We had up to 8 sharks at a time, so many that it was hard to decide which way to look.
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With a quick safety briefing, accompanied with a nice refreshing glass of champagne and homemade sushi by our Chef, we are ready to head to the Isle of the Shark.
Read MoreWell, another Socorro scuba diving adventure is over. We were bumping home in unseasonable 7 foot seas overnight but it is moderating now and I expect it to be quite calm by this afternoon. It was certainly an interesting trip. The last dive day was particularly provocative. Despite a slow start to the trip with poor visibility on dive day 1, I believe that everyone really enjoyed the diving and the experience. Some guests are already asking us if we have any open dates for Socorro 2009 so we must have done something right!
Read MoreI came on watch this morning to beautiful calm seas with a very low swell from the northwest and clear skies. Ocean passages like this are a dream and I’m almost sad at the thought of arriving at San Benedicto Island around dinner time tonight!!
Read MoreWe are at sea today enroute from Cabo San Lucas/San Jose del Cabo to San Benedicto Island with the roughest weather we have seen this season. There was a big honking storm with humongous seas off the Oregon/California coast a couple of days ago and we are getting the residual wave train of 7 to 8 feet on a fairly long period. The ride on the good ‘ol Nautilus Explorer isn’t bad but we are getting the occasional haystack where the energy of waves from different directions converges and literally piles up into a column of water, as well as potholes where the opposite happens and you get a deep trough.
Read MoreGreat white shark sightings and behaviour were EXCELLENT today with more animals than I have ever seen before. Positive identifications included poor tattered old Shredder (he is one beat up looking shark!), Skid, New Rock, Criss Cross as well as some other animals that we couldn’t positively ID. At one point four sharks were circling 40 feet deep below the boat! All the sharks that we saw were males today. The award for most interesting behaviour would have to go to one very inquisitive 9 foot juvenile. This guy would come very close to the cages and was not at all hesitant about mixing it up with much bigger animals.
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”).
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