divekraz
Contributor
My wife and I did the Nautilus Explorer from Christmas eve 12-24-12 to New Years day.
Diving- 6 days of diving for a possible total of 22 dives in 81 to 82 degree water. Dive sites are entirely dependent on weather conditions and we were able to do all 3 islands. The diving itself when compared to Gallapagos or Cocos Island was OK in regards to the amount or varied wild life seen. I would place Gallapagos as a easy#1, Cocos as #2 especially for Hammer heads, and Socorro as #3. In regards to giant Manta sightings Socorro is #1 as we saw multiple Mantas on most dives for long periods of time. Conditions varied from slight current on most dives to 1.5 knot at times. Viz was 25-50 Ft horizontal during our trip. Most dives we went down a anchor line. Diving rules are basically, your on your own. Detailed diagrams and instructions are given for each site, however if you want to dive solo, or stay for an hour, no problem. Most sites, 6-8 divers are loaded into a zodiac, brought to the site, back roll in as a group and grap the anchor line. Getting out is up the ladder if you time your exit to get the aluminum skiff, otherwise it's hand up the gear, keep fins on, and on three get pulled into the zodiac. The one time we asked to dive with a DM we basically went down together but were left to our own devices once down. NO gloves, No Lights, No knives unless you have some medical excuse. Lights from cameras are allowed and I would suggest bringing them as it was over cast and not that bright on most of our dives. Even though the owner, Mike also owns the Nautilus Lifeline, they are available fto divers as a rental ($25) I believe or purchase. Highly suggest you do get the lifeline due to current and remote location. Buddy dive boats in Gallapagos provides Nautilus life lines free for all Divers. There were a total of 25 divers on our trip but there could be up to 26. You get into your gear while standing on the aluminum skiff ramp, walk down the ramp to the dive platform, get into the zodiac and your off. There is always one or more zodiacs on the site for pick up. If you come up away from the anchor line, throw up your sausage during your 3 minute safety stop or if your to far away the lifeline will let you talk to the boat. Note: we dove with Manta scuba in Cabo San Lucas and Lands End dive site about 5 minutes away had sea lions, cumerands diving into the water, and a greater variety of fish than Socorro had, we also saw 2 humpback whales between dives.
Crew- 2 DM's Captain and co captain Chef Two stewards engineer deckhand for a total of 9. The crew was outstanding in service and assistance to the divers so I don't have anything negative to say about the crew. The were always cheerful and helpful.
Food- Food was varied and very good. The Chef would accomadate any requests. You could eat from 7am to 9pm at night. Snacks were provided after each dive and around 5pm with dinner at 7:30. Continental breakfast with cereal, fresh muffins, oatmeal at 7am, Snacks of cookies and fruit after the dives, 9am breakfast was ordered off a menu with your choice of omlets, eggs benedict, pancakes, waffles and more, lunch was buffet with salads, soup, sandwiches with fresh baked breads or hot meals, Dinner always had a meat and fish choice, salad followed by freshly baked desert. One thing that I didn't care for was NO pork or shellfish allowed on the boat per the owner Mike. If you see a chili it may be soy or turkey so make sure you ask, same with bacon or sausage may be turkey or soy. The bar was open after the last dive and was very well stocked.
Cabin- We had one of the four larger cabins on the hot tub deck, port side. Access to the sundeck was past our cabin so alot of foot traffic. The room had a king bed with windows along the entire port side. The blinds were dusty and rusted. The window on the door had a roller vinyl shade with the bottom torn off. The room was about 9x12 ft.. The aft/stern wall had open shelves (4) space for 12 hangers and small desk area for a total width of about 4 feet. The head did have a seperate shower with a curtain, toilet, small sink about 8 inches by 12 inches, without any area to keep toiletries. The A/C vent tile had tissues hanging from the tile and the tile was broken. We told the engineer who fixed it very quickly. A/C is controlled by the boat not by your room, towels are changed every 3 days, the bed has a bottom fitted sheet and one comforter which is suppose to be washed between trips.
Diving- 6 days of diving for a possible total of 22 dives in 81 to 82 degree water. Dive sites are entirely dependent on weather conditions and we were able to do all 3 islands. The diving itself when compared to Gallapagos or Cocos Island was OK in regards to the amount or varied wild life seen. I would place Gallapagos as a easy#1, Cocos as #2 especially for Hammer heads, and Socorro as #3. In regards to giant Manta sightings Socorro is #1 as we saw multiple Mantas on most dives for long periods of time. Conditions varied from slight current on most dives to 1.5 knot at times. Viz was 25-50 Ft horizontal during our trip. Most dives we went down a anchor line. Diving rules are basically, your on your own. Detailed diagrams and instructions are given for each site, however if you want to dive solo, or stay for an hour, no problem. Most sites, 6-8 divers are loaded into a zodiac, brought to the site, back roll in as a group and grap the anchor line. Getting out is up the ladder if you time your exit to get the aluminum skiff, otherwise it's hand up the gear, keep fins on, and on three get pulled into the zodiac. The one time we asked to dive with a DM we basically went down together but were left to our own devices once down. NO gloves, No Lights, No knives unless you have some medical excuse. Lights from cameras are allowed and I would suggest bringing them as it was over cast and not that bright on most of our dives. Even though the owner, Mike also owns the Nautilus Lifeline, they are available fto divers as a rental ($25) I believe or purchase. Highly suggest you do get the lifeline due to current and remote location. Buddy dive boats in Gallapagos provides Nautilus life lines free for all Divers. There were a total of 25 divers on our trip but there could be up to 26. You get into your gear while standing on the aluminum skiff ramp, walk down the ramp to the dive platform, get into the zodiac and your off. There is always one or more zodiacs on the site for pick up. If you come up away from the anchor line, throw up your sausage during your 3 minute safety stop or if your to far away the lifeline will let you talk to the boat. Note: we dove with Manta scuba in Cabo San Lucas and Lands End dive site about 5 minutes away had sea lions, cumerands diving into the water, and a greater variety of fish than Socorro had, we also saw 2 humpback whales between dives.
Crew- 2 DM's Captain and co captain Chef Two stewards engineer deckhand for a total of 9. The crew was outstanding in service and assistance to the divers so I don't have anything negative to say about the crew. The were always cheerful and helpful.
Food- Food was varied and very good. The Chef would accomadate any requests. You could eat from 7am to 9pm at night. Snacks were provided after each dive and around 5pm with dinner at 7:30. Continental breakfast with cereal, fresh muffins, oatmeal at 7am, Snacks of cookies and fruit after the dives, 9am breakfast was ordered off a menu with your choice of omlets, eggs benedict, pancakes, waffles and more, lunch was buffet with salads, soup, sandwiches with fresh baked breads or hot meals, Dinner always had a meat and fish choice, salad followed by freshly baked desert. One thing that I didn't care for was NO pork or shellfish allowed on the boat per the owner Mike. If you see a chili it may be soy or turkey so make sure you ask, same with bacon or sausage may be turkey or soy. The bar was open after the last dive and was very well stocked.
Cabin- We had one of the four larger cabins on the hot tub deck, port side. Access to the sundeck was past our cabin so alot of foot traffic. The room had a king bed with windows along the entire port side. The blinds were dusty and rusted. The window on the door had a roller vinyl shade with the bottom torn off. The room was about 9x12 ft.. The aft/stern wall had open shelves (4) space for 12 hangers and small desk area for a total width of about 4 feet. The head did have a seperate shower with a curtain, toilet, small sink about 8 inches by 12 inches, without any area to keep toiletries. The A/C vent tile had tissues hanging from the tile and the tile was broken. We told the engineer who fixed it very quickly. A/C is controlled by the boat not by your room, towels are changed every 3 days, the bed has a bottom fitted sheet and one comforter which is suppose to be washed between trips.
