![Sea Lions at San Benitos]()
San Benitos: A Sea Lion’s Playground
Read MoreIf I had to describe San Benito’s diving in just a few words, I would say that is is a “sea lion’s playground.”
We sailed from the port of Ensenada around midnight, fully loaded with fuel, food and a boat full of excited divers.
Read MoreThis marks the beginning of the changing of seasons for us, we will start by cage diving with great whites sharks at the Island of Guadalupe, then head south east to the dense kelp forests of Benitos and Cedros Islands to splash around with seals, sea lions and elephant seals. Once the Northern portion of our trip is complete, we will set sail to the south where we will hopefully explore the rarely dived pinnacles of Rocas Alijos. They have been on my bucket list for years but I have yet to have the chance, hopefully this year will be…
San Benitos Island – A perfect mix of tropical and temperate diving?? The seal grabbed my fin in it’s mouth!!!
Read MoreOn my break today I slipped into my wetsuit and clambered aboard the dive skiff along with Hostess Carmen. First Mate Shaun expertly drove us out to a kelp patch located along side San Martin, a small island a few hours off the coast of the Baja California. Only fishermen live on this small island and just when they are fishing. The only permanent residents are a plethora of sea birds and lots of harbor seals. Carmen and I back flipped into the water and we were off. I joined a group of guests, Daniel, Marcel and Erich from Switzerland…
I love diving with California sea lions at San Benitos. They are a different kind of fun that diving with white sharks.
Read MoreFirst dive with sea lions great, the harbor seal was good. – Yves Nice kelp forest, beautiful sea lions. – Kim Los bosques de kelp muy bonitos y los peces muy amistosos, quede entretenido con las focas y leones marinos – Mauricio Lovely combination of seal lions, garibaldis and guitar ray. – Achim Smiling all day because of the sea lions and kelp. – William Great seal lions interaction and amazing dive with jj. – Cheri Great tour on the kelp with jj and beautiful sea lions. – Anne Had beautiful dives, more than words to express. – Jeanne I…
I felt that I had been dropped into a sea lion nursery. I was surrounded by juvenile california sea lions trying to figure out this strange looking visitor.
Read MoreSan Benitos and the word of the day is sea-lions. Day 4 and it was a 4-dive day for me. The first three dives of the day were like being dropped in a sea lion nursery just surrounded by juvenile sea lions that wanted to play around and figure out who these strange looking visitors were. All three dives lasted just under the 60 minutes allowed and never went deeper than 9 meters but cant remember when I have had so much fun so shallow. The last dive of the day was a little further around the island near a…
We would swim out into a clearing and the sun would beam through the fronds casting a golden glow over the sea floor. The Garibaldi would give us haughty looks.
Read MoreHostess Carmen and I got our dive gear ready and in a flash were headed out on one of the skiffs with 1st Mate Shaun at the helm. We dropped down in a kelp forest just off Isla Cedros and after a few minutes of adjusting weights we were off! I can’t remember a time when I had had more fun with a dive buddy! We glided about underwater and played in and amongst the kelp fronds. I felt at times as if I was in an enchanted forest, we would swim into a dense patch and the sunlight would…
It’s that time of the season when the really big female white sharks start showing up at Guadalupe Island. We call them big momma’s.
Read MoreFor the first 6 weeks or so of the season we see almost exclusively male white sharks. Generally they are a little smaller in size than the females, especially in girth. When a big female appears in front of the cages they are unmistakable and awe inspiring. Their movements are a little more slow, more deliberate, and you can almost feel the dominance and power in their movements and behavior. Today I saw my first big female of the season. In length she was about average, maybe 14 ft, however it was her girth and sheer mass that first indicated…
