Diving: Dive briefings were typically held the night before, after dinner. Water temperature was about 81 degrees, air temperature hovered about 90 degrees, and most people dived in 3mm full suits or skins. I used a tropical beanie. Gloves were permitted. At least one diver used a 5 mm full suit. I would recommend a full skin at least as there were lots of small jellies in the water at many sites. Visibility was variable, but probably averaged about 50-60 feet. The pool was typically open from 8am and closed at 8pm (sunrise was around 7 am, and sunset around 7 pm). Nitrox 32 was the gas of choice for most, and a mix of aluminum 80s and steel 100s was available. There was a charge for the steel tanks, but this was donated to a local turtle conservation agency. A 15 foot safety stop was mandated, and arrival at the stop with 500 psi was also required. Divemaster guided dives were always available, although most dives were not guided. Diving on this trip was predominantly skiff diving.
A safety sausage is prudent if you dont plan to navigate back to a buoy or tend to wander when diving. A few dives were from the stern of the Nautilus Explorer. One dive day, in the Cabo Pulmo marine sanctuary, was from small locally hired pangas who then motored into the sanctuary. Among the dives that were divemastered automatically were two blue-water drift dives. On these dives, the skiff would release a buoy with a 70 foot weighted line. Divers would procede down the line, and a divemaster stayed at the bottom of the line. You would then drift through the water, looking for pelagics. The first of two such dives yielded large schools of yellowfin tuna, while the second yielded my only sighting of a hammerhead, which was in water depths of about 120-150 feet, while most of the divers stayed at about 100 feet (one diver hit 137 feet on that dive). A trio of us had a divermaster lead a 70 foot dive onto a pinnacle one night at El Bajo, which began at about 55 feet, and yielded many ray and eel sightings. Other unguided night dives were done at Los Islotes, known for its sea lions, and at Roca Motana in only about 15-20 feet of water. On this latter dive, there was some surge between the coral heads, and divers were widely scattered at the surface. Bioluminesence could be seen on all three night dives. The daytime dives began at the wreck of the Salvatierra, and old LST (landing ship tank) used as a local ferry, and also included dives at Los Islotes, Las Animas, El Bajo, and Cabo Pulmo. I particularly liked the diving at La Reina (I think also known as Arrecife de la Foca) where there was varied topography including overhangs and canyons, and a huge ball of scad that cast great shadows on the sea floor. Las Animas had a very strong current on our first dive, and most divers tucked into the rock crevices to stay out of the worst of it. You could watch our bubbles climb up the rock face, then angle off into the blue at a 45 degree angle as they caught the current. The Cabo Pulmo dives were essentially drift dives, given a relatively strong current running to the north. Said to be one of the only reef systems in western North America, there were huge squadrons of puffer fish and grouper, along the rocky coral fingers, as well as an impressive golden leopard grouper. We also saw an electric ray, and a large school of panamic porkfish. The final dive of the trip was on Friday morning, and featured a return to the Salvatierra as the Nautilus Explorer turned back towards La Paz. This was a popular dive from the first day, and the last dive yielded the first sighting of the season of a tiny solar yellow seahorse on the wreck. This was a grand feature of the final dive of the trip.
