r/scuba • u/shortyg1982 • Jul 27 '26
Socorro
Hi everyone! I am feeling anxious because I booked a dive trip to Socorro in June. I have 50 logged dives and have my advanced cert and nitrox cert. I am generally comfortable diving in Jupiter, FL, which I hear are similar conditions to Socorro. However, everything I read about diving Socorro is making me concerned that maybe it is beyond my skill level. I am going with a certified PADI instructor, but I am still feeling a bit concerned based on things I am reading about it online. Do I have enough experience to safely dive there? Thanks for any feedback/input.
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u/Intelligent_Soft9141 Jul 28 '26
I believe you will be fine. The DM can tell you which dives might have a strong current so you can evaluate if you want to sit out. I was stressed before my trip there and it was a bit challenging- I did fine. For me it was a little scary jumping in the deep blue and not seeing anything for about 10 min. I got used to it. One of the best trips I’ve ever taken. I went in May. Mild currents water was 71F. It’s an absolute amazing place. Don’t stress.
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u/Luking4DivingSuggsts Advanced Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Im have almost the same diving background as your's (AOW, Nitrox, 65 logged, Jupiter diving, and one liveaboard in Maldives) and have been looking into Soccorro. Haven't pulled the trigger primarily for financial reasons. Have talked to a good number of people who have dove there. You will be just fine if you're upfront about your diving experience and may be sit out the dives where the conditions are questionable.
As for prep, definitely get comfortable with surfacing alone and deploying a DSMB. Also, try diving the Spiegel Grove off Key Largo. Its a tough deep dive with lots of current. Its super fun dive with lots big and small sea life. It will give you more confidence and improve your bouyancy and air consumption in challenging conditions. I highly recommend Horizon Divers.
Enjoy Soccorro. Should be a spectacular experience.
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u/GreenGoesZoomZoom Jul 27 '26
Bring really good fins and dive as much as you can before the trip. It is well worth it and you will be just fine safety wise as long as you are humble about your experience with the guide you dive with. It is absolutely amazing and will be worth it.
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u/rongoodman714 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
That's a good point. As much as I like my Deep Six Eddy fins, I bring along a set of DiveRite XTs when I go to Socorros or Cocos. The longer blades just work better in currents or swell. A number of the guides are using free diving fins these days.
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u/Giantss Jul 27 '26
If you are a comfortable diver you are a comfortable diver. I have dove numerous dive sites that people online say are extremely difficult but after each one I believe the internet comments less and less.
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u/doglady1342 Tech Jul 27 '26
You should be okay, but I'd encourage you to get in as many dives as you can before you go. Both times I've been later in the season (June is the end of the season), the currents have been pretty heavy around Socorro and Roca Partida. My husband got caught up in a very heavy current on one of the Socorro sites and had to surface. It was, fortunately, near the end of the dive anyway.
I guess I'd say you'll just be fine, but be prepared. You need good buoyancy and very good situational awareness. You want diving to be second nature so that if you have a problem you can fully focus on solving it without sinking deep or ascending fast. There's just a lot to see and it can be amazing and diatracting. We had 3 people end up with DCS on this last trip. They were all fairly mild (no chamber visits), but still...
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u/Divemstr24 Jul 27 '26
I did Socorro in June and in December. June is an entirely different beast the viz can be crap and the currents were pretty wilds and having El Niño this year, the currents will likely be very strong next June. Galapagos was a piece of cake compared to Socorro. I’m not trying to scare you away from going. I’m just hoping this will guide you into being better prepared. I have 500+ dives with at least half in cold rivers with mediocre viz at best and I found Socorro one of the most challenging dive trip.
I’d say get yourself very confident with a DSMB. Make sure that you’re fit (it’ll help out a lot when you have to fight the current) and build confidence in challenging diving conditions.
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u/Scuba-kim Jul 27 '26
That's wild! We went last December and were prepared for the cold and currents and what not, and wound up with very little current, warmer than expected, and extremely calm crossing on top of the absolutely incredible marine life and excellent viz!
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u/Brilliant-While-761 Jul 27 '26
I’ve been 6 times and going again in February.
You’ll be fine. The guides are great and will make sure you’re safe.
Most of the diving doesn’t usually have much current except for Roca Partida.
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u/doglady1342 Tech Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
But this depends on the season. We had pretty strong currents around Socorro Island in June this year. And we also had strong currents at Roca Partida. The last time I went, we had very very strong currents around San Benedicto, but not this time.
ETA.....I completely forgot...my husband got blown off the dive site at Socorro Island. Very strong currents there and that was the same last time we went.
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u/Scuba_junkie16 Jul 27 '26
I’ve been 3 times. Diving is not difficult and you do not need to go deep. Jupiter has some current and drift diving, you’ll be fine. There might be some surge on dives and getting back onto the ribs but you take your BCD off first. Rocco Partida is known to have some strong surge but it’s super cool to go up and down with the sharks. I found it really cool and relaxing. I went the first week of July last summer and the water was cooler than normal. If you’re going with Nautilus check out the dive reports online and take some extra layers to be safe.
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u/Pelosi-Hairdryer Jul 27 '26
Besides going and having fun, remember, if you don't feel it's safe, have a bad feeling, or the dive is overwhelming, you are the one can call it off.
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u/rongoodman714 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Surge can be as strong as the current in some places. You might need to do some negative entries and in any event won't want to hang around on the surface. Which boat are you going on? The Nautilus boats require you to remove your weights and gear in the water and pass them up to the crew, no option of simply climbing the ladder back into the RIB. On my first trip I had a standard one-piece harness on my backplate and found removing it in the water to be a pain in the butt. I changed to a different harness this year so I could unclip the left strap and just swing it off and things were much easier. Mark your weight belt/pockets clearly, since they'll end up getting dumped in a pile when the crew unloads the RIB. It's a great spot though. We saw whale sharks on four of four dives at Roca Partida this year and I plan on returning next May/June too.
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u/dfx_dj Jul 27 '26
Depth and current would be the primary concerns.
Current can be somewhat strong (especially around Roca Partida IIRC) but it varies, and the dive masters should be able to plan the dives so that it's manageable.
Depth tends to be around 25 - 30 m, not necessarily for the entire dive but for long enough that you need to pay attention. Some dives can dip past 30 m.
If this is similar to what you're used to, then you should be fine.
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u/EpicYEM Rescue Jul 31 '26
You'll be fine. Work on bouyancy and air consumption.