Socorro

Hey everybody,

I am planning to go to the Socorro islands at the end of December and would appreciate recommendations on liveaboards. Initially, the Aggressor was my first choice but I have recently heard some negative reviews. I would appreciate any advice.

Though it was a while back, I really enjoyed the Solmar V on a 9-day trip to the Socorros. Very nice, comfortable boat. Having just

recently spent 12 days on the Nautilus Swell, the Nautilus Explorer does the Socorros as well, and if their operation in Alaska (and

general reputation) is any guide, that would be a fine boat for the trip as well.

andy

Hey everybody,

 

I am planning to go to the Socorro islands at the end of December and would appreciate recommendations on liveaboards. Initially, the Aggressor was my first choice but I have recently heard some negative reviews. I would appreciate any advice.

NE is a great boat, but not designed for safe operation of small boats/tenders in rough seas. No side passageways along main deck like on most boats, so all transfers from NE to skiff must be done at the stern vs along side. Big boat & small boat have totally different motion patterns which can make for unsafe conditions in rough water like you may have at Roca Partida (70 miles from nowhere).

If you're a beer drinker, they only had 32 varieties in the refrig on my trip a few years ago.

I've only been out with Solmar V, but they're a classy operation.

Tim

Both Solmar and NE are good boats. They each have advantages and disadvantages.

Solmar's cabins, even the "superior" ones are tiny, but it has a large dive deck and camera table and a wide open salon with lots of windows. The food was first rate, as were the guides. They will do things like drop you off in blue water for more of a chance to see pelagics. You have to put your gear on in the zodiac, so it's slow to get into the water, and they generally were harder to get back into. Free beers in the afternoon, wine with dinner and they didn't care if I brought my own bottle of rum on board.

NE has much larger and more comfortable cabins, good food with a smaller, more cut up salon/dining room. Food was good, but they keep it all kosher, so no pork products are served. It's a better boat in a seaway and while transfers off the stern are a little harder at times, they have a lot of experience with it. One of the skiffs is a large aluminum one with a good ladder as opposed to the zodiacs. Good guides and a safe program, although they will not do much in the way of blue water dives. Beer and all is sold and they don't much allow you to bring your own. What I didn't like was the very small dive deck, broken up with the ramp area for the skiff, and the camera table was also too small.

All in all, I'd probably go back on the Solmar.

Jack

One of my most embarrassing moments was on the Nautilus Explorer in the Socorros. The swell was high and the chop, choppy. They were helping the divers get into the aluminum skiff off the stern of the boat. I got in next to last and bent over to put on my fin when the skiff suddenly bounced up and I went flying out of the skiff, no fins. Had to be helped back on the transom and then back into the skiff. Boy did I feel dumb but now in hindsight, getting into the skiff in those rough seas really was a bit dangerous. Ah, life's little adventures.

Steve

PS Eric Hanauer has been on both boats but prefers the Solmar. I have never been on the Solmar but was on the NE three times.