Sunday, March 29, 2015

Dive Report - March 25th, 2015

Date:  March 25th 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                




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!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Dive Report - March 23rd, 2015

Date:  March 23th 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!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Dive Report - March 22, 2015

Date:  March 22th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Sites:  Neptune's Finger & Pelican Rock

Depth Range:  35-107 feet
Visibility:  20-50 feet
Temperature:  72 degrees
Current:  Mild
Waves:  Mild
Wind:  Mild

When one of our dive club members, Roxanne, called up saying it had been too long since she'd gone diving we knew we had to take her to Neptune's Finger. Even with the vis was barely 20-25 feet there back on the 17th and 18th, there was just loads of life active and surrounding you. Now the vis s 40-50 feet and still rocking! Grunts, Jacks and Bonitos doing their daily dance!


Dael was at Pelican Rock with his Open Water Student working on skills, so CJ and Roxanne jumped in there and made our way through both Pelican Rock down to North Wall. While the visibility was noticeably less in these spots compared to Neptune's it was a great dive! No current, We saw 2 yellow pacific seahorses and a sea turtle, whitetip reef sharks in both sites, eels and spent a good 5 minutes with an octopus who was moving out and about!


The water is slowly cooling off again as well as clearing up. Soon we'll start to see more cold water sea life coming back in. All and all though another great day of diving!

Friday, March 20, 2015

Dive Report - March 18th, 2015

Date:  March 18th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Sites:  Neptune's Finger & Pelican Rock

Depth Range:  50-110 feet
Visibility:  20-30 feet
Temperature:  68 degrees
Current:  Mild
Waves:  Moderate
Wind:  Moderate

Report: 
Today Nautilus Dive Tech conducted certified diver tours to a couple of the local sites in the Bay of San Lucas.  Dael led the group and Casey accompanied the divers using his Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.

On the first dive the group descended near Neptune's Finger and made a reciprocal heading/ multi-level dive.  The principal rock and the surrounding cleaning stations had a lot of activity.  Although the visibility could have been better, there was still a lot to see.  The group encountered several lobsters, jeweled moray eels, green moray eels, a large stone fish, guitar fish, schooling tropical fish and an extended visit by the bait ball of grunts.  During our ascent we saw several bonitas feeding on the bait ball.  In shallow water we road the surge during our safety stop playing chase with a school of moorish idols.



For the second dive we had hoped to dive Land's End bu the swell was more than 5 feet.  We opted to head back in to Pelican Rock for our second immersion.  During the shallow repetitive dive we met up with the resident white tip sharks, spotted an octopus, and found a sea horse.  Some of the group aborted the dive early due to a marginal camera housing leak...fortunately the patient (camera) survived to dive another day!


Check back from time to time for more trip reports and information about what sights there are to see here in Cabo San Lucas!

Dive Report - March 17th, 2015

Date:  March 17th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Site:  Neptune's Finger

Max Depth:  165 feet
Visibility:  30 to 50 feet
Temperature:  62-72 degrees
Current:  Moderate
Waves:  Moderate
Wind:  Mild

Report: 
Today Nautilus Dive Tech conducted an extended range tri mix dive to a local site in the submarine canyon.  Cabo San Lucas is an excellent location to conduct technical diver training.  The logistics allow for deep dives close to support facilities.  Several sites allow for decompression stops to be made near natural references all the way through the 10 foot stop.  The area has seven different deep dives available with in 10 minutes of the harbor.  


Today the swell was about 4-5 feet.  In shallow water the group experienced moderate current and significant surge.  The tidal exchange has been dramatic the last few days.  In shallow water the visibility was limited due to the swirling sand, but after 20-30 feet it cleared up nicely.  The group saw several diamond rays foraging in the sand together, a large school of moorish idols, schooling damsel fish, schooling goat fish, trigger fish, bonitas, sierra mackrel, and a giant bait ball of grunts.



Nautilus Dive Tech offers all levels of technical diver training.  For more information please check out our training page and contact us at:

http://nautilusdivetech.com/training

info@nautilusdivetech.com




  

Monday, March 16, 2015

Dive Report - March 12th, 2015

Date:  March 12th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Sites:  Los Morros & Land's End / Shipwreck

Depth Range:  30 to 80 feet
Visibility:  20 to 40 feet
Temperature:  72 degrees
Current:  Mild
Waves:  Moderate
Wind:  Moderate

Report: 
Today Nautilus Dive Tech conducted certified diver tours to the bay dive sites.  Dael and CJ led the group and Casey accompanied the divers using his Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.   The trip had been planned for Santa Maria, but the seas were a little rough in morning so we opted to stay closer to the bay instead.  

The first dive to Los Morros started on the principal rock which is less than 20 feet deep to top.  The group used the rock as reference for their tour.  Today the surge had increased.  It was about a 3 to 4 foot swing.  After the group was in the water, Casey followed and cleared the anchor.  As a solo rebreather dive, he was able to clearly hear the sounds from the ocean.  The whales were in full song for his entire dive, how cool!  Other than the whale song, he reported a large bait ball near the anchor line.  The rest of the group reported a variety of tropical fish.



On the way back to Cabo we saw the Marina Rescate (Rescue Boat) leaving the bay.  They went to give support to a boat that was damaged by a whale.  This is an extremely rare event, but I am sure it is one the guests and crew will never forget.  It is unclear at this time if the boat was following whale watching regulations or simply just didn't see the whale.  

Although the ocean was choppy, we decided to make the second dive at Land's End.  The swell coming into the point was significant and their was considerable surge in shallow water.  The water coming in from the Pacific was much more clear than what we had the past few weeks.  Visibility tipped out at near 40 feet and was nice and blue.




The group made a mixed dive between Land's End and the shipwreck. Sea lions dive bombed the group barking playfully.  Land's End was teeming with life.  We saw large schools of pork fish, surgeon fish, and goat fish.  There were also numerous lobsters, eels, and octopus.

One of the divers in the group had been recently certified and her first post certification dives were in Cabo San Lucas.  Over the course of the last three days she showed a lot of progress and was much more comfortable in the water.  It is great to see how new divers learn and gain experience.  We look forward to her next scuba diving trip to Cabo.

NDT Staff

Photo of the day (maybe not THE day)

Dive Report - March 10th, 2015

March 10, 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Sites: Blow Hole & Gavilantes

Depth Range:  30 to 70 feet
Visibility:  20 to 25 feet
Temperature:  72 degrees
Current:  Moderate
Waves:  Minimal
Wind:  Minimal

Report: 
Today Nautilus Dive Tech conducted certified diver tours to a couple of the corridor dives sites.  Dael led the group and Casey accompanied the divers using his Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.  Before exiting the bay, the group spotted several whales. 

The first dive to Blowhole was a multi-level drift dive.  The current wasn't real strong but we ended up covering a pretty large area.  The group saw a couple of cow nose rays and several large parrot fish.  Some of the other animals included sting rays, schools of goat fish, lobsters, large puffers, and a school of juvenile trumpet fish. 



The second dive to Gavilantes was 30-50 feet deep.  We stopped by the “shark rock” to see if the resident white tips were home.  They must have been out for lunch (poor fish).  The new divers in the group saw their first Stone Fish.  Fortunately everyone followed the dive briefing… "please do not pet the stone fish”. Some of the other animals included an octopus, green moray eels, and parrot fish.



On the way back to the marina the group encountered several more whales that put on a heck of a show.  Normal transit time to the marina from Gavilantes is about 25 minutes!!  Today it took over an hour.  A mother and two calves put on a non-stop show of breaching, jumping, and fin slapping.  It was beautiful.  No matter how often you see this behavior it is always special!

NDT Staff

Photo of the day (maybe not THE day):

Dive Report - March 11th, 2015

Date:  March 11th 2015
Location: Cabo San Lucas
Dive Sites:  South Chileno & Pelican Rock

Depth Range:  30 to 70 feet
Visibility:  15 to 20 feet
Temperature:  72 degrees
Current:  Moderate
Waves:  Moderate
Wind:  Moderate

Report: 
Today Nautilus Dive Tech conducted certified diver tours to the corridor and bay dive sites.  Dael led the group and Casey accompanied the divers using his Hollis Prism 2 rebreather.

The first dive to Chileno started in the sandy clearing on the south side of the reef.  Slowly the group progressed to deeper water.  The visibility had degraded overnight a bit.  The divers saw a small school of mobula rays, several moray eels, a school of bright yellow pork fish, damsel fish and numerous sergeant majors. 



By the end of the first dive the ocean had started to pick up.  Rather than risk a rough return trip, the group decided to head back to Cabo early and make the second dive back at Pelican Rock.  The surface interval back to Cabo was uneventful.  We saw a few jumping mobulas but that was about it. It appears the whales had the day off.  The only activity was off shore quite a ways.

Pelican Rock was bustling with life.  Even though the visibility wasn't too good, we were able to focus in on the rock formations and see smaller critters.  My favorite of the dive was the white nudibranch cruising (slowly) through the cup coral.  We turned the dive in the shallow area at the top of the Sand Falls.  The pregnant white tip shark was resting at the base of Pelican Rock.  Eventually she had enough of the cameras and headed out for deeper water.  Maybe she will be back for the night dive tonight :)



NDT Staff

Photo of the day (maybe not THE day)