San Ignacio Gray Whales
Extraordinary Interaction & Experience
Location: Halfway between San Jose del Cabo (Cabo San Lucas) and San Benedicto Island (Socorro), Islas Revillagigedos Comments: We departed San Jose del Cabo (Cabo San Lucas) last night for FRANCE via San Benedicto Island (Socorro)!!! Yup, Clipperton Atoll is a French territory, and as far as the Mexican authorities are concerned, we are sailing […]
Read MoreWe checked the radar and discovered a large (225ft??) target doing tight circles off Roca Partida and clearly in the Biosphere Reserve. I suspected that it was a large tuna clipper and that they were watching us through their binoculars because as soon as we launched one of our inflatables, all the lights on the other ship blinked off. The illegal boat then started jinking around at high speed (15 knots plus), apparently doing it’s best to stay away from the inflatable.
Read MoreDivers saw the usual complement of electric rays, Socorro lobster, silky, Galapagos and hammerhead sharks, but their most spectacular encounter was with a single bottlenose dolphin who adopted the divers. We’ve been seeing similar behaviour from the dolphins all winter, where they hang out and literally imitate the divers. If a diver hangs on to the ascent line, the dolphin will rest the underside of his head on the line. If a diver blows bubbles, the dolphins will blow bubbles. If a diver does a 360-degree roll, the dolphin will do a full roll (well actually, they tend to be somewhat playful and will often do a 720-degree roll or even a triple barrel roll).
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreMeasuring 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.
Read MoreOur friends on the Solmar V frequent a site there called the Aquarium. It is nice but not too sharky, which makes it perfect for a night dive. We arrived there at 8 pm and launched our divers shortly afterwards. You can imagine my sigh of relief when they reported back that it was a great night dive with nice visibility and lots of critters including dense nests of Socorro lobsters. Phew!
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