The Giant Spindle shell is white and is one of the longest of its genus measuring up to 10 inches with distinct ribbing in the spiral.
Dive Reports
Diving and Snorkeling in San Carlos
May 152012
May 082012
This week’s presentation is another specie in the Triton, or Tonnoidea, family referenced as the Common Hairy Triton.
May 012012
The fascinating specie Pleuroploca princeps, otherwise known as the Horse Conch, Chile conch and orange tulip conch. This shell is one of the biggest and most aggressive of the Panamic conch and, as can be seen, has a beautiful orange to red exterior.
Apr 242012
This week’s article is about two Sand Dollars. The sand dollar is related to the sea urchins and sea stars
Apr 112012
This shell, the Melonga patula, or chocolate conch, often has horns, or spikes on the upper part of the shell, though some do not. This critter is a second cousin to the Queen conch in that it uses a spike-like claw for mobility and securing dinner .
Apr 032012
The Ficus Ventricosa, aka the Fig Shell. This beautiful specimen, from the Ficidae Family, still a member of the gastropod family, is an extremely paper-thin shelled critter that is difficult to find intact.
Mar 132012
Pacific Coast Spiny Oyster. These little puppies can be found in depths of 5-40 meters or 15-120 feet.
Mar 062012
The featured shell this week is the Hexaplex nigritas, aka the Black Murex. It is quite beautiful specimens and easily obtainable for shell enthusiasts.
Feb 282012
The False Triton. Our encounters have been in depths of 60 to 80 feet
Feb 142012
San Pedro Island. Undoubtedly the primary reason people visit this location is to interact with the playful colonies of resident California sea lions.
Feb 082012
Consider continuing education as part of your dive itinerary. While the Open Water Course provides the basic skills, knowledge and minimum experience needed to become a competent diver, it does not prepare you for the many varied conditions and situations that exist in the “real world” of diving..
Jan 242012
Due to circumstances above the surface, this week’s report is limited to visibility and temperature. In other words, we ran out of time but no matter as things are pretty much unchanged from last week. Temperatures at the island are 64 F on the surface, dropping to 60 F at depth and visibility is 40 [read more ...]
Jan 172012
Zorro’s Cove: Roughjawed frogfish, Green morays, Sun stars and docile Balloonfish along with numerous small iridescent Bluebanded gobies
Jan 102012
San Carlos is surrounded by an amazingly large number of dive sites. Names like La Cueva and Window Rock bring to mind images of deep canyons combined with soaring pinnacles and magnificent underwater arches.
Jan 032012
Dropping to over 80 feet, it forms a wall which hosts large numbers of schooling fish. Yellowtail Surgeonfish, Pacific Creolefish, Cortez and King Angelfish mingle with pairs of Butterflyfish, Stone Scorpionfish, big Ballonfish and Leopard Grouper.
Dec 272011
Swimming up on the first island, we immediately encounter an octopus peeking out from his hidey hole.
Dec 202011
It’s Saturday morning and we’re anchored over the reef at San Antonio Point. This is one of our favorite local sites. The topography is unique and it always seems to offer up something new and different. During the summer months we’ve seen everything here from sea horses to whale sharks, but this is mid-December and [read more ...]
Dec 132011
Staying warm and comfortable begins with having the right exposure protection and a good fitting suit. Around here, we’re talking at least a full 7 mm wetsuit together with a set of 6.5/7 mm boots, 5 mm gloves and a 6.5/7 mm hood.
Dec 062011
Sea Mount: Yellow polyp black coral, large red and yellow sea fans and colonies of colorful gorgonians, large, splendid Cortez angelfish added motion along with the shrimp and long-nosed Hawk fish.
Nov 292011
Conditions at the island were quite good. Visibility ranged from 30 – 50 feet. We saw turtles, horn shark, nudibranchs, chromoids, and flatworms.
Nov 222011
There’s some good shore diving around. Many of the spots offer easy access and are protected from the wind and waves.
Nov 152011
Some would say that the Sea of Cortez lacks consistency, but we feel that it certainly makes up for any lack with variety. You just never know what you’re going to see and this past weekend was no exception.
Nov 092011
While San Carlos is a popular diving destination during the summer, winter diving here is amazing. The colder nutrient-rich waters bring many different species to the area. The Sea of Cortez is recognized as having one of the greatest varieties and diversity of marine life in the world. We couldn’t agree more and last weekend was no exception.
Mar 022011
Because of the cold water, big crabs came to the shallow water. Some even walked onto the beach. Two feet of crab legs look very scary to some, but for those people there were the Sea Hares to play with.
Feb 022011
On Saturday, there were some fin whales in the bay and a pod of fifteen or so four miles out. On Sunday night after diving Seamount, we found three whales cruising right into the harbour entrance, just in time for the sunset cruise.
Nov 302010
There were some whale sightings and a very large pod of dolphins joined us.
Nov 232010
The water was 69 degrees at 40 feet and 64 at 80 feet. Keep in mind that it is hit and miss with warmer and colder currents. Visibility was also variable but most days we manage to find around 30 feet. The full moon brought lots of activity to the shallow areas. Thousands of sea stars move around side by side like a herd of cows grazing.
Nov 152010
We are looking at a fantastic week ahead of us and the wind is supposed to lay down a bit. Come on down and enjoy.
Nov 082010
Lalo was 63 F on Friday and 68 F on Sunday. So be prepared and bring the thicker suits. The San Carlos harbour was pretty busy and lots of people enjoyed the ocean, we had some beautiful days.
Nov 022010
Martini Cove was still 77 degrees at the surface but went down to 72 at 50 feet. At the Island, I hear that it was 66 degrees. The change in season also means that other species of fish show up and there are lots of them as you can tell from the fishing reports.
