July 22-29, 2025 | Cocos Island Trip Report | Sea Hunter

The Sea Hunter departed Puntarenas on July 22 with a private charter of eight divers from the United States.

Our first dives at Manuelita brought exciting close passes from hammerheads rising from the sandy bottom, a large Galapagos shark, and several marble rays. Manuelita Outside offered more hammerhead encounters at the cleaning stations, a massive school of jacks in the blue, and eagle rays gliding through the channel.

Dirty Rock proved full of life, with hammerheads visiting the cleaning stations, a Galapagos shark making repeated close passes, and a distant school of hammerheads near the surface. Back at Manuelita Outside, around ten hammerheads approached head-on at the cleaning station, followed by sightings of huge hunting tuna and a Galapagos shark swimming near white tips in apparent hunting behavior.

At Punta María, divers encountered a Galapagos shark, a group of marble rays resting over the pinnacle, and numerous jacks and white tips. Dirty Rock once again delivered a massive school of jacks, a large Galapagos shark, and glimpses of hammerheads in the distance.

At Alcyone we had sightings of blacktip sharks, tuna hunting mid-water, and hammerheads cruising near the surface. Manuelita was teeming with life—hammerheads visiting multiple cleaning stations, three eagle rays swimming together over the sand, huge schools of jacks, and a final surprise: a school of about 50+ hammerheads in the blue.

Dos Amigos Pequeño brought strong currents and constant Galapagos shark activity, including a pregnant female lingering over the cleaning station for multiple close passes. Moments into the second dive, a juvenile whale shark appeared and circled the group repeatedly, often accompanied by a small school of hammerheads just above the thermocline.

A massive manta ray—possibly one of the largest ever seen by our guides at Cocos—swam by at Manuelita Outside, passing in full view of the divers. Hammerheads continued to appear in small groups along the bottom, culminating with a school of about 20 individuals in the blue, followed moments later by an even larger aggregation.

The final dive at Manuelita Outside offered more small hammerhead groups near the sandy bottom, a large school of jacks, and a spectacular finale: a massive school of roughly 100 hammerheads circling in the blue.

Over the course of the week, guests experienced an incredible variety of marine life. From Galapagos sharks, hammerhead schools of all sizes, eagle rays, marble rays, tuna, jacks, a juvenile whale shark, and a giant manta ray, this week was an absolutely unforgettable Cocos Island expedition!