Dive Report - April 6th and 7th, 2015

Date:  April 6th & 7th, 2015

Dive Sites:  Pelican Rock, North Wall, and Chileno Bay

Depth Range:  20-40 feet

Visibility:  20-30 feet

Temperature:  72 degrees

Current:  Moderate to Strong

Waves:  Moderate

Wind:  Mild

Today Team Nautilus welcomed a family of divers into our family of divers.   The two children had completed their PADI open water class and pool in California and wanted to finish their certifications here in Cabo San Lucas.

We started the day with a pool check out and then moved to the open water.  CJ and Casey worked with the students and Dael took the parents on a guided tour.  Pelican Rock was vibrant with life, but the outgoing current was strong on the first dive.  We did our best to use the rock structures  to shield us from the current, and did the skills near the principal rock,  A surface float, down line, tag line and sand anchors provided a secure environment for the students.  During the tour for pleasure the new divers encountered a huge school of yellow snapper and goat fish, as well as free swimming white tip sharks.  The transition from confined water to open water can really be magical!

During the second day of certification dives three more family members joined the group.  We started the excursion by incorporating a whale watching tour into the transit to Chileno Bay.  Unfortunately today the whales were not too agreeable.  Their were a couple of sightings but they were on the horizon line.

Once on location in Chileno the group was split between certified divers and students.  The other family members snorkeled in the shallows of the protected bay.

After the first immersion, the group was escorted to shore where the other members of Team Nautilus had set up a beach picinic of Ceviche, tacos, and baguettes.  The group relaxed for a couple hours enjoying the beauty of Chileno Beach.  One of the students had a hard time equalizing on the first dive but a little Mexican salsa did the trick and was ready to go for round two! Congrats Todd on completing your PADI Open Water certification!

We wrapped up the day by motoring back to Cabo in search of whales...next time we will try to make reservations at the whale's corporate office...

Dive Report - March 25th, 2015

Date:  March 25^th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas

Dive Sites:  Pelican Rock, Neptune's Finger, and Land's End

Depth Range:  30-105 feet

Visibility:  50-60 feet

Temperature:  72 degrees

Current:  Mild

Waves:  Mild

Wind:  Mild

Today the morning charter took a PADI Open Water class to Pelican Rock.  The conditions were amazing.  CJ was instructing the class and Casey tagged along with the group using his Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.  A variety of different species were schooling near Pelican Rock in both shallow and deeper water.  The resident white tip reef sharks and several sea  horses were also spotted. Near the top of the Sand Falls they encountered a pair of mobulas which, while common to Baja and the Sea of Cortez, are not common enough to guarantee sightings on every dive. On top of that they usually tend to keep some distance from divers unless they are in large numbers, so it was quite nice to get a chance to see them and so close for Open Water dive 1! The larger one was around 5-6 feet from wing-tip to wing-tip with a smaller one following behind, maybe 4 feet across. Casey was able to record several minutes of video while the mobulas soared through mid water above the top of the wall.  --- For more great information about Mobulas and Mantas check out                

http://www.mantatrust.org/about-mantas/gentle-giants/

In the afternoon CJ took out a group of certified divers to Neptune's Finger and Land's End. Neptunes Finger sits atop somewhat of a big sandy dome. Shallow areas can be as little as 15-20 feet, and slopes downwards. With almost 50-60 feet of visibility, the deeper part of Neptunes follows the top of the wall around 100 feet. It was fairly calm with not a lot of action going on. Halfway through the dive as we made our way to the mid-water cleaning statoin, we encountered the bait ball of Grunts coming in from the open blue with 6-8 Bonitos mixed in like usual! They stuck with the divers for 20+ minutes even following the group from 60 feet deep all the way up to 5 feet below the surface in the shallow side when the through the duration of the safety stop. Depending on where you are diving in general, the safety stops we make can be uneventful if you have nothing to focus on, so it was great to hangout and be a part of the school!

After an extended safety stop due to our deep dive at Neptune's, we headed towards Lands End. We could see numerous sea lions playing near the surface as we pulled up. We also noticed that the swell and surge had slowly been increasing throughout the day and while there didn't appear to be any current it was noticeable enough, we adjusted our initial dive plan to avoid possible problem areas between the rocks and wall. Due to all the movement in the water in the area the visibility had dropped dramatically too with lots of sand and particles floating everywhere. Combine the turbidity of the water with the sun starting to set behind the end of the peninsula  and the whole dive had a feeling of twilight. Even still we saw large gatherings of snapper and leopard grouper actively swimming around in the haze between schools of grunts and goatfish. When we got close to the far side of the point we could hear the familiar barking sounds of the sea lions. We came upon the alpha male and a group of females with a few smaller pups playing along the bottom and spent the last half of the dive watching them fly and roll playfully around us! Not a bad way to end the day!

Until next time! Eat! Sleep! Dive!