Socorro Island Giant Mantas Guadalupe Island Great White Sharks Bahía De Los Ángeles Whale Sharks Baja, Mexico Welcome Aboard

Home , Guadalupe Island, Socorro Island

Socorro Island Giant Mantas Guadalupe Island Great White Sharks Bahía de los Ángeles Whale Sharks Baja, Mexico welcome aboard

For more than 25 years, Nautilus Liveaboards has upheld a commitment to excellence in diving, safety, and guest experience. We never stop trying harder. When you sign up for one of our adventures, you are assured of not just some of the best big animal diving in the world, but also the highest level of professionalism, comfort and service.

Cover Left: ©Flavio Marcos Martins ©Serene Giles Cover Centre: ©Todd Winner The friendliest Giant Mantas in the world plus humpback whales, dolphins & 10 species of sharks

©Justin Whittal These are the Most Amazing Giant Mantas in the World USA You can see mantas in many places around the world. But nowhere else boasts Los Angeles a population of giant mantas that literally seek out interaction with divers and snorkellers. The behaviour these giant mantas exhibit is almost inexplicable. These gentle giants with a wingspan up to 20 feet consistently approach divers for intimate eye-to-eye encounters. If you are able to be calm and still in the water, you are almost sure to experience what we call “manta love.” While MEXICO mantas are the reason to voyage out to Socorro, there are lots of other animals Cabo to see, including schooling hammerheads and silky sharks, plus 8 other species of sharks, bottlenose dolphins that consistently hang out with divers at certain dive sites, large schools of pelagic fsh, and, in season, humpback whales. Socorro Mexico City

©Annie Crawley ©Ali Hermosillo ©Craig Dietrich “I recently returned from a 9 day trip to the Revillagigedo Islands (ed. Socorro Island), on the Nautilus Explorer, and all I can say is Wow! I chose this destination because my main objective was to dive with the Giant Pacifc Mantas. These islands seemed to be the place to not only see them, but to have very close encounters with them. They delivered. The frst island we went to was San Benedicto. We did a check out dive and saw a couple of mantas from a distance. We then moved to El Boiler, and it was on. At least 6 mantas, and they would come so close you could touch them if you wanted to. They would swim by and look you in the eyes. We did 3 dives here and it was incredible. We then moved to Roca Partida. This place not only delivered mantas, it also had schooling hammerheads, Galapagos sharks, white tips, silver tip sharks, yellowfn tuna, [and] dolphins. It was a small rock in the middle of nowhere that was teaming with marine life. We dove here for 2 days and did not want to leave. It was then onto Socorro Island. We had a storm that was developing at this time and it made this day a challenge since we tried to dive in a protected shallow cove. The storm really was kicking up the bottom and the viz was greatly compromised. We did see some more mantas and a few sharks. One group had a cool encounter with some dolphins. Saw some big yellowfn tuna here... That night, we swam with Silky sharks off the back of the boat. Intense experience. We then had to start steaming back early. We stopped back at San Benedicto and had one more encounter with the mantas. That dive was something very special. The mantas seemed to be even more personable on this dive than on any previous… The Nautilus Explorer delivered. Everyone who worked on this trip made sure you were taken care of. Genuinely nice people who clearly enjoy what they do. Food was great and accommodations were very comfortable. I would highly recommend ©Mikael Gottschlich ©Oscar Ortiz ©Caio Lima Bittar this trip, and company. I found this diving to be challenging due to the depths and currents you deal with. I am new to blue water diving and having to use a thicker wetsuit made this even more of a challenge. Got the hang of it after a few dives, but it still was not easy. I have a couple hundred dives and would not recommend this trip to any new divers. Defnitely need to be comfortable in all kinds of currents and have excellent buoyancy control. The currents along the Boiler pulls you up and down as much as 11 feet. Drives your computer crazy. To see the hammerheads you really have to go deep. Really have watch your depth or can be really deep before you know it. Anyways, challenging, but worth every second of it. Would do it again if given the chance.” –Todd B., March 2016

©Sten Johansson The best White Shark diving on the planet.

©Geri Murphy The Best Great White Shark Diving on the Planet a Surface Cage Nautilus ExplorEr Nautilus bEllE amiE Nautilus uNdEr sEa USA b Submersible Cage Great White Shark encounters at Guadalupe Island are nothing short of San Diego C Wrangling Platform C spectacular. It’s simply the best destination in the world for calm, clear Ensenada Please note these diagrams are C not to scale, and are meant to C water and a consistently high probability of multiple shark encounters per demonstrate a general sense of the cages, their placement and their C C day. The sheer number of sharks in the bay that we dive in is amazing. On Guadalupe depth in the water. a many dives, we see two or three great whites, although in July and August a C a a we have seen up to 12 sharks on one dive! Guadalupe is home to at least MEXICO a 235 individually identifed animals and we are still counting. b b b b b Even though the voyage is relatively short, Guadalupe Island feels like b b you are at the edge of the earth, getting to experience something that Mexico City very few people do. The coast of Guadalupe is 25 miles of rocky cliffs, but above this is dense forest, giving it the feel of an exotic, South Pacifc destination. The world might see sharks as man-eating predators, but we feel very lucky to get to descend into the world of the Great White and meet them as they truly are.

“The SHARKS! WOW! After a few slow hours in the morning the frst two days, the remaining dive time was non-stop action with sometimes as many as 4 sharks circling the cages and appearing from the blue from all angles. This trip is both an adrenaline rush and an experience of extreme beauty and awe.” –Robert K., August 2017

What makes Guadalupe Island the best place on the planet to see Great White Sharks is not just the sheer number of animals but also the viewing conditions. While visibility does occasionally deteriorate, we usually enjoy 100–125 foot visibility. Sometimes 150 feet. The sea conditions in the bay are almost always calm and protected from swell. Water temperatures are temperate, and the surface weather is beautiful, and very similar to San

Diego and southern California. ©Dan Orr *cages in this photo are from a previous year & the design is now different. ©Dan Orr ©Dan Orr ©Dorothee Belmonte

There is no “best” time to visit Guadalupe! It is peak season from mid July to We teach and ask for responsible shark interactions that do not impact November. You will see a lot more sharks from mid July to mid September, or change the behavior of these magnifcent animals. We do not use oil, “Did three cage dives a day over three days. Saw mostly males. The “big momma” giant female sharks start showing up chum or blood. Our conservation efforts also continue at night when we at least two sharks per dive, and up to fve sharks. in September, and are in the area through November. We say the only kick back in the salon and identify who we spent the day with, as these Absolutely amazing encounters. The ship and question is “when should I make my frst trip to Guadalupe?” Divers can amazing animals all have unique personalities and behaviors. Among our the crew were awesome. Food was over the top. expect at least 3 submersible dives a day, and will be accompanied by a favorites are Deep Blue, the largest Great White on record, and Bite Face, Seemed as though they were trying to fatten us dive master. All guests will have virtually unlimited dive time in our surface who tends to pick fghts he can’t win against other sharks. If you identify a up for the sharks!” cages. This is a unique opportunity for non-divers to experience some of Great White Shark who is not yet catalogued, the naming rights are yours. —Seamonkey Bob, TripAdvisor, September 2017 the hottest and most interesting diving on the planet. All new destination! USA These have to be the friendliest San Diego Experience the Sea of Cortés like never before. whale sharks anywhere! Ensenada The perfect pre-trip extension to a Guadalupe White Shark Adventure. Season: August to the third week of October. Bahía de los Ángeles For more than a decade, we had heard crazy stories about the whale sharks of MEXICO Bahía de los Ángeles, a quiet bay tucked into Baja California half-way up the Sea of Cortés. We heard that hundreds of whale sharks migrate to this one particular bay every summer. Most amazing of all, we heard that these whale sharks actually interact with pangas (boats) and snorkellers. For years we have Mexico City had a park permit to operate in the UNESCO world heritage site but we were never able to fnd the time to actually explore the area.

That all changed in the summer of 2017 when Captain Mike spent time exploring Bahía de los Ángeles, and came back with a huge smile and stories about the loco whale sharks that had circled his panga, about the sea lion colonies with up to 1,200 animals, about being the only boat on the water in the whole area, and about some great Sea of Cortés diving that included loads of Gorgonian and Black coral and even turtles.

Our naturalist made the Sonoran desert come alive There are more than 1200 sea lions in just one of the colonies This is a new diving destination. Your 5 night, 6 day adventure starts in San Diego or Tijuana, and includes an overnight stay in Ensenada before a leisurely guided tour southbound with an expert naturalist through wine valleys, travelling the historic Highway 1 along the Pacifc Coast, and then cutting through the mountains and into the Sonoran desert. The drive alone is worth the experience, and offers a taste of “authentic Baja.”

Package includes: a 4 night stay in the best hotel in Bahía de los Ángeles, right on the beach, 3 days of morning diving and afternoon snorkelling with either whale sharks or sea lions (or both!), all meals and non-alcoholic beverages in Bahía de los Ángeles, and the drive back to Ensenada via “the Great Circle route,” cutting through another mountain range, and then a guided tour up the Sea of Cortés with lunch in San Felipe, the hospitality suite in Ensenada, and evening boarding of a Nautilus Liveaboard, and departure for Guadalupe Island.

Sea lion encounters are unforgettable! ©Allison Vitsky 80 - 200+ whale sharks reside in the bay every summer

September and October are the peak months to visit The servers in Bahía de los A friendly Whale Shark swam up to our panga to say hello as soon as we arrived. Ángeles are very attentive!

©Michael Lever ©Michael Lever Our Values

Safety Excellence Happy Crew, Happy Ship

We are among the only ISM safety-certifed dive We never stop striving for excellence in diving A happy crew makes for a happy ship, and at boats in the world, which is the same certifcation and guest experience, and this is evident in Nautilus, this extends beyond our boats. Our as the largest ocean going cruise ships. Our everything we do, from carefully selecting the entire staff, from Vancouver to Mexico, are operations are process-driven with constant best dive sites and animal encounters, to offering passionate about the ocean and their role in real-time data links to shoreside managers, tight world-class luxury liveaboard accommodations sharing the experience with our guests. Being checklists and procedures, strict safety testing, and service. We believe that you do not have to perfectionists in safety and excellence doesn’t highly certifed Captains, mates and crew, and sacrifce comfort or lower your expectations in mean we have to give up having fun and loving rigorous internal and external audits. This benefts order to experience some of the best big animal what we do! our guests with the best guarantee of a safe and diving in the world. From the bottom of our keels worry-free liveaboard vacation. to the tips of our tacos, our goal is to provide you with an unforgettable experience.

©Noel Hendrickson ©Scott Davis ©Trux Terkla Our Service

We are very proud of our excellent guest service onboard, which has been honed through over 25 years of liveaboard diving experience to ensure that all our guests have the trip of their lives.

“I honestly don’t have words enough to describe my experience. The crew, the ship, the island...and of course the sharks, were more than what I imagined. I don’t ©Vivian Yu ©Serene Giles earn that much money, but this was my lifetime dream, so I worked day and night on 2 jobs for a long time to pay for this trip, and it was worth every second that I spent working for it. My satisfaction was the greatest ever.” –Luca A., August 2017

“The trip was beyond everything that I could imagine. I felt as though I was treated like royalty from the moment ©Annie Crawley I stepped onboard. The crew were very helpful and were passionate and very knowledgeable about the sharks. The dives were breathtaking. The sharks themselves were beautiful yet powerful. The sharks were in sight EVERY time I went in the cage. This was one of the best experiences of my life, if not the best.” –Joey S., July 2017

“I have never, in all my years of liveaboarding, had such luxurious accomodation...a king-sized bed...with mega windows instead of a clouded over porthole. My jaw dropped, and I was grateful for the carpet which allowed a soft landing….the crew, meals, dive deck were top of the line. So in a word, you have spoiled me and I cannot thank you enough.” –Chester M., September 2017 ©Hendrik Wuyts ©Scott Davis ©Scott Davis ©Hendrik Wuyts “We just returned from a week of scuba diving on the Nautilus Explorer with a fantastic crew. The diving was phenomenal. I am a beginner diver but found that I was still able to keep up with all the higher level divers. The dive masters were so helpful and encouraging….The food was fabulous, service was top-notch and the crew went above and beyond to make our trip wonderful. I can’t say enough about this amazing live aboard diving experience”. –Foreverirish12, TripAdvisor, January 2017

©Adil Schindler ©Adil Schindler

©Scott Davis ©Adil Schindler ©Adil Schindler ©Adil Schindler Our Crew

Our ships are crewed by a wonderful team of “What really made the trip unforgettable was the crew. extremely hard-working men and women from Each and every one of them did everything to make around the world who love the ocean just as much our trip as perfect as it could be. The Captain was very approachable, fexible, and friendly, and frequently stopped as you do. We are very proud of our staff and crew, by to ask if everything was all right, and offered a 24/7 and remain constantly impressed by everyone’s open door if we needed something (very different from my dedication to our guests, and how hard everyone last diving safari). We talked about it amongst our group works to maintain the highest possible standards. and everybody said the same: The crew made our trip.” —Isabelle G., 2016

©Adil Schindler ©Scott Davis ©Adil Schindler “Traveled to the Revillagigedos Archipelago (AKA Socorro Island) in May with my daughter aboard the Nautilus Explorer. We couldn’t have asked for a better dive experience. First, the trip over was great (compared to our Guadalupe crossing a few years back). Weather and seas, Our Vessels calm, no issues. Diving at San Benedicto and Socorro were (mostly) outstanding. However, Roca Partida was beyond phenomenal. Tons of sharks (5 different types), giant Mantas, Come aboard and experience the Nautilus dolphins, schooling hammerheads, turtles, I could go on and on. The staff of the Nautilus difference. None of our competitors come Explorer were fantastic. The dive masters all knew their stuff and were exceptional. One of close to the combination of thoughtful and our highlights was the “Silky Snorkel” at night anchored at Socorro. 15-20 sharks, fying fsh all over the place, crazy night! Absolutely recommend this dive for everyone’s bucket list…” intelligent ship design, intended to maximize –Dave M., July 2017 guest experience onboard, luxury, and ISM certifed safety management systems that are standard onboard all of our vessels.

Our ships feature heavy, strong, steel hulls with built-in stability systems to give the smoothest ride on ocean crossings. The fuel effcient hulls, with high effciency generators, also minimize our carbon footprint, and eliminate any hydrocarbon pollution in the water.

Our proactive maintenance schedules, and timely life cycle overhaul and component replacement is an extension of the company founder’s extensive experience in commercial aviation, and is backed up by a senior manager for technical and engineering support. Our ships are supported by a 10 person shoreside team with fully stocked warehouses and offces in Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas.

We are proud to be the frst dive boat company in the world offering V11 VSAT satellite communication, providing up to 512kbps internet at sea.

©Noel Hendrickson ©Lowell O’Rourke Nautilus Explorer

Strong & Safe

Our fagship, the Explorer, is a strong, hardworking boat with beautiful, classic lines that we custom built in a Vancouver, Canada, shipyard. She was the frst SOLAS certifed dive boat in the world, which means that she is an incredibly safe ship, ready to handle whatever Mother Ocean throws at her.

Special Feature

Beautiful large windows, with million-dollar views in the dining room and lounge.

• 116’ x 27’ custom-designed, ocean-going dive boat • Launched in 2000 by Sylte Shipyards in Canada • Guests: 25 • Staterooms: 13 • Dive skiffs: 2 • Cummins power (re-engined 2017)

Luxury at Sea Special Feature “We had a great time on the Belle Amie! Huge beautiful boat with a large living room, luxury bedding, and private The Belle Amie is a very large liveaboard at 147ft, Beautiful full-length sun deck. bathrooms. Large dive deck. Upper deck with lounge and feels like a foating 5-star boutique hotel. chairs and a hot tub. That hot tub is amazing after you’re cold from diving! The crew is amazing. Anything you Specifcations need they are happy to help with. Breakfast made to order and ready when you get out of the water. Hot beverages • 147’ x 33’ ocean-going dive boat available after every dive. Excellent food and great variety, • Joined Nautilus in 2015, launched by we even had steaks one night, cooked to your liking! Bollinger Shipyards in the USA Unlimited hot water for showering. Hot showers on the dive deck as well. Fully set up for camera gear with dunk • Guests 30 - 32 tanks and charging stations on dive deck. I cannot say • Staterooms: 17 enough about how awesome this trip was.” —Andrea S., August 2017 • Dive Skiffs: 3 • Caterpillar power

Renovated & Ready

The Under Sea is a beautiful ship, full of character and history. Formerly the Undersea Hunter, this famous little ship is well known for 26 years of service to Cocos Island with the Undersea Hunter Group of Costa Rica, as well as starring in many IMAX flms and other movies. The newest addition to Nautilus Liveaboards has undergone 2 massive refts, including stretching the hull by 20 feet, repowering, a new bow, the construction of a new full-width superstructure, and the addition of our requisite hot tub, al fresco top deck lounge and stability system. She is a beauty!

Special Feature

Specifcations

• 105’ x 24’ ocean-proven dive boat • Lengthened and rebuilt in 2017 at Progreso Shipyards in Mexico • Guests: 19 • Staterooms: 9 • Dive Skiffs: 2 • Caterpillar & Cummins power

Nautilus Nautilus Onboard Citizen Guests Liveaboards Fundraising Science Trips

Divers are often surprised that we invented, designed and manufacture the Nautilus LifeLine and the Marine Rescue GPS. The shocking reality is that in the USA alone, someone dies on the water every 17 hours without being able to call for help. Just in the USA! Imagine what that number is worldwide. Our ambition has always been to save lives by helping as many divers as possible take safety into their own hands. To date, 37 divers have told us that the LifeLine saved their lives. $70,000USD+/year Every diver – every person on the water – should have a Nautilus GPS.

Nautilus’ partners at Pro Dive International are renowned for excellent quality in providing frst- class diving. Pro Dive operates tours with Bull Sharks, Whale Sharks & Sailfsh, as well as in cenotes, Guadalupe Socorro Post Grad Students & NGO & Manta Trust and at the famous wrecks & walls of Cozumel. They are also the onsite operator for luxury resorts Conservation Fund Conservation Fund Scientists Onboard Aquarium Support along the Mayan Riviera.

Nautilus Liveaboards is proud to be a founding member of Global Shark Diving. GSD is an Dr. Mauricio Nicole Naisby Local Scientists Manta ID Pacifc Manta Local Scientists association of the best, and most responsible shark diving operators in the world. When you Hoyos Marine CSI Software Research Group book with Nautilus, you are automatically eligible for a variety of special offers & discounts with all our members. globalsharkdiving.org

We actively support and promote Giant “Nautilus understands and appreciates the importance of a healthy and balanced marine ecosystem. Their Manta and Great White Shark identifcation conservation ethic is clearly demonstrated on each and every cruise. They not only provide their guests with a frst class experience but they provide opportunities to see and understand the critical role of the marine world’s and education on all trips, as well as provide apex predator. These experiences leave each guest with a profound sense that they have seen and experienced proactive support of public domain shark & something unique and life changing. They will never look at the world’s oceans the same way again.” manta identifcation databases. —Dan Orr, October 2017 Another beautiful day at Roca Partida