Trip Report Nautilus Explorer (RevillagigedoIslands San Benedicto, Socorro and Roca Partida) 6-15 April 2008
We arrived in Cabo San Lucas three hours late on Saturday before our Sunday departure. Our Northwest flight was delayed because the incoming flight from Orlando was late, there was a slight maintenance issue and then once we got to the runway the brake indicator light came on and therefore we had to return to the gate for inspection. The brakes were determined to be fine and off we flew 3 hours after our scheduled departure. Through the suggestion of Nautilus Explorer, we made arrangements with Faro Nuevo to meet us at the airport. He was waiting for us outside after clawing our way through the various timeshare hawkers standing in wait right outside of customs. faronuevo@prodigy.net.mx $15 per person. Do not believe the hawkers inside Faro Nuevo will be outside waiting for you.
We stayed at the Posada Real hotel and arranged for a late checkout on Sunday (1300 versus 1400). The Nautilus Explorer hosts a hospitality room on departure day where you can shower, store bags etc. The hotel itself in ok, the rooms are showing some wear and tear. The pool and beach areas are beautiful. Our room price was all inclusive (drinks and dinners). Meals are served at the restaurant near the lobby, buffet style or for lunch at the pool with a menu.
Sten, the head Dive Master from the Nautilus Explorer, met us at the hotel around 1600. We marked our bags with our room name or dive deck and proceeded to our waiting vans and had a short trip to the boat. We were greeted by the very nice crew of CAPT Garry, Engineer Bob, Chief Officer Doug, DMs - Sten, Tricia and Buzz, Chef Shonda, and Stewards Sylvia and Camila. As we would find out throughout our stay on the Nautilus Explorer all very nice, hard-working people.
The Diving
I will not mince words here this is diving for experienced divers only. Two previous trips to Cocos did not prepare me for the conditions we encountered on some of the sites. There are currents on almost every dive currents that do not let you get around corners, currents that push you deeper, currents that will take you out into the blue. You are also entering and exiting the water on an inflatable or a tin boat. For exit, the tin boat is not bad. However, the inflatable can be very challenging. I have about 150 dives under my belt and I was a very novice diver compared to the rest of the group.
This trip started at San Benedicto at a site called The Canyon. This was our checkout dive and we chose to visit the hammerhead cleaning station and had some hammerhead activity. There were also lots of green morays, clarion angels and octopus. Between dives there were lots of whale blows and flukes and on the second dive we were serenaded by the whales. The serenades became almost a routine occurrence. For the afternoon dive we went to a site off the point where we were immediately greeted by a manta and had a great interaction with it circling and circling then another joined after 10 minutes.
The next day we moved to The Boiler. Unfortunately for us the Boiler was Boiling and we were only able to do one dive at this spot. The crew prepared us for the dive by telling us the entry and exit from the Boiler would be the most difficult and it was. They were expecting the seas to calm down and when mother nature didnt cooperate, we had to move back around the island to a more sheltered location. Our one dive to the Boiler was very exciting. We encountered mantas and dolphins and the rock itself is something to behold. This was my first experience with dolphins and they were putting on a show. They followed us back to the boat as did the manta. Entry back onto the boat was a very scary experience as you could either try to ride in a wave and beach yourself onto the deck (which no one succeeded in doing) or you could be hoisted onto the deck like a Galapagos seal sometimes dangling from the back of the boat 6-10 feet out of the water. The strong currents within 10 feet of the surface were very tiring. We were advised to keep our regulators in our mouths at all times but at least two of us felt we needed more air than the regulators would give us. The good news is we all made it back safely with one sore rib and a banged up shin. Even though that is one of my memorable dives, I was glad the crew made the decision not to dive again. The next site was new and offered a fleeting pass by the manta and the final site was off the back of the boat behind the Canyon. This was a very nice dive with lots of little baby fish - the macro dive of the trip.
We then moved on to Socorro Island. As I recall it was around a 5-6 hour crossing. We were boarded by the Mexican Navy so we missed out on one dive this day. Our first dive was at Cabo Pearce which featured hammerhead cleaning stations however there were no hammers this day. I did see my first electric ray. On our second dive to Cabo Pearce there was a tiger shark sighting and a single hammer sighting but not much else in the way of big pelagics. Sten was great about identifying new sites where we could possibly find some additional action. Overall I think we all felt the diving at Socorro was disappointing in terms of the lack of wildlife. However, the whales were incredible with at least 8 whales greeting us before our first dive one morning.
We then had an 8 hour crossing to Roca Partida that was described in the dive briefing as a little rock in the middle of the ocean, not much longer than the boat and thats actually exactly what it is. Underneath the surface it is a volcano that rises from a depth of 10000 feet which lends to great shark and pelagic encounters. This site did not disappoint us. We encountered dolphins and mantas on our very first dive. The remainder of the dives were equally exciting Galapagos, Silvertips, Silkies, white tips, Hammerheads and even a tiger shark plus plenty of manta encounters. The currents at Roca Partida were not bad at all. We had a wonderful two days of diving here.
The Boat
The Boat was in great condition and had plenty of room to get ready for dives. We had one of the larger executive suites and it had lots of storage space for our bags under the bed as well as a little desk, 4 large shelves and an area to hang your clothes. This was one of the nicer rooms in our liveaboard experiences. The boat also has a separate lounge and eating area. The lounge has plenty of sofas to accommodate all divers. The eating area had three large tables with benches and chairs and was very comfortable.
The Crew
The crew was wonderful. They were very safety conscious, which is one of my main criteria for a dive trip. They provided detailed dive briefings the night before and they expected you to be ready for the dives at the appointed times. They made it very clear to us that they were not babysitters. They did not provide individual wake-up calls nor would they knock on doors to ask if you were diving. However, they were always available to answer questions, suggest the best ways for navigating a particular site and would guide a dive if requested. In addition the DMs are all trained seamen and this was very apparent when loading / unloading the skiffs and dealing with challenging surface conditions.
The Food
Shonda, the fill-in Chef, was wonderful. Meals consisted of a light breakfast (cereal, homemade muffins or scones, oatmeal and fruit) before the first dive; full breakfast (omelets, eggs to order, scrambled eggs, sausage, french toast, sticky buns) after the first dive; lunch (sandwiches with homemade bread and bagels, various salads, ravioli, homemade soups, and a different homemade cookie every day) after the second dive; snack (cheese and crackers, veggies and dips, brownies, homemade granola bars) before the last dive; and dinner (chicken, fish, beef always served with two or more vegetables, salad, potatoes and pasta). Soup was always available after lunch as were cookies and other snacks. This was the absolute BEST food I have ever encountered on a liveaboard. Shonda works at a full time resort during the summer months and fills in for the main Chef as needed.
Overall it was a great trip that we would consider doing again. Understanding you cant predict mother nature, the only disappointment was not seeing as many Mantas as we thought we would and only being able to dive the Boiler for one dive.
We arrived in Cabo San Lucas three hours late on Saturday before our Sunday departure. Our Northwest flight was delayed because the incoming flight from Orlando was late, there was a slight maintenance issue and then once we got to the runway the brake indicator light came on and therefore we had to return to the gate for inspection. The brakes were determined to be fine and off we flew 3 hours after our scheduled departure. Through the suggestion of Nautilus Explorer, we made arrangements with Faro Nuevo to meet us at the airport. He was waiting for us outside after clawing our way through the various timeshare hawkers standing in wait right outside of customs. faronuevo@prodigy.net.mx $15 per person. Do not believe the hawkers inside Faro Nuevo will be outside waiting for you.
We stayed at the Posada Real hotel and arranged for a late checkout on Sunday (1300 versus 1400). The Nautilus Explorer hosts a hospitality room on departure day where you can shower, store bags etc. The hotel itself in ok, the rooms are showing some wear and tear. The pool and beach areas are beautiful. Our room price was all inclusive (drinks and dinners). Meals are served at the restaurant near the lobby, buffet style or for lunch at the pool with a menu.
Sten, the head Dive Master from the Nautilus Explorer, met us at the hotel around 1600. We marked our bags with our room name or dive deck and proceeded to our waiting vans and had a short trip to the boat. We were greeted by the very nice crew of CAPT Garry, Engineer Bob, Chief Officer Doug, DMs - Sten, Tricia and Buzz, Chef Shonda, and Stewards Sylvia and Camila. As we would find out throughout our stay on the Nautilus Explorer all very nice, hard-working people.
The Diving
I will not mince words here this is diving for experienced divers only. Two previous trips to Cocos did not prepare me for the conditions we encountered on some of the sites. There are currents on almost every dive currents that do not let you get around corners, currents that push you deeper, currents that will take you out into the blue. You are also entering and exiting the water on an inflatable or a tin boat. For exit, the tin boat is not bad. However, the inflatable can be very challenging. I have about 150 dives under my belt and I was a very novice diver compared to the rest of the group.
This trip started at San Benedicto at a site called The Canyon. This was our checkout dive and we chose to visit the hammerhead cleaning station and had some hammerhead activity. There were also lots of green morays, clarion angels and octopus. Between dives there were lots of whale blows and flukes and on the second dive we were serenaded by the whales. The serenades became almost a routine occurrence. For the afternoon dive we went to a site off the point where we were immediately greeted by a manta and had a great interaction with it circling and circling then another joined after 10 minutes.
The next day we moved to The Boiler. Unfortunately for us the Boiler was Boiling and we were only able to do one dive at this spot. The crew prepared us for the dive by telling us the entry and exit from the Boiler would be the most difficult and it was. They were expecting the seas to calm down and when mother nature didnt cooperate, we had to move back around the island to a more sheltered location. Our one dive to the Boiler was very exciting. We encountered mantas and dolphins and the rock itself is something to behold. This was my first experience with dolphins and they were putting on a show. They followed us back to the boat as did the manta. Entry back onto the boat was a very scary experience as you could either try to ride in a wave and beach yourself onto the deck (which no one succeeded in doing) or you could be hoisted onto the deck like a Galapagos seal sometimes dangling from the back of the boat 6-10 feet out of the water. The strong currents within 10 feet of the surface were very tiring. We were advised to keep our regulators in our mouths at all times but at least two of us felt we needed more air than the regulators would give us. The good news is we all made it back safely with one sore rib and a banged up shin. Even though that is one of my memorable dives, I was glad the crew made the decision not to dive again. The next site was new and offered a fleeting pass by the manta and the final site was off the back of the boat behind the Canyon. This was a very nice dive with lots of little baby fish - the macro dive of the trip.
We then moved on to Socorro Island. As I recall it was around a 5-6 hour crossing. We were boarded by the Mexican Navy so we missed out on one dive this day. Our first dive was at Cabo Pearce which featured hammerhead cleaning stations however there were no hammers this day. I did see my first electric ray. On our second dive to Cabo Pearce there was a tiger shark sighting and a single hammer sighting but not much else in the way of big pelagics. Sten was great about identifying new sites where we could possibly find some additional action. Overall I think we all felt the diving at Socorro was disappointing in terms of the lack of wildlife. However, the whales were incredible with at least 8 whales greeting us before our first dive one morning.
We then had an 8 hour crossing to Roca Partida that was described in the dive briefing as a little rock in the middle of the ocean, not much longer than the boat and thats actually exactly what it is. Underneath the surface it is a volcano that rises from a depth of 10000 feet which lends to great shark and pelagic encounters. This site did not disappoint us. We encountered dolphins and mantas on our very first dive. The remainder of the dives were equally exciting Galapagos, Silvertips, Silkies, white tips, Hammerheads and even a tiger shark plus plenty of manta encounters. The currents at Roca Partida were not bad at all. We had a wonderful two days of diving here.
The Boat
The Boat was in great condition and had plenty of room to get ready for dives. We had one of the larger executive suites and it had lots of storage space for our bags under the bed as well as a little desk, 4 large shelves and an area to hang your clothes. This was one of the nicer rooms in our liveaboard experiences. The boat also has a separate lounge and eating area. The lounge has plenty of sofas to accommodate all divers. The eating area had three large tables with benches and chairs and was very comfortable.
The Crew
The crew was wonderful. They were very safety conscious, which is one of my main criteria for a dive trip. They provided detailed dive briefings the night before and they expected you to be ready for the dives at the appointed times. They made it very clear to us that they were not babysitters. They did not provide individual wake-up calls nor would they knock on doors to ask if you were diving. However, they were always available to answer questions, suggest the best ways for navigating a particular site and would guide a dive if requested. In addition the DMs are all trained seamen and this was very apparent when loading / unloading the skiffs and dealing with challenging surface conditions.
The Food
Shonda, the fill-in Chef, was wonderful. Meals consisted of a light breakfast (cereal, homemade muffins or scones, oatmeal and fruit) before the first dive; full breakfast (omelets, eggs to order, scrambled eggs, sausage, french toast, sticky buns) after the first dive; lunch (sandwiches with homemade bread and bagels, various salads, ravioli, homemade soups, and a different homemade cookie every day) after the second dive; snack (cheese and crackers, veggies and dips, brownies, homemade granola bars) before the last dive; and dinner (chicken, fish, beef always served with two or more vegetables, salad, potatoes and pasta). Soup was always available after lunch as were cookies and other snacks. This was the absolute BEST food I have ever encountered on a liveaboard. Shonda works at a full time resort during the summer months and fills in for the main Chef as needed.
Overall it was a great trip that we would consider doing again. Understanding you cant predict mother nature, the only disappointment was not seeing as many Mantas as we thought we would and only being able to dive the Boiler for one dive.
