Crystal clear visibility at Roca Partida

By on March 8th, 2007 in Archive, Socorro

The really cool thing was that the currents of cold water brought crystal clear visibility with divers able to see the bottom 240 feet below them!! Divers reported the usual groups of white tip reef sharks hanging out in various caves and oblivious to divers around them. Two of the divers saw a 5-foot long silky shark hunting at very high speed with the “lunch fish” been eaten right in from of them. A Galapagos shark came in very close to the divers and the incredible visibility made it possible for them to identify one great hammerhead and two scalloped hammerheads swimming along the bottom!!

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Giant manta ray migratory route

By on February 27th, 2007 in Archive, Captain Mike, Socorro

Highlights included a huge bait ball of skipjacks being hunted by silky sharks and 100-pound yellowfin tuna, a group of five hammerhead sharks that approached within 40 feet of the divers and a blue water drift dive looking for pelagics. All the usual Roca Partida critters were present, including over 30 white tip reef sharks, silky and Galapagos sharks and some curious wahoo.

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Rebounding shark population at Clipperton Island

By on February 22nd, 2007 in Archive

We are all VERY excited about journeying down to Clipperton on the first ever non-scientific diving trip there. I recently had a nice chat with the Captain of the San Diego-based Royal Star when he was in the Revillagigedos and he mentioned that the shark population at Clipperton Island is rebounding nicely after being decimated by illegal longline fishermen in 1998  –  so our fingers are tightly crossed on that one.

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Dominance and a large black manta ray

By on February 18th, 2007 in Archive, Captain Mike, Socorro

Interestingly, one group of divers reported observing behaviour that reminded me very much of the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island. Last season we would see 2 white sharks swim side-by-side as if they were measuring their respective lengths against each other. The smaller animal would then peel off into the blue. The larger animal presumably being the dominant animal. I “think” we saw the same thing with 2 giant manta rays. 2 animals (a chevron manta and a larger black manta) swam in tight formation in a vertical pattern. The smaller chevron then peeled off and disappeared into the blue. Presumably, just like the white sharks, the large black manta ray established it’s dominance and got to hang out with a human.

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Red hot diving at Roca Partida

By on February 17th, 2007 in Archive, Captain Mike, Socorro

Measuring 91 metres by 45 metres by 34 metres high, the island is actually the lava plug from a volcano that gradually eroded away around it. It is an amazing 11,000 feet deep around the volcano and we gingerly anchor the Nautilus Explorer in 245 feet of water very close to the lava tube. Roca Partida is a “magnet” for mantas, sharks of all kinds, wahoo, tuna, dorado and all other manner of sub-tropical fish.

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Flat calm crossing

By on February 10th, 2007 in Archive, Captain Mike, Socorro

Had a great run from Roca Partida straight back to Cabo San Lucas. Sometimes it is a rough crossing with 6 – 8ft seas. Most of the time it is pretty nice, with the ship gently pitching up and down and an easy roll from side to side. And sometimes it is flat calm. This crossing was so calm that it was as if we were already tied up to the dock!

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Leaping wahoo and tuna at Roca Partida

By on February 7th, 2007 in Archive, Captain Mike, Socorro

We have never seen so many yellowfin tuna in one place. They all seem to be 100 pounds or more, which is a very big tuna! The action got especially hot off the back of the Nautilus Explorer yesterday afternoon as the tuna and wahoo literally exploded out of the water in giant leaps as they chased down their prey. It is quite something to see a 100-pound tuna jump out of the water 200 feet away from the ship.

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