Most Memorable Moments of 2022
This year was full of incredible moments shared on the water with our wonderful Latitude community. It was hard to do, but we managed to pick those moments that simply became unforgettable.
1. Orcas hunting dolphins, March
This is a day will never, ever forget! We received the always-exciting Orca sighting call and headed out. We were prepared for the not-so-great conditions of the season (greenish waters with less favorable visibility) but were still eager to spot these beauties. When we arrived, conditions were amazing! Beautiful ocean water with excellent visibility. We watched the orcas from the boat for a while and then joined them in the water, they were behaving super social with us. After a while, their behavior began to change which signaled us that it was time to head out on the boat. From there, we spotted something incredible…they were hunting common dolphins and very quickly were able to kill one. After they finished hunting we felt comfortable getting back in the water and one of them approached Mathias with a piece of its prey, offering it to him as the rest of the pod continued swimming around us. It was such an amazing interaction and something we will never forget. In total we spent around four hours with them until they decided they had enough interaction and continued their swim in the deep blue.
2. Giant Mako shark, March
On a shark day, we had our friends from Amancay Freediving and were really hoping to find a Mako shark as it would be their first time spotting one. We chummed the water for about thirty minutes before a small and shy Mako showed up - which we were obviously very excited about. After about 20 minutes with us, it disappeared into the blue so we just held to the line hoping for its return. After a few minutes, we saw a shadow approaching and got excited to see it again…but as it got closer we realized this was definitely not the same shark. This shark was a. female of approx. 2.5m (8’2 ft), VERY big and round. Her body marking and size showed that she was an older shark. She was beautiful and we were able to interact with her safely for a good amount of time until she went back to the blue. This encounter was so special because it is so rare to see sharks that size and having lived such a long life. Unfortunately, sharks continue to be killed at alarming rates…we really hope to see this big girl again in the water in 2023!
3. 100 Silky sharks!
On this day our guide Katy Ayres nhad a special visitor on board - her dad! This was the first time Katy was taking her dad out for a shark encounter so hopes were high, and wow did the ocean have a surprise for her! We encountered a shiver of sharks (we’re not kidding, that’s the term for an aggregation of sharks) unlike anything we had witnessed before. During the summer months, silky and other shark species aggregate around the Baja California peninsula for mating. This is why we spot many females with scars and the reason why during these months there is veda in the region. We jumped in the water expecting to spot at least one silky, and were surprised with the presence of almost 100 silkies. It was incredible and we’re so happy that Mr. Ayres was able to have this amazing first encounter with sharks.
4. Baitball attracting ALL the species, November
Our first trip to Magbay this season was epic. We found a big bait ball which had attracted so many species! Yellowfin tuna, skip jack tuna, common dolphins, sea lions, and of course -our expedition favorites- striped marlins! The moment we jumped in the water we were just in awe of such a beautiful display of the wonders of mother nature and we simply couldn’t erase the smiles off our faces for the remainder of the day!
Image by @elizabethsides
5. Women in Ocean Science Expedition, May
We simply could not leave this trip off the list. Every day was packed with amazing encounters…orcas, sharks, whales, sea lions, you name it, we saw it! The group had the best energy every day and we just loved sharing and learning from everyone on a daily basis, on board and in the evenings during presentation time. We even wrote a detailed day-to-day report of all the things we saw and did, check it out here. We’re already looking forward to the 2023 trip!
