October diving
October/24/2008 Filed in: pilot
whales | sea
lions
My exit
was premature. I returned to Loreto for another
dozen dives and these
were truly some of the most memorable I have ever had. My last dive was
October 8th, the day after my 61st birthday, and lasted 72-minutes maximum
depth of 68 feet in 84 degree water. I dive without a wet suit now.
Another instance of swimming with pilot whales, this time three of them came
within 6 feet of me. Exhilarating beyond belief. More playing with sea lions,
diving up the vortex of schools of barracudas and surgeons. The surgeons -
hundreds of them - circled around my head for several minutes and even
followed me as I moved to more fallow ground. I joined a school of goatfish
who simply made room for me among their chain so all I could see through my
mask was dozens of yellow fins wiggling in front of my face.
Had several episodes with turtles. laying behind one from a distance of 8-feet
for two-minutes until his wariness got the better of him and he took off. I
know better now not to follow.
Diving the wreck of the tuna boat in poor visibility, was delighted to see a
school of jacks materialize out of nowhere and veer off suddenly as they
approached my mask. Their silver skin shimmied in the cloudy light.
The Sea of Cortez is such a treasure.
were truly some of the most memorable I have ever had. My last dive was
October 8th, the day after my 61st birthday, and lasted 72-minutes maximum
depth of 68 feet in 84 degree water. I dive without a wet suit now.
Another instance of swimming with pilot whales, this time three of them came
within 6 feet of me. Exhilarating beyond belief. More playing with sea lions,
diving up the vortex of schools of barracudas and surgeons. The surgeons -
hundreds of them - circled around my head for several minutes and even
followed me as I moved to more fallow ground. I joined a school of goatfish
who simply made room for me among their chain so all I could see through my
mask was dozens of yellow fins wiggling in front of my face.
Had several episodes with turtles. laying behind one from a distance of 8-feet
for two-minutes until his wariness got the better of him and he took off. I
know better now not to follow.
Diving the wreck of the tuna boat in poor visibility, was delighted to see a
school of jacks materialize out of nowhere and veer off suddenly as they
approached my mask. Their silver skin shimmied in the cloudy light.
The Sea of Cortez is such a treasure.
Summer diving
August/13/2008 Filed in:
pilot whales, turtles
Just
finished 19 dives and alas, it’s time to leave as I
need to replenish my
wherewithals. My total dives here in Loreto must be close to the 100 mark,
which coincides with the mid-day temperatures.
Its been a marvellous three weeks despite the poor visibility that ranged
from 30-60 feet, lower than normal for this time of year. The upside is that
the sea was chock full of nutrients that attracted far and sundry animals.
Lots of turtles, mobulas and every species and school of fish imaginable. My
personal highlights of this season was spending a couple of minutes up front
and close within three feet from a lovely sea turtle who wasn’t frightened by
my gentle approach. Swimming completely encircled by a school of barracuda was
an unforgettable experience. And to top it all, had not one, but two swims
with pilot whales directly crossing my path below me. They came within 25 feet
of me while I was bobbing on the surface with just mask and fins. Daniel our
capitan extraordinaire spotted them and brought the boat to within a
respectable distance of the pod. I was perched on the port side ready to slip
into the water when I noticed the pod move away from us. Undaunted, I glided
myself into the water and lo, a mom and her baby reversed direction and swam
under me to get a closer look. I wanted to scream with joy, but thankfully
remembered I was underwater and thought better of it, however the experience
of several minutes of pilot whale encounter is etched indelibly into my brain.
I’ve posted a 100 or so photographs from this trip. My blogging will slowly
disappear like bubbles of air to the surface. There’s enough on this
blogsphere to inform and entertain divers who may wish to connect with this
part of the globe. I’ll return again to Loreto next year and look forward to
reacquainting myself with one of the most beautiful, spectacular, diverse and
special eco-systems on the planet. We are so blessed. Happy bubbles!
wherewithals. My total dives here in Loreto must be close to the 100 mark,
which coincides with the mid-day temperatures.
Its been a marvellous three weeks despite the poor visibility that ranged
from 30-60 feet, lower than normal for this time of year. The upside is that
the sea was chock full of nutrients that attracted far and sundry animals.
Lots of turtles, mobulas and every species and school of fish imaginable. My
personal highlights of this season was spending a couple of minutes up front
and close within three feet from a lovely sea turtle who wasn’t frightened by
my gentle approach. Swimming completely encircled by a school of barracuda was
an unforgettable experience. And to top it all, had not one, but two swims
with pilot whales directly crossing my path below me. They came within 25 feet
of me while I was bobbing on the surface with just mask and fins. Daniel our
capitan extraordinaire spotted them and brought the boat to within a
respectable distance of the pod. I was perched on the port side ready to slip
into the water when I noticed the pod move away from us. Undaunted, I glided
myself into the water and lo, a mom and her baby reversed direction and swam
under me to get a closer look. I wanted to scream with joy, but thankfully
remembered I was underwater and thought better of it, however the experience
of several minutes of pilot whale encounter is etched indelibly into my brain.
I’ve posted a 100 or so photographs from this trip. My blogging will slowly
disappear like bubbles of air to the surface. There’s enough on this
blogsphere to inform and entertain divers who may wish to connect with this
part of the globe. I’ll return again to Loreto next year and look forward to
reacquainting myself with one of the most beautiful, spectacular, diverse and
special eco-systems on the planet. We are so blessed. Happy bubbles!
Last dive of winter
Diving
through a Loreto winter doesn’t bring the certainty
and regularity of
summer diving, however, for all the days we missed out because of rough seas,
guacamole visibility or contentious winds, we more than made up for in some
spectacular adventures unavailable in milder climes.
Interacting with three species of whales is an experience I’ll cherish for the
rest of my days. And the contact with the Coronado sea lions on our last two
dives was magnificent. I like to think that they knew I was leaving for they
put on quite the show. Frisky, curious and uncommonly bold, the encounters
were the most intimate that I had so far experienced. I was shooting with an
underwater camera for the second straight day, and the sea lions couldn’t help
but ham it up. They weaved and bobbed between us all. Rafa and I did our mimic
routine to entice them to play. They are so fast and agile, that snapping
photos was like shooting clay pigeons - I had to anticipate where they would
land in the following 2-seconds in order to make a good screen capture. The
current above was quite rough and as we came up from 74-feet onto the deck of
the reef wall, we would undulate from the movement of the rocking waves above.
All the sea fans and coral growth were swaying in the same rhythm.
Practically stumbled on a greenback turtle on the second dive. Again climbing
another coral wall and jack-knifing atop the plateau, I surprised a resting
turtle about 4-metres from my goggles. I quickly snapped a photo and he
lumbered away. As I followed him, he turned on the afterburners and left like
a shot. It was exhilarating to blunder onto such a magnificent creature. I
took some of the lead from Rafa as he attentively helped some novice divers
and in so doing, learned that marine life gives us a wide berth. Turning a
corner of a wall, I came upon an enormous giant grouper, at least 4-feet in
length. This large ancient grouper had successfully escaped poachers nets by
hightailing it at the first sight of humans, and he did the same with me. My
mouth was agape nonetheless. The plankton was in full bloom but the water
temperature had dipped to 61-degrees giving us better than normal plankton
visibility. Lots of sea life feeding seemingly oblivious to us. I finally saw
a school of surgeons, my buddies who have yellow fins like me and don’t mind
my joining the group. I finished the 46-minute final dive taking photos of the
beautiful gorgonian, sea tubes and little creatures who make diving in the Sea
of Cortez such an ever-changing adventure.
I left all my diving gear in Loreto. Pointless to bring it back as I have no
desire to dive anywhere else. I’m back for three months in July. Oh, humboldt
squid, I’ll return for you and the mating mobulas!
summer diving, however, for all the days we missed out because of rough seas,
guacamole visibility or contentious winds, we more than made up for in some
spectacular adventures unavailable in milder climes.
Interacting with three species of whales is an experience I’ll cherish for the
rest of my days. And the contact with the Coronado sea lions on our last two
dives was magnificent. I like to think that they knew I was leaving for they
put on quite the show. Frisky, curious and uncommonly bold, the encounters
were the most intimate that I had so far experienced. I was shooting with an
underwater camera for the second straight day, and the sea lions couldn’t help
but ham it up. They weaved and bobbed between us all. Rafa and I did our mimic
routine to entice them to play. They are so fast and agile, that snapping
photos was like shooting clay pigeons - I had to anticipate where they would
land in the following 2-seconds in order to make a good screen capture. The
current above was quite rough and as we came up from 74-feet onto the deck of
the reef wall, we would undulate from the movement of the rocking waves above.
All the sea fans and coral growth were swaying in the same rhythm.
Practically stumbled on a greenback turtle on the second dive. Again climbing
another coral wall and jack-knifing atop the plateau, I surprised a resting
turtle about 4-metres from my goggles. I quickly snapped a photo and he
lumbered away. As I followed him, he turned on the afterburners and left like
a shot. It was exhilarating to blunder onto such a magnificent creature. I
took some of the lead from Rafa as he attentively helped some novice divers
and in so doing, learned that marine life gives us a wide berth. Turning a
corner of a wall, I came upon an enormous giant grouper, at least 4-feet in
length. This large ancient grouper had successfully escaped poachers nets by
hightailing it at the first sight of humans, and he did the same with me. My
mouth was agape nonetheless. The plankton was in full bloom but the water
temperature had dipped to 61-degrees giving us better than normal plankton
visibility. Lots of sea life feeding seemingly oblivious to us. I finally saw
a school of surgeons, my buddies who have yellow fins like me and don’t mind
my joining the group. I finished the 46-minute final dive taking photos of the
beautiful gorgonian, sea tubes and little creatures who make diving in the Sea
of Cortez such an ever-changing adventure.
I left all my diving gear in Loreto. Pointless to bring it back as I have no
desire to dive anywhere else. I’m back for three months in July. Oh, humboldt
squid, I’ll return for you and the mating mobulas!