All,

Just back from a 9-day trip to the Revillagigedos on the Nautilus Explorer. This is the second liveaboard I've been on, the first time I've had my dSLR rig in waters other than the SoCal murk, and the fifth or sixth time overall I'd used wide angle /fisheye lenses (note to self - get as close as you can!!!). This was a rescheduled trip for us; we'd been booked to do a Vancouver Island trip last August and had to reschedule due to a conflict - I wasn't really too keen on this itinerary beforehand.

The ship was comfortable and food pretty good - nothing super-luxurious, but I tend to be more a fan of the "laid-back" stuff, so this worked for me. It turned out that many of the crew (not the divemasters) were temps filling in to finish up the season - this blew my mind, as they worked so well together that we figured they'd been performing their duties all season (at least)! The divemasters were excellent and flexible, willing to lead or let you dive your own profile (1 hour max dives due to depths, potential currents, and the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere). Briefings certainly emphasized the worst possible scenario - the briefing for Roca Partida (70 nautical miles from the nearest landmass - landmass that didn't include a way out of the islands by air) scared the living hell out of us. I slept very little the night before, and staggered into the dining room to see many wide-eyed, fearful divers with dark undereye circles!! Turned out that though the diving could be challenging, being smart and cautious enabled everyone on the boat to do well and enjoy the trip. The mantas were as beautiful, amazing, and interactive as we could have hoped.

They were very careful with my "baby" - though the (very!) choppy surface when boarding and disembarking skiffs was at least as scary as a Roca Partida dive briefing on more than one occasion. My camera was always placed onto a non-slip mat on the ground adjacent to the camera table (not near divers' feet, though right next to where the 2 smokers tended to congregate, which made me a bit nervous at times!). I was able to rinse my camera on my own when the buckets were empty. The camera table was large, and there was a large adjacent charging table (as well as numerous outlets in the cabins). We had lots of photographers and videographers, it could be a bit crowded, but I was not unhappy with it. During any big crossings, I brought my camera to my cabin (perhaps this is the norm?? I was the only one doing it on our trip.) as I was concerned about the rough swells.

In short - a great trip, and the amazing crew really made it a standout trip, especially since I was not too jazzed about going there in the first place. In fact, I became such a convert that I slapped down my nearly-transparent credit card the last day to book a space in a shared stateroom on their upcoming California Channel Islands trip. I did this without considering my work schedule, what my boss would say, the health of my bank account, or the fact that I will loosely know only one other passenger (not my mystery roommate!) and one divemaster on board.

Here are a few shots (more are on smugmug if you're so inclined), your critique is very, very welcomed, as I am here to learn. I found the WA and fisheye stuff to be quite challenging! Mantas were shot with a FE lens and macro with a 50 mm compact lens and Macro Mate.

Allison

Any shark action?
I have been told that the Revillagigedos Archipelago has recently NOT been delivering on sharks, probably because of the lax Mexican rules on longline fishing in that area.
What did you witness?

Hi -

There were sharks, but not at all the numbers I'd expect from being on a small rock in the middle of the ocean. Stories about the recent discovery of a fishing boat with hundreds of pounds of shark fins drying on deck were told - and very distressing. I personally saw evidence of fishing at all sites but one (and at that one, the evidence was probably just deeper than I ventured), and the divemasters had discovered a net at the Boiler a few trips before ours that contained (among other animals) 20 thresher sharks, a dolphin, and a manta.

The situation is heartbreaking and intolerable - I didn't want to go there in my post, but that was one of the take-home memories from my trip. We made a donation to the Socorro fund (linked on the Nautilus Explorer's website) intended to pay for a ranger and air patrol - but I worry that it is too late. I am very afraid about what the future holds.

Allison

I'm headed down there in less than two weeks on the Solmar V. Really looking forward to this, my sixth trip to Socorro.

I was just there in January (trip report here) and saw more sharks there than I've seen before, but there are many factors that contribute to where they are and when. Many different species at different times too. On every trip I saw a lot of whitetips that hang out in the caves and in the cracks at Roca. On my first trip there I saw many hammerheads deep (110'+), yet another trip the schools of hammerheads came up to 50' and swam quite close to us. In January we saw a school of silvertips on every dive at Roca plus a number of curious hammerheads coming in and out.

I was on that trip several years ago when we helped to catch an illegal fishing boat out at Roca. They had a number of shark fins drying on the back. Made me sick! At the same time I wondered what kind of idiot would eat a piece of fish that's been laying around on the deck of this dirty old boat for a couple of days. We filled the pangas with photogs carrying long lenses and circled their boat like paparazzi. They tried tried to spray us with a garden hose. These guys were captured, the captain arrested, and the boat confescated.




Fortunately there was a lot of shark action underwater too. Seeing this happen first hand was a real experience I wouldn't want to have again, but we were all very satisfied that it ended the way it did.

I'll report back after this upcoming trip.

i am considering a trip there the week after christmas. is this a good time to be there for mantas? what about sharks? whales? i understand that there is a bit on a la nina this year, what effect does that have?

Any time is a good time for mantas. They are there all the time. The season comes with the boats not going there because of potential weather problems during hurricane season. That's when the Solmar V goes to the Sea of Cortez and Guadalupe.

I was there in early December 06 and it was one of the best trips I've done. The water was warmer than normal. Between 78 and 81 according to my dive logs, but this is not the norm. The vis was amazing and we had very little wind. I got some of my best manta shots ever on that trip. You should probably check with the dive boat you plan to dive with to see what they think about la nina. I'm not sure if that would make things warmer or colder. We did see one whaleshark on this trip too, but humpback whales are typically there around March.

This video on YouTube.com was shot in January 2007 just a couple weeks after I was there.

Bonnie -

I am very glad to see contradiction from someone who has travelled to Socorro so extensively. Hope your next trip is a blast and shark/manta-filled.

Allison