Nautilus Gallant Lady Liveaboard, Mexico

Day 1:
Complimentary backscatter photo and video workshop at SeeCreatures Cabo San Lucas. Either 17:00  meet and board in Cabo or mid-afternoon transfer to La Paz. Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing. This trip is predominantly focused on snorkelling and freediving, however if you would like to dive we have rental gear available at SeeCreatures before boarding, or you can bring your own gear.

Day 2:
We always start off at our favorite hotspot for masses of mobula rays leaping for joy first thing in the morning because, well it’s really fun! Our airplane will be in the air scouting for orcas and other big critters and our naturalist will be in touch with friends up and down Baja to trade notes on animal sightings. We have been on the water running charters since 1974 and have a large network of colleagues that work together with us. Your captain will be in comms with your pilot for the latest updates and we will fire up the fast boat during the day to get close to any big animals. Cocktail hour. Sunset. Dinner. Evening presentation!

Days 3-7:
The local corumel wind tends to start blowing every evening until 10:30 am or so. Shore hikes, kayaking, or scuba will be on offer in the morning. With the airplane taking off when the corumel wind dies down as critter spotting is very difficult when it’s choppy. We will spend the rest of the day trying to get you the best encounters possible within the bounds of the utmost respect for the animals.

Day 8:
Check-out from the yacht.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Group transfer to the port. Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.

Days 2-5:
Departing. Safari according to the planned route.

Day 6:
Return to the port.

Day 7:
Check-out from the yacht.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.

Days 2-6:
Full dive days plus, of course, much more:
It’s entirely your option to start with a lazy morning; otherwise, we’ll have an early breakfast ready and a local captain and divemaster waiting in their panga to speed over to the nucleus zone for a 2-tank dive before lunch. Your yacht will be anchored in the protected and calm waters in front of the beach at “Los Frailles” in compliance with national park regulations and just around the corner from most of the Cabo Pulmo dive sites. We limit each panga to 6 - 8 divers plus divemaster. We may also dive around Los Frailles.
After heading back to the Gallant Lady for lunch – and a hot tub –  you will have a tough decision to make.  You can choose between heading out for another 2 tank dive, or head off for some kayaking or paddle boarding, take a long walk on the beach, hike into the desert, or go for a mountain bike ride! Or, you might just decide to relax on the yacht. If you are visiting in-season, you may even have a humpback whale or two swim right past the boat!
We traditionally have a cocktail hour at 6 bells ( or 7 pm, which might be a bit confusing but it’s how we talk as sailors! ) with microbrews, fine wines, single malt whiskey, and our signature gin and tonics. Dinner to follow, then a bonfire on the beach, an evening presentation, and lots of relaxation.

Day 7:
Check-out from the yacht, group transfer to the airport.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Complimentary photo and video workshop at SeeCreatures Cabo San Lucas. Either 5 pm meet and board in Cabo or mid-afternoon transfer to La Paz.

Days 2-7:
We usually start off at our favorite hotspot for masses of mobula rays leaping for joy first thing in the morning because, well, it’s really fun! And then we will weigh anchor and make our way. During your week onboard, we hope to get you in the water with mega pods of bottlenose dolphins. If we are lucky, we might spot spinner and Risso’s dolphins, known for their well-deserved reputation for amazing aerobatics. We will also encounter California sea lions, mobula rays, and hopefully cow-nose rays.

Big animals should be in the area, and our naturalist will be in touch with our network of friends and colleagues, exchanging notes. Scout, our spotter aircraft, will take to the air as often as possible, subject to wind and weather conditions. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for interactions with whale sharks. We will be actively searching for sperm whales, fin whales, and sometimes even minkes and pseudo orcas.

The highlight of any trip is if we spot the black fins of orcas slicing through the water. All interactions are conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations of Mexico. For our diving friends, bring your dive gear, and we will be sure to get you some splashes on local dive sites.

On several evenings, we will anchor in our best spots for in-water night interactions with the mobulas. Otherwise, enjoy the sunset, cocktail hour, dinner, and an evening presentation. Important note that strategic use of our accompanying fast boat will ensure the best sightings and interactions, but this may involve spending some time in the smaller boat cruising around in search of marine creatures.

Day 8:
Check-out from the yacht.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Group transfer to the port. Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing.

Days 2-6:
Departing. Safari according to the planned route.

Day 7:
Return to the port.

Day 8:
Check-out from the yacht.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Onboarding, meeting the crew & briefing. Champagne and appetizers will be waiting for you on board the Gallant Lady, and after our welcome aboard briefing, we would love to get you in the water for your first dive of the trip.

Day 2-5:
Exploring the southern Sea of Cortez.
We’ll be exploring the best of the southern Sea of Cortez, including our old favorites: the wreck of the ferry Salvatierra, beautiful Suwanee Reef teeming with life, La Reina, Las Animas, and Cerralvo Island. Years ago, we stopped offering trips into the Sea of Cortez because the mantas and sharks had disappeared. We are incredibly gratified that the population is rebounding, and we should see sharks, a chance of seeing mantas, as well as the more typical Sea of Cortez life. Our choice of dive sites will depend on weather, visibility, animals, etc. - you can be assured your captain & crew will do their very best to give you the greatest possible dive experience.

Day 6:
Diving the UNESCO World Heritage site; Cabo Pulmo.
Marine park Cabo Pulmo is the easternmost barrier reef in the Pacific and is the story of a reef that was overfished and almost obliterated before the local village stepped up to protect the place. Cabo Pulmo has since gained national protection and has rebounded in an astonishing way over the last 20 years.

The upside is that there is a population of bull sharks, other sharks, and huge schools of fish – it can really be beautiful diving. The downside is some divers can find the protection provided by the park to be a little bit onerous. We respect all park rules which include, staying with a divemaster, not touching the bottom, and diving quotas at some of the most popular dive sites.

We’ll have dinner and one last night under the stars before departing overnight for Cabo San Lucas.

Day 8:
Check-out from the yacht, group transfer to the airport.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons

Day 1:
Complimentary photo and video workshop at SeeCreatures Cabo San Lucas. Either 5 pm meet and board in Cabo or mid-afternoon transfer to La Paz.

Day 2:
Wake up in a bay close to Cerralvo Island loaded with aggregating mobula rays. Huge schools of these beautiful rays gather overnight and through 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning and we recommend an early start to the day to get the best in-water experience with the rays. We will likely spend the afternoon diving or snorkelling La Reyna.

Day 3:
Espiritu Santo Unesco World Heritage site and national park.

Day 4:
Wake up at Las Animas for some great diving or snorkeling with sea lions and our best chance to see hammerhead sharks.

Day 5:
Wake up in the Loreto National Park. We’ll likely start with a wreck dive and then some of our favorite sites around Carmen Island, or something equally fun depending on the animals and weather. Our spotter airplane will be out scouting for interesting critters in the area.

Day 6:
Wake up at Isla San Pedro Martir, the jewel of the Sea of Cortez. Experience everything from black coral and interacting with sea lions to great diving to and going ashore to exploring this desert island, under one of the very few permits ever issued. We will be at anchor tonight.

Day 7:
Another day exploring San Pedro Martir.

Day 8:
Bahia de Los Angeles. Yes, we can go diving if you want, but this is our chance to spend the day swimming and snorkeling with whale sharks in splendid isolation. With a bit of luck, we will have the whale sharks to ourselves. These whale sharks are often interested in human watching and can become quite friendly with us.

Day 9:
Sea day transiting home. But we will be detouring right through the “sweet spot” we discovered. There are good upwellings in this area, and with the help of our spotter airplane and crew on the top deck glued to their binoculars, we have had good luck with both sperm whales and pilot whales, and sometimes even orcas.

Day 10:
Check-out from the yacht.

Routes can be affected by adverse weather conditions and unforeseen events, force majeure or other similar reasons