San Ignacio Gray Whales
Extraordinary Interaction & Experience
Location: Isla Guadalupe and San Benitos, Mexico Our final day of diving with the Great Whites for this trip was by far the most adrenaline packed and intense of the three days. It was just one of those days when you know from early on that its gonna be a great day. The weather was […]
Read MoreOn our way to Sitka I had a marvellous day. Last dive very decent right dive to finish this tour , cause I had enough time to think about the sealions I saw yesterday. Ulrish A great day on the Nautilus. We had a nice dive on a small reef on the end of a […]
Read MoreLocation: Solander Island, Brooks Peninsula, west coast Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada So who in their right mind would dive Solander Island? Following is the description of Solander in the British Columbia south coast sailing directions – shores are rocky and mountains rise abruptly to elevations in excess of 2000 feet. The continential shelf lies only 4 miles SW where […]
Read MoreThe intense invertebrate life on Browning Wall is so thick and prolific and colourful that you cannot see the underlying rock at all. Until you’ve actually seen the brilliant reds, oranges, yellows, whites and all the amazing colours of the soft corals and other inverts, it is almost impossible to imagine how fantastic coldwater diving is. The tiny pinnacle of Dillon Rock is a story onto itself with 6+ wolfeels hiding in cracks and crevices, numerous giant pacific octopus, rarely sighted vermillion rockfish, a lovely kelp forest at the west side of the rock teeming with black rockfish, and dozens of chimera (ratfish in the shark family) cruising around on the sand bottom just off the rock. Great diving and a lovely day was had by all. Even the black bears cooperated with multiple beach appearances.
Read MoreI have to state for the record that I stand corrected on all the scuba diving briefings that I have given on this site over the years. Ratfish are indeed a member of the shark “family” as I thought. My mistake was in thinking that the sexual organ of the male ratfish is on it’s forehead (which kind of makes sense in a bit of a twisted way). There is definitely “something” that extends and retracts on the forehead of male ratfish but it turns out to be a “third clasper.” Like other sharks and rays, the male ratfish has 2 claspers underneath and close to their stern. Unlike any other cartilaginous fish, the ratfish has a 3rd clasper on it’s forehead that it apparently uses to latch on to the pectoral fin of a female during mating. One of the guests on this trip has the photographic evidence that clearly shows this. I stand corrected – the male ratfish has a clasper used to facilitate sex on it’s forehead. The sharks’ sexual organ is in the regular place.
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.
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