Cocos Islands with Andy Sallmon & Allison Vitsky

Have a hankering for hammerheads? Pack your rebreather and photography equipment for an expedition with Andy Sallmon to Cocos Islands. Divers with rebreathers will be able to find out just how close you can get without bubbles scaring away the animals. Cocos Island offers an endless stream of unforgettable dives. No rebreather? That�s ok, open circuit divers are welcome too.

Legendary Cocos Island is a remote pinnacle that climbs out of the Eastern Pacific like a modern day Jurassic Park. Its thick terrestrial canopy is mirrored below the waves by a kaleidoscopic variety of corals, invertebrates and brightly coloured fish species. Acting like an offshore pantry in an otherwise empty ocean, it is not surprising that Cocos attracts an abundant supply of large pelagic predators including enormous aggregations of silky and galapagos sharks, visiting whale sharks, squadrons of marbled stingrays, manta rays and some of the biggest schools of scalloped hammerheads in the world.

This is an amazing opportunity for divers looking for big animal encounters, especially with sharks. Think of the waters around Cocos Island as an aquatic safari park where lions and elephants are replaced by silvertip sharks, hammerheads, galapagos sharks, whtetips and silkies. Cocos is truly a big game photographer's paradise.

Cocos has an impressive assortment of dive sites to choose from, from deep rocky outcrops swarming with moray eels to shallow reefscapes filled with prowling whitetip sharks. Probably the most spectacular of Cocos' many dive sites is Alcyone where clouds of scalloped hammerhead sharks fill the heavens, presenting photographers with unparalleled shooting opportunities.

Imagine crouching on a rocky ledge 30 meters below the surface, while hundreds of schooling hammerheads glide by. Occasionally, one breaks off and swims towards you in an exaggerated swimming pattern indicating its need for attentions to nearby resident cleaner fish. Be very still while it continues in your direction and then squeeze the trigger capturing the type of shots that you have always dreamed about. This is the essence of Cocos Island.

The sister ship to the Undersea Hunter, the Sea Hunter was designed as a professional liveaboard dive cruiser with state-of-the-art facilities. It is a 115-foot steel scuba diving vessel that has been completely renovated and refurbished and offers 10-day adventures to Cocos Island, 300 miles off shore of Costa Rica`s Pacific coast and 13- to 15-day adventures take dive both Malpelo and Cocos Islands. Sea Hunter is a rare hybrid, combining the large working platform and powerful machinery of a functional work boat with the comfortable interior of a modern yacht.

Sea Hunter is complete air-conditioned, has carpeted decks and a beautiful and spacious wood-paneled lounge area with library, television, VCR and CD stereo system. There are eight cabins for total of 18 divers—three double staterooms with double beds and optional single berth and television with a VCR, three double cabins with upper and lower berths and two triple cabins. All the cabins have their own private facilities. There are two large camera workshops with ample individual storage and battery charging capacity, and E-6 processing. The well-designed diving deck area has individual gear storage facilities.

Have you ever wondered what lies within the dark Abyss? For years, venturing into the deep was reserved for a few privileged scientists and military personnel. We at Undersea Hunter are bound to extend the list of these fortunate few by offering to the world of adventure travelers a journey deep into the submerged realm where few have gone before.

DeepSee is a custom built one-atmosphere submarine, capable of carrying one pilot and two passengers down to a depth of 1,500 feet (475 m). It is the first deep submersible designed and developed from its keel up with the ocean enthusiast and underwater explorer in mind and as a dedicated filmmaking observation vehicle.

DeepSee was professionally built by SEAmagine USA to our exact specifications under the rigorous testing and classifications process of ABS (American Bureau of Shipping).

Unlike most other submersibles that require its support vessel to launch and retrieve the sub for each dive, DeepSee was designed to allow its passengers to safely and effortlessly board and disembark the sub while it is floating alongside the mother ship. No decompression required… it’s like moving from one dry, comfortable and safe space to another. Guests on board can combine their regular scuba dives with several 2 hour submersible dives.

DeepSee is equipped with a High Definition video camera, and an impressive array of HID lights, that will document all the DeepSee dives. Passengers can use their video or camera equipment from inside the acrylic sphere taking advantage of the sub’s powerful external lights. The perfectly clear 4 inches thick sphere literally disappears when submerged and offers the viewers an unparalleled and unobstructed 360’ view of the undersea world.

DeepSee has a dive autonomy of 6 hours at a speed of up to 1.7 knots. However, it can remain submerged and operational for as long as 72 hours with its onboard life support system reserve and back-up power supply. Constant surface-to-sub communication and accurate sub positioning is maintained, at all times, by the DeepSee pilot using state of the art electronics.

DeepSee is generally operated by Sea Hunter, but is available for use by Undersea Hunter divers when both vessels are at Cocos simultaneously. Please check with your agent for availability and schedules, and don`t miss out on this state-of-the-art opportunity.

Andy Sallmon and Allison Vitsky are a photography/writing team that has been working together since 2010. Andy’s educational background in marine biology and Allison’s in journalism and veterinary medicine provide a unique perspective on our oceans and the life they hold. Individually, their work has been recognized in numerous international underwater and nature photography competitions, featured on the walls of aquariums and museums, and published in books and magazines on diving, nature, and photography. The two combined have over 50 years of recreational and technical diving experience, with more than 10,000 dives all over the world. However, their favorite place to dive is the rich, temperate water of their home state: California. Andy and Allison live together in San Diego.