Best Diving Roatan, North or South ??

[Tuckster]

Much difference ?? We are considering Sandy Bay (because of Spookey Channel) & West Bay (great beach).

 

[Doc]

That ought to be just perfect.

Although the "West Bay", hmmm, is that really North or South? Great beach diving.

What day of the week?

 

[Tuckster]

Planning a week in late Feb or early March. We read where the weather starts improving then. Also considering Parrot Tree Plantation which is on the South. Will probably dive every day.

 

[Doc]

Planning a week in late Feb or early March. We read where the weather starts improving then. Also considering Parrot Tree Plantation which is on the South. Will probably dive every day.

Okay then, February it is.

One more thing- Sandy Bay because of Spooky Channel, West Bay because of the beach, and Parrot Tree because of ____________.

Either way, the answer will be the same. During the Winter months, the seas from the North can get quite ugly. Yes, February -> March is where the weather starts to improve. April and May is usually quite the paradise.

Then Huricane season begins, and in the Bay Islands this means the "Rainy Season"... not so much any chance of Huricanes as most other Caribbean places. The "Northers" descend upon the Bay Islands. As the tropical storm season winds down in November, the Bay Islands feel the effects of what we see in the States as Arctic Cold Fronts. When it's cold shock time in Texas, the North side of the Bay Islands (and West End) turns to the South for diving.

 

[Rev. Blade]

My first trip to Roatan, I stayed at Bay Island Beach Resort (next to Spooky Channel). One of the owners of BIBR, co-wrote the Lonely Planet book about Roatan diving... so you might not be surprised to find the book rates Spooky Channel as a great dive.

The dive masters at BIBR suggested that I should not try Spooky Channel from the shore side. They cautioned that there is a fair current through the channel. If you manage to use much air going out, you may have a nasty surface swim to get back... or wait for a resort boat to go around and out, past the reef to get you.

Three years later I went back to Roatan, and got to dive Spooky Channel (from the ocean side). The current was ripping, and we had half our group abort the dive because they could not make headway against the current. Visibility in the channel was 40' at best, and down to 20' at times.

I'm glad I dove it, because it had been hyped to me. I feel no special urge to dive the channel again.

Both my trips to Roatan were in early December. Although we had some rain on both trips, I didn't find it an issue while wearing a wetsuit.

 

[Tuckster]

My first trip to Roatan, I stayed at Bay Island Beach Resort (next to Spooky Channel). One of the owners of BIBR, co-wrote the Lonely Planet book about Roatan diving... so you might not be surprised to find the book rates Spooky Channel as a great dive.

The dive masters at BIBR suggested that I should not try Spooky Channel from the shore side. They cautioned that there is a fair current through the channel. If you manage to use much air going out, you may have a nasty surface swim to get back... or wait for a resort boat to go around and out, past the reef to get you.

Three years later I went back to Roatan, and got to dive Spooky Channel (from the ocean side). The current was ripping, and we had half our group abort the dive because they could not make headway against the current. Visibility in the channel was 40' at best, and down to 20' at times.

I'm glad I dove it, because it had been hyped to me. I feel no special urge to dive the channel again.

Both my trips to Roatan were in early December. Although we had some rain on both trips, I didn't find it an issue while wearing a wetsuit.

Good stuff Rev. This is the type of post that makes this board so valuable. I had read where the current could be an issue however, never from someone who had 1st hand knowledge. IF (big IF) we decide to do it at all, it will be from a boat. Both my wife & I are middle age & don't like to work to hard on our dives. We are leaning toward West Bay. Thanks

 

[Rev. Blade]

Our dive master had never seen the channel ripping as fast as the day we dove it. Some days the Spooky Channel may not be as challenging. ...but on that day, it was a bigger deal than I'd normally request on a vacation dive.

Our second dive that day was at The Bear's Den. A cave dive with only one exit, which was a fairly small choke point in the cave. Penetration may have been as much as 70', and completely out of sight of the open water. That dive breifing had led some divers to think it was a cavern with direct access to the surface. Not a good day for dive site breifings. The dive master did not even bring a light. He manuevered by the light of divers who had brought them. (We had 3 lights among the 6 divers in our group, and I had two of those... I loaned my backup to my buddy as soon as we got into the cave.) I loaned my primary to the dive master, when he had to go back in for a diver who stayed in the cave when the rest of us swam out.

After that dive, no one teased me about carrying two lights on day dives. (One in a pocket, one in my hand.)

 

[HowieDean]

Had to reply to this post cause it kind of proves what I've always said... You'll either think it's really neat or you'll wonder why they wasted your time and money taking you there.........

I've dove it near a hundred times and still look forward to doing it.....

We usually do it on the 10:30 dive so Tide is not an issue... Never have incountered a STRONG current...... sometimes there's enough current that you can feel it but usually nothing taxing..............

I've been in it when viz was 100ft + "not very spooky" and when it was near zero....
Low viz kind of hightens the effect - it just isn't the same when you can see from one side to the other...............

The best way to describe it would be to think of a tunnel erroded through lava rock...
The tunnel would be oval about 50 foot high - 100ft wide - and 400 feet long... Now take a 20ft slice out of the top of the tunnel, and scatter the roof debrie around the floor of the tunnel... then put it all underwater........... This gives you a long 50ft deep underwater tunnel with 20 foot gap in the top - hence a channel

Though on rare ocasionson I have seen turtles, sharks, schools of flying fish, Starfish, etc - you probably aren't going to see alot of marine life in the channel - (there are a bunch of pet Groupers and a Pet barracuda at the moring) - the rock formation - overhangs and swim-throughs are what you came to see..........

NO trip to Roatan would be complete without doing Spooky...........

That's just my opinion I could be wrong

 

[shadowdiver]

You will get better diving on the North side at that time of year, if you decide to stay in West Bay, there is no reason why the dive op can't take you to Spooky Channel, in a a decent boat it's only about a 15-20 minute boat ride. West Bay is a lot more beautiful than Sandy Bay. Parrot Tree would be a bit boring just my opinion and the diving no where near as good. Alot of mangroves were destoyed to develop the area and make the lagoon and artificial beach.

 

[Rev. Blade]

I'm planning to go to Roatan in September 2006. I'll be staying at Fantasy Island Beach Resort. I was on Roatan in 2002, and vis was 100+ feet. I was there December 2005, and vis was mostly around 60 feet (excecpt one dive in Spooky channel). The locals were saying the low vis (still better than Monterey on a good day) was due to all the recent rain.

Any trip reports to hint if I should be expecting 100+', or 60' and less?