Cruising the Tortuga Ridge & Isla San Marcos
Our morning was spent cruising the calm waters of the Gulf of California, scouring the horizon with our binoculars for signs of marine mammals. We were well offshore, making our way between Isla San Marcos and Isla Tortuga, where deep below us currents passing over an undersea ridge causes deep water to rise up towards the surface. This upwelling makes for fertile waters, attracting all kinds of marine life to feed on their bounty.
It was not long until splashing was seen on the horizon and the nimble Sea Lion closed in upon a large pod of hourglass dolphins, the stars of our morning show. They seemed as pleased to see us as we were to see them and sped in towards our bow, where they rode the pressure wave generated by our hull moving through the water. As the dolphins porpoised alongside us we could see a young calf swimming close alongside its mother, while others under the bow turned on their sides to look up at the people and multitude of camera lenses looking down from the deck!
This large pod was clearly in the right place, because soon after meeting it we spotted a frenzy of activity not far away, and once again diverted course to investigate. Brown and blue-footed boobies flying overhead were suddenly folding back their wings and dropping like darts from the sky all around the ship, entering the water with a large splash to catch fish as deep as 30’ below the surface. Yet another group of dolphins was feasting from below, driving the fish upwards and into the range of the shearwaters and gulls that joined in to pick up any leftovers. There was no escape for the unfortunate fish, and the feeding frenzy was soon over, but this was a wonderful example of just how rich the waters we are cruising can be, and why so many marine mammals make Baja their home.
After lunch we anchored off the western coast of Isla San Marcos, where we spent the afternoon snorkeling and hiking inland before returning to the ship in the late afternoon for an early evening barbeque dinner on deck, before an incredible sunset over mountains of the Baja Peninsula and the distinctive skyline of the Three Virgins Volcanoes.
Leaving our anchorage after dark, we gathered on the bow for an impromptu after-dinner concert from the guitar players amongst us, but this amazing day had one more treat in store for us. Splashing in the darkness below us were dolphins riding our bow, only visible as their movement triggered bioluminescent plankton, coating the animals in a ghostly green light, and their trails glowing behind them.
Our morning was spent cruising the calm waters of the Gulf of California, scouring the horizon with our binoculars for signs of marine mammals. We were well offshore, making our way between Isla San Marcos and Isla Tortuga, where deep below us currents passing over an undersea ridge causes deep water to rise up towards the surface. This upwelling makes for fertile waters, attracting all kinds of marine life to feed on their bounty.
It was not long until splashing was seen on the horizon and the nimble Sea Lion closed in upon a large pod of hourglass dolphins, the stars of our morning show. They seemed as pleased to see us as we were to see them and sped in towards our bow, where they rode the pressure wave generated by our hull moving through the water. As the dolphins porpoised alongside us we could see a young calf swimming close alongside its mother, while others under the bow turned on their sides to look up at the people and multitude of camera lenses looking down from the deck!
This large pod was clearly in the right place, because soon after meeting it we spotted a frenzy of activity not far away, and once again diverted course to investigate. Brown and blue-footed boobies flying overhead were suddenly folding back their wings and dropping like darts from the sky all around the ship, entering the water with a large splash to catch fish as deep as 30’ below the surface. Yet another group of dolphins was feasting from below, driving the fish upwards and into the range of the shearwaters and gulls that joined in to pick up any leftovers. There was no escape for the unfortunate fish, and the feeding frenzy was soon over, but this was a wonderful example of just how rich the waters we are cruising can be, and why so many marine mammals make Baja their home.
After lunch we anchored off the western coast of Isla San Marcos, where we spent the afternoon snorkeling and hiking inland before returning to the ship in the late afternoon for an early evening barbeque dinner on deck, before an incredible sunset over mountains of the Baja Peninsula and the distinctive skyline of the Three Virgins Volcanoes.
Leaving our anchorage after dark, we gathered on the bow for an impromptu after-dinner concert from the guitar players amongst us, but this amazing day had one more treat in store for us. Splashing in the darkness below us were dolphins riding our bow, only visible as their movement triggered bioluminescent plankton, coating the animals in a ghostly green light, and their trails glowing behind them.
