Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro

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Nautilus Explorer, Dec, 2004, by Edith Summey, IL, USA . Report 2106.
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	Captain Jekyll or Captain Hyde -- which was it? If you had asked me after my 2-week trip from Juneau to Vancouver on the Nautilus Explorer in July 2002, I would have said Captain Mike Lever was operating one of the premier liveaboards I had traveled. On that occasion, I initiated my dry suit training and diving in preparation for Antarctic and Arctic dive trips and had a very excellent experience photographing the prolific marine life of the Pacific Northwest. I was so pleased with that trip that when I learned Mike was planning to bring his boat down to Baja, Mexico in the fall of 2004 to run dive trips to Socorro, I contacted him and booked back-to-back trips for Dec. 2004-Jan. 2005 for myself and husband. The second trip was to be a rebreather training trip with Silent Diving Systems. So, I met with the SDS people at the Our World Underwater show in Chicago, made deposits with them for their training, and was set to learn on the new Evolution unit. Also, in order to obtain further experience on the rebreather, I signed up for another one-week trip with my husband for early June 2005 in Vancouver followed by a 10-day trip for myself from Sitka to Vancouver later in June. Seemed like a great plan until we showed up in Cabo San Lucas and started out on the first of our two10-day trips to Socorro. On the second day, after the fourth dive, "Captain Hyde" approached me and wanted to have chat. It seems that my request for help with lifting my equipment due to a back injury I had sustained back in August 2003 caused him to conclude that I was unfit to dive. This was in spite of the fact that I had been on six liveaboard trips in the interim, had done over 200 dives since the accident, had informed him in advance that I needed assistance lifting things, and was having no difficulties on any of my dives. The Captain Mike that I thought I "knew" had turned into an anxious, suspicious, unyielding warden who relegated me to the cabin for the remainder of the trip (8 more days). He would not even accept the medical certificate for the rebreather course as evidence of my fitness because it was signed by my doctor's Physician Assistant rather than by the doctor who was out of the office when I went in to get it. I could have easily had my doctor sign it later had I known that the PA signature was not acceptable. Mike did promise to let me dive during the second 10-day trip and do the rebreather course with SDS if I would go to the Cabo San Lucas Hospital and get a letter from the doctors at the Chamber there stating that they approved me for diving. But the entire first trip was a loss for me although my husband did continue to dive and got some good videos of the manta rays. The report of this trip continues after we returned to Cabo San Lucas and proceeded to obtain the letter from the hospital as requested by Captain "Hyde." Look for the next entry to find out what happened next and more about the conditions on the Nautilus Explorer.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	USA (FL, IL, NC, TX, MO, CA, Alaska), Canada(BC, Nanavut), Greenland, Carribbean(Bahamas, Turks&Caicos, Curacau, Bonaire, Belize, Mexico)Pacific(Socorro, CocosIsland , Galapagos, Tahiti, Truk Lagoon, Palau, Yap, Sipadan, Bali, N.Sulawesi, Phuket, Burma, PNG) Australia, Antartica, Mediterranean (Costa Brava, S. France, Corsica, Sardina, Italy), Red Sea
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	78-0°F / 26--18°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	80-0 Ft/ 24-0 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	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	Space was OK, but attitude was not helpful in terms of assistance with camera equipment.

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in Mexico (Western)/Socorro

Nautilus Explorer, Dec, 2004,

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 Nautilus Explorer in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro