Vessel: Sea Hunter
Water Temperature: 81-88°F
Visibility: 40-80ft
Current: Weak to moderately strong, generally light
Highlights: Orcas hunting big-eye jacks, multiple tiger shark encounters, a close pass from a large sailfish, strong hammerhead schooling on several dives, and consistent whitetip reef shark and Galápagos shark activity throughout
Day 1
Diving opened at Manuelita, starting with the check dive at Coral Garden, where clear water and a good showing of reef fish set the tone, with individual hammerheads and a small group passing over the sandy bottom. Manuelita Outside brought stronger action, with hammerheads working the cleaning stations and a school building in the blue, though a layer of green water lower in the column made viewing the school trickier than the surface conditions suggested. One group spent time with a giant, notably friendly manta ray at Manuelita Channel that stayed close for around 20 minutes. Whitetip reef sharks were a steady presence on every dive of the day, and eagle rays and mobulas also made appearances.
Day 2
A quieter day overall. Punta Maria was slow for both groups, and the second Manuelita Channel dive saw a hammerhead or two. Pajara redeemed the afternoon somewhat with a curious silvertip shark that circled divers on several passes. Galápagos and whitetip sharks continued to show up in modest numbers across sites.
Day 3
Conditions picked back up. At Manuelita Outside, divers found the trip’s first manta ray gliding just above the sandy bottom, a small yellow frogfish, yellowfin tuna working a cleaning station, and a big school of big-eye jacks. Later in the day, at Alcyone, divers spent time with a Galápagos shark up close, and Manuelita Outside in the afternoon brought good numbers of hammerheads passing steadily along with large tuna and a pair of oceanic and reef blacktip sharks. One guide called it the best dive of the trip so far.
Day 4
The two Dos Amigos sites delivered solid variety, including Galápagos sharks working a new cleaning station at depth, oceanic and reef blacktip sharks, a large pregnant marbled ray, and hammerheads passing along the rock and in the blue. At Porites, in Chatham Bay, a trio of silvertip sharks made a brief stop at a cleaning station. Currents were moderate to strong on several of the dives.
Day 5
The best day of diving of the entire trip. At Dirty Rock in the morning, we came face to face with orcas hunting a school of big-eye jacks, close enough that nearly every guest in the water saw it happen. We then found a tight, clear-water school of 20+ hammerheads and a couple of Galápagos sharks along the rock. The other group, arriving at Dirty Rock a little later, caught the orcas as they moved off but still had a great view. At Alcyone, hammerheads were everywhere, with Galápagos sharks and multiple tiger shark sightings, including a large male seen swimming calmly on two separate passes and a huge, curious Galápagos shark that came in close at the end of one dive. The standout moment of the day, and the trip, came when a large sailfish moved in close to divers, hunting and swimming fast, giving an extended and remarkable look before moving on. Dirty Rock rounded out the day with another good hammerhead school and clear water.
Day 6
Dos Amigos Pequeño produced heavy shark activity at the new deep cleaning station, with Galápagos sharks passing steadily, a robust female silvertip, a silky shark, and several oceanic blacktips. One guide logged five different shark species on this dive alone. At Manuelita Outside, a mid-sized male tiger shark and a large Galápagos shark opened the dive, followed by a beautiful hammerhead school passing close to the group – a world-class dive. A large female tiger shark also made several passes at Manuelita Outside, staying at a distance but showing off her size. The afternoon dive at Manuelita Coral Garden was calmer, with reef blacktip sharks, an orange frogfish, a pair of hammerheads, and a large moray eel. Guests also took an island walk to Wafer Bay during the day.
Day 7
Dirty Rock opened the final day of diving with perhaps the best hammerhead school of the trip, a large, tightly packed group that stayed visible for an extended stretch, along with a Galápagos shark. Alcyone followed with another strong showing: hammerheads scattered across the site, a Galápagos shark, an oceanic blacktip, and repeated encounters with two impressive tiger sharks, a large male and an especially large female, seen together once and individually several more times. For the final dive, both groups came together at Manuelita Outside for a group photo, and as the photo was being taken a tiger shark passed within about 10 meters, giving everyone a good look at its size. The dive also turned up a group of marbled rays in courtship, several large tuna, a reef blacktip shark, and a big school of paired big-eye jacks to close things out.