Sea of Cortez Midriff Islands Trip Report 2024
Bluewater Travel's Ultimate Sea Lion Photo Workshop
By Trip Leader Mark B Hatter
It’s hard to believe the last time I visited the Sea of Cortez with Bluewater Travel was nearly eight years ago to the month! Happily, all the fond memories and cool photographic opportunities I remembered from my last visit to the Midriff Islands were once again front and center on this most recent adventure with Bluewater Travel.
The Midriff Islands offer something for everyone, whether you are simply diving for fun, shooting photography, or shooting video. Indeed, the diversity of ocean life, from large to small, can present a wide range of opportunities. During a pre-trip Zoom meeting with our guests, I extolled the virtues (if not guarantees) of the Midriff Islands in August; sea lions galore, whale sharks, three species of jaw-fish, orange-throat pike blennies, nudibranchs, calm seas, and more. Fortunately, my bold prognostications were validated!
As always, we also conducted a pre-trip Introduction to Underwater Photography class via a Zoom meeting prior to departure. These classes have demonstrated a positive learning curve for new photographers and videographers, as well as veteran shooters looking for refresher points prior to trip departure. Having guests know their kit and the general basics improves shooting and filming outcomes from the very first dive.
Our “class of 8/24” was fortunate to arrive as scheduled to the Rocio Del Mar with all possessions allowing an on time departure for our overnight crossing to the Midriff Islands. Although merely 150 miles from Puerto Penasco, it feels more like lightyears from civilization upon arrival in the Midriff Islands. There are no other boats, there is no WiFi or cell service. Plan on settling in for a full week of zero outside distractions, something hard to do in our 21st century world. And when you book your Bluewater Travel trip to the Midriff islands, make a note to spend at least one evening chilling out on the upper deck, in a lounger, glass of wine in hand, observing the constellations and stars shining in a shockingly luminous Milky Way galaxy!
The Midriff Islands are considered temperate with water temperatures varying depending on the season. During the summer months the divers can expect anything from the mid-80s to the mid-70s depending on currents and upwellings. On our week’s adventure we saw surface temperatures mostly around 82 degrees (but as high as 85) with bottom temperatures to 76 degrees below the thermocline. Hooded vests for most of us under 3 mm wetsuits provided perfect layering to ward off the chill while also preventing overheating.
Over the course of a week, we alternated between macro and wide angle dive sites and held formal instruction on both types of photography and included a live course on using the tools in Lightroom in the salon between our three to four dives a day. By day four, our guests had collected and processed plenty of images to hold a photo review in advance of our photo and video contest at the end of the trip.
This was my third trip to the Midriff Islands and, as I boldly predicted, all of the a-list animals I mentioned in our initial zoom meeting presented photo and video opportunities for all. At Bahia De Los Angles, our guides gave us an hour and a half with two 12-foot whale sharks feeding on plankton in the northern part of the bay. Everyone was able to get as many drops as they desired to swim with the animals to collect stills and videos.
At San Pedro Matir, the southern end of Rocio Del Mar’s dive itinerary, every dive found us surrounded by plenty of playful sea lions. Often, they would arrive out of nowhere in groups of six or more juveniles, whirling and cavorting with our divers before disappearing for a minute or two, only to reappear again for another teasing drive-by as we drifted along steep walls covered in yellow skinned black corals.
Further north, at Isla Ángel de la Guarda, we found the macro critters exactly as I remembered, especially at a dive sight named Diablo. On the deep rubble flats on either side of Diablo’s split, rocky pinnacle, male blue-spotted jawfish and male orange throat pike blennies popped up and down from bottom lairs within larger colonies. Looking much like the arcade game “whack-a-mole,” the behavior is designed to attract receptive females with whom to mate. The mating colors displayed by the males are stunning making for some incredible macro still images and videos.
At “Nudi Cave,” close to Diablo, our guides found at least five different species of nudis and, while most of our divers were partaking in the nudi hunt, I opted for a rectilinear lens to capture images of the two species of angelfish found in the Sea of Cortez. My hope was that the angelfish, exceptionally plentiful and diver friendly around Diablo, would be found close to Nudi Cave as well. I made the right call on my kit and bagged my king angelfish and Cortez angelfish images.
On the last evening we celebrated the week’s accomplishments with a group photograph under our Bluewater Travel banner on the top deck followed by margaritas and a photo/video contest on the big screen TV in the salon.
Join us on our next Bluewater Dive Travel Midriff Island Adventure in August 2025.
