I made two boat dives at Bird Island (Southeast of Rocky Point) over the weekend with Sun 'n Fun Divers.
The operation has a minimum diver count to fill before it will conduct a trip, so I called on Monday to find out how the weekend looked. No one had booked. The op told me to call back on Wednesday to get an update. By Wednesday only one other person had booked. I delayed booking until Friday afternoon (didn't want to go through the hassle of getting a refund). As of that time, only one other person had booked. However, the manager told me that a group of four divers was coming down from Phoenix that afternoon, and he was confident they'd have enough people to run the trip. By 5:00, they had enough divers to run the trip.
I was on the dock by 7:10 the next morning so that I could timely embark for the 7:30 departure. I should have slept in, since the foursome had arrived late and was barely getting out of bed at quarter to seven. We didn't leave until after 9:00. Even though we left late, my mild displeasure was tempered by the fact that the operation did not merely take the late divers' money and shove off (as they justifiably could have). I took that as a sign of a straight-up operation. We also picked up a couple more divers. By the time we left, we had 9 divers and one snorkeler on board.
The boat ride was an hour, punctuated by the typical banter and trash talking among buddies. From what David (owner) told us, the sites around the island ranged in depth from 20 feet to 120 feet. Unfortunately, one of the divers only held a junior OW cert, and two others were students. Therefore, our dive sites were depth-limited to sub-60.
The first dive was near the "rock bridge" between two of the "islands." Maximum depth was about 45 feet. Visibility was a solid 20 feet, after which things got hazy. It was plenty bright even at maximum depth, and the water wasn't murky. I believe visibility was decreased primarily by the thread-like material suspended in the water (a form of plankton, I believe--it apparent is bioluminescent, but I'm no expert on the topic. I was surprised by the variety of marine life in the area. And, of course, the sea lions came out to play. They stayed about two feet away at the closest, and we had no problems with the bulls. Some of the pups swarmed one of the students after his dive and while he was snorkeling near the shore. Friendly interaction.
The second dive was on the southwest side of the southernmost island. Maximum depth was 35 feet. Again, lots of life and sea lions. It warmed my heart to see the remains of a dead seagull on the bottom (I hate seagulls). I also came across the largest mussel shell I'd ever seen--about 14 inches long and six across. Someone ate good that day.
They fed us steak burritos after the second dive. It was the best burrito I've ever tasted, and I wasn't so hungry that my tongue exaggerated the experience. I wish I had asked which restaurant prepared the burrito.
The trip back was interrupted by water in the fuel. Although the boat had dual water separators, the fuel was apparently too contaminated to risk running it. We waited for two-plus for new fuel to be delivered, during which time I endured the inevitable Gilligan's Island jokes and questions about whom we would eat that night for dinner. Unfortunately, my wife was seriously miffed by the delay and has forbade me from speaking about the dives (she got stuck with the kids all day).
Overall, I was pleased with the trip. I didn't expect much in terms of diving quality or marine life, and I was pleasantly surprised by both. I was also pleased with the dive operation. The price isn't cheap--$115.00 for two tanks--but fuel costs are pretty high. The boat captain said they were burning 2500 pesos per trip in gas. The boat slip also costs them 6000 pesos a month, and then add in crew and catering and seasonal volume variation. It will be on my list of dives to do again.
The operation has a minimum diver count to fill before it will conduct a trip, so I called on Monday to find out how the weekend looked. No one had booked. The op told me to call back on Wednesday to get an update. By Wednesday only one other person had booked. I delayed booking until Friday afternoon (didn't want to go through the hassle of getting a refund). As of that time, only one other person had booked. However, the manager told me that a group of four divers was coming down from Phoenix that afternoon, and he was confident they'd have enough people to run the trip. By 5:00, they had enough divers to run the trip.
I was on the dock by 7:10 the next morning so that I could timely embark for the 7:30 departure. I should have slept in, since the foursome had arrived late and was barely getting out of bed at quarter to seven. We didn't leave until after 9:00. Even though we left late, my mild displeasure was tempered by the fact that the operation did not merely take the late divers' money and shove off (as they justifiably could have). I took that as a sign of a straight-up operation. We also picked up a couple more divers. By the time we left, we had 9 divers and one snorkeler on board.
The boat ride was an hour, punctuated by the typical banter and trash talking among buddies. From what David (owner) told us, the sites around the island ranged in depth from 20 feet to 120 feet. Unfortunately, one of the divers only held a junior OW cert, and two others were students. Therefore, our dive sites were depth-limited to sub-60.
The first dive was near the "rock bridge" between two of the "islands." Maximum depth was about 45 feet. Visibility was a solid 20 feet, after which things got hazy. It was plenty bright even at maximum depth, and the water wasn't murky. I believe visibility was decreased primarily by the thread-like material suspended in the water (a form of plankton, I believe--it apparent is bioluminescent, but I'm no expert on the topic. I was surprised by the variety of marine life in the area. And, of course, the sea lions came out to play. They stayed about two feet away at the closest, and we had no problems with the bulls. Some of the pups swarmed one of the students after his dive and while he was snorkeling near the shore. Friendly interaction.
The second dive was on the southwest side of the southernmost island. Maximum depth was 35 feet. Again, lots of life and sea lions. It warmed my heart to see the remains of a dead seagull on the bottom (I hate seagulls). I also came across the largest mussel shell I'd ever seen--about 14 inches long and six across. Someone ate good that day.
They fed us steak burritos after the second dive. It was the best burrito I've ever tasted, and I wasn't so hungry that my tongue exaggerated the experience. I wish I had asked which restaurant prepared the burrito.
The trip back was interrupted by water in the fuel. Although the boat had dual water separators, the fuel was apparently too contaminated to risk running it. We waited for two-plus for new fuel to be delivered, during which time I endured the inevitable Gilligan's Island jokes and questions about whom we would eat that night for dinner. Unfortunately, my wife was seriously miffed by the delay and has forbade me from speaking about the dives (she got stuck with the kids all day).
Overall, I was pleased with the trip. I didn't expect much in terms of diving quality or marine life, and I was pleasantly surprised by both. I was also pleased with the dive operation. The price isn't cheap--$115.00 for two tanks--but fuel costs are pretty high. The boat captain said they were burning 2500 pesos per trip in gas. The boat slip also costs them 6000 pesos a month, and then add in crew and catering and seasonal volume variation. It will be on my list of dives to do again.
