Am I ready for Socorro?

[ncitrdude]

I posted this earlier on the liveaboard thread, but realized this forum is probably the best instead. Moderators pls feel free to delete the other thread.

Hi, i'm considering doing a Socorro liveaboard in December and I want to gauge from people with experience diving Socorro their opinion on whether or not I'm ready for Socorro, or if I should hold off on it for now. My main concern is the currents.

My experience level is about 80 dives. I've got advanced open water and nitrox certifications and have regularly dove to 100+ feet. Places I've dove include Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Key West, Cancun, Turks & Caicos, BVIs, Punta Mita/Puerto Vallarta, St Maarten, and Belize. I wouldn't consider any of the places I've dove to have had strong currents.

I've done one liveaboard on the Belize Aggressor IV and loved the experience, even though the diving itself was kind of "meh".

Given my background, would you experts out there say that I will most likely be fine diving Socorro, or would you suggest more experience diving in strong current sites before splurging on a Socorro liveaboard?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

 

[ncitrdude]

My fallback option to Socorro would be Turks & Caicos, unless the general consensus is that T&C won't be any better than Belize. I was sorely disappointed with what seemed like only small fish and very few pelagics in Belize, though admittedly I did not do my research on it before booking last year.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

Wow. That sure got my attention. I'm almost ready to commit to a Socorro liveaboard for late 2019. But, I never really read anywhere that strong currents were a concern. If they are a consideration, I guess I'll need to do some focused preparation for diving in strong currents. The good news is, I'll have plenty of time to prepare. I hope some of you who have experience diving Socorro will weigh in.

 

[covediver]

I dived (dove?) Socorro in December 2011 on a live aboard. We were diving from the tender most of the time, but not all the time. I did not find the currents that challenging at most sites. The trip out there from Cabo was a little rough, but once we got there it was pretty nice. The most important thing is to follow the divemaster's instructions, that is, if you find yourself in blue water or struggling go directly to the surface, don't drift while making the stop for three minutes. Also, we had the option of guided dives or at least a knowledgeable divemaster for each dive. The spot where we ran into most mantas, there was no current, they were lined up like planes on approach to LAX. Keep in mind, Socorro in December is not warm water diving. Looking at the places that you have mentioned, they appear to be boardshort and rashguard type of diving. Some people on our trip were wearing 3mm, most were wearing 5mm. So if you are not used to diving in a wetsuit, is that something that you need to consider?

 

[ncitrdude]

Got it. Yeah the vast majority of my diving has been warm water diving, however I did do Lake Michigan wreck diving in the dead of winter a few years ago. That was PAINFULLY cold even with a superthick wetsuit/hood/gloves.

I'm guessing Socorro won't be nearly as bad temperature-wise, haha.

 

[peeweediver]

We had a mix of experience for our 2013 trip on the Solmar V. The surge at Roca Partita was the hardest part. If you realize how much you're moving up and down in the water column and don't react as though you're sinking, not too bad. Also, my wife learned that you can't try to go around Roca at the rock because the oncoming current will rip your mask off. She thought we went around and tried. I was behind her and watched trying to figure out what she was doing. When I realized, I stopped her but mask was already sideways on her face. Lesson, nobody swims around Roca by the rock. Despite experiences ranging from 40 to 800 dives on the boat, nobody felt it was too much. We were there in February for the whales and the water temperature was 75-77 and we were in 5-7 mms.
It's your comfort level that should dictate but currents at CoCos Island were much harder.

Rob

 

[Trailboss123]

At a bare minimum, please be sure that you are very competent and confident in deploying a surface marker buoy from depth. Whereas you may be fortunate to dive w/o strong currents, it is more likely that you will and that in the course of a week of diving, you will at some point get separated from your group, dive guide or buddy and will want to be able to handle that confidently and w/o panic. I have friends that were there this past February and wish they had reef hooks and didn't-- so, yes- there are currents. Here is a link to some info on what to expect in terms of sea life, visibility and water and surface temps by month: Socorro Island Overview | Nautilus Liveaboards

 

[Clark Fletcher]

Thanks @Trailboss123. That was extremely informative and the links were quite helpful.

 

[BDSC]

Wow. That sure got my attention. I'm almost ready to commit to a Socorro liveaboard for late 2019. But, I never really read anywhere that strong currents were a concern. If they are a consideration, I guess I'll need to do some focused preparation for diving in strong currents. The good news is, I'll have plenty of time to prepare. I hope some of you who have experience diving Socorro will weigh in.

Do it!!!! Take the trip!!!!The group leader is just an all around incredible guy!!!!

But seriously, I have done one trip to the Socorro Islands and two trips to Cocos and I found the currents in Cozumel to be more of a challenge than either Socorro or Cocos. If you (OP) have in the neighborhood of 80 dives you should be fine.

Also, when we were there in November, many of us did not even wear a wetsuit. Water temps were like 80-82ish.

 

[Clark Fletcher]

You're right. The group leader is an all around nice guy! Can't wait to meet him.

I'm about 90% sure at this point that I'm going to go. I think the next trip at the end of the month will go a long way toward helping me decide. So as not to hijack this thread, I'll send you an email shortly.