Has anyone dove San Carlos?

[KC5UX]

If anyone has dived San Carlos, please answer some questions. Is it worth the 12 hour drive from Albuquerque? Is the diving good? Are the operators fair and friendly? Are the accomodations decent? What is the water temp? When is the best time to go? and anything else you can think of.

Thanks
Jim Fish

 

[diversteve]

If anyone has dived San Carlos, please answer some questions.

We did last fall (06') It's a semi-local trip for divers from Phoenix and Tucson.

Is the diving good?

It's not bad. It's the Sea of Cortez so you don't get the soft corals since the substrate is rocky. Most of the dive boats make the run out to San Pedro Island daily. Depending on your diveop that can be either an hour or two hours each way. The diving out there is usually pretty clear spring-fall. It's really shallow up near the island and drops past rec. depths more towards the south end.

We went for the hammerhead migration mid October but missed it by a week. The water had already starting cooling off so the viz wasn't the best. I did film about a dozen Eels in holes in the reef, and had several up close encounters with the resident Sea Lions - there's a permanent colony there and they're very used to divers. There's an abundance of Cortez Angelfish all over as well as lots of less attractive fish. Usually some bigger puffers also. My buddy's seen octopii there. One fun part of the trip is that you usually get a dolphin escort either on the ride out or back to town.

We chartered our own boat (5 of us) and also went out with Gary's Diveshop once. We would've preferred to dive with Surface Time but they were booked. Recently Oasis Divers here in Phoenix took over control of Surface Time's operation - Oasis Divers: Phoenix Arizona Scuba Instruction - Phoenix Arizona. Not sure exactly what that means as far as booking now.

Are the operators fair and friendly?

Yes but there's a language barrier. At least with the four we met. They stayed on the boat and fished for lunch while we dove. Gary's has one big boat and a bunch of old concrete ex-tour boats. There's another diveop there with a newer big boat also - can't remember the name. And several other diveops in town with boats also. There's probably a dozen diveboats lined up in the marina in the morning.

Are the accomodations decent?

Marina Terra's not bad. The deal there is to rent one of the condos since they're cheaper than the hotel rooms, on the grounds of the resort and you get full use of the hotel facilities. MT is also right on the marina that all the boats leave from, the other hotels are in town a couple miles away. There's a beach club nearby owned by the resort, if you ask in the lobby they'll shuttle you over.

There's also a Best Western in town that one of the local LDS's here uses.

What is the water temp?

I don't really check but I dove in a swimsuit and t-shirt in October. Was a little cold below 60'. In the summer it's mid-80's.

When is the best time to go?

I think summer based on what my buddy has said. He goes often.

There can be pieces of jellyfish in the water off the island at times so a skin might be advisable if you're susceptible. I did feel a few stings on my face and arms one dive. But nothing that was there an hour later.

and anything else you can think of.

It's kind of a sleepy little town. It runs along the highway and there's not much to it. There's a few local markets, some restaurants and not much else. We actually discussed whether it's dying or the next area to be developed. Consensus was the latter. I flew in and the plane was full of real estate speculators and investors talking about business in San Carlos.

Website for most things San Carlos: San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico
San Carlos diving forum: http://sancarlosmx.mywowbb.com/forum3/
Website to rent a condo at Marina Terra: Ocean View Realty

 

[donooo]

There's another diveop there with a newer big boat also - can't remember the name.

That might be the Ocean Spirit, run by Ocean Sports in San Carlos / Desert Divers in Tucson. San Carlos is the gringo tourist destination adjacent to the real Mexican town of Guymas. In olden days it was mostly fisherman, now anyone that needs to cross the border, but doesn't have the time or desire to go further south. Not much economy in San Carlos. The drive down isn't bad, but a three hour wait at the border coming back on Sunday evening can ruin the day.

I think Desert Divers has 35 divers on the Ocean Spirit today. They go down just about every other weekend.

adios don O