Malpelo - Ferox new Colombian liveaboard

[Dan]

Hi Dan,
we are looking forward to having you on board.

We provide to all our guest a Personal Locator Beacon (McMurdo S10) and Surface Marker Buoy during the dives

Please have a look at this video on youtube about our safety standards

What month of the year would be the best time to be there?

It looks like I can leave my MRG & PLB1 at home since you provide McMurdo S10.

 

[Colombia Dive Adventures]

Weepaaaaaaa! (Puerto Rican "battle cry") Regards to all there! Look good in the video, Captain Sir! Have a query for you: Did any of your guys happen to come across a wrist computer (Aeris Elite T3) sensor w/ a red cover on it in the cabin I used by chance? Just checking as it seems that mine decided to part ways w/ me. Any info much appreciated. Julio

Hi Julio,
We are looking for your wrist computer at the moments. I hope to give you good news about it soon
Regards
Camila

 

[Colombia Dive Adventures]

just curious. back in the day i was on two trips to Malpelo on the Sea Hunter. On the first trip we encountered very poor viz down to 60 or so feet where it opened up to great viz and very cold water. Nobody had the suits for those conditions and we set sail for cocos after only a couple of days. You could see that there was an amazing shark action but they were ghosts in the fog. On the next trip a year or so later the viz was good and the shark action was amazing. Hundreds of silkys and hammerheads plus galapogos etc. But my question is has the boats figured out the time to go and the time to stay. I think that may have been one of the reasons the sea hunter stopped running the trip.

Hi Augustus!

Malpelo is a twelve months dive destination and all of them are spectacular with an abundance of marine life. We have between one or two scheduled trips every month. I dont know why the sea hunter stopped.

January to March, beginning April: Surface 23 to 24 degree celsius, termoclines may drop down to 14 degree celsius,
Recommended 7mm or semy dry with hut and gloves.

April to beginning of december: Surface 28 degree celsius, termoclines may drop down to 23 degree celsius, rarely colder.
Recommended 5mm full body suit with hut option, gloves always good to avoid getting hurt in the rocks.

 

[<*)))><]

Looks like an awesome trip. I'll need to improve my diving skills

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Obviously Tony is the man with the most up to date knowledge on conditions but here is some input on weather and season that we have collected over the years. From Tony's input it appears that this year is probably cooler than average.

DIVE ADVICE - MALPELO SEASONS
Malpelo is really all year but here are some answer to questions about Malpelo seasons, I hope this helps you with planning:
Hammerheads: All year round. Scientists describe slightly bigger groups from January to April though we can not confirm this. We observe on all trips all year round schools of more than 150 to 300 individuals.

Silkies: big schools of Silkie sharks from 300 to 1000 from May to beginning August. Best months June and July

Sand Tiger "Monster shark": when cold water. So from January to April, there is a 50% chance to see them but no guarantee. Normally they stay in 50 to 60 meters depth. We take only the very experienced divers to that depth.

Whale sharks: all year round, but best time July, August, and beginning of September

Other species: Free swimming moray eels all year round, Galapagos sharks all year round, big schools of jacks, snappers and groupers all year round. Eagle Rays are very common in Malpelo, all year round

Water Temp: from January to April 26 C 70 27 C on surface and from 24 down to 16 C under Thermocline. Thermocline can start at 15 to 20 m

April to December 27/28 C on surface and 24 to 21 C under Thermocline. During this time Thermocline starts normally below 25 m or can even disappear completely.

Waves: calmest months March and April

Rain: dry season from 15 of December to beginning of May. In this time mostly north wind

Rainy season: From May to December, mostly wind from south - normally it rains 2 or 3 hours a day until the sun comes out. There are also days with absolutely no rain. The rainiest month is probably November

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Somebody asked why Sea Hunter/Argo no longer go there and the main reason that they no longer offer the cocos/Malpelo combo is because you cover over 1000 miles over a 12 day trip and it is hard to sell such a costly trip like that at short notice. In the past, they were able to secure permits way in advance, but when the Colombian Park regulations changed a few years back, it meant that they could not secure a permit until 12 months in advance, which was really too late to plan and sell such a major trip.

I also noted a comment that Galapagos Master issues Nautilus Lifeline on their trips but so that no one goes unprepared, I do not believe that is any longer the case on that boat, so please be sure to bring your own or double check if they are once again providing those.

 

[Dan]

...I also noted a comment that Galapagos Master issues Nautilus Lifeline on their trips but so that no one goes unprepared, I do not believe that is any longer the case on that boat, so please be sure to bring your own or double check if they are once again providing those.

Thanks for the update. I was there in December 2016. How is diving in Galapagos in December? So, they may have discontinued doing that after my trip then.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Thanks Dan - you'll be fine on Argo and Ferox

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Its not every day that you get a real live Prince on your dive boat so for anyone who might have had questions on whether Ferox has the comforts or amenities suitable for them, bear in mind that his Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco just went diving to Malpelo on her as part of an expedition team with Monaco Explorations.

You can see more pictures of this visit on facebook of Colombia Dive Adventures, who have good reason to be proud to host such an honored guest on their new boat. By the way he is very much into saving our seas and is a major player in raising awareness of the major concerns that face our oceans.

Colombia Dive Adventures

 

[Chris Krejca]

Hi all,
My sister and I would love to visit Malpelo. She's a dive master and dives a lot for work, but I'm just a AOW/Rescue Diver who stopped logging dives a long time ago. A couple of years ago I did a cavern diver course in Florida. I have great buoyancy have recent experience finning a lot to keep up with whale sharks in Baja, which was not a problem at all for me. I've done loads of drift dives. Would I be able to go on the Ferox? We want to book for the July 2 through July 12th trip. Thanks for your feedback one and all!