Hurricane Divers News
After the last high season, which was very busy, I didn't think it would get as busy again this season. Especially knowing that last year many tourists came here instead of going to Cancun and Cozumel, and the fact that many people booked their holidays elsewhere because of the unrest in Oaxaca City (which, by the way, did not affect us here in Huatulco). Well, I was wrong! October and November were a bit quieter than last year, but from the middle of December we have been busier than ever. And our All-Day Excursions, with Pauline's famous picnic lunch, was more popular than ever. We were basically fully booked every week and the season is still not over. We have many bookings for the rest of March and April as well.
Again we had to disappoint many people who did not book in advance with us. We have a limited capacity and we will continue to go out with small groups only. So, if you would like to go out with us, especially on our All-Day Excursion, you really should book well in advance. If you wait until you get to Huatulco, it's very likely that we won't be able to fit you in anymore. I already have some reservations for the next high season by people who wanted to make sure we will be able to take them out!
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What's New?
We added some new t-shirts to our collection. Apart from the light grey, standard shirts, we now have dark blue and dark grey sleeveless shirts, as well as a white shirt specifically designed for all the people who enjoy Pauline's picnic lunch so much.
To better cope with busy times, we increased the amount of rental equipment and tanks. We bought some additional 60cft tanks for kids and for people who don't need a big tank. They're also handy for the training in shallow water.
We improved the ladder we are using on the "Dignity" by covering the steps with wood (see photo above), thus making the surface area bigger and more comfortable to stand on. We're still working on a better ladder for use with the extra boats we rent regularly.
To keep up with the demands of the modern day tourist we had WIFI installed in our dive center. You can now come diving with your laptop!
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Adopt a Dolphin
Here in Huatulco we often see dolphins when we go out on the ocean. We may not realize it, but dolphins are an endangered species. The UN declared 2007 the "Year of the Dolphin", so Hurricane Divers decided to adopt a dolphin. We adopted one of the last 130 bottlenose dolphins living in the North Sea, in Moray Firth in Scotland. Her name is "Moonlight". This is what the "Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society" had to say about her:
"Moonlight is an adult female dolphin who is probably about 10 years old and has a calf called Mellow Yellow. She was first identified in 1996 and is easy to identify as she has twin notches near the top of her dorsal fin. She’s a really sociable dolphin and can often be seen with her best friend Rainbow. Moonlight seems also to have a relationship with Sundance and they are often inseparable. Sundance gets on really well with Mellow Yellow too so who knows, he could be his dad! Moonlight is a great hunter and a very attentive mother. She is always within easy reach of her youngster and only allows certain other dolphins to baby-sit occasionally. Every so often when salmon are running at full speed she will leave Mellow Yellow with someone like Rainbow or Kesslet and go racing off in hot pursuit of lunch which is spectacular to watch."
Needless to say that we encourage everybody to help and protect these beautiful animals. For more info on the Year of the Dolphin, go to the "Miscellaneous" section of our Newsletter or go to "The Year of the Dolphin" 
For more info on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, see WDSC
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Un Nuevo Amanecer
As most of you probably know, we had a fundraiser in December for a local school for disabled children, "Un Nuevo Amanecer" (A New Dawn). We tried (and are still trying) to raise money for a building for the school, which is now located in the storage space of a hardware store in La Crucecita. For more details and the latest news, go to Fundraiser
For more info on the school, go to Un Nuevo Amanecer
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Staff News
In the photo on the left you see Javier, our new permanent boat driver. He actually used to work for Charlie, in his dive operation in the Barcelo Hotel. He knows the coastal waters inside and out and, those of you who went out with him over the last half year, will agree with the fact that he is one hell of a boat driver!
Yan, who did his Divemaster and Instructor Courses with us last year, came back to work with us as an Instructor and so did Ken, who did his Instructor Course with us the year before. They will both leave in April, after the high season, but Ken will be back next season. We also have a new trainee, Antonio (or Toño, as they say here), from Puebla. He came down to Huatulco with his sister, who is the chef of the "Onix" restaurant, to start a career in diving and he is currently doing his Divemaster Course with us. Hopefully we'll have him fully trained as an Instructor by the next season.
If you are interested in making your hobby your living, check out GoPro!
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New in Our Website
Following are some examples of recent additions to our website:
We are currently working on putting video clips in our website and eventually create a Video Gallery. For now we have just a few clips uploaded, so you can check them out and let us know what you think if the idea. In the near future we will be uploading lots more, so make sure you come back for the new clips. You're also more than welcome to send in your own video clips. See Video Gallery
Since many people send me emails with questions about fishing and who I would recommend, I made a web page with information about fishing in Huatulco. You also get introduced to Isidro, whom is a very professional and would be the first one I would recommend to go out with. See Fishing
Our online Guest Book, and especially the Guest Photo Gallery, is getting pretty popular. There are some real nice pictures in there, sent in by our divers and/or snorkelers. Please submit your own comments and photos online or send them in by email and we'll upload them in our Guest Book
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"A Day Like Today": December 2003
It's already three years ago that we bought our own dive boat! We called it "Dignity" after a song by the Scottish band "Deacon Blue" with the same name. For those of you who don't know: it holds 10 divers, 24 tanks and has two 60HP outboard engines, a sunroof and a comfortable ladder. Of course we also carry all the necessary safety equipment on board. For more photos of the Dignity, go to our Photo Gallery
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Diving & Snorkeling Huatulco
The hurricane season of 2006 extended well into November, which was a record but also meant the ocean was relatively rough in October and November. After that it calmed down. The last few weeks we have had quite a breeze, picking up in the afternoons, but the ocean in general stayed pretty calm. Going out on the boat we saw an awful lot of live on the surface this winter, whales, dolphins and many, many turtles. A few weeks ago we even saw a Whale Shark, which is quite an experience! We didn't see as much "jumping rays" this year, but we did get treated to this spectacle a few times. Many divers and snorkelers were kind enough to send us photos of the above mentioned animals, to see those go to our Guest Photo Album
We also have some videos of dolphins and whales (amongst others), for those go to our brand new Video Gallery
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COME DIVING WITH US!
The water temperature was still 30°C (88°F) in October, but in November it cooled off a bit. It didn't get colder than about 24°C (75°F), though and was mostly around 26°C to 28°C (79°F to 83°F). We didn't get many thermoclines this winter season, but the few times we had one, it was down to about 20°C to 23°C (68°F to 74°F) underneath.
The visibility was generally around 10m to 12m (30 to 40 ft). We had many days with a visibility of more than 12m (40ft), sometimes up to about 25m (80ft), usually more towards San Augustin. Unfortunately we also had a surprising amount of days with a visibility between 5m and 10m (15ft to 30ft). Obviously not something we can influence, but luckily we have so much marine life in Huatulco, that even with lesser visibility there is plenty to see!
In general, between September and March, the water was relatively warm, but we had more days with a lesser visibility than normal. There was lots of marine life around though, both on and under the surface.
For more detailed information about the water temperature, visibility and general diving conditions, check out our "Weekly Huatulco Weather Report" and our "Dry and Rainy Season Weather Reports". The latter include graphics and you'll find them under "Archives". See Weekly Huatulco Weather Report
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