Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro

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Nautilus Explorer, Jan, 2014, by Michael J. Millet, CA, US ( Top Contributor 96 reports with 61 Helpful votes). Report 7523 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
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Comments	This was my 7th trip to the Socorro Islands aboard the Nautilus Explorer. Due to exercises by the Mexican Navy (perhaps a few chin-ups), we were unable to dive at Socorro Island. A bit of a disappointment since Cabo Pearce is a very nice dive site. Nevertheless, we had 5 good days of diving with 2 days at San Benedicto and 3 days at Roca Partida. We encountered the usual low visibility at the Canyon dive site at SB although the hammerhead sharks were at the cleaning station at about 90'-100'. Moving over to the Boiler, we had some nice dives with mantas although the viz was a bit low for this dive site. This dive site has a western exposure so it can encounter some swells, which made it a bit challenging getting back on the boat after a dive. It's probably safer just to get picked up by the rubber skiff. After a day at SB, we headed to Roca Partida where we spent 3 days. The weather was quite cooperative at this sea mount in the open ocean with fairly flat water until the 3rd day when we encountered a bit of chop. At RP, we had encounters with silky, white-tip, Galapagos, hammerhead and silver-tip sharks. The manta rays also were present for the 2nd year in a row after a 2-3 year absence. On this trip, the yellowfin tuna were quite numerous with many encounters near the surface. It was just a bit early for the humpback whales. We did not encounter any mother whales with calves so the whales that we did see at the surface would dive when approached by the skiff. Returning to San Benedicto Island for our 4 last dives, we found the visibility a bit better and encountered mantas on all dives with about 6-7 mantas on one dive. Very nice. As usual, the Nautilus Explorer provided first-class service with a friendly, helpful crew. The trip had 25 divers but we separated into 2 dive groups so neither the dive deck nor the dive sites were crowded. Joel and Juan took great care of us underwater. The food is very plentiful and quite savory. An excellent indicator of a good live-aboard operation is its repeat business. This was my 7th trip to these islands on the NE, and I have booked my 8th trip for January, 2015.
Websites	Nautilus Explorer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean; Galapagos, Socorro, Fiji, Solomons, GBR, Vanuatu, PNG, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Yap, Kosrae
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	73-75°F / 23-24°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	25-100 Ft/ 8-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco; no blue-water diving; topography must be visible
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	> 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The Revillagigedo Archipelago is a Mecca for large pelagics such as manta rays and several species of sharks. Definitely a wide-angle playground. The boat facilities can be improved with a larger battery charging station and a bit larger camera table.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in Mexico (Western)/Socorro

Nautilus Explorer, Jan, 2014,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro