Good evening! This is first mate Sandy writing, from the beautiful Sea of Cortez near La Paz, Mexico. We have anchored in a small bay on the island of Espiritu Santo for the night, before heading back to the local California sea lion colony, Los Islotes, for some adrenaline-filled diving with some gregarious marine mammals […]
Read MoreLocation: Horizon Cove, San Benitos Island, Baja California, Mexico. We arrived at the west island of San Benitos islands at around 11 am. Just before arriving we were welcomed by whitesided dolphins. Compared with our last expedition exploring the pacific side of Baja California in 2004, the kelp is much thicker than before and our divers couldn’t wait […]
Read MoreLocation: Abeam San Clemente Island, California Channel Islands, USA Captain Rob is in command and I have been shoreside ever since the Nautilus Explorer departed Steveston on August 17th. The start of our Guadalupe Island 2008 great white shark season is just around the corner and it’s time to get the boat down to […]
Read MoreMany different nudibranchs were seen and photographed and Alicia found a very small blue arthropod which she had never seen before. This would not mean much if I said it but Alicia studies nudibranchs in the Eastern Pacific and is Mexico’s leading expert on nudibranchs! She spends lots of time looking at small stuff in the ocean and when she gets excited, I get excited!
Read MoreAfter two dives on Farnsworth we went closer to the island and dove Indian Head Point where we had a balmy 59°F at the surface dropping to 56°F at 70 feet. The visibility was low, approximately 10 feet but there was so much to see that it was not a problem. Swimming through the trunks of kelp was like walking through a forest at twilight in the mist. The kelp “trees” would appear out of nowhere and there were sea fans of multiple colours all over. Probably the most exciting part of the dive was the sea hares. Large, black and everywhere.
Read MoreAnother great day of diving in the southern Channel Islands. Here is what I recorded in my personal dive log: Aquarium Reef – temp 56, vis 30 feet, breezy, 3 foot swell – lots of purple corralline algae and small amounts of purple hard coral. (Dive with Ian) Aquarium Reef – temp 56, vis 20 feet, breezy, 3 foot swell, Garibaldi NW Harbor – temp 55, vis 20 feet, light breeze, 1-2 foot swell – kelp forest, sea lions, nudibranchs. NW Harbor (twilight) – temp 55 vis 20 feet, calm, calm – blue shark, much more skittish than those we are used to in the Revillagigedo.
Read MoreDivemaster Tricia here. Captain Mike has pneumonia and had to go back to Vancouver. The “other” Captain Mike (Innes) is onboard. We left Ensenada yesterday afternoon after our guests were transferred down by luxury highway coach, steamed overnight and set the anchor at San Clemente Island this morning. This is my first time diving the California Channel Islands but the very able Captain Eric Kett (formerly of Truth Aquatics) is working dive operations and knows this area like the back of his hand. We dove Window Pane with its fabulous kelp forest. And then Pyramid Cove which was especially great with large schools of blue rockfish and lots of sea lions hanging around.
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