Socorro Trip Report February 2024

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After an overnight crossing, we awoke to clear skies, relatively calm seas and the alluring sight of the isolated rock pinnacle known as Roca Partida. Jutting up from surrounded depths of very deep water to roughly 140 feet above the surface, this remote site is a natural magnet for marine life and is justifiably famous for its resident populations of whitetip reef, silvertip, and Galapagos sharks, huge lobsters, and frequent appearances of pelagics like yellowfin tuna, wahoo, silky sharks and mantas, as well as seasonal visits by humpback whales. Early in the day, we had an auspicious report from the crew that whales are around, something that was confirmed many subsequent times as multiple humpbacks surfaced nearby throughout the day! Only three dives per day are permitted by park regulations, apparently as a safety concern, as we were now at the most distant point from help should there be any sort of dive emergency. The first dive became exciting the moment we started our descent, as a handful of bottlenose dolphins swam right up to greet us, lazily matching our snails-pace swimming efforts. They were clearly interested in us, circling back, weaving among the divers, sometimes going vertical in the water column, other times swimming belly-up, gazing at us as they cruised a few feet below. Eventually, they dropped below our maximum allowable depth, joining several dozen of their kin at depth before finally disappearing into the blue. Each of our three dives brought something different, including a rare daytime feeding frenzy of whitetip reef sharks on our second dive, just at the up-current end of the site. Towards the end of the dive, we could hear the distinctive singing of a humpback whale, which seemed to become louder as we swam away from the rock. Knowing that the odds of success were not great of encountering the singer out in the blue, we nonetheless spent the last ten minutes of the dive searching, but it never came into view. Still, it was a lovely experience to finish our dive with such a unique serenade. On the last dive, many of the resident whitetip reef sharks were snuggling together in several small cubbyholes on the vertical rock face, making for some nice photo ops. As we moved around to the opposite side of the rock, we came across several large lobsters out in the open, including one whose carapace appeared nearly the diameter of a scuba tank! Finally, towards the end of the dive, an all-black giant manta appeared out of the blue, slowly cruising past, giving everyone in our group at least one nice, close encounter. And, while there wasnt an opportunity to get in the water with them, we did enjoy another sighting of humpbacks on the surface during our panga (dinghy) ride back to the big boat.

Having steamed for most of the night after leaving Roca Partida, the following day found us at Revillagigedos largest island, Socorro. Our first dive here was at Cabo Tosca, where we explored a rocky ridge that juts out into very deep water. Poor visibility and significant surge made for challenging conditions, especially when we crossed over the narrow ridges, but there was a good variety of marine life, including both color phases of guineafowl puffers, rainbow runners, lobsters, and several small nudibranchs. Overall, though, it was rather disappointing, so everyone was happy when it was announced that wed be moving to the celebrated site called Cabo Pierce for subsequent dives that day. First, though, we had to check in with officialdom at the Navy station, something that is required for all visiting boats. That process was quickly accomplished, however, and soon, we were gearing up for the first of two dives at Cabo Pierce. Back-rolling into the water at the base of a steep cliff, we were almost immediately visited by a manta, then several bottlenose dolphins. None came quite within photo range, but it was an exciting start to the dive. Drifting in the moderate current, we passed the submerged bronze plaque that commemorates the archipelagos status as a world heritage site. Then, several mantas started circling a shallow point on the ridge, so most of our group parked themselves right there. In what seemed like no time, dwindling bottom time and gas dictated our ascent, but even the mid-water was exciting, as more dolphins appeared and entertained us as we ascended. Topping it off, first a silky and then a large tiger shark briefly checked us out at the surface as we passed our gear up to the panga driver! Due to the time required for checking in, we could only squeeze in one afternoon dive, but it was a good one once again at Cabo Pierce. Soon after entering we were eyed by a passing Galapagos shark, after which we worked our way down to a cleaning station at roughly 70 feet. Little was happening there, but as we slowly worked our way back up the ridge, a pair of very relaxed mantas appeared, effortlessly winging past us against a brisk current, only to circle around again and again, giving everyone a nice, relaxed look at them as well as some good photo ops. By this time most of us were getting low on time and air, so we reluctantly ascended into the blue.