Dive Report - April 3rd, 2015

Date:  April 3rd, 2015
Location: Cabo Pulmo

Dive Site:  El Vencidor

Depth Range:  30-50 feet

Visibility:  15-20 feet

Temperature:  74 degrees

Current:  Moderate

Waves:  Mild

Wind:  Moderate

Julio took a group of local divers and snorkelers to Cabo Pulmo today.  They made their dives at the El Vencedor Shipwreck .  The group found large schools of pork fish and several amber jacks.  The highlight of the trip was the bull sharks.  These awesome animals are incredible to see face to face. Visibility at the shipwreck was only about 15 feet.   Today the encounters were up close and personal!!

Dive Report - April 2nd, 2015

Date:  April 2nd, 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas

Dive Site:  Chileno, Blow Hole, Pelican Rock, and North Wall

Depth Range:  30-70 feet

Visibility:  30-50 feet

Temperature:  74 degrees

Current:  Moderate

Waves:  Mild

Wind:  Mild

Team Nautilus provided a number of services in Cabo today.  The morning tours included a private yacht charter on the corridor sites, certified diver tours to the bay, and afternoon Discover Scuba Divers.

The conditions in the morning were stellar.  The water was warm, blue, and clear.  In the corridor Dael was able to find a large mixed school of pork fish and goat fish.  As the divers approached the school it changed shape but the ball was larger than 30 feet in diameter.  Although these fish are quite common to Cabo, the size of the ball was extra cool!

The divers in the bay saw resting white tip sharks, sea horses, and large schools of yellow snapper and trumpet fish.  Just one more beautiful day at the world famous Pelican Rock.

In the afternoon the sun began to set behind the mountains near Pelican Rock.  As the shadow was cast over the dive site, the white tip sharks became more active.  Our DSDs were able to see the white tips free swimming in only 30 feet of water.  The group had a great time and we look forward to them completing their PADI open water course in the future!

Dive Report - March 23rd, 2015

Date:  March 23^th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas

Dive Sites:  East Chileno & Pelican Rock

Depth Range:  30-60 feet

Visibility:  40-60 feet

Temperature:  72 degrees

Current:  Mild

Waves:  Mild

Wind:  Mild

This morning's tour was a private charter.  The group consisted of both snorkelers and divers.   Dael guided the snorkelers and Casey guided the diver. During our trip out to Chileno Bay we encountered a mother whale and her calf.  They played near the boat for several minutes before we continued to our first dive site.

Chileno Bay has a rocky reef that extends approximately a quarter mile off shore.  Near the shore and close to the reef are excellent areas for snorkeling.  The divers entered the water near shore and worked their way along the reef into deeper water.  We saw mixed groups of parrot fish, surgeon fish, trigger fish, trumpet fish, and puffers.  The highlight of the dive was an encounter with a green sea turtle.  The young turtle spent more than 10 minutes with the divers.

During the surface interval the group caught some sun on the beach and had fresh fish ceviche and mixed fruit lunch. Afterwards we made way for the Bay of San Lucas.  During the transit we made detours for whale watching and spotted several more groups of grey whales. Which have been seen in higher concentrations this season than usual!

Once back at Pelican Rock we made our second immersion.  The water was turquoise and very clear. We had at least 60 feet of visibility.  There was a tremendous amount of tropical fish schooling around the pinnacle.  At the base of Pelican Rock we encountered one of our resident white tip sharks cruising the top of the wall.  In 35 feet of water we found a yellow sea horse tucked into one of the coral formations. In the picture below, the picture is more to show the spot where this one sea horse has picked to hang out around than of the horse itself, which is nestled in/around the center of the picture. The purple fish surrounding are Sargent Majors. Normally they are blue, yellow an black striped, but once they have mated and the females have lain their eggs the males take on a purple hue and get very defensive of the nest. This makes the spot where the sea horse has been hanging out for a month now a good safe spot for protection!

After the charter returned to the marina Dael escorted the group back to the dive shop.  Casey stayed on the boat for a third dive with one of his students.  This was the primary skill dive of the entry level technical diving course.  They worked on valve drills, gas sharing, consumption exercises, no visibility drills, gas switches, as well as a variety of other skills.  The depth was between 30 and 40 feet for almost 2 hours.

Until next time! Eat! Sleep! DIVE!