Cocos Island January vs June and which boat

[also_anon_dc]

You got a good deal! I paid $1800 to go to 1000' depth back in September 2018.

…… that’s a lot of money! Was it worth it?

 

[Dan]

…… that’s a lot of money! Was it worth it?

Yes for once in a lifetime in a Submersible down to 1000' depth. I didn't see as much as Jonathan Bird's did (see his video, below), but the experience is amazing, nonetheless. I may edit my video and upload it to my YouTube channel later.

 

[Dan]

Here is a short video of what we saw in Manuelita Channel & Outside in September 2022. Hopefully they are still there on your upcoming trip.

 

[cetacean]

@Dan

The last time I was in the submersible was in 2016, looks like they've raised their rates.

I would still suggest getting buzzed by hammers and mobulas below 600 ft was worth it (though).
However, the bobbing motion of DeepSea being towed to a the drop off was "not great" and looking through the convex sphere for a long dive was headache inducing.

 

[Dan]

I may edit my video and upload it to my YouTube channel later.

Here it is;

I would still suggest getting buzzed by hammers and mobulas below 600 ft was worth it (though).

Unfortunately, I saw NO hammers

However, the bobbing motion of DeepSea being towed to a the drop off was "not great" and looking through the convex sphere for a long dive was headache inducing.

Luckily I'm OK in that department.

 

[Johnoly]

I work like this for the last 15 years and am not planning to change

Umm you might have heard about the liveaboard fires that have killed divers because of batteries. There are very very few captains that will allow a camera to stay in a cabin overnite (no matter how safe you say you are even removing the batteries). Forget what the sales office states/writes, it's all the captain's decision and he sees that the biggest camera has the biggest battery fire. All electronics, charging or NOT, are kept outside so they can be monitored at night. Nope, they don't trust anyone behind a closed cabin door. I understand it's a very expensive camera, maybe bring a steel mesh bag with a padlock.

 

[Dan]

Umm you might have heard about the liveaboard fires that have killed divers because of batteries. There are very very few captains that will allow a camera to stay in a cabin overnite (no matter how safe you say you are even removing the batteries). Forget what the sales office states/writes, it's all the captain's decision and he sees that the biggest camera has the biggest battery fire. All electronics, charging or NOT, are kept outside so they can be monitored at night. Nope, they don't trust anyone behind a closed cabin door. I understand it's a very expensive camera, maybe bring a steel mesh bag with a padlock.

As long as charging the batteries at designated place, I’m OK to set up & keep the camera in cool & low humidity room to avoid condensation on lens inside the camera case while diving.

 

[also_anon_dc]

Yes for once in a lifetime in a Submersible down to 1000' depth. I didn't see as much as Jonathan Bird's did (see his video, below), but the experience is amazing, nonetheless. I may edit my video and upload it to my YouTube channel later.

Thanks Dan! Both of those videos were amazing. I've added this to my liveaboard bucket list!

 

[Manuel Sam]

Going back to the OP's original questions: if my choice were limited to January or June, I'd opt for June. All my trips (7 charters, 5 my own and 2 somebody else's) have been July thru September. Those were always the months in highest demand, which one might associate with high season. I suppose June could arguably be considered high season or pretty close to it. Another argument for June over January might be that it is rather telling that Undersea Hunter isn't even offering Cocos trips from January thru April 2024, opting instead to offer Silver Banks trips.

As for choice of boat, all my trips were with Undersea Hunter Group. Not having been on either of the Okeanos Aggressors (I or II), my only observation is that, as Cetacean already mentioned, I'd feel a lot safer on the Undersea Hunter's solid fiberglass boats than on Aggressor's RHIBs, especially when going out to sites like Dos Amigos with the most exposure to heavy ocean swells.

As for your preference for non-bunk beds, again as Cetacean already observed, Sea Hunter has two cabins with side-by-side beds. Argo - when it returns - has three. The new Cocos Island Aggressor appears to have almost all side-by-side beds.

As for the Nautilus Undersea as suggested by O-ring: my best Cocos trips were on that boat back when it was called the Undersea Hunter, before it was sold to Nautilus. Nautilus did a nice job of retrofitting the boat, making it more spacious and comfortable - I was on it in May 2021 to Socorro. But.....they haven't scheduled anything beyond 2023 yet. Also, they do not have any cabins with side by side beds, and if they bring the same tenders that they use in Socorro to Cocos, those are also RHIBs. Worth noting that the workaround to the bunk bed issue on the Nautilus Undersea might be to pay the single supplement. Nautilus had the most generous single supplement (25%) I've seen, which I gladly paid to have a single during the pandemic in 2021.

 

[cetacean]

@Manuel Sam

I don't have anything to add other than I really liked the old Undersea Hunter. I was on it my first trip to Cocos (which was also a combination trip with Malpelo back when they could get permits for diving there while departing from Costa Rica).