Socorro Trip Report - May 10th to 18th

[TSandM]

I don't know about Hintermann, but on our trip, we had some dives which were very current-intensive and many which were not. If you want the hammerheads, apparently you have to go to where there is current, so we tried. I did use my reef stick to help myself on one of the dives. I don't like strong currents and I am NOT a real strong swimmer on scuba, so I figure unless you don't like moving water at all, any trip where I felt comfortable most of the time would suit almost anybody.

 

[Hintermann]

It's considerably different from the type of diving I'm used to, and the conditions more 'challenging. I'm a big, chubby out-of-shape (and that ain't likely to change any year soon) 46 year old guy who can get a decent SAC rate if I'm conscious about it, and prefer a big tank.

Did you have to fight (swim into) current much? How much of an issue was that on your trip? I like drift diving fine, but I've found fighting current is not my thing.

Richard.

Before I went on this trip, I had never been on a 'big animal special' and so it was different from anything that I had been to before. I still enjoyed it very much.

I was 50+ when I did my first pool dive and at the time I was also on the chubby side. In better shape now, I think.

There is current but we seldom found it a problem and had to fight against it only on one dive. Even then, I later discovered that I was a bit out of position to where I should have been to make it a lot easier. Going back to the same site for the next dive, I had no problems. (Fighting against the current is not my thing either; or anybody's, I believe.)

There is a lot of surge at most dive sites however; but with proper positioning and calculated finning this can be easily negotiated.

 

[Diver Dave1]

I was on the boat with Hintermann and we were in the same dive group much of the time. Nice trip report and nice pics. You had good fortune to get close enough to the whale shark for some nice photo's. I was not so fortunate.
Here is a link to photo's of the same trip.

Socorro and Revillagigedos Islands - shiningseastudio

 

[Hintermann]

You had good fortune to get close enough to the whale shark for some nice photo's. I was not so fortunate.

Fortunate is right. I was actually at the egde of the reef rock trying to get a bead on a moray eel when out of the corner of my eye I saw the Spanish chap finning frantically towards something. I turned around and there she was, swimming right towards me as though we had a date together! Maybe we did.

Dave, I have to wait to get home to look at your pictures. My work computer has a browser dating back to Oliver Cromwell's time and won't open your files.