Dive Review of Great White Adventures in
Mexico (Western)

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Great White Adventures, Sep, 2005, by Kent Bonde, FL, USA . Report 2039.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	For the second year in a row, San Francisco-based Great White Adventures (GWA) has chartered the Solmar V out of Encenada, Mexico from mid-August until December, to run its "luxury" live-aboard trips to Guadalupe Island, specifically to dive with great white sharks. The $2,775 price tag includes a one night stay in San Diego at the Hampton Inn Downtown, a two-hour bus ride across the Border to Encendada and five days and four nights on board the Solmar V. The crossing to Guadalupe from Encenada takes about 20 hours and can be a little rough - we had steady 6-footers the whole way over. Definitely recommend the dramamine, even for those not prone to motion sickness. Since the vessel anchors on the leeward side of Guadalupe Island, wind and seas are not an issue once you are there. Diving is conducted in two four-person cages attached to Solmar's dive platform by two specially designed brackets to minimize cage movement and to facilitate entering and exiting the cages. Air is surface supplied. A two-person deep cage is deployed on the second day (depending on current and surface conditions). After a thorough dive briefing by GWA's founder and President, Lawrence Groth, divers are split into four four-person teams and assigned to rotating one-hour shifts per cage. After the first couple of rotations, cage time becomes more flexible as many opt to sit out rotations and observe the action from the upper deck, which is equally as exciting. The first shark showed up within 18 minutes of deploying the hang baits. After that and in the three days to follow, we had a total of 15 sharks, ranging in size from 8-12 feet and one in the neighborhood of 16 feet. The Solmar crew was exceptional, the food and drink was plentiful and the quality of accomodations on board was first class.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	South Florida, New England, Bahamas, Caribbean, Australia, Red Sea, Italy, Malta, Greece and Holland
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	68-70°F / 20-21°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Restricted to diving in shark cages with surface supplied air
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	>2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Solmar V provides a generously sized camera table on the aft deck, complete with a stowage shelf for camera cases and air nozzels to dry off gear. Dive crew is is quick to retrieve and rinse cameras in two large freshwater rinse bins. Media center provides means to review video and digital photography on large flat screen tv and smaller monitors located around the main salon and dining areas.

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Dive Review of Great White Adventures in Mexico (Western)

Great White Adventures, Sep, 2005,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Great White Adventures in
Mexico (Western)