Is Socorro worth the $$$?

[nat_siriu]

Hi everyone

Thanks so much for posting your trip reports with great details! They are really helpful.

I read @Dan 's trip reports for both Jan and May and many other posts about Socorro. I'm thinking of going on 11 May with Nautilus Undersea. I haven't booked yet and start to chicken out as it seems Socorro is for experienced divers. I only have 72 dives (!!), mainly in the warm and calm sea in the gulf of Thailand. The coldest sea was two tanks in the Big island searching for mantas (but didn't see them ).

As all of you are experienced divers, I was hoping if you think I should maybe have more dives especially in the cold water before I try Socorro? From Dan's May trip report, the choppy sea is scary too as I tend to have motion sickness. I might get a chance to go to the US in Nov next year. Should I save Socorro until then when the sea is warmer? Is it calmer in November?

Sorry my question isn't so related to Socorro itself but looking forward to your advice. It would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!!

 

[Manuel Sam]

As I see it, and I admit to maybe oversimplifying a bit, while cold water and motion sickness are indeed factors that affect your comfort level and therefore enjoyment of the dives and trip, those are factors that can be partially to fully abated with more neoprene and with motion sickness pills. And if noise were to be a factor, that can also be dealt with by using ear plugs - which I myself consider a must because you never know if you end up with a cabinmate who snores.

Also regarding motion sickness, other than in Roca Partida, where there is no protected bay to anchor in, all other sites offer fairly well protected anchorages. At most dive sites, the panga/tender rides to where you jump in are fairly short. So those motion sickness pills will be needed mostly for crossings, so popping them at least an hour before the crossings ought to help. Beyond that, there are a host of other measures to deal with motion sickness that are probably better addressed in a different forum of Scubaboard.

Water conditions in Socorro are highly variable - I do not believe that there is a rougher or calmer season, but there is indeed warmer water in November.

As for your level of experience (72 dives), I have seen people diving there with even less. And whether that is suitable for Socorro, that is hard for anyone to comment on unless they see you actually diving, and because of the unpredictability and variability of water conditions. While there is no doubt that people do get better with more diving experience, there are probably some divers out there with an Open Water certification and 50 dives who are more competent than divers with an Advance Open Water certification and 200 dives under their belt. That, and where they have dived before: 100 dives in Bonaire does not equate to the experience gained from 20 dives in Cocos or Galapagos.

So, my motherhood and apple pie advice to people contemplating trips like these - regardless of the number of past dives - to places that are "advanced", with potentially once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but relatively expensive - especially for someone coming from as far away as you, is to consider some of the more fundamental factors: (1) good buoyancy control; (2) decent air consumption, altho nowadays you can pay extra to get a 15L tank on most boats; (3) whether you know your dive gear well enough so as to be able to act (ditch weights, deflate BCD, pull out sausage, etc.) without even thinking about it; and (4) to a lesser extent, whether you are in a reasonably good shape physically to do 3-4 dives a day with the possibility of having to briefly swim against a mild current once in a while. Because if the answer to most or all of these is no, then, in my opinion, it is better to wait until you can get your money's worth and can dive there and spend the time taking in all that the place has to offer rather than spending most of your bottom time watching your computer or gages, worrying about your air, bouncing from too deep to too shallow, or having to skip dives because you got tired after 2-3 dives. And even tho you can stay close to the dive guide and receive assistance when needed, it is always advisable to be self-sufficient: ie, learn how to deal with any issues that could arise spontaneously....and that comes with more diving experience.

Having said all of the above, I think that Socorro is generally easier if compared to Cocos, Galapagos and Malpelo.

 

[scubadada]

...I think that Socorro is generally easier if compared to Cocos, Galapagos and Malpelo.

I have also been to all four and generally agree. Some of the diving in the Revillagigedos can be moderately challenging due to currents and surge. I would expect that the best experience would be had by a diver with some applicable similar experience and good buoyancy, trim, and gas consumption.

 

[beldridg]

I've only been there once but it was a great trip.

In addition to what was already mentioned, at some of the sites there is effectively no bottom (e.g., Roca Partida) so you have to be comfortable with "blue water" diving and that does require a good sense of buoyancy and where you are in the water column and not getting distracted by the wildlife.

Just remember that you can always sit out a dive if you aren't comfortable with the conditions at a specific dive site.

- brett

 

[nat_siriu]

Thanks a lot all for your comments and recommendations. Much appreciated! So grateful that I found this community who are so helpful.

According to my dive instructor who dove with me for 99% of my dives last year, he said I have good buoyancy (took almost a year diving almost every week to progress), I manage air very well even when I was nervous and had OW. I'm also certified Nitrox and that's what I plan to use @Manuel Sam- do you recommend using 15L tank instead?), I only inflated the sausage once and I don't really have my own gear except fins, boots, mask and computer.

With your comments and all of my factors, I will still go to Cabo San Lucas in May so I can experience diving in cold water. My new milestone is to do Socorro with more confidence next year.!

@Manuel Sam - your comments gave me a peace of mind. Thanks so much! Do you have recommendations on dive sites around Cabo San Lucas? My plan is to do Cabo Pulmo, Cabo + Corridor, Gordo banks. I will have around 1 week there. Thinking of diving with Seecreatures as I have been in touch with them about Nautilus. But any other dive shop that you would recommend are welcome too.

Thank you again everyone!

 

[Dan]

Diving in Cabo San Lucas, Corridor, Cabo Pulmo & Gordo Banks would be good introduction to diving in Socorro. Just make sure you follow your guide like your dive buddy.

Nautilus liveraboard would divide the group based on experience level, as mentioned in my first Socorro trip report, Trip Report - Socorro 22-30 December, 2018 Trip Report

We were divided into 2 groups of 8 divers, depending on the diver skill level and preference. Group 1 was for the experienced self-reliant divers looking for complete freedom on their dives. Group 2 was for less experienced (especially in diving in blue water) looking for the reassurance of being with a DM to guide and lead the group.

So, just put yourself in Group 2, guided by one of the DMs. That’s how I started diving in Socorro back in December 2018.

 

[nat_siriu]

Thanks @Dan .. I read all of your trip reports and all other comments. You provide very informative comments!

yep, this year will try to get more comfortable in diving in these dive sites around Cabo San Lucas.

How was your trip to Raja Ampat? I saw that you came to Thailand for Richeliue too. Did you like it?

Raja Ampat is closer to me than Socorro and it is on my bucket list. Is it as difficult as Socorro?

 

[Manuel Sam]

Based on what you said, it doesn't appear that you need a 15L tank. It is rare that a girl is a heavy breather. But, if, during the trip, you are constantly having to ascend earlier than everybody else due to being low on air, then you can always ask them to switch you to a15L tank. This gets back to what I said before: if a person is only getting, let's say, 40 minutes out of a 60 minute dive, then they are not getting their money's worth, and on a liveaboard, you are paying a premium for those dives.

I personally dislike using the 15L tank anyway. Besides being heavier and bulkier, I find that no matter how much I tighten the BCD around my body, I constantly find myself tipping to one side or the other during a dive.

Regarding inflating sausages, I think I have deployed my sausage a grand total of two times in all my trips to Socorro. In other words, most of the time, you don't even have to. My point was not that you will need to do it or even demonstrate that you can do it. It is just a necessary skill that you should be able to do almost instinctively if the need arises: just like, let's say, knowing instinctively where and which button to press or which knob to pull in order to inflate or deflate your BCD. Since you rent, it would behoove you to learn those knobs and buttons well before your first dive because they may vary from BCD to BCD. The point is also not to scare you or discourage you - after all, we all started out the same way.

In places like Socorro, you may encounter some conditions that may be new and which could perhaps be stressful to you - be it cold water, buoyancy issues if wearing a thicker wetsuit and more weights in May, current, surge, rough waters, poor viz, deep dives or dives in the blue with no bottom, etc. Not that all of these conditions happen all at once and on all trips. But - and this is the real point of this discussion - if you were confronted with an overload of stressful conditions while underwater, that is not the time to fumble around trying to figure out how to do those necessary skills.

Regardless, as Dan suggested, it would be wise for your first Socorro trip, or even in Cabo, to stay close to the dive guide. For one thing, aside from their job to lead you to the interesting parts of the dive site, they are usually better at spotting animals than we are, and they are also there to ensure your safety.

I don't dive in Cabo much anymore so I am not of much help there. But I do know, because I spent 6 days snorkeling there last May, that the viz in Cabo and the corridor around that time tends to be so-so. But since you have never dived there, you may find the diving interesting, since the marine life is quite different than that of the Indopacific. A friend just came back and reported seeing eagle rays, a small group of schooling mobula rays, a guitarfish and sea lions. She dove with See Creatures. I've also seen some good reports on Manta Scuba in Cabo. You can search in this Mexico forum to see what others said.

I find the diving in Cabo Pulmo and out of La Paz to be more interesting in terms of marine life. But they are both over two hours away from Cabo. And at least to me, they are better dived while staying there rather than staying in Cabo. But that would bring about more complications than you may wish to take on since you would have to arrange lodging and diving at both places as well as the transportation in between and to and from the airport. If you were to return in November, that would also be a better month to do Cabo Pulmo and La Paz.

 

[runsongas]

maybe look into tubbataha or sipadan instead of flying all the way for socorro

 

[Dan]

Thanks @Dan .. I read all of your trip reports and all other comments. You provide very informative comments!

yep, this year will try to get more comfortable in diving in these dive sites around Cabo San Lucas.

How was your trip to Raja Ampat? I saw that you came to Thailand for Richeliue too. Did you like it?

Raja Ampat is closer to me than Socorro and it is on my bucket list. Is it as difficult as Socorro?

Thanks @Dan .. I read all of your trip reports and all other comments. You provide very informative comments!

yep, this year will try to get more comfortable in diving in these dive sites around Cabo San Lucas.

How was your trip to Raja Ampat? I saw that you came to Thailand for Richeliue too. Did you like it?

Raja Ampat is closer to me than Socorro and it is on my bucket list. Is it as difficult as Socorro?

My last trip to Raja Ampat was in Jan 2020, before Covid. The one with Blue Manta last month was rescheduled to Feb 2024.

Raja Ampat diving can be difficult if you don’t have a good experienced guide, as there are lots of currents.

Richelieu Rock is cool dive site. We supposed to dive there for 2 days, but we had to cancethe 2nd day due to rough sea.