2000 Chapbook

Before Cocos Island, Costa Rica, the seamounts of the Sea of Cortez were the place for schooling hammerheads and sea lions. The sea lions are still there, although the hammerheads are harder to predict.... Some live-aboards now run to Isla Socorro to find hammerheads, although it's a long ride and there's no guarantee of sharks or good weather.... Manta rays are a little more reliable, and they have a reputation for letting divers approach them.... Water visibility and temperatures vary dramatically. In winter and spring there's a thermocline, with 70 to 80 degree water on the surface and 50 to 60 degree water below 30-40 feet.... Visibility is determined by the plankton blooms; while it's low (25­40 feet) in midsummer, it generally improves to 80 to 100 feet by late summer.... From December through May winds kick up the water, which makes diving difficult.... Wear a wetsuit for protection from jellyfish even if the water's warm.... Whale-watching season is from December through March.... The nice hotels and restaurants in Cabo have helped make it a long-weekend retreat for some California divers....

For full reviews of the following Mexican live-aboards and destinations, see:

The Sea of Cortez, By Sea, By Land, Undercurrent - January, 2001

Solmar V,Undercurrent- April 1998

Cabo San Lucas - Baja California, Undercurrent- April 1998

Cabo San Lucas

Baja Diving Services/Cabo San Lucas, August 1999, Chris Lane (CKLaner@aol.com), Chino Hills CA. Vis: 20-40 ft. Water: 62-80 degrees. Sunny. Restrictions: Usual, depth limits, escorted dive, surface time. Small 6-pack boat with Jorge, only takes 4-5 typically. Visibility poor to satisfactory but fish were incredible! 300 pound amber jacks, thousands of large snapper, sea horses, beautiful tropicals. $65/person for 2 tank dive with nice sandwich and sodas. At Cabo San Lucas marina, family run small operator. Safety oriented, cordial. We dove with some idiots but Jorge overcame the bad attitudes and the dives were terrific. Condos at Marina are nice: 2 bedroom unit for $165/day. (Baja divers: j&rbajadivers@cabotel.com.mx; Telephone +52 52-1143-3830)

Baja Diving Services/Club Hotel Cantamar, September 1999, Sherri Hasbrouck, Tucson, AZ. Vis: 30-90 ft. Water: 78-82 degrees. Hotel staff lovely, warm people. Dive staff knowledgeable, attentive, efficient, impose no restrictions on profiles. Primarily rocky bottom with few corals but many octopi. Long boat rides to the big critters but worth every minute for mantas and whale sharks. Variable, sometimes strong currents.

Land's End Divers/Pueblo Bonito, January 1999, Robert Lapeer (greerjoy@pilot.msu.edu), Southfield, MI. Vis: 40-70 ft. Water: 70-75 degrees. Sunny. Water: calm, surge. Restrictions: Allowed to dive computer, Divemaster lead by our limits. Cabo does not have a large number of sites, but the abundance of fish and critters more than made up for it. Land's End Divers' owners are locals who have spent their lives in the waters off Cabo. Carlos and Oliver made the diving on the point seem as diverse and expansive as any in the Caribbean. Great mix for land and water lovers. (Telephone 800-675-3483 (800-675-DIVE) or +52 11-43-2200; Fax +52 11-43-2200)

Cabo Pulmo

Pepe's Diving Centre, March 1999, Ken Paff, Detroit, MI. Vis: 30-50 ft. Water: 62-70 degrees. Sunny, windy. Calm, choppy. Restrictions: Drift dive with divemaster. Stay with group. You can dive the only coral reef in the Sea of Cortez without a live-aboard but Cabo Pulmo is a 2-hour drive south of La Paz on good highway till the washboard for several miles. Pepe's Diving Centre charges $65 for two drift dives from a panga. Great quantities and variety of reef fish, lots of schools, and on the shallow reef, plenty of coral. Secluded camping S. of Cabo Pulmo. Pepe is the unofficial mayor of Cabo Pulmo; his family owns Nancy's Restaurant & Bar (nice). See Undercurrentweb site for info on weather and water temp. (Telephone +52 987-2-3200; Fax +52 987-2-2800)

Guaymas

Club Med Sonora Bay, August 1999, Mario Mizrahi (mmizrahi@internet.com.mx), Mexico City, Mex. Vis: 18-20 ft.. Water: 85-88 degrees. Sunny. water: calm. Restrictions: 130 ft with computers. 35-40 minutes. Divemasters and instructors friendly; after seeing c -cards they asked if we needed company or to be left alone. No checkout dives. Took our own gear but you don't need to; they include equipment rentals in the $40 2 tank half day trip, and are the best brands. Rent a computer for $12. Best site is Seal Island where dive with sea lions, octopi, scorpionfish, puffer, green golden and spotted morays, stingrays. From the boat saw schools of dolphin following yellowfin tuna and one whale. Boat has a bathroom and serves appetizers between dives (French bread, cheese and ham). Great facilities and it's a pleasure to dive a couple of days during a stay. Best for beginners; weather (100F).(Telephone +52 62-26-0213; Fax +52 62-26-0040)

Sheraton (Carlos Ramos)/Club Med, June 1999, Steve Neal, Fairfield, TX. Vis: 15-25 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Restrictions: computer. Stayed at Club Med - superb! Dove with Carlos Ramos at the Sheraton, $3 cab ride away. Lots octopus. Eagle ray. Several large lobster with full egg sacs. Typical Pacific/Mexico diving. Surge tolerable. Diving on rock mounts in sight of shore, dives 15-20 min. by boat from Sheraton. Carlos is a good guy, knowledgeable. Saw porcupine fish, trumpets, schools of jacks and tangs. $65 for 2 tanks, no charge for rental equipment.

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo

Carlos Scuba/Ixtapa Palace, July 1999, Craig (craigt@mill.net), Oceanside, CA. Vis: 60-75 ft. Water: 65-70 degrees. Sunny, windy, rainy, Restrictions: 100' max depth. Not a dive destination. Zihuatanejo is a poor town. Carlos Scuba on remote beach. Quite a few tropical fish. Fair hard corals. A few larger fish. Eels, octopus, rockfish, tuna. Dive just OK, rough ride to get there. DM was great. Destination was OK. Very nice if you are into Miami or Cancun! I am not.

La Paz

Baja Expeditions/Rio Rita/Los Arcos Hotel, September 1998, R. Moore, Vista, CA. Vis: 30-75 ft. Water 83-85 degrees. Great crew on Rio Rita, long boat rides 2-3 hours. Good simple food onboard. Hammerheads on 5 of 6 dives at El Bajo. Snorkeled with 20 ft. whale shark. (Telephone 800-843-6967 or 619-581-3311; Fax 619-581-6542)

Loreto

Aqua Sports de Loreto/Loreto Eden, July 1999, Marcie & Wayne Bartley, Pueblo, CO. Vis: 20-80 ft. Water: 75-85 degrees. Restrictions: max depth and 500 psi. Wonderful resort, all inclusive, lots to do. Good value! Only true divers for days; Carlos the divemaster was first class; knowledgeable, pleasant. Took us 15 miles out in Sea of Cortez. Five hour, two tank trips. Safety oriented! Best diving we have seen in Sea of Cortez. Even thermoclines were fun. Lots of octopus; 15 free-swimming morays on one dive.

Puerto Vallarta

Chico's Dive Shop, November 1998, David Schnitzer, Dallas, TX. Divemasters were okay, except they did not pay any care when I gave the signal for low on air. I had to surface with my buddy. The divemaster had no idea. Diving was uneventful at best. Not a lot of sea life.