Nitrox and/or large tank required for Socorro?

[rongoodman]

It sounds like Bruce, a guy we met out at Cocos a few years ago and nearly left for the sharks!

 

[Posinator]

Just did this in January. You're going to love it. Definitely no chasing of mantas needed. Heck, a few times we basically splashed in on top of them. They definitely seek you and your bubbles. The only "chasing" we did was to get closer to hammerheads which seemed to prefer the blue vs being near the walls. As you'll see the dives aren't shallow. Everyone on our boat opted for Nitrox given the repetitive diving. Water temp in mid-January was 76-77F. They want everyone back on the zodiac at 45 minutes. As the week went on, our team of six got really good at team gas management and shallowing out gradually so that by the end we may have had 2 at 80 ft, 2 at 70, 2 at 60 etc stacked up a bit so no one person was limiting everyone else's dives due to low gas. Don't worry too much about the gas. Worst case, go up with a buddy and shoot your SMB. The tenders will be there watching and waiting. Some significant surge and current near the walls at times but mostly ok if you find the sweet spot of distance from it. Bottom line: follow the guide and have fun (and don't swim INTO the cleaning stations, stay on the perimeter and watch the epic wildlife). Transit was smooth going out, approx 26 hours and not smooth coming back. 29ish hours. FWIW, I took a "less drowsy" Dramamine at bedtime preemptively and was fine. A few folks were hurting on the ride back but no issues during the week that I can recall.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Ha, I had the same type of diver in my last trip to Raja Ampat. I thought my group was lucky when there were only 3 people assigned to our guide while other groups had 4. But that extra person with us, a cocky croatian, furiously swam to whatever the guide find, and scare it away with his gopro. He will later tell me how can I have missed it since it was right there. Even creatures I noticed and wait for it to get into the right position, I will see him swim over and I either get a quick shot or have no picture at all. He comes up on every dive with purple fingers because he grabs and touches everything.

I was appalled that our guide pointed to us a photogenic pygmy seahorse that was positioned oddly in a sea fan situated on a wall, instead of living with a less than perfect picture, he grabbed the area of the sea fan where the seahorse was, twisted it around and pulled it right to the gopro's lens port so he could get a good shot.

The only good he did for me was when our guide signaled us that something is under the reef, I was on the other side and saw him swimming furiously toward the opening. I knew I had no chance of seeing it, so I braced my camera from where I am hoping for whatever he was chasing would come out on my side, and next think I knew an epaulette shark swam out right toward me before making a turn. Too bad our only sighting was for such a brief passing moment.

 

[DiveDiversions]

Where I have had a person like that on a previous trip, where they'll come and jam the GoPro into your shot, or come in and kick up silt around you. I may have taken photos, while in their view, of nothing and then point out to them a rough area as I'm moving away for that person to then come over and occupy their time looking for nothing, while I'm off getting other photos undisturbed

 

[boulderjohn]

I was on a trip to the Galapagos, and everyone on the trip opted to pay the nominal fee for the nitrox except for one couple. That couple was in my group. At the end of every dive, we would surface and be picked up by our panga, and that couple would already be on board, sitting there bobbing on the surface while we were diving. We all agreed that they were absolutely nuts to spend thousands of dollars for a trip like that and miss so much diving because they cheaped out on the nitrox.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Where I have had a person like that on a previous trip, where they'll come and jam the GoPro into your shot, or come in and kick up silt around you. I may have taken photos, while in their view, of nothing and then point out to them a rough area as I'm moving away for that person to then come over and occupy their time looking for nothing, while I'm off getting other photos undisturbed

I've done that plenty of times where what I am taking is too small to be noticed. The guy would just pass by because its not something he could see with a passing glance. The only time he will spend time on hard to see things is if he finds it or is called over by the guide.

I was on a trip to the Galapagos, and everyone on the trip opted to pay the nominal fee for the nitrox except for one couple. That couple was in my group. At the end of every dive, we would surface and be picked up by our panga, and that couple would already be on board, sitting there bobbing on the surface while we were diving. We all agreed that they were absolutely nuts to spend thousands of dollars for a trip like that and miss so much diving because they cheaped out on the nitrox.

Maybe they are just air hogs, especially the type of conditions in galapagos. Some people thinks 40 minutes is enough while people like me have to be dragged out of the water.

 

[DiveDiversions]

The only time he will spend time on hard to see things is if he finds it or is called over by the guide.

Then spend three hours hogging it and not allowing others to see it.
And also not pointing it out to fellow divers after the guide has moved on.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

I'd be guessing in that video that for that dive spot the dolphin might have been the only this that turned up and everyone descended on it.

A lot also reflects on the boat and dive guides to encourage divers not to chase and keep distance, especially in Socorro as there is no need to chase, they'll come to you as they are inquisitive.

We had a little bit of that, specifically with one diver that would chase the mantas to get the shot. He was in so many of my photos and videos, and probably everyone else's, as he kept swimming into frame.

He was Italian and had a bit of arrogance to him, his girlfriend got suspected mild DCS as she tried to keep up with him and then spent time on oxygen and he just kept diving leaving the boat staff to look after her while he kept diving!

There is alway going to be at least one of those type of people on every trip no matter where you go, they have to get that shot no matter how much it ruins everyone else's experience.

Replying from my trip in Apr. Most people were respectful on divemaster's instruction to not chase animals. The most we did was ascend/descent to them if we wanted to get close to them, except for one person, whom, regardless if she was carrying a camera setup or Insta 360, furiously swam to the hammerheads, mantas, etc. She either ruined pretty much every shot, or caused those creatures to stay at a distance. We were told explicitly to not pass a certain rock in order to try to make out the outlines of the "wall of hammerheads". She stayed back for maybe 10 seconds, then continued going forward 20 or so feet. That just made the hammerheads swim farther out and all we saw was a wall of shadowy haze.