planning on socorro in may and looking for personal experiences with solmar V, RDM, and the quino el guardian. i was originally set on the rocio del mar because it had a lot of positive reviews, however i haven't seen a lot of recent ones. they are also hosting a citizen science shark expedition on their may dates, which im unsure if that would augment the trip or be kind of distracting. appreciate all the advice!
socorro liveaboard suggestions for may
- Thread starter blangston
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I had a fantastic trip last May on the Nautilus Explorer and found them to be very safety conscious.
Edit: sorry, I see you were inquiring about other specific operators
Edit: sorry, I see you were inquiring about other specific operators
Hoag
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I did two trips almost back to back on the Solmar V several years ago. The first one was to Isla Guadeloupe for Great Whites, and then the next month, I was back on it for a trip to Socorro.
The boat is gorgeous. It has mahogany (at least I think it is mahogany) throughout interior of the boat with frosted glass and brass trim. The cabins, however are tiny. There is only room for one person to stand up in the cabin at a time. The head and the shower are combined into one unit so that you have to straddle the head while taking a shower. Storage space is restricted to a couple small cubby holes beside your bunk. If you are the least bit claustrophobic, then you might want to look at other options.
Interior of Solmar V
Having said that, the logistics of getting to the boat are very easy. It is within walking distance of many of the hotels so if your luggage has roller wheels, you should be good. The food is terrific. (Unfortunately, I had a touch of the flu on "Surf & Turf night" so while everybody else was eating steak & lobster, I was dining on PB&Js.) There is a very high premium placed on safety, and, IIRC there was a "hard deck" of 100 feet and they checked your dive computer after every dive. If your max depth was 100 feet, you were GTG, but if it was 101feet, then you had to sit out for 24 hours. They did this because they were so far from the nearest chamber. (It is roughly a 24 hour transit from Cabo to the archipelago by boat and beyond the range of most helicopters to make the trip out to the boat, and back to Cabo.)
The boat is gorgeous. It has mahogany (at least I think it is mahogany) throughout interior of the boat with frosted glass and brass trim. The cabins, however are tiny. There is only room for one person to stand up in the cabin at a time. The head and the shower are combined into one unit so that you have to straddle the head while taking a shower. Storage space is restricted to a couple small cubby holes beside your bunk. If you are the least bit claustrophobic, then you might want to look at other options.
Interior of Solmar V
Having said that, the logistics of getting to the boat are very easy. It is within walking distance of many of the hotels so if your luggage has roller wheels, you should be good. The food is terrific. (Unfortunately, I had a touch of the flu on "Surf & Turf night" so while everybody else was eating steak & lobster, I was dining on PB&Js.) There is a very high premium placed on safety, and, IIRC there was a "hard deck" of 100 feet and they checked your dive computer after every dive. If your max depth was 100 feet, you were GTG, but if it was 101feet, then you had to sit out for 24 hours. They did this because they were so far from the nearest chamber. (It is roughly a 24 hour transit from Cabo to the archipelago by boat and beyond the range of most helicopters to make the trip out to the boat, and back to Cabo.)
dlofting
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We were on the Rocio del Mar in March 2018. It holds about 18 divers with 10 crew members IIRC. Diving is well organized and orchestrated. We were divided into three groups and geared up about 15 minutes apart. They have two zodiac style pangas so the first one is back to the boat by the time the third group is ready to dive. Boarding is handled very well, particularly in the rougher seas at Roca Partida. The panga captains are always watching for SMB's as divers are allowed to dive according to their computers and gas consumption....you come up when you need to.
Food is great and nicely varied. Early continental breakfast followed later by a hot breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Cabins are comfortable but not huge, of course. Crew cleans and tidies your cabin every day.
The boat has a lower deck which houses the galley, crew quarters and dining area. Most cabins are on the main deck as well as the diving gear up and camera area. Middle deck has a couple more cabins, a smaller outdoor seating area and an indoor lounge. Upper deck is mostly open for lounging with a bar and barbecue area that was used to serve two of our
dinners.
We had a great crew. All were very friendly, attentive, good at their respective jobs and hard working. I can definitely recommend the Rocio del Mar.
Food is great and nicely varied. Early continental breakfast followed later by a hot breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner. Cabins are comfortable but not huge, of course. Crew cleans and tidies your cabin every day.
The boat has a lower deck which houses the galley, crew quarters and dining area. Most cabins are on the main deck as well as the diving gear up and camera area. Middle deck has a couple more cabins, a smaller outdoor seating area and an indoor lounge. Upper deck is mostly open for lounging with a bar and barbecue area that was used to serve two of our
dinners.
We had a great crew. All were very friendly, attentive, good at their respective jobs and hard working. I can definitely recommend the Rocio del Mar.
The Quino El Gurdian and Rocio del Mar are owned by the same people (the Sandovals) and I would not hesitate to sail with them. I've been on the Rocio in Mar de Cortes and loved it. I've also been to the Socorros on The Nautilus Belle Amie, and that was a wonderful trip as well. This is from 2015:
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RDM was built from the ground- up to be a LOB. I know Dora (Sandoval) the Owner and their US Office is about 4mi. from my house. She occasionally came to our dive club meetings to share construction progress,
Thay have a shuttle that picks up at the Phoenix airport , goes thru a minor border crossing and drops you at the boat same day. My buddy has been on it twice
Solmar being an old converted comm. fisher has small cabins.. I remember the year they removed the crows nest.
Nautilus Belle Amie is the nicest, newest, most comfortable. It's a long ride (all day) from Cabo. IIRC slightly higher priced also.
Thay have a shuttle that picks up at the Phoenix airport , goes thru a minor border crossing and drops you at the boat same day. My buddy has been on it twice
Solmar being an old converted comm. fisher has small cabins.. I remember the year they removed the crows nest.
Nautilus Belle Amie is the nicest, newest, most comfortable. It's a long ride (all day) from Cabo. IIRC slightly higher priced also.
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