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December 2019 Big Animals at SocorroMexico's Revillagigedo Islands Text and photos by Matthew Meier 21 X-RAY MAG : 95 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Socorro Go, go, go! At our skiff driver’s This was definitely one urging, we slipped into the of the more exhilarating surface intervals I have water as quickly and quietly as ever experienced and an possible, in hopes of snorkeling incredible bonus animal with the pod of false killer sighting on top of all of the whales that was hunting in manta rays, sharks, dolphins and huge schools of fish we the bay. Again and again, had already encountered we attempted to intersect while diving. Welcome to their path, but our timing or big-animal paradise! positioning resulted in views of The Revillagigedo Archipelago comprises four them in the fleeting distance or volcanic islands named not at all. Finally, I was fortunate San Benedicto, Clarion, to have a member of the pod Roca Partida and Socorro, which are islands’ isolated nature. Clarion is the situated southwest of Cabo San Lucas, most remote and as such is rarely visited, swim past just close enough to Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean. The located 125 miles (200km) past the next capture a few photos with my latter also lends its namesake to the farthest island of Roca Partida. San fisheye lens. At the end of our more commonly referred-to Socorro Benedicto and Socorro Islands are close exhausting excursion, everyone Islands, for those of us who struggle to to one another and located roughly 240 pronounce “Revillagigedo.” With the miles (386km) from Cabo San Lucas. on the dive boat had seen the exception of a Mexican Navy installation The area is famous with scuba divers false killer whales and a few on Socorro, which houses roughly 250 for the giant oceanic manta rays and lucky guests had the privilege military personnel and their families, the other large pelagics that frequent of swimming alongside a islands are uninhabited. the waters. The Revillagigedo Islands A liveaboard dive boat is the only were pronounced a UNESCO World Diver with chevron manta ray, swimming overhead, accompanied by remora (above); Solitary mother and her newborn. way to see this vast frontier due to the Heritage Site in July 2016, and the false killer whale swimming near the surface (top left); Nazca booby searching for fish (left); A mother humpback whale helps bring her calf to the surface for a breath of air (previous page) 22 X-RAY MAG : 95 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Panoramic aerial view of San Benedicto Island and the cinder cone created in the 1952 volcanic eruption Mexican government created North enjoy diver’s exhaust bubbles on San Benedicto Island America’s largest marine protected their bellies and will hover in the San Benedicto Island is closest in area and also declared it a national water column over each diver in proximity to Cabo San Lucas and is park in 2017. The 57,000 sq mi turn, giving guests the privilege of typically the first anchorage after an (150,000 sq km) of protected area experiencing a “manta sombrero.” overnight crossing. We arrived in time bans fishing, mining and tourism for a late afternoon checkout dive development within and on the islands themselves. Manta rays Giant oceanic manta rays have a wingspan of up to 23ft (7m), and those around the Socorro Islands are some of the largest I have ever seen. They exhibit two different color variations; the black manta is nearly all black on both sides and the chevron manta has a patterned mix of black, white and gray on top and T H E M Y T H mostly white underneath. I S R E A L Each individual has distinct spots on their underside and like a human’s fingerprints, the markings V O R T E X L I V E A B O A R D . C O M Black manta ray swimming overhead at can be used for identification. [email protected] Boiler (above); A "manta sombrero" selfie Regardless of their coloration, the attempt, with a chevron manta ray over- mantas around Socorro seem to head—my very first selfie underwater (right) 23 X-RAY MAG : 95 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Silvertip shark (above) and Galapagos shark (right) swim over the rocky reef at El Canon dive site; Solitary blackjack fish (bottom right) at Las Cuevas to knock off the rust and underwater perform buoyancy and gear checks. topography consisted Situated in a protected cove on of a horseshoe- the leeward side of the island, the site shaped, downward made for an easy first dive, swimming sloping rock structure, amongst large boulders and caverns as separated by a sand we searched for lobsters, white-tipped flat. Sitting at 90ft, the reef sharks, baby porcupine fish and main attraction is a stingrays buried in the sand. We saw cleaning station above a rocky pinnacle chasing jacks in the dim early several Socorro chub swimming amongst near the drop-off to deep water. Here, morning light of our first dive. the rocks, most of which are a lackluster you can duck behind the rocks and It was here that I also saw my gray in color, but the remaining ten to observe Galapagos and silvertip sharks first black manta ray. 15 percent of the population scream for swimming circular patterns around the I have swum with chevron attention with a vibrant yellow. formation while you wait for manta rays and reef manta rays on various to arrive. dives across the globe but had El Canon. The next morning, we dove at We had at least one manta show never been graced by the El Canon, located near the anchorage up on every dive and were treated presence of a black manta ray. on the backside of the island. The to hunting Pacific bottlenose dolphins This beautiful creature snuck Socorro chub, yellow variation 24 X-RAY MAG : 95 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Aerial view of the cinder cone and lava flow into the Pacific Ocean, from the 1952 volcanic eruption on San Benedicto Island (above); Octopus tucked into a rocky crevice (top left); Blue spiny lobster walk- ing across the rocky reef (left); Black manta ray swimming over the rocky reef at Boiler (below); Sunset silhouette of Sleeping Lady rock formation at the southern end of San Benedicto Island (right) left shoulder. The camera came Volcanic origins up out of reflex, and I did my best The distinct cinder cone shape of to stay close. But keeping up with San Benedicto Island was created a manta ray without the aid of from a supposedly dormant external propulsion is pure fantasy volcano that last erupted in and it easily disappeared into the 1952. On the eastern side of the distance. Happily, we were able cinder cone, a massive lava flow to see several more black manta exploded out of its base, creating rays over the course of our trip, and new land as it spread out into the I had numerous opportunities to ocean. The black lava rock stands improve on my first photo attempts. out in sharp contrast to the ash- Returning to the boat after colored cone and is an impressive each dive, we witnessed several sight. However, to reveal the truly silky sharks near the surface remarkable scope of the lava and discovered hundreds of fish flow, the elevated perspective hiding below, using the overhead of a drone is required. I captured which is formed by the outline of world-famous Boiler dive site on structure as a refuge. There several multi-stitch panoramic shots the island. She was pointed out to the other side of San Benedicto. were several schools of jacks of of the island and was as excited me while in silhouette at sunset, This enormous underwater rock differing species, all staying in about those aerial photos as I and since then, I have been pinnacle reaches nearly to the close-knit groups for protection was with any of the spectacular unable to gaze at the scene surface depending on the tides against the silky sharks, who were underwater wildlife shots. without seeing a lady in repose. and drops off sharply into the inky up on us as we were working our I was seemingly alone with my keen for a meal but equally At the southern end of the darkness below. way down the rocky reef to the thoughts, and the next, I had a curious to inspect the divers in anchorage is a rock structure Boiler. On our second full day Large schools of fish use the cleaning station. One minute, massive shadow gliding off my their midst as well. known as the Sleeping Lady, of diving, we transferred to the rock as a safe haven against 25 X-RAY MAG : 95 : 2020 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO travel Your Buddies Wish you Happy Holidays! We look forward to welcome you to a festive 2020! International Reservations: +599 717 5080 Call Toll Free US/Canada: 1-866-GO-BUDDY WWW.BUDDYDIVE.COM/SPECIALS Polarized school of blackjack fish with silky sharks (above); Yellowfin surgeonfish (left) trevally, razor here can be very friendly, often stalling surgeonfish and in front of a diver as if asking for a belly Pacific creolefish.
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