Southern Sport | Socorro Islands, Sea of Cortez

Boat

Southern Sport is a stable and practical professional dive yacht, built in 1982, and in 2012 it had its most recent renovation. In order to provide its best condition, it keep refurbished annually. Size 35 meters in length and 7 meters in beam, cruise at 9.5 knots. It's really a beloved boat with comfort and spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Southern Sport has an air-conditioned saloon located on the main deck, with TV, DVD, music system, small library of movies and books for entertainment. In the air-conditioned saloon you can enjoy the TV and selection of videos. Guests can help themselves to a cool drink and relax on one of the couches.

The dining area is adjacent to the saloon, guests will be served with delisous meals and complimentary beverages: both soft drinks as well as beer and wine. There is a snack bar in the dining area, where you always can find some cookies, homemade cakes, snacks, coffee, tea, hot chococlate...etc.

There is a large sundeck with benches and mattresses for sunbathing and some shaded areas make it a place for all to chill out and chat, and there is also professional BBQ equipment that can sometimes provide different taste during the cruise.

The dive deck is spacious and well equipped with personal gear boxes and an in-place fill station, a camera table, large rinse tanks, and hot/cold freshwater showers, as well as a common toilet. There are 2 speed boats on board that used for diving, and after each dive, the crew will greet you with a warm towel.

Southern Sport is a great middle budget dive liveaboard in Socorro and Guadalupe area, it provides friendly and professional dive liveaborad trips that will make everyone happyly return, it is indeed the great choice for everyone who wish to dive in these regions.

Cabin

Southern Sport has 9 comfortable guest cabins, accommodating up to 18 guests per trip.

All cabins air-conditioning, reading lights, smoke detectors, 2 flat pin sockets(110V), 2 round pin sockets (220V), life jackets.

2 VIP Cabins (Cabin 1 & Cabin 2):
Located on the upper deck, each with one double bed and one single bed, it's the largest cabins on board, also comes with seaview windows and shared private balconies (between this two cabins), both cabins have its ensuite bathroom.

1 Double bed Cabin (Cabin 3):
Located on the upper deck, with one double bed, seaview windows, and ensuite bathroom.

1 Twin Cabins (Cabin 4):
Located on the upper deck, with one double bed and one single bed (bunk style), portholes, and ensuite bathroom.

1 Twin Bunk Cabins (Cabin 5):
Located on the upper deck, with single bunk beds, portholes, and ensuite bathroom. This Cabin do not has storage area, guests who book this cabin need to leave the big suitcase in storage area.

2 Twin beds Cabins (Cabin 7 & Cabin 8):
Located on the main deck, each with one small double bed and one single bed, and portholes.
This two cabins will share one bathroom which is next to the cabin in a pravite area.

2 Twin Bunk Cabins (Cabin 10 & Cabin 11):
Located on the lower deck, each with single bunk beds, bathrooms are just outside out of cabins. The cabins are small but have storage area, the main issue is these cabins do not have natural light.

Diving

• Socorro Route: 3 - 4 dives per diving day

• Guadalupe Route: Unlimited cage dives

• All divers must have a submersible console (SMB).

• No dive provided on the day of arrival and departure.

• All diving will provide experienced guide to lead the dive.

• Both divers and non-divers are welcome for Guadalupe trips.

• Divers must reach AOW with at least 50 logged dives for Socorro.

Other Informations

• Nitrox：Available with additional charge
• 15L Tanks：Available with additional charge
• REBREATHER Dive：Not available at the moment
• Technical Dive：Not available at the moment
• Dive Equipment Rental：Available with additional charge
• Dive insurance：Divers must have valid dive insurance
• Wi-Fi Internet ：Not available at the moment
• Laundry Service：Not available at the moment
• Massage Service：Not available at the moment
• Payment on board：Cash (USD/MXN)
• Crew Number：9 persons, include 2 dive guides

Socorro Islands - 9D/8N

Departure point : Our departure point is San José del Cabo, Mexico (SJD). We strongly suggest you to arrive to this destination at least one day ahead of the ship’s departure date in order to avoid the possibility of missing luggage or any other delay.

Pick Up Time : on departure day will be 07:00 AM from the following hotels in San José del Cabo : Hotel El Ganso (Blvd. Tiburón S/N), Posada Real Los Cabos (Malecón San José S/N), Hotel El Encanto Inn (José Ma. Morelos 133). If you decide to stay somewhere else, you MUST be at the lobby of one of the mentioned hotels no later than 06:45, in order to join the rest of the guests.

Departure Time of the First Day : 09:00 AM, it takes 22-24 hours to get to San Benedicto Island, so, a late departure will mean that the first day of diving might be lost or cut short.

Sample itinerary :

Day 0: Guest arrival to Cabo San Lucas (airport code : SJD), spend the night at a local hotel. (Arrangements on your own). Guests fly into San Jose del Cabo airport (SJD) approximately 45 minutes drive from Cabo San Lucas.

Day 1: Pick up from designated hotels @07:00, transfers to boat, departure at 9AM to San Benedicto Island.

Day 2: Arrive to San Benedicto Island, Diving all day at San Benedicto Island.
First dive will be after breakfast, testing buoyancy, new dive equipment and/or cameras has to be done in a shallow, well protected dive site. 3 to 4 dives are done depending on weather conditions. The boat would stay at anchor for a second day of diving, or move to Socorro Island during the night.

Day 3: Diving all day at Socorro Island or San Benedicto Island.

Day 4 - Day 5: Diving all day at Roca Partida. If weather conditions allow, the boat will remain at Roca Partida for a second day of diving. 3 to 4 dives are done depending on weather conditions.

Day 6: Diving all day at Socorro Island. 3 to 4 dives are done depending on weather conditions.

Day 7: Diving all day at San Benedicto, then depart to Cabo San Lucas. Today, 2 to 3 dives are done depending on weather conditions.

Day 8: Arrival to Cabo at 20:00, overnight aboard, guests can visit Cabo during the evening, having party nearby.

Day 9: Disembarkation after breakfast, end of our services. (you can disembark and go to the airport or to a hotel if you decide to stay in the area.)

Guadalupe Island - 5D/4N

Departure point : The boat will departs from Ensenada, Mexico. We strongly suggest you to arrive to this destination at least one day ahead of the ship’s departure date in order to avoid the possibility of missing luggage or any other delay.

Pick Up Time : on departure day will be 08:30 AM from the following hotel in San Diego : Holiday Inn Express, San Diego (USA) - 1955 San Diego Ave. , San Diego, CA, 92110. Or 09:30 AM from Hotel Palacio Azteca in Tijuana. If you decide to stay somewhere else, you MUST be at the lobby of either one of the above hotels no later than 08:15, in order to join the rest of the guests. The ride to Ensenada takes 1.5 hours.

Departure Time of the First Day : 12:00 noon. It takes 18 hours to get to Guadalupe Island, so, a late departure will mean that the first day of diving might be lost or cut short.

Sample itinerary :

Day 0: Your arrival to San Diego, in USA or Tijuana. Spend the night at a local hotel. Arrangements on your own.

Day 1: Pick up by van at 08:30 in San Diego, 09:00 in Tijuana, at suggested hotels. Stop at border crossing in San Ysidro in order to get your Mexican visa. Drive to Ensenada arriving at 11:30 and boarding. Immigration and Port authorities will pass inspection and the boat departs right after that.

Day 2: Arrival to Guadalupe Island at 08:00. Drop anchor, put cages in the water and shark diving begins at 09:00 until 17:00 when cages are taken out of the water.

Day 3: Diving all day with Great White Sharks.

Day 4: Diving until 14:30, cages out of the water and sailing back to Ensenada.

Day 5: Arrival to Ensenada at 11:00, Immigration and Port authorities pass inspection and shuttle back to Tijuana and San Diego. End of our services.

This adventure is open to both divers and non-divers alike! We operate two 4-person cages using a proprietary swivel system which hooks to our swim platform making it very easy and safe to get in and out of our cages even in rough weather. We also pioneered submersible cages at Guadalupe and operate a 3-person submersible cage to 30 feet. Having only 20 passengers and three cages enables us to rotate 10 guests in and out every hour all day long. We have thought about adding more cages but decided we did not want a “circus” feel when meeting great whites on their own turf.