Jan 2008 Revillagidedos Is./Socorro

teksimple · 8th December 2007, 08:26

Quote: (Originally Posted by edasque)

so you sit and wait in 30 feet of water ? (Don't mean to sound *****y, just trying to understand).

Sounds like you have not dived in the Eastern Pacific before. I guess if you wanted to "wait" in 30 feet of water you could. If you intend to wait for waving sea fans, soft coral, and Nemo the clownfish, you will be waiting till long after the boat leaves for Cabo. Reefs in the Revillagigedos consist of rocky, generally steep, sloping current-swept volcanic terrain, at the most only encrusted with the low relief, non-reef building corals typical of cooler waters. This is 7mm wet suit territory during a La Nina winter. The stronger the current, the more active the big animals such as sharks, sea lions, manta rays, marine mammals, etc. Since you generally don't want to swim for long against a strong current, waiting while the action swims buy is not a bad idea, and some dive sites will probably be great for that. Because the big animal action just off the reef is so distracting, divers often ignore the reef animals like octopus, moray eels, cup coral, garden eels, seahorses, etc. If none of that turns you on, you may very well be disappointed. Some divers (myself included) think this to be the most rewarding kind of diving to be found anywhere.

babar · 8th December 2007, 10:52

yeah, lots of current. pulling away from the islands, easy to get caught up in. The action surrounding the islands is not to be missed, tons of cleaning stations, various sharks, some in schools. The giant mantas are truely incredible. These are not my shots, but were taken by others while I was there.

DeepGeek · 8th December 2007, 18:09

The trip is based around three areas: the islands, which are like rocky reefs, the Boiler (where you are pretty much guaranteed to see Mantas close enough to touch) and Roca Partida which has an immense amount of fish, mantas and sharks (hammerheads, silkys, silvertips, reefs, occasionally tigers).

So it's big animal diving. You avoid going into the blue because the dive sites are so exposed and you could be a mile away before you realise it. So you always keep some of the wall in sight.

A lot of the open circuit guys sat and waited for mantas and sharks in 30-70ft of water. On CCR, I could go deeper for longer and not incur any deco, so I did. The hammerheads would come right up to you. Got to love the freedom of CCR!

Those photos are great! I didn't bring a camera last year, never did photography before but that trip prompted me to give it a try now.

8th December 2007, 08:26	#11 (permalink)
teksimple RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: MK 15.X Other Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Haifa Street, Baghdad Posts: 514	Re: Jan 2008 Revillagidedos Is./Socorro Quote: (Originally Posted by edasque) so you sit and wait in 30 feet of water ? (Don't mean to sound *****y, just trying to understand). Sounds like you have not dived in the Eastern Pacific before. I guess if you wanted to "wait" in 30 feet of water you could. If you intend to wait for waving sea fans, soft coral, and Nemo the clownfish, you will be waiting till long after the boat leaves for Cabo. Reefs in the Revillagigedos consist of rocky, generally steep, sloping current-swept volcanic terrain, at the most only encrusted with the low relief, non-reef building corals typical of cooler waters. This is 7mm wet suit territory during a La Nina winter. The stronger the current, the more active the big animals such as sharks, sea lions, manta rays, marine mammals, etc. Since you generally don't want to swim for long against a strong current, waiting while the action swims buy is not a bad idea, and some dive sites will probably be great for that. Because the big animal action just off the reef is so distracting, divers often ignore the reef animals like octopus, moray eels, cup coral, garden eels, seahorses, etc. If none of that turns you on, you may very well be disappointed. Some divers (myself included) think this to be the most rewarding kind of diving to be found anywhere. __________________ ---- _____________ "I don't know the percentage of the Internet that's valid, do you? Jesus, it's scary." - Hunter S. Thompson
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8th December 2007, 18:09	#13 (permalink)
DeepGeek RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Evolution Other Rebreather/s: Evolution Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 29	Re: Jan 2008 Revillagidedos Is./Socorro The trip is based around three areas: the islands, which are like rocky reefs, the Boiler (where you are pretty much guaranteed to see Mantas close enough to touch) and Roca Partida which has an immense amount of fish, mantas and sharks (hammerheads, silkys, silvertips, reefs, occasionally tigers). So it's big animal diving. You avoid going into the blue because the dive sites are so exposed and you could be a mile away before you realise it. So you always keep some of the wall in sight. A lot of the open circuit guys sat and waited for mantas and sharks in 30-70ft of water. On CCR, I could go deeper for longer and not incur any deco, so I did. The hammerheads would come right up to you. Got to love the freedom of CCR! Those photos are great! I didn't bring a camera last year, never did photography before but that trip prompted me to give it a try now.
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