Scuba Diving in Roca Partida

Roca Partida mean Broken Rock in Spanish. This stark volcanic pinnacle rises from the depths of the Pacific 200 miles (320 km) off the tip of the Baja Peninsula. This is truly wild diving, with powerful swells, big currents, and large marine species at one of the most isolated dive sites in the world.

The most remote outcrop of the Archipelago of Revillagigedo (a group of four islands), Roca Partida rises starkly from the wild surface of the Pacific Ocean, its rugged silhouette reflecting the characteristics of the reefs beneath. Steep walls plunge into deep, dark water, with very little life encrusted on their barren surfaces.

The rock is gorgeous and I’m sure you’d be happy to watch it as longer as you can , however the smell of guano usually force you to make your immersion as soon as possible. Roca Partida is not big and its achievable to swim around it several times (the current and surge) during one dive.

There are several small caves on one side of the rock where whitetip sharks are usually sleep until being disturbed by divers. Large lobster can be seen quite often in this place. Going further away from the Roca Partida hammerhead sharks can be spotted in large numbers. Incidents where the hammerhead sharks approach very close to divers have been recording in past. The rich upwellings from deep water around Roca Partida provide plentiful nutrients and oxygen for circling fish shoals, including huge black jacks and dense schools of barracuda. These in turn attract silky, white-tip, silver-tip, and hammerhead sharks in great numbers. What makes this dive site so special, however, are the manta ray encounters, which are among the best to be had anywhere; these magnificent animals almost seem to seek out divers, resulting in some extraordinary interactions. It’s very likely that divers will meet this amazing creatures. It seems that they can be attracted by some divers,  sometimes they are even playing with divers , swirling around  and swimming directly toward them . Some people believe that mantas can identify you by looking into your eyes and will remember you when you’ll be back. Diving center SolmarV  video in which Manta Rays are playing with divers.

Whale sharks have also been spotted at Roca. Humpback whales are stopping in this place during their migration to and from Alaska. Roca Partida is a great diving destination and quite often is being compared with Darwin and Wolf dive site in the Galapagos islands.

The reputation of Roca Partida is spreading, and it is rapidly becoming
an iconic site in the diving world. Divers willing to make the journey to this remote and wild location will find themselves amply rewarded.

Water Temperature: 66–77°F (19–25°C)
Ecosystem:  Subtropical
Visibility: up to 30m
When to visit:  Roca Partida has good, year-round diving, but cooler winter water is best for shark diversity.
Expected to be seen:  Manta rays, sleeping whitetip and silver-tip sharks, black jacks.

Some Good Resources:

SolmarV Luxury live-aboard dive vessel
Provides good articles , photo gallery , video materials and much more

Nautilus at Sea
I liked this divers blogpost about Roca Patrida , mainly he is describing his dive at Roca Partida

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