Sea of Cortez & Socorro Islands

Don Jose, November, 1994. "Compared to Aggressors, this was more expensive with fewer amenities. Dive sites few and far between; no air­conditioning; no warm towels or snacks after dives; fattening meals; not set up well for diving. Equipment lockers were upstairs and tanks were around boat railing downstairs. You couldn't sit to put on your tank (crew was helpful in helping you put on scuba gear). No area for photographers to keep or assemble cameras (no dry table). Divemasters rarely got in water. No film developing on board for slides. . . . Divemaster allowed divers to enter the water in extremely fast current that would have been predictable had he communicated tide information. On a positive note: men driving divers to and from dive sites on the pangas were attentive and helpful. The boat was unique and authentic. The crew, excluding the captain (he never said a word to anyone) were friendly. The diving with sea lions was great. We did see hammerhead sharks as promised, which was exciting." Lori Hladik, Lakewood, CO

SV Copper Sky, November, 1994. Cheaper than the deluxe boats going to Socorro, so accommodations not as good. Boat in need of better organization - much lost time. Water 80 degrees." Tom Bolt, TX

Solmar V, September, 1994. "Sea of Cortez diving depends on whether you get lucky and see Senor Big - diving is good, but we didn't get lucky (no hammerheads, hammerheads) but still enjoyed it. First trip on a live-aboard, so take my comments with a grain of salt. . . . Cabin small but adequate; ours had air conditioning and bathroom. Faint diesel fumes, but not too bad. Boat is well configured for diving, with large camera table and good rear platform (though most diving done by tender). Good choice for first-time live-aboard users, because they have four day trips (ideal of you're curious about live-aboards, but nervous about the claustrophobia of a week trip). Crew was terrific. Dove where we wanted. Accommodated special requests (we had a non meat­eater with us). Thermoclines severe; bring your wet suit. . . . Diving in Cabo is weak; visibility is poor with strong current and few fish. Only quality diving is Cabo Pulmo (only reef in area) and sea mounts (Gordo Banks, etc.). Don't bother diving from land based operation; while service was good, the only real value in it is testing equipment before going on the Solmar. . . . For people living on the east coat travel takes forever; not sure that diving is sufficiently better than the Caribbean to merit the trip." PAP, New York, NY

Solmar V, Amigo del Mar, September, 1994. "First­class luxury dive boat. Food was poor with lots of heavy fried stuff and no variety or choice. The Sea of Cortez is mostly dead due to Mexican overfishing of sharks and mantas. The longer trip to Socorro Island may be worth it,but the weather is unstable for most of the year. Pulmar Reef and region between Cabo and La Paz are not worth it. Big manta slaughter at Soco4ro Island by local fishermen has been reported. Logistics by Solmar hotel staff less than competent." Ed Sklar, Santa Fe, NM

Solmar V, November, 1994. "Diving at The Boiler was the greatest. Dove with giant mantas every dive. The Solmar V is a great live-aboard. Great crew. Trip to Socorro Island is one of the better diving experiences one may get on this planet. Saw sharks on almost every dive. Dove with dolphins every day. Great trip. York Divers, York PA

Solmar V, 1995. "Only restrictions were those imposed by Mexican government - no knives, gloves or lights. Wished we had known there was no night diving in advance - we would not have lugged all those batteries. Diving was limited only by computers (which the divemaster periodically checked) and your desire to dive. Howard made six dives a day, I typically made four. Good stuff -mantas, mantas, mantas. These incredible creatures were hanging out with us on almost every dive. They stayed shallow allowing for maximum time. We never say any other divers in the water. All wildlife encounters were on the creature's own terms - no baiting or artificially bringing the marine life to the divers. . . . The boat is beautiful. Small cabins with private showers and heads. Each cabin had TV/VCR combo. Watched tapes diving 22 hour crossing to islands. VCRs also in main salon for viewing of video tape shot during the day. Thorough dive briefings describing site and what we might encounter. It was wonderful to be treated like experienced diver -­ not like a child. Connie and Howard Siebenrock, Westminster, CO

Solmar V, July, 1995. Seaworthy ship with spacious salon. Cabins compact but adequate. Salon and cabins beautifully appointed in teak and brass. TV/VCR, head/shower in each cabin. Spacious dive deck with plenty of room for gear. No fill whips; gear must be removed and tanks taken to central fill station that blocked one side of camera table. . . . Large camera table could only be used by four people at a time due to obstructions (coolers, fill station, gear lockers). E-6 processing and air blow-off guns not available. Plenty of fresh water for on-deck, after-dive rinses of gear and divers. Plenty of good food and drink. Beer and wine included. Helpful, courteous crew. Linens changed twice a week, fresh beach towels on deck daily. Not much room for sunbathing. Plenty of shade. . . . Cabo Pulmo outer reef was advanced drift diving (2-3 kt.) from Zodiacs along rock ledges starting at 40 feet and filled with crevices that ran to the sand at 75 feet. Occasional clumps of elegant coral and gorgonians but myriads of fish. Wrasses, hamlets, angels and parrots, Schools of guinea-fowl puffers, goatfish, purcupinefish and grunts. Off the reef amberjack, skipjack and bigeye swam with occasional squadrons of mobula and large grouper. Water, 75­80 degrees. 40­100 vis. . . . Cabo Pulmo inner reef presented fields of elegant coral clusters interspersed with Moorish idols and schools of juvenile reef fishes. The water was cloudy, at times, with fish fry. An inshore wreck was too much work to dive, the surge (15 feet in each direction) was so bad. . . . El Bajo seamount was drift diving in open water. Divers first descended to the pinnacle that was covered with starfish, urchins and eels. Eighteen morays were seen in one crevice. After a short tour, divers swam off the mount to drift in the current amongst the fishes. Tens of thousands of fish. Schools of Spanish mackerel, skipjack, yellowtail and red snapper. As we drifted further from the mount, the schooling fish would thin out only to be replaced by the predators; wahoo, tuna, sailfish and, once, a school of a dozen hammerheads. Return to the mother ship was by Zodiac. Los Islotes was a barren rock with a resident sea lion colony. The sea lions were a blast to dive with and photograph. Night dives yielded Mexican dancers, sticky sea cucumbers, anemones and jeweled eels. Las Animas displayed the greatest variety of corals, gorgonians, fish, invertebrates and macro stuff. Nudibranchs and sea slugs were found in a dozen varieties. Octopi were common during the day. The rocks were covered in gorgonians and cup corals. Fish congregated in schools: butterflies, barracuda, hawkfish, king angel and tang to name a few. Guitarfish, bullseye rays and eels littered the bottom and filled the crevasses. Many photo opportunities. Two days were spent at Las Amimas. We stopped again at the seamount and Cabo Pulmo on the return trip. The last night the crew had a barbecue for us and we slept on the boat in port to wait for our flights home. . . . the boat and the crew were great and the diving was spectacular. The only thing not worth the time is drifting to see the pelagics. They just aren't there in great enough numbers anymore." Rob Kronenbitter, Doylestown, PA

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