It’s the last dive day of this trip and everyone is sad that it’s going to be over shortly. The diving conditions at the Canyon and the Boiler dive sites at San Benedicto Island can be highly variable and Captain Dave reports that the diving has been quieter than usual over the last couple of weeks. It’s still “very good” with large biomasses of fish, silvertip, Galapagos, silky and hammerhead sharks and, of course, our friendly giant manta rays.
Read MoreA group of guests also went out in a skiff to get a closer look at four adult humpback whales and one juvenile and were rewarded with 15 minutes of dramatic tail lobs (smacking their tails on the ocean surface). While tail lobs can be a “back off” message directed at humans, or a “let’s get together guys and stay close,” it seemed much more likely that there was some male to male competitive behaviour going on here. ‘Tis the season at Socorro Island for humpback whales to mate and breed!!
Read MoreThey started the day out at the Canyon dive site at San Benedicto Island, and on the first dive, two guests took some fantastic images of an adult female humpback whale and her calf. Divers also saw five Silvertip sharks at the main cleaning station. One closed circuit rebreather diver had the fantastic good fortune of sighting something that none of us had ever seen before – a verified school of approximately 100 juvenile Silvertip sharks. Incredible!!
Read MoreThe west side of Socorro Island has beautiful rolling hills with low green vegetation that is gradually turning brown as the residual moisture from last summer’s hurricane season drys up. Divers lucked out with a large and very friendly giant manta ray that stuck with them for a great interaction during one dive. Humpback whales were all around and spent their day breaching, fluking and singing whale songs that could be heard underwater.
Read MoreCaptain Dave reports that on their first morning dive at El Canyon at San Benedicto Island, divers saw two hammerhead sharks swimming alongside a school of silvertip sharks. Some of the Silvertips were very small, measuring less than 2.5ft. Meanwhile, one of the hammerheads was huge for a scalloped hammerhead – an estimated 12 feet!
Read MoreThe magic of Socorro Island is that these resident mantas actually choose to approach divers on their own terms. We’ve always felt that there must be “something” in the water around Socorro, as a number of resident animals choose to approach and even initiate physical contact with divers. Not just the manta rays but dolphins, Lumpy our favourite leather bass, and even some of the Socorro lobster.
Read MoreThe Canyon came through with good diving with giant manta rays, white tip reef sharks, juvenile silvertip sharks and a small school of hammerhead sharks. A couple of humpback whales came close by the boat, but weren’t in the mood to interact with the divers.
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