Best time to dive Socorro?

[Pelicanne]

Hi,

Please can anyone advise me on the best time to dive Socorro for maximum marine life? I know November-May is generally the best time for calm weather, but I keep reading different things regarding the different species. Humpback whales and hammerheads are the top priority for me, as well as the oceanic mantas.

Would also like to hear the downsides of going any particular month. I’ve 200+ dives and am fairly experienced in current, but I’m not particularly strong.

All thoughts much appreciated!

 

[Manuel Sam]

November thru June is the entire Socorro season, altho Nautilus does offer a few trips that extend into early July. The boats do not go out there between July and October, apparently because it is hurricane season.

Weather and sea conditions vary, even from trip to trip. I am not aware that there is a calmer month. What they do have are warmer and colder months. November and early December usually have the warmest waters.

Humpback season is between January and April, even tho they start showing up a month or two before in Baja waters. If you are hoping to see them from the boat, there is a decent chance of that. But if you are expecting to see them in the water, that does not happen often. There are places to go to where there are much better chances of swimming with humpbacks: Silver Banks, French Polynesia and Tonga, to name a few.

Mantas and hammerheads are there all season - but ike the weather and sea conditions, it is pretty much luck whether you get a good trip with good encounters or a not-so-good one, and in the case of animal encounters, whether you see one or two or a whole bunch.

I've done trips there in November, December, January, February, April and May. I've had good and bad trips on each of those months except my one trip in May, which was my worst ever Socorro trip. But again, it is luck - I am sure that others have had trips-of-a lifetime in May there. My best trip ever was in November, and I do prefer November mostly because the water is warmer.

 

[Pelicanne]

Thanks so much, that’s really helpful.