggs are going to get fertilized this way but that’s what happens.
Read MoreClipperton Island also has the largest colony of booby birds (gannets) anywhere in the world with 5 different species; browns and masked boobies (very common) as well as Galapagos, red-footed and blues (I think I got that right, I’m not great on my birding). To our surprise we also spotted ducks and even some Canadian geese. I definitely did not expect to find Canadian geese on Clipperton Island!
Read MoreJuvenile Galapagos sharks (carcharhinus galapagensis) were reported as being extremely numerous and aggressive during the 1956 expedition. To the point where scuba diving operations were first limited and then terminated because of the apparent danger from the sharks. The shark cage was the answer on the 1958 expedition. Cool huh?!
Read MoreOne of our guests brought along a fascinating trip video from the FOOAAA DXpedition to Clipperton Island. DXer’s are very serious ham radio operators who stage arduous and expensive expeditions to very remote places. The beauty of Clipperton Island from their perspective is that it qualifies as a “country.” So sending and receiving a call to station FOOAA on Clipperton is something of note for amateur ham operators (much like a birder’s “life list”).
Read MoreSpent the morning at the Canyon on San Benedicto. I splashed in on the first dive which was pleasant with a couple of hammerhead shark sightings plus good ol’ Lumpy, our tame and over friendly leather bass putting in his regular appearance at the inner cleaning station. Dive 2 was GREAT with two friendly giant manta rays showing up as well as silvertip, Galapagos and hammerhead shark sightings.
Read MoreLocation: Halfway between San Jose del Cabo (Cabo San Lucas) and San Benedicto Island (Socorro), Islas Revillagigedos Comments: We departed San Jose del Cabo (Cabo San Lucas) last night for FRANCE via San Benedicto Island (Socorro)!!! Yup, Clipperton Atoll is a French territory, and as far as the Mexican authorities are concerned, we are sailing […]
Read MoreWe checked the radar and discovered a large (225ft??) target doing tight circles off Roca Partida and clearly in the Biosphere Reserve. I suspected that it was a large tuna clipper and that they were watching us through their binoculars because as soon as we launched one of our inflatables, all the lights on the other ship blinked off. The illegal boat then started jinking around at high speed (15 knots plus), apparently doing it’s best to stay away from the inflatable.
Read More
