We did the Giants Causeway (or Southwest Benedicto for Mike) as the third dive and saw 2 or possibly 4 mantas but they did not seem to want to interact with us. Dive day 2 and we went to the Boiler for the first scuba dive. The dive was spectacular, 100+ feet of visibility, a pod of 6 dolphins and almost no current.
Read MoreWe anchored so that we could swim to the dive site, and with no current and very little waves, we had an open deck for the day so guests were free to dive whenever they felt like. Between dives, a lot of guests chose to accompany Marco, our chief mate, on a tour of the shoreline to see the arches and pinnacles and whale watch. From the Nautilus we watched a young humpback whale leap multiple times out of the water followed by an adult humpback breaching creating some wonderful photographic opportunities.
Read MoreWe started Dive day 2 by checking in at the Navy base and then picking up three underwater photographers from the World Wildlife Federation who had been waiting for us at Socorro Island during the storm (unable to dive). From there we went to Cabo Pearce. Throughout all 3 dives at Cabo Pearce we could hear the humpback whales singing in the background. In between dives two and three several guests were out snorkeling when a humpback whale mom and calf happened along and checked out the snorkellers. The encounter was, of course, an incredible experience.
Read MoreOver the years, we have seen that the manta rays at San Benedicto seem to like to interact with scuba divers, coming back and making eye contact and as divemasters we have felt that they will always single us out and make a close pass as if they recognize us. There are three models/freedivers on this trip who have been diving down and swimming with the giant manta rays and one of them has definitely been singled out by two of the mantas that we encountered. Every time she dives down the mantas will turn into her and circle around her and get very close. The other two divers, one male and one female, are getting are far less interest from the mantas. Hmmm…
Read MoreIt has always seemed to us that our best giant manta ray interactions tend to be on the second and third scuba dives. This has been reinforced by our experience here on the Boiler on this trip. Although we have been seeing giant mantas earlier in the day they do not seem to wish to stay around and play until about 11am, at which point they are happy to play with us until around 3:30pm. Luckily, this is also the best time for the photography as the light is at its best.
Read MoreOur first priority was to remove the fishing net that was caught on the Boiler and had been found on our last trip. The crew of the Solmar V had done a good job of removing a large part of the net which made our job a lot easier. As we were finishing up a pod of dolphin and two mantas showed up. We like to think that they were thanking us for our work. The first day of the photo shoot was auspicious. Two giant mantas chose to interact with us, one kept coming back to the camera and the divers, turning and swimming loops around us as the film team and freedivers got used to the conditions and the interaction.
Read MoreAfter a couple of disappointing dives, I persuaded everyone to join me for an exploratory dive along the lava flows on the east side of San Benedicto. I have always wanted to check this area out as a potential dive site and that thought continued until about 5 seconds after I jumped into the water. Uh oh. It was very green murky water with less than 5 feet of visibility! The only good news is that it felt like being back home in the plankton rich emerald seas of British Columbia!
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