Orcas and mobulas

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Orcas and Mobulas Liveaboard Expedition!

In the Sea of Cortez

We welcome you to join Jim Abernethy for the journey of a lifetime into the Sea of Cortez as we experience the friendly pods of Orcas as they feed on a variety of animals, including the beautiful mobulas rays! Our small groups of 6 ensure intimate experiences with the orcas and a variety of aquatic wildlife.

During this time of year, deep upwelling ocean currents cause the Sea of Cortez to become a hive of activity. This is a true ocean safari, and aside from pods of orcas and mobula rays, there are endless opportunities to see rarely seen ocean dwellers, from blue, fin and pilot whales, sea lions and thousands of dolphins, just to name a few!

While we snorkel and free dive with the mobulas and orcas, we get plenty ocean time on these trips. The scuba diving can be a real treat as well especially for night dives and experiencing some of our favorite dive sites, including those at Cabo Pulmo UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Park. This amazing dive location is the most protected area in the sea of Cortez and the abundant marine life found there, you will never forget.

Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures

expeditions@scuba-adventures.com

ITINERARY

The Nautilus-owned SeeCreatures Dive center is located right in the harbor in downtown Cabo San Lucas and is your home away from home. We encourage you to fly in early and allow us to arrange for some local diving.
Your trip includes a complimentary Backscatter lesson. Our photo pros will coach you on how to get that perfect underwater image, help set up, service or repair your camera gear, assist with camera rentals and accompany you on our complimentary warmup dive. You are welcome to drop your bags off and check-in whenever it’s most convenient. We ask that you please be at the dive center by 4 pm for the pre-boarding health check. This trip is predominantly focused on snorkeling and freediving, however, if you would like to dive you will need to bring your own gear.

We have full rental gear available and can get you suited and booted. Enjoy a nice evening walk, arriving back at the dive center by 7 pm for the safety video and boarding the boat at 7:30 pm. Settle into your cabin before enjoying a delicious dinner as we cruise towards the Sea of Cortez.
On your first day out at sea, we’ll be heading out in search of the mobulas. Baja Expeditions has been doing this for 47 years and our crew is comprised of pioneering old-timers who know these waters, and its wildlife, better than anyone.

Anyone who is interested can get out and have a freediving lesson; we’ll have you descending to 30-ft by the end of the day. For a more relaxed affair, you can opt to spend your time onboard relaxing on the sundeck with a good book or soaking in the hot tub. We also have kayaks and stand-up paddleboards.
For at least two days of the trip, we will be using an aircraft to provide aerial spotting to maximize your encounters with the mobulas and, hopefully, orcas. Our pilot specializes in finding orcas and is the very best in the business; he’s been working with Captain Mike for 15 years. The best place to find them is in the triangle between Espiritu Santo, Carpenter Rock on the west side of Cerralvo, and Las Ventanas on Baja, and we will be focusing our search on this area. Be patient, as it might take ten splashes for the mobulas and orcas to allow snorkelers and freedivers into the middle of the pack, but you’ll be rewarded with truly spectacular encounters.

We’ll take you out in groups of six for two hours at a time, before swapping with the other six guests. After a delicious lunch on the deck, we’ll head back out on the water again in the afternoon.
For the next couple of days, we’ll be back on our own again to look for mobulas and orcas. In the evening, you’ll have the chance to see the mobula rays in a different light. There will be the opportunity to go snorkeling at night in a calm, protected bay, where we will suspend lights off the bottom of the boat to attract swarms of mobulas. The mobulas come in to feed on the plankton exposed by the lights, providing a spectacular show against the inky ocean. If you’re a certified diver with your own gear, we can also arrange for you to go night diving.
On the final day, you’ll have the opportunity to dive or snorkel at Cabo Pulmo World Heritage Biosphere Reserve, home to some of the fishiest waters we’ve come across (over 6,000 species and counting, to be specific).  
After a final breakfast we’ll disembark the boat in Cabo.
Do I need insurance?

For your own safety, it is required that all of our guests have dive insurance that will cover medical assistance or evacuation in the remote chance of an injury or accident. We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance. In fact, we believe in trip insurance so strongly, that if you buy a dive + travel or deluxe package through Nautilus’ Dive Assure link below, we will provide you with a $100.00 USD credit to be used for any onboard purchases.

TRAVEL DETAILS

sea creatures, located in the front of the Tesoro Hotel on the boardwalk in downtown Cabo San Lucas. We suggest dropping by in the morning for a complimentary Backscatter photo workshop or complimentary warmup dive. Otherwise, please be at the SeeCreatures dive center by 4 pm on Saturday, for the mandatory antigen test before boarding the boat. Boarding is at 7:30 pm and we will be sailing into the sunset as we cruise to the Sea of Cortez

All guests must have a passport valid for 6 months from entry. Visas are required from certain countries, please check your specific requirements online. All non-Mexican guests will require an FMM tourist visa, which we will provide and assist you with at the hospitality suite in San Diego. Guests traveling directly to Ensenada will need to obtain the FMM tourist visa prior to entry into Mexico.

Sealine Cabo Transfers is our recommended provider of airport transfers to and from Cabo San Lucas. For booking, please email Paco at pmoreno@sealinecabotransfers.com Please ensure you keep this document with you while traveling.

YES!!! Please note the capital letters! We require all guests to either purchase medical diving insurance from a recognized and reputable carrier and including medical evacuation. Further, travel insurance is important and highly recommended but not mandatory. Guests who buy Dive Assure travel insurance via this link will receive a $100 credit onboard effectively rebating 40% cost of their trip insurance.

Single occupancy (available for a 25% surcharge), rental gear, purchases from our bar and gift shop, a $65.00 USD (cash only) per person port fee, and if you think the service is deserving, crew gratuities – typically between $250.00 -$300.00 USD per person.

This trip is predominantly focused on snorkeling and freediving, however, if you would like to dive you will need to bring your own gear. High-quality rentals are also available from SeeCreatures, We have full sets of rental gear available (see pricing below). Guests may also bring their own gear.

Nautilus LifeLines, DiveAlerts, and SMB safety sausages.

The Sea of Cortez is warming up. In May it is in the mid-70°F range, and it just gets warmer from there. We recommend a 5mm and a hooded vest, or a 7mm wetsuit.

Personal toiletries and your camera. Sea-safe sunscreen will be available onboard with our compliments. Towels and bed linen are provided.

Unfortunately, guests may not bring their own alcohol on board. There is a full bar with a wide variety of microbrews, single malt scotches, and a great selection of wine. The prices are very reasonable. A beer, for example, is only $3.75!

We will happily take care of your luggage at the hospitality suite

We will disembark between 8 and 8:30 am. Please do not book your flight before an 11 am departure.

WiFi is available for $100.00 USD per device, per trip. Please note it will be slower than what you are used to onshore. It is not possible to download higher resolution images, stream, or connect to social media. It is perfect for WhatsApp and emails.

RENTAL GEAR

PRICES IN USD.

Booties…..…….$8
Hooded Vest….$16
Wetsuit………...$50
Mask…………...$12
Hood……..…….$8
Package: Hood, Booties, Mask, Wetsuit - $75

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please ensure that you have submitted your rental sizes 30 days prior to your trip. Prices quoted per trip, all

THE MANGO WIND

We will be living aboard the beautiful 45-foot catamaran yacht called Mango Wind, that comfortably accommodates  6 guests in 3 ensuite double stateroom. The Mango Wind is well designed to accommodate our needs . The yacht features a main lounge and dining area with a wrap-around view and a sun deck. We will be using an inflatable for our in water adventures.

THE MANGO WIND

SPECIFICATIONS

• ROBERTSON & CAINE LEOPARD CATAMARAN
• NMMA & CE CERTIFIED
• 3 ENSUITE SUITES
• 6 GUESTS, 4 CREW
• WIFI

• 18 FT INFLATABLE ZODIAC
• HIGH CAPACITY WATER
MAKERS
• FULLY-STOCKED EXTENSIVE BAR
• AIR FILLS

• 2 YANMAR DIESEL ENGINES

3 STATE ROOMS

• 1 QUEEN SIZE BED OR 2 TWIN BED OPTIONS
• LOCATED ON THE LOWER DECK
• ENSUITE SPACIOUS BATHROOM AND SHOWER

Join Us!

To schedule your Orcas and Mobulas Trip, you can book directly through our online calendar below, or email us with any questions as well as have us reserve your space. If your interested in talking with us, please leave your full contact information in your email. Whichever way, we look forward to hearing from you!

Reservations Team Email: expeditions@scuba-adventures.com

For more information send an email to

expeditions@scuba-adventures.com

 

 

 

Check out Jim’s wildly beautiful images and apparel at the Jim Abernethy Imagery website!

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