The Blog from the Sea of Cortez
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OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Sunday
Sunday was a blustery day from first light. The seas were rough from a North wind, but that didn't seem to phase The Rocio del Mar. Sleep was easy, and I only felt a little rocking through the night. I had my pre-breakfast and got ready to splash. This would be my first time diving off of a Zodiac and there were two of them to take us out and back. Well, we weren't quite at the dive site yet, so I cooled my fins and made sure my dive gear was in order. I really hate anything but Stainless Steel bolt snaps. No retractors or suicide clips can be found on my kit... except the Intova camera that I borrowed from TJ at Dayo Scuba. One of my ship mates, Ed Murphy (not the famous comedian), took the time to point the SS Suicide clip out gently. How embarrassing. Everything else is set up though. The batteries have been installed and connected in my primary light and both of my backups. Reels are in place and so is my safety sausage. I check my Dive computers and the OC1 is linked to the sending unit. I even rechecked my reworking of the bungee cords for my Express Tech. I'm a little worried about the camera setup, having never used it before, but still: Everything is a “go”.
Now, here is my one gripe with the Rocio del Mar: No Nitrox! We only have air available for the entire week. I talked with Dora about this at length several times through the week. The boat is really a work in progress. Our trip marks the one year anniversary for this spacious ship, and there are still plenty of things on Dora's wish list. We can expect to see Nitrox in the very near future, and it appears that she will be opting for a “Nitrox stick” that will enable them to do continuous blending of Nitrox. She also has a lot of plans for the top deck. Right now it's pretty empty, which is really nice when you want to star watch late at night. A bar, a spa, permanent seating as well as some other amenities will make this a very useful and popular area of the ship.
Breakfast done, we finally arrive at our dive site: a lovely wall affectionately names “LoLo's Chichis”. Apparently our first dive site was scrubbed due to sea conditions. Thank goodness for a captain and crew who put safety over convenience and who are resourceful enough to provide us with an alternate dive site. We pile into the two zodiacs and head just a few hundred feet over and we splash. A quick weight check and I realise that I need 2 more pounds to be perfect. Once below the waves, I am hooked. I am among a lot of fish as well as some lush yellow budded black coral. A few feet lower and I begin to make out dozens of star fish, urchins and other denizens. On this dive I get to see my first Mexican Horn Shark as well as King Angel Fish.. I also get to see a Target Electric Ray and lots of shell fish. The water is a crisp 62 degrees and I suck down my air in only 52 minutes. The max depth was 73 feet. Getting back onto the Zodiac was interesting. First thing is to grab hold of the grab line around the boat and start handing up your weights. Then you unclip your BC and let them take that into the boat. Finally the fins go up and you scale the itty bitty ladder to get in. No need to worry if you aren't strong enough! The boat tenders are great at getting you into their craft. If there is no one else waiting to get in and the big boat is close enough, they will buzz you back to get warm and dry.
I passed on the next dive. Too much current for me to want to even try. Many of those who went agreed with my judgment after the fact as they didn't have much fun! There will be lots of time to dive this week. Of interest at this site was the small Catholic Shrine on a small hill overlooking the dive site. I had seen a number of these as we traveled through Mexico, but the white against the dark earth made it stand out. It was the only man made object to be seen other than the boat we were on. It should be noted that we were diving the Isla Angel de la [FONT="]Guardia[/FONT]. The mountains came right down to the shore and beaches were few and very stoney. They said that there were animals in those arid mountains, but all I saw were birds.
The third dive for the night was the point just south of Angel Rock. LoLo parked the boat for the night and only two intrepid divers took advantage of the opportunity. Steve and Bear were here to dive and they were going to make the most of it. On return, Steve had but one regret: he didn't take enough light and the sun set while they were diving. “There were lots of fish all around us.” Steve commented, I couldn't see what kind they were, but there were sure lots of them.” You could tell that Steve was happy with his dive, and I admit that I was jealous!
Dinner that night was even better than the night before! I was eager to see if Poncho, the cook, could keep up his pace of excellence. That night Susie Kirfman started our Seasigns Class. I had been a fan of this kind of systematic signing system, and so I was happy to join the class. The benefits of being on this cruise were amazing. We all talked in hopes that the seas would calm down for us on the morrow. It had really put a damper on our plans to explore the Sea of Cortez and we were ready for some calm. The stars were still as gorgeous as the night before. Now I was wishing that I had internet so that I could look up a few of these constellations. I will be installing a star finder on this lap top before my next trip.
Sunday was a blustery day from first light. The seas were rough from a North wind, but that didn't seem to phase The Rocio del Mar. Sleep was easy, and I only felt a little rocking through the night. I had my pre-breakfast and got ready to splash. This would be my first time diving off of a Zodiac and there were two of them to take us out and back. Well, we weren't quite at the dive site yet, so I cooled my fins and made sure my dive gear was in order. I really hate anything but Stainless Steel bolt snaps. No retractors or suicide clips can be found on my kit... except the Intova camera that I borrowed from TJ at Dayo Scuba. One of my ship mates, Ed Murphy (not the famous comedian), took the time to point the SS Suicide clip out gently. How embarrassing. Everything else is set up though. The batteries have been installed and connected in my primary light and both of my backups. Reels are in place and so is my safety sausage. I check my Dive computers and the OC1 is linked to the sending unit. I even rechecked my reworking of the bungee cords for my Express Tech. I'm a little worried about the camera setup, having never used it before, but still: Everything is a “go”.
Now, here is my one gripe with the Rocio del Mar: No Nitrox! We only have air available for the entire week. I talked with Dora about this at length several times through the week. The boat is really a work in progress. Our trip marks the one year anniversary for this spacious ship, and there are still plenty of things on Dora's wish list. We can expect to see Nitrox in the very near future, and it appears that she will be opting for a “Nitrox stick” that will enable them to do continuous blending of Nitrox. She also has a lot of plans for the top deck. Right now it's pretty empty, which is really nice when you want to star watch late at night. A bar, a spa, permanent seating as well as some other amenities will make this a very useful and popular area of the ship.
Breakfast done, we finally arrive at our dive site: a lovely wall affectionately names “LoLo's Chichis”. Apparently our first dive site was scrubbed due to sea conditions. Thank goodness for a captain and crew who put safety over convenience and who are resourceful enough to provide us with an alternate dive site. We pile into the two zodiacs and head just a few hundred feet over and we splash. A quick weight check and I realise that I need 2 more pounds to be perfect. Once below the waves, I am hooked. I am among a lot of fish as well as some lush yellow budded black coral. A few feet lower and I begin to make out dozens of star fish, urchins and other denizens. On this dive I get to see my first Mexican Horn Shark as well as King Angel Fish.. I also get to see a Target Electric Ray and lots of shell fish. The water is a crisp 62 degrees and I suck down my air in only 52 minutes. The max depth was 73 feet. Getting back onto the Zodiac was interesting. First thing is to grab hold of the grab line around the boat and start handing up your weights. Then you unclip your BC and let them take that into the boat. Finally the fins go up and you scale the itty bitty ladder to get in. No need to worry if you aren't strong enough! The boat tenders are great at getting you into their craft. If there is no one else waiting to get in and the big boat is close enough, they will buzz you back to get warm and dry.
I passed on the next dive. Too much current for me to want to even try. Many of those who went agreed with my judgment after the fact as they didn't have much fun! There will be lots of time to dive this week. Of interest at this site was the small Catholic Shrine on a small hill overlooking the dive site. I had seen a number of these as we traveled through Mexico, but the white against the dark earth made it stand out. It was the only man made object to be seen other than the boat we were on. It should be noted that we were diving the Isla Angel de la [FONT="]Guardia[/FONT]. The mountains came right down to the shore and beaches were few and very stoney. They said that there were animals in those arid mountains, but all I saw were birds.
The third dive for the night was the point just south of Angel Rock. LoLo parked the boat for the night and only two intrepid divers took advantage of the opportunity. Steve and Bear were here to dive and they were going to make the most of it. On return, Steve had but one regret: he didn't take enough light and the sun set while they were diving. “There were lots of fish all around us.” Steve commented, I couldn't see what kind they were, but there were sure lots of them.” You could tell that Steve was happy with his dive, and I admit that I was jealous!
Dinner that night was even better than the night before! I was eager to see if Poncho, the cook, could keep up his pace of excellence. That night Susie Kirfman started our Seasigns Class. I had been a fan of this kind of systematic signing system, and so I was happy to join the class. The benefits of being on this cruise were amazing. We all talked in hopes that the seas would calm down for us on the morrow. It had really put a damper on our plans to explore the Sea of Cortez and we were ready for some calm. The stars were still as gorgeous as the night before. Now I was wishing that I had internet so that I could look up a few of these constellations. I will be installing a star finder on this lap top before my next trip.
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Looks like a great time. Great way to spend a vacation.
Ninja Diver
Contributor
Hello everyone,
My wife, Christine and I joined Net Doc on this trip, it was unbelievable! You wouldn't think a ship that was only 1 year old would have a history, but this one does. After they had the hull built, the crew built the entire ship. One of them was an electrician, one was a plumber, one a carpenter and one an engineer who installed the engines. (talk about your staff taking ownership)
The crew could not have taken better care of us. It was amazing, there were guests that wanted to be pampered, and they were, there were guests that wanted to be able to walk in the kitchen and make a peanut butter and Jelly sandwhich, and I did. Whatever you wanted, YOU GOT! The diving was incredible. We did miss the whales, but the sea lions more than made up for it. It's really "virgin waters" Some of the breifings were detailed, sometimes the breifing was "we can go to a site we know, or you can explore this site with us, what do you want to do?" We ALWAYS voted "We want to go with Dora, the explorer! By the way, where are Sherry's shorts?.... Stayed tuned for the story!
My wife, Christine and I joined Net Doc on this trip, it was unbelievable! You wouldn't think a ship that was only 1 year old would have a history, but this one does. After they had the hull built, the crew built the entire ship. One of them was an electrician, one was a plumber, one a carpenter and one an engineer who installed the engines. (talk about your staff taking ownership)
The crew could not have taken better care of us. It was amazing, there were guests that wanted to be pampered, and they were, there were guests that wanted to be able to walk in the kitchen and make a peanut butter and Jelly sandwhich, and I did. Whatever you wanted, YOU GOT! The diving was incredible. We did miss the whales, but the sea lions more than made up for it. It's really "virgin waters" Some of the breifings were detailed, sometimes the breifing was "we can go to a site we know, or you can explore this site with us, what do you want to do?" We ALWAYS voted "We want to go with Dora, the explorer! By the way, where are Sherry's shorts?.... Stayed tuned for the story!
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Rickg
Contributor
Fantastic trip report. Thanks for all your efforts.
Pete or Steve, and boat pics to add to the blog?
Definitely a great title too!
Definitely a great title too!
OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
That which was lost is now found... The laptop that I used to compose these blogs got wet, which as everyone knows, lets the magic smoke out. I had assumed that all had been lost, but looky, looky: the HD still lives. I will post one a week until they are all up.
OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Monday
The dawn broke bright and clear. The winds were still pretty stiff so it was decided to go to the lee of Angel Rock. Angel rock is an amazing formation that does resemble a white angel. Of course, once you realize that the white is nothing but bird poo, the romance dies a bit! We headed out on the Zodiacs being careful to use Angel Rock as a wind break. We splashed in 40 ftof water and it was amazing. There were so many fish around this point and it simply jutted up from the depths. You could spend any number of dives here at varying depths and still not explore it all. Unfortunately, there was a lot of sand and dust in the water. It didn't stop you from enjoying the fish, but it made photography very challenging. You had to get up close to get a really clear shot and my Intova was not up to the task. It was here that I first saw the sponge crab, which is a variation of a hermit crab, but instead of a hard shell, it uses a sponge.
I also got my first taste of a cave created by shear forces rather than solution. At about 50 ft, there is a small crack in the base of Angel Rock. I was able to slip part way in and look into a a straight lined hallway going straight down. The vis in here was very clear, but without the proper equipment and a buddy, I simply backed out and continued the dive outside. No need to expose myself to needless risk. Soon enough the dive was over and we headed up to the zodiacs.
Our second dive that day was along theside of the inlet where we had stayed the night. This is like a lotof shallow dives I have been on. You're trying to have an open mind going in, but 20 ft just doesn't seem to grab your attention. Well,the fish and the critters took care of that once we got into the water. Again, for not having hard corals growing here, I was amazed at the life I encountered. At one point I thought we had an eclipse only to find a huge bait ball just above my head blocking the sun. Two thumbs way up for this dive.
Lunch was an amazing Mexican treat ofmy favorite: shrimp! Yum! I was also introduced to Hibiscus Tea. Now, if you are a Tea lover as I am, you know that real tea only comes from one plant on earth. Make that two now. This red zingy tea was excellent and became a favorite of mine iced down. They had started moving the boat as we sat for lunch.
I tried to get more pictures of the Catholic shrine, but we were just too far away. Instead I went over my gear and made sure my tank was filled and that I had everything. I also took some time to really go over my camera. I was getting a dark shadow in all of my pictures and this just wouldn't do. After further inspection, I determined that the housing is the culprit. It's partially blocking the flash from the camera and causing that shadow. Not much to do but to take bigger pictures and crop or shoot without a flash and try to correct colors via the PC. It was my first major trip with my Memory Kick and while I was unhappy with the camera, I was incredibly happy with the Memory Kick. Sorting the few pictures that turned out was effortless, and I could even correct the orientation and do some cropping. Other than that, I was destined to spend a lot of time trying to correct pictures that were simply horrible even for me.
We steamed for a short while and saw Sea Lions on the shore. A LOT of sea lions on the shore. We don't have those in Florida, so I was very happy that we were going to dive with them. Since this was a very new experience for me, I listened intently to our debriefing. Don't point, don't dominate and if a bull starts swimming at you making grunts, consider that your invitation to back up considerably or to just leave. Only, don't turn your back on the bull. These are truly wild animals and you don't want to turn your back on them at all. I figured that avoiding the situation altogether was the best solution and that I would give them a large berth. The plan was to plop in the water and swim the 100 ft towards shore, dropping down about 50 ft out to a max depth of 60 ft. I took a bearing on my compass and eased my way in, commando style.
I first settled on the bottom to see what was the attraction for this pod of Sea Lions in this area. The mystery was solved when I saw Scallops galore as well as evidence of spiny lobster and a number of octopi. I was checking out some fish atabout 20 ft when the first bogie dive bombed in front of me. Holy Schneikies! They are PDQuick! First the one dove in around me, and with the brief still fresh in my mind, I kept my hands tucked in and didn't make any sudden movements. However, in a very sort time the pup was joined by a dozen or so more and some of them were rather big. Frankly, I don't think that I could intimidate them one whit, as they appeared fearless. Down they would come, swim up to me and pause for a second or so like they were posing and then they scurried out of the way. I was entranced by their playfulness, their curiosity and their gentle puppy like faces.
A flurry of furry activity grabbed my attention once more, and I found Bear with his video camera about fifteen feet in front of him sitting in the rocks. How cool! He was getting some great pics of these brazen Sea Lions coming up and trying to grab his video set up. It was far too large for any of them to handle though, so he wasn't worried. We had a nice sign conversation about the dive and I enjoyed Bear's company. Scott (Bear) is a rarity among divers. He simply has no ego. He doesn't feel a need to prove anything, but he still has simply perfect formand situational awareness. You can see his smile through his regulator too. What a great dive buddy!
Well, watching pinipeds was fun but I wanted to explore more of the surrounding area. I bid Scott adieu and headed along the ledge to where I had first arrived. There was a boulder a little further out that merited further investigation. How cool! I found another crab that had a sponge for a body. Unlike Florida, the rocks and boulders are flat and planar with angular corners from what was obviously a shearing event. Everything had straight lines and wile there was some marine growth, they were mostly gorgonians and sea fans with no hard corals at all. However,there were a TON of sea stars here as everywhere else. I think that the Sea of Cortez was in competition with the night sky for the number of stars it displayed! I kept swimming further out along the bottom to just under the boat and found that one of the others had joined me. The bottom was flat white mud with a TON of scallops all over. I picked a few up for our dinner and as I did down came a pairof sea lions. Hey! I was at 70 ft and the Sea Lions were checking me out! Too funny. One did a barrel roll and snatched a scallop rightout of my hand. I quickly dropped the other. I didn't need them to miss and bite me instead by accident. They played with the scallop for a few moments and loved it when it tried to swim away. Soon, it came drifting back down to the mud. My buddy and I did a 5 minute safety stop with all the entertainment two Sea Lions could provide and we surfaced just behind the boat.
Captain LoLo piloted The Rocio del Marto a wonderfully secluded bay. The blue waters made a wonderful contrast against the ochre and tan desert mountains. A few went on a night dive there, but I was pretty exhausted after our regular dives. That night we supped on fresh fish caught by the crew. Dora, kept bringing this white drink out that she called Horchata. I had first thought it was milk and that putting ice in it must be a Mexican custom. WHOA! While I thought the Hibiscus Tea was great, this was the nectar of the Gods. I have a new favorite drink! If you haven't had Horchata, it's a rice based drink and is available in a few ways. Next time you are in a Mexican restaurant worth it's tortillas, ask for a glass... better make it two.
The dawn broke bright and clear. The winds were still pretty stiff so it was decided to go to the lee of Angel Rock. Angel rock is an amazing formation that does resemble a white angel. Of course, once you realize that the white is nothing but bird poo, the romance dies a bit! We headed out on the Zodiacs being careful to use Angel Rock as a wind break. We splashed in 40 ftof water and it was amazing. There were so many fish around this point and it simply jutted up from the depths. You could spend any number of dives here at varying depths and still not explore it all. Unfortunately, there was a lot of sand and dust in the water. It didn't stop you from enjoying the fish, but it made photography very challenging. You had to get up close to get a really clear shot and my Intova was not up to the task. It was here that I first saw the sponge crab, which is a variation of a hermit crab, but instead of a hard shell, it uses a sponge.
I also got my first taste of a cave created by shear forces rather than solution. At about 50 ft, there is a small crack in the base of Angel Rock. I was able to slip part way in and look into a a straight lined hallway going straight down. The vis in here was very clear, but without the proper equipment and a buddy, I simply backed out and continued the dive outside. No need to expose myself to needless risk. Soon enough the dive was over and we headed up to the zodiacs.
Our second dive that day was along theside of the inlet where we had stayed the night. This is like a lotof shallow dives I have been on. You're trying to have an open mind going in, but 20 ft just doesn't seem to grab your attention. Well,the fish and the critters took care of that once we got into the water. Again, for not having hard corals growing here, I was amazed at the life I encountered. At one point I thought we had an eclipse only to find a huge bait ball just above my head blocking the sun. Two thumbs way up for this dive.
Lunch was an amazing Mexican treat ofmy favorite: shrimp! Yum! I was also introduced to Hibiscus Tea. Now, if you are a Tea lover as I am, you know that real tea only comes from one plant on earth. Make that two now. This red zingy tea was excellent and became a favorite of mine iced down. They had started moving the boat as we sat for lunch.
I tried to get more pictures of the Catholic shrine, but we were just too far away. Instead I went over my gear and made sure my tank was filled and that I had everything. I also took some time to really go over my camera. I was getting a dark shadow in all of my pictures and this just wouldn't do. After further inspection, I determined that the housing is the culprit. It's partially blocking the flash from the camera and causing that shadow. Not much to do but to take bigger pictures and crop or shoot without a flash and try to correct colors via the PC. It was my first major trip with my Memory Kick and while I was unhappy with the camera, I was incredibly happy with the Memory Kick. Sorting the few pictures that turned out was effortless, and I could even correct the orientation and do some cropping. Other than that, I was destined to spend a lot of time trying to correct pictures that were simply horrible even for me.
We steamed for a short while and saw Sea Lions on the shore. A LOT of sea lions on the shore. We don't have those in Florida, so I was very happy that we were going to dive with them. Since this was a very new experience for me, I listened intently to our debriefing. Don't point, don't dominate and if a bull starts swimming at you making grunts, consider that your invitation to back up considerably or to just leave. Only, don't turn your back on the bull. These are truly wild animals and you don't want to turn your back on them at all. I figured that avoiding the situation altogether was the best solution and that I would give them a large berth. The plan was to plop in the water and swim the 100 ft towards shore, dropping down about 50 ft out to a max depth of 60 ft. I took a bearing on my compass and eased my way in, commando style.
I first settled on the bottom to see what was the attraction for this pod of Sea Lions in this area. The mystery was solved when I saw Scallops galore as well as evidence of spiny lobster and a number of octopi. I was checking out some fish atabout 20 ft when the first bogie dive bombed in front of me. Holy Schneikies! They are PDQuick! First the one dove in around me, and with the brief still fresh in my mind, I kept my hands tucked in and didn't make any sudden movements. However, in a very sort time the pup was joined by a dozen or so more and some of them were rather big. Frankly, I don't think that I could intimidate them one whit, as they appeared fearless. Down they would come, swim up to me and pause for a second or so like they were posing and then they scurried out of the way. I was entranced by their playfulness, their curiosity and their gentle puppy like faces.
A flurry of furry activity grabbed my attention once more, and I found Bear with his video camera about fifteen feet in front of him sitting in the rocks. How cool! He was getting some great pics of these brazen Sea Lions coming up and trying to grab his video set up. It was far too large for any of them to handle though, so he wasn't worried. We had a nice sign conversation about the dive and I enjoyed Bear's company. Scott (Bear) is a rarity among divers. He simply has no ego. He doesn't feel a need to prove anything, but he still has simply perfect formand situational awareness. You can see his smile through his regulator too. What a great dive buddy!
Well, watching pinipeds was fun but I wanted to explore more of the surrounding area. I bid Scott adieu and headed along the ledge to where I had first arrived. There was a boulder a little further out that merited further investigation. How cool! I found another crab that had a sponge for a body. Unlike Florida, the rocks and boulders are flat and planar with angular corners from what was obviously a shearing event. Everything had straight lines and wile there was some marine growth, they were mostly gorgonians and sea fans with no hard corals at all. However,there were a TON of sea stars here as everywhere else. I think that the Sea of Cortez was in competition with the night sky for the number of stars it displayed! I kept swimming further out along the bottom to just under the boat and found that one of the others had joined me. The bottom was flat white mud with a TON of scallops all over. I picked a few up for our dinner and as I did down came a pairof sea lions. Hey! I was at 70 ft and the Sea Lions were checking me out! Too funny. One did a barrel roll and snatched a scallop rightout of my hand. I quickly dropped the other. I didn't need them to miss and bite me instead by accident. They played with the scallop for a few moments and loved it when it tried to swim away. Soon, it came drifting back down to the mud. My buddy and I did a 5 minute safety stop with all the entertainment two Sea Lions could provide and we surfaced just behind the boat.
Captain LoLo piloted The Rocio del Marto a wonderfully secluded bay. The blue waters made a wonderful contrast against the ochre and tan desert mountains. A few went on a night dive there, but I was pretty exhausted after our regular dives. That night we supped on fresh fish caught by the crew. Dora, kept bringing this white drink out that she called Horchata. I had first thought it was milk and that putting ice in it must be a Mexican custom. WHOA! While I thought the Hibiscus Tea was great, this was the nectar of the Gods. I have a new favorite drink! If you haven't had Horchata, it's a rice based drink and is available in a few ways. Next time you are in a Mexican restaurant worth it's tortillas, ask for a glass... better make it two.
Attachments
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OP
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
Tuesday
For the first time on this trip, I did not hear the wind howling outside when I woke up. We know that the staff has absolutely no control of the weather, but you could tell by some of the snippy little comments the night before, that people wanted to DIVE without the hassle of the wind. So, most everyone was smiles as we had our pre-dive breakfast. I always have a piece of toast with some butter and honey. It takes the edge off until we get a proper breakfast.
This was a beautiful dive. If I was impressed by the amount of Sea Stars in the Sea of Cortes before, I was truly stunned on this dive. Chocolate Chip, Thorned, orange with green, tomato colored ones and even a number of different brittle stars. Probably the oddest one is called the Sun Star. This creature has 20 or so arms! In any case, the number and the diversity are simply amazing and it's like some artist has gone overboard with creating an undersea themed wall paper. Along with the sea stars, I saw my first Mexican Horned shark and didn't know until I looked at the pictures. I guess I was expecting El Toro, but the horns preceding the dorsal fins plum eluded me underwater. I thought it was a Nurse shark and no wonder, these guys have a lot of the same characteristics of Nurse sharks except for their teeth which are plates, just like a ray.
While not as numerous as the SeaStars, I was quite enamored with the Blue and Yellow and Blue Chromis. These little guys are all over and they add a wonderful splash of color to any photograph. There were lots of dusky damsels as well as any number of Bump Headed Parrot Fish and King Angels. On the second dive I saw one of the largest Black Sea Bass I have ever seen. At first I thought it was a Jew Fish due to it's size, but the color and the flat tail told me otherwise. Wow, what a fish! There were a lot of rays here as well, and I got a cool picture of a light and dark ray socializing. Can anyone sing Ebony and Ivory? As you can tell by one picture, all this diving just wears you out! Steve was ready for a break and some lunch. Heck, so was I!
As we moved back up the coast we came across our good friends, the Sea Lions. Did we want to dive with them again? YOU BETCHA. For safety's sake, and since we didn't appear to be as intimidated, the crew dutifully went through the safety briefing again. It's never good to be lax and the crew was pretty apt at spotting problems before they ruined our fun. We splashed and I did the commando routine at 15 ft till I hit the side of the channel. Again, the younger pups came right out to play with us. They were incredibly fast and energetic,but they always seemed to stop to size us up. What must they bethinking about this weird fish with arms and flippers that keepsblowing bubbles. I saw a pair playing in the bubbles being blown byKatie and Bear. They were having a blast!
As before, I keptnear the bottom as I watched their antics. Some of their games had me laughing right out loud. At one point I saw them all concentrate a few feet to my left. It was at this point that I noticed a rather nervous octopus stick his eyes up from his den. Thinking the coast was clear for a bit, a tentacle broached the hole and started feeling about. You could see it startle when it found my hand just inches away from it. I hovered for a bit and It came back to check me outsome more. However, anytime a Sea Lion would approach, it would pull it's tender and juicy arms back in pronto, lest he lose it. At last, it latched on to a scallop which made a last ditch effort to swim away. The octopus pulled it's meal into the bureau. I'm sure the shells would be popped out in a minute or two to join the others just outside his lair. But the Sea Lions were just too cute and fun to watch.
While I hate to over simplify things, there are two types of Liveaboards. Those who have a fairly rigid agenda and those who tailor their agenda to meet the desires and needs of their clients. The crew of the Rocio del Mar made it obvious that they were going to do what ever it took to make us happy. To that end, Dora and LoLo often gave us options about what kind of dive we wanted to do that day. It was also common for them to ask us what to name a site after we were done if they had never dove there before. How cool to think that we had just experienced something no other diver has been to. There just aren't that many opportunities to do that anymore. On the Rocio, it's a given that you'll be diving in some virgin territory during your trip. No bottle or can fish. No plastic bags or any kind of trash. It's the same as it was when Steinbeck wrote the Blog from the Sea of Cortes. Think about that for a moment as you plan your next trip to see what everyone else has seen in areas that have been spoiled by human encroachment. Get here before the world beats you to it and beats up the place in the process.
Looking back on it, the day was very special in a quiet kind of way. The winds had died down considerably. The food was awesome as it always was. The crew and guests were congenial. Even the stars put in a stellar appearance that night. They say that that competent people can accomplish a lot and make things work well. However, it takes sheer genius to make it look easy and the crew of the Rocio del Mardid exactly that. Content with a full day of diving and fun, I slept rather well without the howl of the wind just outside!
For the first time on this trip, I did not hear the wind howling outside when I woke up. We know that the staff has absolutely no control of the weather, but you could tell by some of the snippy little comments the night before, that people wanted to DIVE without the hassle of the wind. So, most everyone was smiles as we had our pre-dive breakfast. I always have a piece of toast with some butter and honey. It takes the edge off until we get a proper breakfast.
This was a beautiful dive. If I was impressed by the amount of Sea Stars in the Sea of Cortes before, I was truly stunned on this dive. Chocolate Chip, Thorned, orange with green, tomato colored ones and even a number of different brittle stars. Probably the oddest one is called the Sun Star. This creature has 20 or so arms! In any case, the number and the diversity are simply amazing and it's like some artist has gone overboard with creating an undersea themed wall paper. Along with the sea stars, I saw my first Mexican Horned shark and didn't know until I looked at the pictures. I guess I was expecting El Toro, but the horns preceding the dorsal fins plum eluded me underwater. I thought it was a Nurse shark and no wonder, these guys have a lot of the same characteristics of Nurse sharks except for their teeth which are plates, just like a ray.
While not as numerous as the SeaStars, I was quite enamored with the Blue and Yellow and Blue Chromis. These little guys are all over and they add a wonderful splash of color to any photograph. There were lots of dusky damsels as well as any number of Bump Headed Parrot Fish and King Angels. On the second dive I saw one of the largest Black Sea Bass I have ever seen. At first I thought it was a Jew Fish due to it's size, but the color and the flat tail told me otherwise. Wow, what a fish! There were a lot of rays here as well, and I got a cool picture of a light and dark ray socializing. Can anyone sing Ebony and Ivory? As you can tell by one picture, all this diving just wears you out! Steve was ready for a break and some lunch. Heck, so was I!
As we moved back up the coast we came across our good friends, the Sea Lions. Did we want to dive with them again? YOU BETCHA. For safety's sake, and since we didn't appear to be as intimidated, the crew dutifully went through the safety briefing again. It's never good to be lax and the crew was pretty apt at spotting problems before they ruined our fun. We splashed and I did the commando routine at 15 ft till I hit the side of the channel. Again, the younger pups came right out to play with us. They were incredibly fast and energetic,but they always seemed to stop to size us up. What must they bethinking about this weird fish with arms and flippers that keepsblowing bubbles. I saw a pair playing in the bubbles being blown byKatie and Bear. They were having a blast!
As before, I keptnear the bottom as I watched their antics. Some of their games had me laughing right out loud. At one point I saw them all concentrate a few feet to my left. It was at this point that I noticed a rather nervous octopus stick his eyes up from his den. Thinking the coast was clear for a bit, a tentacle broached the hole and started feeling about. You could see it startle when it found my hand just inches away from it. I hovered for a bit and It came back to check me outsome more. However, anytime a Sea Lion would approach, it would pull it's tender and juicy arms back in pronto, lest he lose it. At last, it latched on to a scallop which made a last ditch effort to swim away. The octopus pulled it's meal into the bureau. I'm sure the shells would be popped out in a minute or two to join the others just outside his lair. But the Sea Lions were just too cute and fun to watch.
While I hate to over simplify things, there are two types of Liveaboards. Those who have a fairly rigid agenda and those who tailor their agenda to meet the desires and needs of their clients. The crew of the Rocio del Mar made it obvious that they were going to do what ever it took to make us happy. To that end, Dora and LoLo often gave us options about what kind of dive we wanted to do that day. It was also common for them to ask us what to name a site after we were done if they had never dove there before. How cool to think that we had just experienced something no other diver has been to. There just aren't that many opportunities to do that anymore. On the Rocio, it's a given that you'll be diving in some virgin territory during your trip. No bottle or can fish. No plastic bags or any kind of trash. It's the same as it was when Steinbeck wrote the Blog from the Sea of Cortes. Think about that for a moment as you plan your next trip to see what everyone else has seen in areas that have been spoiled by human encroachment. Get here before the world beats you to it and beats up the place in the process.
Looking back on it, the day was very special in a quiet kind of way. The winds had died down considerably. The food was awesome as it always was. The crew and guests were congenial. Even the stars put in a stellar appearance that night. They say that that competent people can accomplish a lot and make things work well. However, it takes sheer genius to make it look easy and the crew of the Rocio del Mardid exactly that. Content with a full day of diving and fun, I slept rather well without the howl of the wind just outside!
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Brings back memories, Pete. My first trip to the Sea of Cortez was during the winter of 1971-72. Three of us faculty took 41 of our students down to Bahia de Kino for three weeks. Of course required reading was The Log! We weren't equipped for diving, but we did make collections of fish from a shrimp trawler for the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (LACMNH). Also had an estimated 22 ft long tiger shark bump our 18 ft Klepper Folboat kayak about three miles off shore. Used the Zodiac after that! LACMNH had provided us with 5 gallons of undenatured ethanol so Ed and John would have been proud. We actually used some to preserve specimens too!
Then during the last decade I spent several winters as marine biologist/UW videographer on the Lindblad Expedition ships down there. We voyaged between La Paz and Loreto diving the offshore islands and watching whales. The other route was from La Paz to Cabo to Mag Bay to observe gray whales in their calving grounds. Absolutely love the Sea of Cortez... a place of incredible beauty topside and interesting marine life down under.
Then during the last decade I spent several winters as marine biologist/UW videographer on the Lindblad Expedition ships down there. We voyaged between La Paz and Loreto diving the offshore islands and watching whales. The other route was from La Paz to Cabo to Mag Bay to observe gray whales in their calving grounds. Absolutely love the Sea of Cortez... a place of incredible beauty topside and interesting marine life down under.
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