Revillagigedos Archipelago (a.k.a. Soccorro Islands)

Trip Report - December 2005

Friday, December 9th, 2005

Friday was set aside as a travel day. I strongly recommend avoiding Dallas as a connecting stop. We had flight delays in both directions and poorly organized customs procedures which would have caused a missed connection if it wasn't delayed. Cabo airport shuttle cost $14US pp, cab cost about $70US to the Solmar Suites resort. We stayed at the Solmar Suites friday night, the room and food were as excellent as they were last year.

Saturday, December 10th, 2005

Divemaster Nelson met us at the poolside bar at 1pm local time. Be prepared with passport, c-card, DAN card and $15US for chamber contribution. Shuttle was provided by the Solmar to the boat. We departed Cabo San Lucas on the SolmarV around 4:00 PM.

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Sunday, December 11th, 2005

The crossing took almost 24 hours even in excellent weather. We arrived at San Benedicto Island at 3:00 PM. This left time for only one afternoon check out dive on Sunday. The highlight of this first dive was a friendly Silky shark under the boat.

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Monday, December 12th, 2005

The first full dive day began at a site called El Canon. We visited a Hammerhead cleaning station at this site but the few hammerheads quickly departed as we arrived. Because the sharks were not cooperative we moved around San Benedicto Island to a site called the Boiler. We completed three dives at this site and encountered numerous friendly Manta Rays, schools of various Jacks and an occasional White-tip shark. We departed San Benedicto Island just after our fourth dive.

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Tuesday, December 13th, 2005
and Wednesday, December 14th, 2005

Roca Partido is an isolated rock approximately 65 nautical miles west of San Benedicto island. The rock represents the last remains of the crater wall of a 4 million year old volcano. The dry portion of the rock extends about 40ft. above the surface. It measures approximately 100ft. long by 20ft. wide. Below the surface it continues down to the sea floor at approximately 200ft. deep. The wall is practically vertical all the way around. There is no protection from the seas so the captain will choose this destination based on the best available weather day. The weather was quite good so we were able to spend two entire days here. Mantas were present on every dive as well as schools of Jacks and many White-tip reef sharks.

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Thursday, December 15th, 2005

We arrived at Soccorro Island around breakfast time and waited offshore at the Navy base. Three Mexican regular navy arrived in a small dory and the officer came aboard and met with the captain, presumably to check our papers and passports. This process cut into the days dive time a bit, this allowed us time for only 3 dives at Soccorro. Our first dive was at a site called Cabo Pearce. Some Lobsters and a Diamond ray highlighted this uneventful first dive. The second dive at Punta Tosca was similar but also included an interesting Guitarfish (or Shovelnose ray, depending which book you believe). The final dive at Soccorro Island was one of my favorites. The site was named El Aquario and my macro lens was the perfect choice for the site. The very mellow silky shark under the boat allowed me to get some close up portraits. Abundant fish life kept me busy within sight of the anchor.

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Friday, December 16th, 2005

We went back to San Benedicto Island for our final day of diving. The Morning dives were at the El Canon site and the hammerheads were more cooperative this day. We did a total of three dives at El Canon and saw Hammerheads, Silky sharks, Silver-tip sharks and of course the ever present Manta Rays. For the final dive we returned to the Boiler. The seas were building making it a challenging dive with occasionally daunting surge. We dove cautiously and enjoyed colorful tropicals on this final dive.

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Saturday, December 17th, 2005

The crossing Back to Cabo Was a bit rougher but everyone managed it pretty well. We arrived back in port as we finished dinner and many took the opportunity to spend a Saturday night on the town.

Summary

Although the food was not as stellar as last year it was still well above average for a live aboard dive Vessel. Abundant Manta Rays and sharks made the diving a one of a kind experience. While no Whale Sharks appeared for us it is hard to be disappointed considering how much we did see.