Trip Report MALPELO review on the Ferox liveaboard

[Dan]

@Melliemel I got my trip on Ferox in July 2021, booked through Dive Advice Travel | Your Liveaboard Specialist | Only The Best Boats
PM @Dom@DiveAdvice

 

[moorish8idol]

Accomodation - Colombia Dive Adventures will show you what the cabins look like inside. Colombia Dive Adventures is the direct way to book with the Ferox and owner Tony (in my opinion the best way to book).
I was in the port side main deck single cabin. Nothing luxurious but completely functional and I have to say I enjoyed having a cabin to myself without a single supplement (and one on the main deck so no stairs!)

I don't really have any pics of the other spaces. There is a sun deck up top - room for about 4 loungers, an outside bar and then an interior area with couches, tv, AC etc. This part of the ship was seldomly used on our trip.
On the main deck of the ship, the stern is quite ample and open with a few loungers. We tended to use this area to get our wetsuits on. There is no dive deck per se as the equipment, tanks etc remain on the tenders throughout the trip and they fill the tanks from the tenders, positioned next to the boat (the compressor is on the bow). The bow area is a covered part of the main deck (below the sun deck) with picnic-type tables (bolted down, not to worry!). This is where we ate our meals, had happy hour drinks and was the main focal point for socializing. They can close the sides with clear plastic curtains if the winds or rain kicks up but otherwise it is usually open. The boat is likely much smaller than most other LOBs you have been on - but it worked fine as you will be max 12 divers, 2 DMs and a small, lovely crew.

 

[matthall]

The sea conditions are generally a bit rougher and the water much colder in January. The DMs told me they like February the best because while it is cold (water around 21-22 degrees or colder) and the currents can be fierce, the wildlife is nuts. I am guessing January might be a bit warmer. They said the hammerhead schools are huge (200+) and come very close, the animals are very active and you can chill out around 15 metres and see them, thus extending your air and deco time so you can have really long dives if you like. It also gives you really good chances of seeking the Ferox sharks who normally stay at non-rec depths when the water is warmer.
It is also a less popular time to go so I know Tony has had deals on January and February Malpelo departures. Like $1500+ off of the regular price.
Send them an email if you want a bit more info about the wildlife and conditions that time of year but I am pretty sure they will tell you it is really good and the only challenge will be the much colder water.

The sea conditions are generally a bit rougher and the water much colder in January. The DMs told me they like February the best because while it is cold (water around 21-22 degrees or colder) and the currents can be fierce, the wildlife is nuts. I am guessing January might be a bit warmer. They said the hammerhead schools are huge (200+) and come very close, the animals are very active and you can chill out around 15 metres and see them, thus extending your air and deco time so you can have really long dives if you like. It also gives you really good chances of seeking the Ferox sharks who normally stay at non-rec depths when the water is warmer.
It is also a less popular time to go so I know Tony has had deals on January and February Malpelo departures. Like $1500+ off of the regular price.
Send them an email if you want a bit more info about the wildlife and conditions that time of year but I am pretty sure they will tell you it is really good and the only challenge will be the much colder water.

Thanks a lot MOORISH IDOL.
Very helpful.

 

[coinee]

Here's my trip report from just two weeks ago:

About the location
Malpelo is a collection of islands (one large, several smaller rocks), part of a seamount 500km/300mi off the coast of Colombia, in the Pacific.

Map: Google Maps


It is a National Park and subject to strict restrictions in terms of tourism:

• Visiting boats need to leave from Colombia (since 2018)
• No more than 1 (yes, one!) liveaboard with divers on site at any time
• No night dives, no snorkeling
  

How to get there
The only way to get to Malpelo (for diving) is on board a liveaboard vessel - at this time only the Ferox offers scheduled trips to the rock. Trips depart from Cali (in front of the Intercontinental hotel), whereupon you sit in a bus for ~3 hours, driving to Buenaventura. There you board the boat, which promptly departs on the long journey to the island. Depending on weather conditions this is a 28-36 hours (or thereabouts) trip - conditions range from ‘the flattest sea possible’ to multiple meters of swell and waves. Bring sea sickness medication just in case!

When to go
Lying just above the equator, Malpelo can be dived all year around, albeit with varying conditions and marine life present. Dry season (January to May) generally has tougher conditions, July to December is the rainy season with warmer water and better visibility. May to July has lots of silky sharks around, July to September is whale shark season. The largest schools of hammerheads have historically been seen in January.

What to see
Sharks! So many sharks. Eagles rays! And fish! So much fish.

There’s very little coral and you’ll mostly be diving over sandy bottom or bare rocks, but that doesn’t mean the ocean is devoid of life at all. Massive schools of barracudas, eagle rays, snappers, creole fish, and of course groups of hammerheads.

Things to consider
This is not a place for inexperienced divers. I would go as far as to say that diving in Malpelo is among the most challenging I’ve done. Conditions can change rapidly in regards to temperature, visibility and current. We had dives with 9 degrees (Celsius!) temperature difference between surface (27.5°C) and 28 meters depth (19.5°C). Ripping currents, sometimes pointing downwards. Visibility changes from ~20 meters to 7 meters and back in 48 hours.

Dives Rating
5/5 - Fantastic!

There are many aspects of diving in Malpelo that are absolutely outstanding:

• Big fish sightings: Hammerheads, Galapagos and Silky sharks, Eagle rays, Tuna, Barracudas
• Massive schools of fish: La Cara del Phantasma especially had several huge balls of fish of several species
• Short trips to dive sites: Zodiac rides never took more than 15 minutes, sometimes were as short as 3 minutes

Operator Rating
4/5 - Great!

Traveling with Ferox is a pleasure:

• Perfect safety set up: Everyone gets issued with a GPS finder that you dive with on every single dive, briefings cover everything important, guides keep counting guests under water.
• Food is plentiful and good: Colombian food, freshly prepared, and lots of it!

Things that could be off putting (but weren’t to me!):

• The Ferox is very utilitarian. Cabins are relatively small, bare, and don’t offer much in terms of luxury - apart from the fact that Ferox actually has single person cabins, which is unusual for a liveaboard in my experience.
  

Hammers!

• coinee
• Feb 7, 2020

Fish!

• coinee
• Feb 7, 2020
• 2

 

[Interceptor121]

Did you use a 5 or 7 mm?

 

[funscuba]

Do they go in sept ? How warm do you think the water is then ? I did galapagos last sept and water was 18 - 20 degrees celcius, at the molas site was 14 - 16 .

 

[moorish8idol]

Do they go in sept ? How warm do you think the water is then ? I did galapagos last sept and water was 18 - 20 degrees celcius, at the molas site was 14 - 16 .

I was there at the beginning of September last year (the Ferox tends to do 2 trips a month every month to the park - though I expect things are on hold right now due to COVID) - it is one of the warmest times for Malpelo - although fairly close to Galapagos geographically, the underwater environment doesn't appear to be similar at all. I was in my 5 mm with hooded vest (because I am always cold) and water temps were around 25-26 degrees - I was very comfortable. My dive group was excellent on air consumption so we tended to do dives up to the 75 minute mark.

I am told February is the coldest time of air when temps are around the 20 degree mark. There are certainly thermoclines that can go lower but it appears that the Galaps are consistently much colder than anything you would reasonably find in MP.

 

[funscuba]

And how do you think the marine fauna would be in sept compare to the other best months of the year, equal or less big stuff for the hammerheads and else ... ?
25 - 26 will be like summer UW for me compare to Galapagos LOL.
Thanks for those important infos btw !!

I was there at the beginning of September last year (the Ferox tends to do 2 trips a month every month to the park - though I expect things are on hold right now due to COVID) - it is one of the warmest times for Malpelo - although fairly close to Galapagos geographically, the underwater environment doesn't appear to be similar at all. I was in my 5 mm with hooded vest (because I am always cold) and water temps were around 25-26 degrees - I was very comfortable. My dive group was excellent on air consumption so we tended to do dives up to the 75 minute mark.

I am told February is the coldest time of air when temps are around the 20 degree mark. There are certainly thermoclines that can go lower but it appears that the Galaps are consistently much colder than anything you would reasonably find in MP.

 

[moorish8idol]

And how do you think the marine fauna would be in sept compare to the other best months of the year, equal or less big stuff for the hammerheads and else ... ?
25 - 26 will be like summer UW for me compare to Galapagos LOL.
Thanks for those important infos btw !!

We've discussed it quite a bit earlier in this post - the fauna at Malpelo is freaking amazing year round. Probably the most diverse healthy big animal environment I have ever had the pleasure of diving. We saw hammers and huge galapagos sharks on every single dive. By the time you hit 15 metres you start seeing them. We saw schools going up to 100 on most dives and tons of other big animals, schools of fish etc at various cleaning stations at 30 m. Aug/Sept is whale shark season so we saw a few big guys (one was a juvenile and hung around with us for half the dive), oceanic mantas, a billion free-swimming morays, tons of eagle rays - the list goes on. I am told you see even bigger schools of hammers, more up close and shallower in the colder season and are more likely to see the Ferox shark since they prefer cooler (usually deeper) waters. That being said, they saw a few Ferox at rec depths a few weeks after my trip in September last year so you just don't know.

 

[funscuba]

Extra thanks !