dpbishop
Contributor
Just got back yesterday from 3 days of diving with Club Catamar (Baja Diving & Service) in La Paz with my GF. Here is a report
Day 1
Boat: La Realidad
DMs: Marco & Bob
Divers: a young British couple, a group of 11 Dutch, and us.
Dive 1 La Reina
Strong current greeted us when we hit the water. We had to pull ourselves forward to the anchor line to descend. Susans gloves kept slipping on the line so I had to grab her BC and pull her with me. At the bottom we had a short crawl over the rocks to get in the lee of the mount, where the current was slack. Visibility was about 50'; water temp was 82 degrees F. Lots of fish life; big parrot fish, angels, triggerfish, grunts, puffers, etc. A banded moray was after something in a hole in the rock and was hammering away at it for quite a while. In a large cleft in the rock three sea lions swam around us for about 5 minutes. The DM said the sea lions here werent as friendly as at Los Islotes; if thats so, they must be very gregarious there, because these were the friendliest ones Ive seen. Had to crawl over the bottom to get back to the anchor line, helping Susan most of the way, then back up and drift back along the current line to the back of the boat. The crew was very good about preparing us for the current & helping divers back onto the boat. Max depth that we hit was 51', temp was 80 degrees F.
Dive 2 La Reinita
When they dropped the anchor here they really dropped the anchor; the pin came out and the line stayed on the deck. The DMs made a quick dive and retrieved it in about 5 minutes; but it probably took about half an hour to get properly anchored. Did I say there was current at the first dive? That was nothing compared to this spot. You could see ripples in the water behind the rock where the current came back together. 5 knots at least. About half the divers elected to sit this one out. (They were mostly from a group of Dutch, who had been diving here for 10 days) Even with her gloves off Susan needed help to get to the anchor line. The current was less at the bottom, and they had dropped the anchor about 10 feet from the rock so it was no problem getting to still water. Visibility was less, 30 40 feet, but the sea life was just as abundant. Saw the same cast of characters plus a school of Cornet fish, very cool, and a big school of grunts that were hanging just on the edge of the current shadow.
We saw whales spout on the way to the first & second dive. On the way to the third we followed a Fin whale cow & calf for about 5 minutes, at one point they surfaced less than 20 yards away.
Dive 3 The wreck of the Salvatierra
This is the wreck of a Baja Ferry that went down in the early 1980s after hitting a reef. We were told not to penetrate it, as it is not a prepared wreck, unlike the Fang Ming?. While it retains the overall shape of the original ship, it has collapsed in on itself as if some giant foot had stepped on it. The stern rises the highest off of the bottom, and you can swim under it where two big propellers are still exposed. Depth was 60 feet, with the top of the wreck at about 40 There was almost no current here, a welcome change, and they used a grappling hook instead of an anchor so when you followed the line down you landed right on the ship. The fish count here was astounding, where before we saw some angelfish, here you saw schools of angel fish. The Sea of Cortez blows away any other place I have dove for tropical fish life, in variety, size, and shear number.
There is a tanker truck off to one side of the wreck that you can swim through, so we did.
The DMs we had today were great. Bob dove with Susan and I the first two dives and was very helpful without getting in the way. ( I usually dont like diving with DMs that much, but with the current & the limited visibility it was helpful to have someone who knew where he was going). We were lucky in that everyone in the group seemed to be experienced, the Dutch group had dove the first two sites before so they were off on their own and the two Brits have been living in Tortola for a year or two, so it was almost like having a private guide.
Day 2
Boat: Uno Mas
DM: Aki
Divers: The same British couple, a couple from British Columbia, a couple from Mexico, 2 women & a man from France, and us.
Intense negotiations at the dock this morning over boat assignments. We wanted to do Los Islotes or a whale shark trip but were placed on a boat with an undefined destination.. There was a cruise ship in. so two boats were booked for snorkel trips to Los Islotes. The pilot was not available, so the whale shark trip was out. The Dutch group, who had paid for one more day of diving, decided to sit today out and do whale sharks tomorrow, so we ended up on the biggest boat with only eleven divers.
Dive 1 Los Islotes
Los Islotes is a pair of rocks islets connected by a narrow reef with a colony of over 300 Sea Lions. We were planning two dives; the first one through an arch to the windward side, the second toward the sea lion colony, Visibility was 30-40 feet. Saw the usual cast of Characters plus an octopus that Aki pointed out. She was very good at finding nudies & such for the photograpers. 2 sea lions joined us under the arch for a few minutes. When we returned to the anchor line it wasnt there, as the captain had moved the boat because of the wind had picked up. They had stern tied the boat to a mooring bouy, and the block of concrete it was attached to was bouncing around with the surge. After we swam to the boat they tried to move it to the other end of the island to dive with the sea lions but the wind was still to strong there so we headed for another site.
Dive 2 Partida
This is a small reef in the lee of a point of the mainland. The visibility was about 20 and there wasnt any current to speak of. Lots of Cortez angels here, as well as the usual suspects. Max depth was 56'.
Dive 3 The wreck of the Fang Ming
This is a small cargo ship that was caught smuggling Chinese immigrants and sank as an artificial reef. Lots of holes were cut in the sides so you can always see daylight. Sea life was not as plentiful as the Salvatierre, as it has only been down 8 years, but by any another standard it was good. Coming up through a hatch I almost put my hand on a stone fish that had plastered itself to the side of the coming; a photographer had been setting up a shot of it & pointed it out to me when my hand entered his viewfinder.
Day 3
Boat: La Liberation
DMs: Bob & Aki
Divers: The Dutch group, the Brits, one of the French ladies, a couple from Kentucky & us.
Dive 1 Return to the Salvatierra
This was a whale shark trip, so the dive locations are limited to sites within an hour of the port. Visibility was not as good as Saturday and the current was a strong as at La Reina the first day. If you stayed behind the wreck you were OK, and you could swim across the top with occasional hand holds when the current kicked up.
Snorkel with Whale Sharks
The plan was to dive Salvatierra & Swanee reef, but the viz was decreasing so the crew decided to do the whale sharks next, then do the last dive. The whale shark experience costs an extra $20 to pay for the pilot of the ultralight seaplane that acts as a spotter. He found a group of 5 and we got ready to go. They divided us into 3 groups of 6 and would drop one group in the water in front of & to the side of a whale shark, then guide us to the location. Visibility was only 12 or so. If the sharks are swimming you can parallel them for a while, but if the get spooked they turn on the jets & you get left behind. The boat picks you up & drops you again. If the sharks are feeding they go much slower, and you can stay with them easily, but they change direction without notice. They crew had made a big deal about not touching them, as they would dive if they felt a touch, so you have to stay alert, which isnt that easy in low visibility. There were a lot of people crashing into each other while avoiding the sharks, especially the photographers, but nobody spooked the sharks. I did at least 6 drops; as people tired & dropped out they melded the groups till there was only 4 or 5 of us going in. They had to rescue 2 people that exhausted themselves from swimming. In the end one blond was chasing a shark solo until we could get her attention. Everyone was smiling.
Dive 2 The Lighthouse
This is a small islet not far from the harbor. Visibility was less than 20 and there was some current. It was similar to Partida. Neither was that great a dive, although in San Diego they would have been considered good visibility & great sea life. How quickly we become jaded.
I decided to do this report because someone else just flamed Club Cantamar, and our impression was quite different. Its is a big operation and the mornings seemed a little chaotic, but diving in La Paz is very weather dependent. They really seemed to try to accommodate everyone, although the big groups seemed to carry more weight, but you have to be flexible. I had wanted to do Los Islotes. The Whale sharks, and El Bajo, but in three days there were no trips to El Bajo because of the current. (Note to self: when planning a trip to the Sea of Cortez try to avoid the new & full moons, as that is when the current is strongest). At los Islotes we should have gone left first, and did the Sea Lions, next time we will know that plans change with the conditions.
All of the dive masters & captains we had were, good; helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Their briefings were informative and if you chose to dive with them they pointed out things that I would have missed. If you chose to go without them that was fine too. None of them stood on a reef. ( note: the reefs here are rock reefs, not coral, so unless you plant you fins on a gorgonian or nudie, your not doing any damage)
The boats did better than 20 knots, and were roomy & comfortable in a Spartan sort of way. We were passed by some smaller boats from other dive ops, but they were open boats with no heads, and when we checked into one of them (Baja Fun) they charged $30 more for two dives then Cantamar did for 3. The lunches they served were more than edible, which is as much as I can say for most dive boats Ive been on.
We didnt stay at the hotel or eat at their restaurant, except for one breakfast, so I cant comment on that (except for the breakfast empenadas, they were the best I have ever tasted). We stayed at Hotel Marina and Cantamar sent a shuttle for us every morning and brought us back, no charge. It was billed as a 3 star hotel, but hot showers were still a hit or miss proposition and the rooms were $20 more. We walked down the boardwalk each night until we found a seafood restaurant that smelled good, and were never disappointed
Bottom line is, we had a great time. If we didnt get to do everything we wanted, what we did do was great. The first days dives were the best I have ever had for number, size & variety of tropical fish. Had the visibility stayed up it would have been better, but you cant blame the dive op for that. The whale shark experience was awesome. I asked Bob about the week before, and he said conditions were about as bad as they could be and still be able to go out, which might explain the complaint about the speed of the boats. It is Baja, and the culture is more relaxed them some may be used to. When things don't go as smoothly as we might wish they have a tendency to shrug it off and say 'Manyana'.
We will definitely be coming back, and will dive with Club Cantamar again.
Day 1
Boat: La Realidad
DMs: Marco & Bob
Divers: a young British couple, a group of 11 Dutch, and us.
Dive 1 La Reina
Strong current greeted us when we hit the water. We had to pull ourselves forward to the anchor line to descend. Susans gloves kept slipping on the line so I had to grab her BC and pull her with me. At the bottom we had a short crawl over the rocks to get in the lee of the mount, where the current was slack. Visibility was about 50'; water temp was 82 degrees F. Lots of fish life; big parrot fish, angels, triggerfish, grunts, puffers, etc. A banded moray was after something in a hole in the rock and was hammering away at it for quite a while. In a large cleft in the rock three sea lions swam around us for about 5 minutes. The DM said the sea lions here werent as friendly as at Los Islotes; if thats so, they must be very gregarious there, because these were the friendliest ones Ive seen. Had to crawl over the bottom to get back to the anchor line, helping Susan most of the way, then back up and drift back along the current line to the back of the boat. The crew was very good about preparing us for the current & helping divers back onto the boat. Max depth that we hit was 51', temp was 80 degrees F.
Dive 2 La Reinita
When they dropped the anchor here they really dropped the anchor; the pin came out and the line stayed on the deck. The DMs made a quick dive and retrieved it in about 5 minutes; but it probably took about half an hour to get properly anchored. Did I say there was current at the first dive? That was nothing compared to this spot. You could see ripples in the water behind the rock where the current came back together. 5 knots at least. About half the divers elected to sit this one out. (They were mostly from a group of Dutch, who had been diving here for 10 days) Even with her gloves off Susan needed help to get to the anchor line. The current was less at the bottom, and they had dropped the anchor about 10 feet from the rock so it was no problem getting to still water. Visibility was less, 30 40 feet, but the sea life was just as abundant. Saw the same cast of characters plus a school of Cornet fish, very cool, and a big school of grunts that were hanging just on the edge of the current shadow.
We saw whales spout on the way to the first & second dive. On the way to the third we followed a Fin whale cow & calf for about 5 minutes, at one point they surfaced less than 20 yards away.
Dive 3 The wreck of the Salvatierra
This is the wreck of a Baja Ferry that went down in the early 1980s after hitting a reef. We were told not to penetrate it, as it is not a prepared wreck, unlike the Fang Ming?. While it retains the overall shape of the original ship, it has collapsed in on itself as if some giant foot had stepped on it. The stern rises the highest off of the bottom, and you can swim under it where two big propellers are still exposed. Depth was 60 feet, with the top of the wreck at about 40 There was almost no current here, a welcome change, and they used a grappling hook instead of an anchor so when you followed the line down you landed right on the ship. The fish count here was astounding, where before we saw some angelfish, here you saw schools of angel fish. The Sea of Cortez blows away any other place I have dove for tropical fish life, in variety, size, and shear number.
There is a tanker truck off to one side of the wreck that you can swim through, so we did.
The DMs we had today were great. Bob dove with Susan and I the first two dives and was very helpful without getting in the way. ( I usually dont like diving with DMs that much, but with the current & the limited visibility it was helpful to have someone who knew where he was going). We were lucky in that everyone in the group seemed to be experienced, the Dutch group had dove the first two sites before so they were off on their own and the two Brits have been living in Tortola for a year or two, so it was almost like having a private guide.
Day 2
Boat: Uno Mas
DM: Aki
Divers: The same British couple, a couple from British Columbia, a couple from Mexico, 2 women & a man from France, and us.
Intense negotiations at the dock this morning over boat assignments. We wanted to do Los Islotes or a whale shark trip but were placed on a boat with an undefined destination.. There was a cruise ship in. so two boats were booked for snorkel trips to Los Islotes. The pilot was not available, so the whale shark trip was out. The Dutch group, who had paid for one more day of diving, decided to sit today out and do whale sharks tomorrow, so we ended up on the biggest boat with only eleven divers.
Dive 1 Los Islotes
Los Islotes is a pair of rocks islets connected by a narrow reef with a colony of over 300 Sea Lions. We were planning two dives; the first one through an arch to the windward side, the second toward the sea lion colony, Visibility was 30-40 feet. Saw the usual cast of Characters plus an octopus that Aki pointed out. She was very good at finding nudies & such for the photograpers. 2 sea lions joined us under the arch for a few minutes. When we returned to the anchor line it wasnt there, as the captain had moved the boat because of the wind had picked up. They had stern tied the boat to a mooring bouy, and the block of concrete it was attached to was bouncing around with the surge. After we swam to the boat they tried to move it to the other end of the island to dive with the sea lions but the wind was still to strong there so we headed for another site.
Dive 2 Partida
This is a small reef in the lee of a point of the mainland. The visibility was about 20 and there wasnt any current to speak of. Lots of Cortez angels here, as well as the usual suspects. Max depth was 56'.
Dive 3 The wreck of the Fang Ming
This is a small cargo ship that was caught smuggling Chinese immigrants and sank as an artificial reef. Lots of holes were cut in the sides so you can always see daylight. Sea life was not as plentiful as the Salvatierre, as it has only been down 8 years, but by any another standard it was good. Coming up through a hatch I almost put my hand on a stone fish that had plastered itself to the side of the coming; a photographer had been setting up a shot of it & pointed it out to me when my hand entered his viewfinder.
Day 3
Boat: La Liberation
DMs: Bob & Aki
Divers: The Dutch group, the Brits, one of the French ladies, a couple from Kentucky & us.
Dive 1 Return to the Salvatierra
This was a whale shark trip, so the dive locations are limited to sites within an hour of the port. Visibility was not as good as Saturday and the current was a strong as at La Reina the first day. If you stayed behind the wreck you were OK, and you could swim across the top with occasional hand holds when the current kicked up.
Snorkel with Whale Sharks
The plan was to dive Salvatierra & Swanee reef, but the viz was decreasing so the crew decided to do the whale sharks next, then do the last dive. The whale shark experience costs an extra $20 to pay for the pilot of the ultralight seaplane that acts as a spotter. He found a group of 5 and we got ready to go. They divided us into 3 groups of 6 and would drop one group in the water in front of & to the side of a whale shark, then guide us to the location. Visibility was only 12 or so. If the sharks are swimming you can parallel them for a while, but if the get spooked they turn on the jets & you get left behind. The boat picks you up & drops you again. If the sharks are feeding they go much slower, and you can stay with them easily, but they change direction without notice. They crew had made a big deal about not touching them, as they would dive if they felt a touch, so you have to stay alert, which isnt that easy in low visibility. There were a lot of people crashing into each other while avoiding the sharks, especially the photographers, but nobody spooked the sharks. I did at least 6 drops; as people tired & dropped out they melded the groups till there was only 4 or 5 of us going in. They had to rescue 2 people that exhausted themselves from swimming. In the end one blond was chasing a shark solo until we could get her attention. Everyone was smiling.
Dive 2 The Lighthouse
This is a small islet not far from the harbor. Visibility was less than 20 and there was some current. It was similar to Partida. Neither was that great a dive, although in San Diego they would have been considered good visibility & great sea life. How quickly we become jaded.
I decided to do this report because someone else just flamed Club Cantamar, and our impression was quite different. Its is a big operation and the mornings seemed a little chaotic, but diving in La Paz is very weather dependent. They really seemed to try to accommodate everyone, although the big groups seemed to carry more weight, but you have to be flexible. I had wanted to do Los Islotes. The Whale sharks, and El Bajo, but in three days there were no trips to El Bajo because of the current. (Note to self: when planning a trip to the Sea of Cortez try to avoid the new & full moons, as that is when the current is strongest). At los Islotes we should have gone left first, and did the Sea Lions, next time we will know that plans change with the conditions.
All of the dive masters & captains we had were, good; helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly. Their briefings were informative and if you chose to dive with them they pointed out things that I would have missed. If you chose to go without them that was fine too. None of them stood on a reef. ( note: the reefs here are rock reefs, not coral, so unless you plant you fins on a gorgonian or nudie, your not doing any damage)
The boats did better than 20 knots, and were roomy & comfortable in a Spartan sort of way. We were passed by some smaller boats from other dive ops, but they were open boats with no heads, and when we checked into one of them (Baja Fun) they charged $30 more for two dives then Cantamar did for 3. The lunches they served were more than edible, which is as much as I can say for most dive boats Ive been on.
We didnt stay at the hotel or eat at their restaurant, except for one breakfast, so I cant comment on that (except for the breakfast empenadas, they were the best I have ever tasted). We stayed at Hotel Marina and Cantamar sent a shuttle for us every morning and brought us back, no charge. It was billed as a 3 star hotel, but hot showers were still a hit or miss proposition and the rooms were $20 more. We walked down the boardwalk each night until we found a seafood restaurant that smelled good, and were never disappointed
Bottom line is, we had a great time. If we didnt get to do everything we wanted, what we did do was great. The first days dives were the best I have ever had for number, size & variety of tropical fish. Had the visibility stayed up it would have been better, but you cant blame the dive op for that. The whale shark experience was awesome. I asked Bob about the week before, and he said conditions were about as bad as they could be and still be able to go out, which might explain the complaint about the speed of the boats. It is Baja, and the culture is more relaxed them some may be used to. When things don't go as smoothly as we might wish they have a tendency to shrug it off and say 'Manyana'.
We will definitely be coming back, and will dive with Club Cantamar again.
