A short while back, we were on assignment diving and filming the humboldt squid that inhabit the Baja waters close by to the Dive Center. This is not a dive for the faint of heart, but is great fun at the same time. The local fisherman call them “Diablo Rojo” or “Red Devil” as they have a reputation more fearsome, and as much unfounded, as the Shark. That isn’t to say that these creatures are not to be respected, but a dive with them is very much something to add to your ‘Honey-Do’ list.

To dive with them, we first jig to bring them to the surface, then the divers have to be attached to the boat above to stop being potentially pulled down deeper by the squid, so we use a harness directly attached to the boat. Then the diver simply hangs in mid water at about 12m/40ft and films, watches and plays with the squid. Now unlike most videos you see online about them, we are/were able to film them in the day – this makes for an experience that isn’t quite as nerve-wracking and opens the experience up for more people.

Okay, well “plays with” is really a misnomer as they come in and out of view, approach, sometimes lock on, and disappear just as quick. It is them “playing” with us really. This is something that is quite new for us here at Cortez Explorers, but something that we will be pursuing into 2010 and beyond.

When one sees these animals cannibalizing each other in front of your mask, one feels quite amazed, to say the least!! Unfortunately, we have no video from the dives as it is rights protected, but next time we go it will be for ourselves, (and you)!

Their aim was to strike while the proverbial iron was hot – their son had learned to swim and had expressed an interest in diving. As they were taking the road trip down to La Paz anyway, they had decided to see if he would like to stop in Mulege and try the PADI bubblemaker™ course. They had contacted us a few months back and they were very keen to have him try in the clam confines of Bahia Concepcion.

Playa Burro is an excellent location to try SCUBA for the first time, the bottom is mostly sand and  the depth goes from 1′ to 30′ over about 300 yards, so it is nice and flat. The edges of the bay on either side have a multitude of sea life, small nudibranchs, reef fish and crustaceans. However, what really makes Playa Burro so good is how warm the water is. Starting from early May the water tem never drops below 80 degrees, while mid August it is over 90 degrees. Perfect water to learn to dive in.

Tom was very clam and confortable in the water, we observed him swimming and free snorkeling for about an hour, while we ran through the course with his parents (who were both PADI divers). Finally it was time to get Tom acquainted with the equipment and let him take a few, above water, breaths from the regulator. It is always amazing to us how much more comfortable and trusting children are (they also have a better grasp of listening when things are important)! So after running through the basic rules; don’t hold your breath, don’t take the regulator out of your mouth, hold my hand and don’t touch things unless we say it is okay, we were ready for the dive.

Usually these dives last about 20 minutes with 3 of 4 surfaces to clear their mask etc. However Tom was excellent in the water, we stayed under for over 40 minutes and we can truly say we went on a full dive. The maximum depth was 5′, but he could have been at 20 for how good he was. Now a bubblemaker is just an introduction, and he will have to wait till he is 10 before he can take the PADI Junior Open Water™ course, but they had a blast and we have already planned their return dates when they will begin diving together as a family.

All in all it was a great day at Burro, and one that Tom and his family will not forget for sometime.

Had a dive today. An Intro. The Three Sisters (which are the 3 wrecks we have off of Playa Burro). However, only one sisters still exists, and that is Hannah’s Wreck, the one I sank last year. Emma’s Wreck, which sank about 5 years ago, is flat and totally broken now, with Thea’s Wreck laying bow first UNDER the stern section of Emma’s Wreck.

Getting ready to Sink Thea's Wreck.

In other words, Thea’s Wreck, the one we sank in July, was uplifted and moved inshore some 25 to 30m by the hurricane. She has also disengaged the hull, (I have no idea where the hull lies) and poked her nose UNDER Emma’s stern section, what’s left of her. She turned 180 to do that. Amazing!!

The only wreck that seemed almost untouched was Hannah’s Wreck, but she has dug deeper into the sand, and the keel is splitting away from the hull. She lays now further over to her port side.

The bloody fishermen have been there also I reckon. There was a significant reduction in the number of fish over 12 inches long, and that included the Cortez Angelfish, of which there were quite a few.

This is Playa Burro, one of the many beautiful beaches along the shores ofBahia Concepcion.

It is still a perfect place to do intro dives – it has a gently sloping sandy bottom and the visibility is usually better than any swimming pool you will find.

We also use the wrecks for PADI Advanced dives as it is a great place to teach navigation and mapping. I will have to get these wrecks re-mapped by my new Divemaster candidate.

I’ll will also have to look around for another boat to sink for sure. Anyone have an old clunker they would like to donate?

I welcome you to this “Blog,” but ask you to remember I am not all that great with computers, and blogging is new to me. However, I shall endeavor to post some news as it comes in, and answer any questions you might have on diving locally, elsewhere, or diving in general. If I cannot answer directly, then I’ll find an answer for you, and therefore learn something myself. So please feel free to write in with questions, thoughts and/or statements that will be beneficial not only to yourself, but maybe others also. That way we all learn something.

See the next post, Whale sharks and Seahorses to start off with.

Good luck and safe diving wherever you go…

Mick

The Ocean is my playground,
And the marine creatures, my playmates