Dive with Giant Humbolt Squid

[gonetobaja]

Gone to Baja Expeditions now offers Giant Humolt squid expeditions. The tours are top quality and are a great opportunity to dive in the open water with large humbolt squid.

For more info check www.gonetobaja.com and click on squid expedtions.

I just got back yesterday and it was a blast.

GTB

 

[island_sands]

Gone to Baja Expeditions now offers Giant Humolt squid expeditions. The tours are top quality and are a great opportunity to dive in the open water with large humbolt squid.

For more info check www.gonetobaja.com and click on squid expedtions.

I just got back yesterday and it was a blast.

GTB

you two have worked really hard Dale.. nice work you have going there. best excuse ever not to get a "real job"

I must visit Baja sometime.. there is a story coming out soon on Gray Whales written by Abigail Smigel.. watch out for it.

Unfortunately at home I am on a dialup.. Scott Casell's website takes ages to load!

this is an amazing photo of his!

 

[gonetobaja]

Thanks Island,

It was an amazing experience to dive with the squid. We had a way to bring them up to the surface in under 50' of water. They would flash white to black. It was incredible to see them all around us. We did not wear full armor to dive them on this trip on every dive, although Scott had to wear armor when he actualy was handling the squid. The show "Killer Squid" should be comming on again this sunday on Discovery Channel.

This whole last trip was documented in Hi Def camera and we were also accompanied by a writer for Outdoors Magazine who will be doing an article on the trip to be in this Januarys Issue.

We went diving 3 days and saw squid every day....

The deeper you go the bigger they get and the less shy. At 100ft+ they get big and will grab you just to see what you are. On this last trip I never dove without a steel cable clamped to the side of the boat. Getting dragged down is the situation that you have to be carefull of because they are very strong and even though you can scare them after they grab you they could pull you down past your deco limits or maybe pull you down faster than you can equalize. I hooked into my cable the minute we got in the water.

We have footage of 5ft+ humbolt squid grabbing the diver and camera. Its a true eye opener. I think if you hold still when they grab you they would take a bite. I couldnt manage to hold still. One sent a tentacle to check out my lower leg and when I felt it I gave my leg a kick like a...well like a squid had grabbed it. It was a soft grab, like a snake wrapping around my leg real fast, then when I kicked it let go and shot away like a torpedo. I think it was just curious to see if I was dead bait. He was small only about 1 meter.

That was the only squid that touched me in 3 dives. The rest of the time when the shoal of squid was comming to the surface I would make sure I kept moving so they would stay off of me.

It was the experience of a life time. We dove both on Closed Circut Rebreathers and standard SCUBA and the squid came right in.

Sands, you let me know if you want to dive with the squid and Ill set you up. :wave

GTB

 

[Fondueset]

Whoah! How completely cool is that!?

 

[laminar]

I guess freediving with these squid would make one a candidate for a Darwin Award?

Does anyone know if these squid have limits on their stored energy like some/all octopus do? I gather that if an octopus grabs you (Giant Pacific) and tries to hold you, it can only do so until it's anaerobic energy supply runs out. So just keep on struggling until it lets go.

Not so with the squid?

Pete

 

[gonetobaja]

I would say the same applys to the squid with one problem.

The squid is capable of strong jets of water like a fire hose. The short term power of one grabbing you and jetting downward could crush your eardrum before you can equalize. Also while you are gettting the squid off of you you are pulled down very deep. Im not sure how long the long duration power is but the fishemen have a heck of a time pulling up a 100lb squid on 200lb test line. They use a hand line, a piece of wood, and gloves. I would not want to have a test of strength with one in 1000ft of water.

It was kinda scary because I would freedive areas like that for open water dorado and such. But once again you would have to bring them to the surface first. I would not swim around at night where they are harvesting squid. You are going to get grabbed for sure. With a SCUBA system and a steel cable though you can have a great time. You have about 3 seconds before they bite after they do the exploratory grab. If you hit them or thrash about they will let go. The bigger ones just take a longer time thrashing.

Honestly Im still in somewhat of a daze. I can flash back to the the moment when I saw one for the first time and I was too shocked to even put my camera on it. Even thought I knew we were diving for Giant Humbolt squid its another thing when you actually see one. Your mind does a double take.

You ask yourself " Is this really happening?" When you are suddenly surounded by 15 4ft humbolt squid all flashing white to black. Its like being surrounded by aliens.

Truly a first hand visit with the strange things that dwell in the deep.


GTB

 

[Oldsarge]

Somehow I just can't justify gettin' SCUBA qualified so's some oversized Calimari steak can latch onto my leg. I know you and Scott can keep anyone safe (Hell, you did for me and that was an accomplishment!) but I'll stay on the boat and clean whatever squid someone grubs up. I've got some great recipes for those, too . . .

 

[laminar]

Hey GTB,

Sounds WILD! Actually, I would consider getting certified to see something like that. Although, how scary would it be to have your first dive after getting certified be with the Squid! Uh, not exactly a beginner dive!

Thanks for sharing the story and photos.

Pete

 

[island_sands]

Dale that is truly amazing!!! Have you had a lot of people sign up for the trip? Would you like to write piece on it for us on Deeper Blue?

 

[gonetobaja]

We have not had anyone sign up on the trip as of yet. All of the 200+ dives that Scott has done have all been for film documentary purposes. On this trip we wanted to pretend like we had some customers with us to see how well our "plan" worked out. We had three people with us. They were from "Outside" magazine. There was a writer, a photographer, and his assistant. We brought all of the tanks and cable rigs for them to dive and both the photographer and writer got a chance to dive in and have the experience. We worked out a deal with a nice hotel right on the edge of the water overlooking the sea of cortez.

I learned when I started to guide spearfishing trips that the whole thing is different when you have customers along with you that arent used to the sort of thing. You have to have everything planned out so something as small as "I have no weight belt" dosent ruin a trip.

We also have finalized our deal with a couple of pilots who have their own private aircraft. Scott is an ex-helicopter pilot and he goes down by truck with all of the gear. He meets us at the remote landing strip close to where we dive. He deals with the military who runs the airstrip and also acts as a ground based air traffic control with a handheld aviation radio.

We also had to test how the squid would react with 4 people or more in the water. The squid are smart and when you dive alone they are very curious, when you dive in a group of SCUBA then they are less likely to swim right up to you. That is why we have the teqnique of how to catch one and then wrestle it to submission and then show it to the customers up close. They can even pet the squid. Scott and myself wear armor when we actually are holding squid, or when we do closed circut rebreather diving past 100 feet.

We had to get all of the costs for the airplane, boats, hotels, etc.

We also had to make sure that my mexican work permit(visa) as a toursist guide was suffecient to start doing business in the area.

Now that we have figured out the system we are able to offer the guided expeditions with confidence that we can safely, and comfortably offer the dives and be pretty sure to find big humbolts every time.

We also dove at 3 different times. morning, noon, and night. We saw squid every dive. I would love to write a report on all of my trips for Deeperblue. This site has helped me out alot and I would be glad to return the favor by posting all of my Squid trips.

The trips are going to cost the same range as a Great white cage diving trip. We are going to include all of the Transportation from San diego and everything but meals. There are several resturants in the town and we also usualy do a cookout. The owner of the hotel made us some homemade seafood chowder and it was fantastic!!

Pretty much you bring your dive gear and some food money and your set.


Of course you will have to sign the waver..."In case of giant squid attack, blah, blah, blah..... :ban

We are also going to include a DVD of your trip in Hi Def with every expedition so you can show it off to all of your friends. "This is me holding a giant squid... :thankyou "

We have gotten several hundred hits on the squid page on www.gonetobaja.com but so far no bookings. But then again I have only had the page up for a week.

Im going to try and take some images off of film to post.

GTB

 

[Fondueset]

I've been charmed by these delightful creatures ever since I learned they have what may be the most efficient eye in nature. not to mention they can swim backwards at least as fast as forwards. No kidding though - i saw a show about them a few years back. I'd sign up in a minute but have too many logistical considerations just now

Must be an interesting release form

 

[gonetobaja]

Fondueset,

I remember looking into the eye of the squid and seeing that it was very different from a normal fish eye. I took my camera and put it right up to the eye and tentacle area to get some real close hi def shots of it. I also got some great shots of the skin as it changed from red to black to white.

What is the deal with squid eyes anyway?

GTB

 

[Fondueset]

Just from memory - they are uber-efficient in low-light, can be focused separately and, I think,are different sizes - also stereoscopic vision. They've also got special cells that help them orient themselves in three dimensions using magnetic fields. Really a different sort of critter - one of the least anthropomorphic creatures I can imagine - yet with a weird, relentless kind of intelligence.

Really intense nervous system too - esp for an invert.

Some things it's like nature says 'yeah, well, lets go with that! See how it turns out.'

The film I saw was the one where the guy gets dragged down by 3 squids who rip off some of his gear.

What makes them particularly dangerous is that they are 'chunk feeders' - not worried about whorfing down the whole thing - so they are happy to dart in for quick bite - no matter how big you happen to be.

Love to see those pics!

Here's a bit I found here: Squid article

The highly developed sensory system of squids also gives them an advantage over their predators. The squid "brain" consists of two fused nerve centers that are linked down the length of the body by two giant nerve axons. The giant axons are bundles of fused nerve fibers that transmit nerve signals very rapidly, making them ideal for escape response. In fact, so highly developed are these nerves that they provide ideal material for the study of nerve impulses. For more than 60 years, the giant nerve axons of squids have answered many fundamental questions about neurophysiology. Giant nerve axons still serve as an active subject of research, providing a vast store of information and intrigue to biophysicists, biochemists, pharmacologists, and neurophysiologists to this day.

No less significant are the squid's eyes and provide an excellent example of convergent evolution, where similar characteristics are developed in evolutionarily-distinct animals to solve a similar problem. Squids have eyes very much like human eyes, having a retina composed of rods and cones that may enable squids to distinguish fine detail and even color. Squid eyes also have eyelids and a pupil that can expand and contract. In fact, squids can focus each eye separately, providing them with vision that may be "twice as good as humans." The nerve impulses from each eye travel through huge optic nerves that feed into the brain for processing information. These rapid-fire nerve fibers allow them to quickly respond and maneuver in any situation.

An interesting feature of a squid's nervous system is its connection to structures called statocysts. These fluid-filled vesicles contain calcareous particles which allow the animal to orient itself to the gravitational field. Paired statocysts are embedded in the brain of the squid and allow them to remain aware of their orientation and movement in a three-dimensional manner.

 

[Oldsarge]

Am I right in remembering that the pupils are square?

 

[gonetobaja]

The pupils where a dark brown and looked like a human eye, but the pupil was like a cat eye (kind of). I remember that it was one cool looking piece of squid part so I put my camera on it. I am going to the producer today and they are going to put some shots on a DVD so I can somehow post them.

They are a "chunk" feeder. Thats why they can be fended off if you hit them right after they grab you If they dont get a good chunk in a few seconds from you then they get scared because they dont know what you are and let go. They can eat chunks very fast though. I saw a squid eaten in half (a 4 footer) by the othere squid before we could get him close to the surface. Once they latch on and start chunking they work pretty fast.

I cant wait to get a hold of the pics to show you guys. The words dont really describe well.

GTB

 

[Fondueset]

Reason to dust off my scuba hat again.

WHAT A BITCHIN' COOL IDEA!!!

It'll be interesting to dive the same area for awhile and see what the squids learn and if their behavior changes. I saw several mentions of them going after the neck area - which is a little freaky.

 

[gonetobaja]

I think Im figuring this computer stuff out.

Here is a pic of a feeding squid.

 

[gonetobaja]

Here are some of the pics we took off of the video.

 

[gonetobaja]

More pics.....

 

[tylerz]

WOW that is incredible. Any larger versions? Those ones don't enlarge. I love squid and am always searching for them. We have lots of eggs around here but they seem very elusive to spot.

Cheers,

Tyler