Our private dive group, primarily based out of Portland, OR booked a weeklong liveaboard on the Rocio del Mar liveaboard from September 3-10, 2022. We were a group of 20 people that are very familiar with one another and have been diving worldwide together for many years.
Our itinerary was to dive the Midriff Islands in the Sea of Cortez. Point of departure and return for the boat was out of Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico. The local area is also known as Puerto Penasco. It is roughly a 4-5 hour drive from Phoenix, AZ. The boat put us in contact with a shuttle service called “Head out to Rocky Point” and the cost was $150 per person round trip. They pick you up from the airport at a designated terminal and gate and return you there also.
Half of our group came in a day early in the event of lost luggage and made our way down to Rocky Point and spent the night there, while the other half came in on the day of. Everyone made it safe and sound. Mexico does not require a negative COVID test for entry, but the Rocio del Mar does require a negative antigen test within 48 hours of boarding the boat.
Once on board the boat at 5pm on the 3rd of September, everyone got busy setting up their dive gear to the tank that would be theirs for the week and unpacking the rest of their personal belongings in their assigned cabin. We had a mix of singles that shared a room and couples who shared a room. All of the rooms are pretty similar and spartan. Longer, but not wider single sized beds configured in an L-Shape. One bed at the normal bed height and the other about 3 feet higher accessed by one step up. We had 4 drawers to put personal belongings in (2 per person) and some storage area under each of the beds to stow bags and miscellaneous stuff.
Each cabin has its own bathroom (tight) with a small sink, toilet and shower. The cabins all have nice big windows for seeing outside and the gorgeous landscapes. All but 2 of the 10 cabins are on the main dive deck level. There are 2 other cabins one floor up and toward the bow near the Captain’s quarter and the bridge.
Overall, the boat and the accommodations are not as spacious or luxurious as a typical Aggressor boat, but definitely a step up from some other boats I have been on. The boat is completely made of steel and with its stabilizers it makes for very good sailing and crossings.
Prior to dinner, we had a boat and safety briefing that was probably the best I have ever had. Extremely thorough and it was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into the safety of the passengers and crew. Nothing can be charged in your cabin if you are not personally there with it and under no circumstances can any lithium-ion batteries be charged in the room, ever. There is a dedicated camera table on the dive deck with proper outlets and special bags to charge them in that would contain any fire inside of it.
During the briefing, we were made aware that there was a possibility that our trip could be cut short. Hurricane Kay was making its way north up the Baja Peninsula and would likely hit us with extremely high winds by Thursday and if so, the boat would have to be back in harbor by Wednesday night or very early on Thursday morning. The plan was to keep an eye on the storm and the requirements of the Mexican authorities, but to get us to the best diving first and immediately, in the event that we would lose some days. So, we made our way to the southern tip of the itinerary and then worked our way back north.
We had our dive briefing the first morning and we were broken up into 3 groups for the week. Groups A and C had 6 divers per inflatable RIB and group B had 8 divers. All diving was done from the RIB tenders and not from the main vessel with a divemaster in the water leading each dive and the tender captain following the group’s bubbles and there to pick up at the end of the dive. Dive times are limited to 50 minutes each. This is not a limitation established by the boat, but a marine park requirement. All in all, it was fine and kept us on schedule each day.
I will not go into a day by day breakdown, but I will say that the diving was beautiful. We hit a few sites around the islands of San Pedro Martir that contained some of the most impressive underwater structure, formations and landscapes I have yet to experience diving. In San Pedro, there must have been some sort of upwelling of cold water that transpired in the week between the previous group and ours. Water temp the week before was 88 degrees and blue water with 60-80 foot viz. When we got there, the water temp was 74 degrees and green water and poor viz. Nevertheless, it was good enough to get a sense of the majesty of the dive sites, even though most of us were not equipped for the colder water temps, as we anticipated 82-88 degrees throughout the entire trip.
We had a wonderful fly-by of a large Manta Ray and a number in our group saw a large hammerhead. Marine life on all dives was prolific and varied. Wonderful biodiversity and you could see why Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez the Aquarium of the World. We also had an opportunity to snorkel with Whale Sharks. Our group of 20 in three pangas were the only ones out that day in the Bahia de Los Angeles and we had numerous encounters. We had lots of dives with large groups of sea lions who were happy to buzz around us and nibble at fins.
Lots of nudibranchs, unlike any I have seen elsewhere. Octopus on almost all dives, various types of Jawfish, including the Giant Jawfish (pic below). Tons of rays everywhere. Seahorses (quite large) were found on many dives. Large green morays on most dives too. I found a shovelnose guitarfish on one dive and a giant painted hawksfish on another. I was impressed with the huge numbers and varieties and colors of sea stars everywhere. Scorpionfish abound. Never saw a lionfish. Overall biomass was impressive with lots of schooling fish.
When all was said and done, we did end up losing 2 full days of diving due to the hurricane. But, the crew was so proactive and did everything they could to give us the best experience possible that no one felt short changed. The owner of the boat felt bad that we lost 2 days of diving and decided to waive all of our port fees, nitrox fees and large tank fees (80 AL and 100 Steel available on board). This was hugely generous and not expected by our group. It was not their fault that there was a massive weather event. Yet, we were grateful and it demonstrated the type of operation they run. We felt they were very customer focused and if anything could be done, it would be done and without inconvenience.
A couple of other things while I am thinking about it. The rooms were tidied up daily by a crew member while we were diving. There was an additional bathroom and sink on the dive deck. Two showers with warm water on the lower deck where we got on and off of the tenders. A big rinse tank with softener in it for wetsuits. The food was plentiful and varied and well prepared and presented. Cold breakfast before dive 1, hot breakfast after dive 1, lunch after dive 2, snacks after dive 3 and dinner after dive 4. We did have 1 night dive and dinner was prior to the night dive. Beer and wine was included post diving.
Cost for the trip was $2895 per person. Flight from Portland to Phoenix was $250 RT. Nitrox was $125 for the trip (waived for us), $50 for a 100 CF Steel, if desired (waived), marine park fee $28 (waived), Mexican tourist card for border crossing is $35 (can be paid online or at the border). If you buy online, be sure to print out the card itself and the receipt. You will need to show both. Tip recommendation 10-15% of trip cost.
All of our dives were done at the islands of San Pedro Martir, Islands of Angel de la Guardia and in the Bay of Los Angeles. We always dived as a group with the DM and came up together for safety. Currents can be variable. If you did get separated from the group, protocol was to look for a minute and then surface and inflate your SMB. SMB’s and whistles were mandatory for everyone. I think that covers it. Feel free to fire off any questions.
Giant Jawfish
Giant Painted Hawksfish
Tiger Dorid
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Our itinerary was to dive the Midriff Islands in the Sea of Cortez. Point of departure and return for the boat was out of Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico. The local area is also known as Puerto Penasco. It is roughly a 4-5 hour drive from Phoenix, AZ. The boat put us in contact with a shuttle service called “Head out to Rocky Point” and the cost was $150 per person round trip. They pick you up from the airport at a designated terminal and gate and return you there also.
Half of our group came in a day early in the event of lost luggage and made our way down to Rocky Point and spent the night there, while the other half came in on the day of. Everyone made it safe and sound. Mexico does not require a negative COVID test for entry, but the Rocio del Mar does require a negative antigen test within 48 hours of boarding the boat.
Once on board the boat at 5pm on the 3rd of September, everyone got busy setting up their dive gear to the tank that would be theirs for the week and unpacking the rest of their personal belongings in their assigned cabin. We had a mix of singles that shared a room and couples who shared a room. All of the rooms are pretty similar and spartan. Longer, but not wider single sized beds configured in an L-Shape. One bed at the normal bed height and the other about 3 feet higher accessed by one step up. We had 4 drawers to put personal belongings in (2 per person) and some storage area under each of the beds to stow bags and miscellaneous stuff.
Each cabin has its own bathroom (tight) with a small sink, toilet and shower. The cabins all have nice big windows for seeing outside and the gorgeous landscapes. All but 2 of the 10 cabins are on the main dive deck level. There are 2 other cabins one floor up and toward the bow near the Captain’s quarter and the bridge.
Overall, the boat and the accommodations are not as spacious or luxurious as a typical Aggressor boat, but definitely a step up from some other boats I have been on. The boat is completely made of steel and with its stabilizers it makes for very good sailing and crossings.
Prior to dinner, we had a boat and safety briefing that was probably the best I have ever had. Extremely thorough and it was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into the safety of the passengers and crew. Nothing can be charged in your cabin if you are not personally there with it and under no circumstances can any lithium-ion batteries be charged in the room, ever. There is a dedicated camera table on the dive deck with proper outlets and special bags to charge them in that would contain any fire inside of it.
During the briefing, we were made aware that there was a possibility that our trip could be cut short. Hurricane Kay was making its way north up the Baja Peninsula and would likely hit us with extremely high winds by Thursday and if so, the boat would have to be back in harbor by Wednesday night or very early on Thursday morning. The plan was to keep an eye on the storm and the requirements of the Mexican authorities, but to get us to the best diving first and immediately, in the event that we would lose some days. So, we made our way to the southern tip of the itinerary and then worked our way back north.
We had our dive briefing the first morning and we were broken up into 3 groups for the week. Groups A and C had 6 divers per inflatable RIB and group B had 8 divers. All diving was done from the RIB tenders and not from the main vessel with a divemaster in the water leading each dive and the tender captain following the group’s bubbles and there to pick up at the end of the dive. Dive times are limited to 50 minutes each. This is not a limitation established by the boat, but a marine park requirement. All in all, it was fine and kept us on schedule each day.
I will not go into a day by day breakdown, but I will say that the diving was beautiful. We hit a few sites around the islands of San Pedro Martir that contained some of the most impressive underwater structure, formations and landscapes I have yet to experience diving. In San Pedro, there must have been some sort of upwelling of cold water that transpired in the week between the previous group and ours. Water temp the week before was 88 degrees and blue water with 60-80 foot viz. When we got there, the water temp was 74 degrees and green water and poor viz. Nevertheless, it was good enough to get a sense of the majesty of the dive sites, even though most of us were not equipped for the colder water temps, as we anticipated 82-88 degrees throughout the entire trip.
We had a wonderful fly-by of a large Manta Ray and a number in our group saw a large hammerhead. Marine life on all dives was prolific and varied. Wonderful biodiversity and you could see why Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez the Aquarium of the World. We also had an opportunity to snorkel with Whale Sharks. Our group of 20 in three pangas were the only ones out that day in the Bahia de Los Angeles and we had numerous encounters. We had lots of dives with large groups of sea lions who were happy to buzz around us and nibble at fins.
Lots of nudibranchs, unlike any I have seen elsewhere. Octopus on almost all dives, various types of Jawfish, including the Giant Jawfish (pic below). Tons of rays everywhere. Seahorses (quite large) were found on many dives. Large green morays on most dives too. I found a shovelnose guitarfish on one dive and a giant painted hawksfish on another. I was impressed with the huge numbers and varieties and colors of sea stars everywhere. Scorpionfish abound. Never saw a lionfish. Overall biomass was impressive with lots of schooling fish.
When all was said and done, we did end up losing 2 full days of diving due to the hurricane. But, the crew was so proactive and did everything they could to give us the best experience possible that no one felt short changed. The owner of the boat felt bad that we lost 2 days of diving and decided to waive all of our port fees, nitrox fees and large tank fees (80 AL and 100 Steel available on board). This was hugely generous and not expected by our group. It was not their fault that there was a massive weather event. Yet, we were grateful and it demonstrated the type of operation they run. We felt they were very customer focused and if anything could be done, it would be done and without inconvenience.
A couple of other things while I am thinking about it. The rooms were tidied up daily by a crew member while we were diving. There was an additional bathroom and sink on the dive deck. Two showers with warm water on the lower deck where we got on and off of the tenders. A big rinse tank with softener in it for wetsuits. The food was plentiful and varied and well prepared and presented. Cold breakfast before dive 1, hot breakfast after dive 1, lunch after dive 2, snacks after dive 3 and dinner after dive 4. We did have 1 night dive and dinner was prior to the night dive. Beer and wine was included post diving.
Cost for the trip was $2895 per person. Flight from Portland to Phoenix was $250 RT. Nitrox was $125 for the trip (waived for us), $50 for a 100 CF Steel, if desired (waived), marine park fee $28 (waived), Mexican tourist card for border crossing is $35 (can be paid online or at the border). If you buy online, be sure to print out the card itself and the receipt. You will need to show both. Tip recommendation 10-15% of trip cost.
All of our dives were done at the islands of San Pedro Martir, Islands of Angel de la Guardia and in the Bay of Los Angeles. We always dived as a group with the DM and came up together for safety. Currents can be variable. If you did get separated from the group, protocol was to look for a minute and then surface and inflate your SMB. SMB’s and whistles were mandatory for everyone. I think that covers it. Feel free to fire off any questions.
Giant Jawfish
Giant Painted Hawksfish
Tiger Dorid
Shovelnose Guitarfish
