Anyone done Shark Diving in Roatan?

[gilmoregirl]

Hello fellow divers,
my family is heading to the caribbean around Christmas time (Belize, Roatan, Cosumel & the Grand Cayman). We are planning on diving in two locations -- so far we think we'll dive in Roatan and Cozumel. First, do anyone of you have suggestions?

Second, we'd like to do a Shark dive in Roatan -- anyone done that. We did 4 shark dives in Tahiti and they were awesome, eally enjoyed it.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

 

[Doc]

The Shark Dive on Roatan is pretty well discussed here over the years.

Pay attention during the dive briefing.

Because of currents in the area, there are an established set of lines to assist you in staying in the area of the boat. During the briefing, they will tell you about how to manage them to your best advantage.

The Roatan Sharks are fairly sharky, just like the ones you saw in Tahiti. But in Roatan, they respond to Spanish commands, which is curious as the DMs that run this dive are Italian.

clicko el linko -> http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/378965-roatan-shark-dive.html

 

[salth2owannabe]

I did the shark dive last December and really enjoyed it. Not sure I'd run right back and do it again but for my first shark dive experience I was happy with it and thought it was well worth the money. As Roatanman mentioned the current can be relatively swift and I had to use the mooring line to get me down to the staging area that's around 70'. There were a number of nice sized sharks that showed up and swam to within arms reach a number of times. They have you sit for a while until the sharks assemble and then they allow you to swim with them in the area. The current was strong enough that when I made a short loop I figured out it was just better to go sit down and have the sharks come to you, which they readily do.

The opinions on the shark dive thing are always highly polarized, but I'm glad I got to experience it and in the process I learned a lot.

 

[gilmoregirl]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. One more quick question, do you think the current would be too strong for my 14 year old son? He has 7 dives under his belt.

Thanks again!
Jamie

 

[Doc]

The current is quite often too strong for any diver to overcome it and be able to swim against it.

You tell us. Does he have the aptitude and self-control to listen to and understand a dive briefing that will explain the use of a set of lines that he must hold onto, using a hand-over-hand technique to move himself along the surface against current... then using a downline to make his descent, and the the same ascending? As you will note from the linked thread, once at the bottom, there is a nice coral formation that "blocks the breeze".

Then, does he have the physical ability to perform such tasks?

An additional bogey: It is well advised to do this dive with an extra 10# of lead so you go kerplunk on the sandy bottom and expend no energy or air by thrashing around trying to stay in position. Can he handle that extra complication of his buoyancy adjustments?

 

[jlevine]

I did the shark dive a few years ago. It was well worth the money. As others have said, the currents can be a bit strong. Pay close attention to the dive briefing as far as descent/ascent is concerned.

 

[MoreSunLessRain]

The shark dive is definitely worth the money. Just make sure you bring a camera. The video they sell after is a mix of pre-fabbed video and shots they get during your actual dive and on the pricey end. Having your own photos will be better for showing your friends how close the sharks actually get to you.

 

[BDSC]

I also thought it was well worth the money and enjoyed the dive. When we did it there was no current at all that I remember.

 

[ed fisher]

My wife and I just did this dive on November 4th. We both felt it was well worth the $100 each. Like other posters mentioned, dont underestimate the surface current. It is a backroll entry and then absolutely following the downline to the site and then back to the ladder at the end. We found the bottom current quite manageable, the viz about 50 feet and the animals amazing. Turtles, barracuda and 20 or so 8-10 foot reef sharks. That day the current allowed about a 10 minute swim with the sharks. We were expecting it to be a little hokey but were pleasantly surprised. We even felt the $40 price for the video was well worth it. The grandkids love it. Enjoy it and your diving in Cozumel.

 

[beautybelow]

I think 14 years old with only 7 dives is boarder line risky for that dive, depending on the conditions mentioned above.

It looks like you will be diving with a cruise ship, otherwise I would suggest you talk to the dive operator you are using there and ask a DM/instructor to go with you if they have room on the dive itself (sometimes it is full and there is just no room for an extra person on the boat). I am also assuming you don't have the experience to be comfortable managing him yourself. Most of the time, when I was there, there were only two divers from the shark dive itself. Ohe held the bucket (not sure you want him to buddy up with your son) and the other did video.

Sometimes they had 3 divers in the water though and maybe now they always do, but even then there may be more than one person this extra diver would need to keep an eye on so to speak.

Bottom line is it would be a great experience for him. On a good day it is a fairly easy dive to 70' with a lot of big sharks swimming very close to you (which may make him nervous). On a bad day it is a dive in rough seas with a tough boat ride out, ripping surface current, and a lot of big sharks swimming very close to you on the bottom.

About the video, if they are only still charging $40 for it then it's not really over-priced in my opinion.

They always had a good videographer with a decent camera who knew what was going to happen and was able to get a good representation of the dive. Of course there is stock footage in it, how else can they have it ready for you by the time you dry off basically?

Take pictures and buy the video!