Roatan instructor recommendations?

[mjnansen]

Reef Gliders do seem to offer cave diving on Roatan- new one on me.

One of the "cavern" sites that they mention, Hole in the Wall, I have been to many times. It is about a 2.25 hrs trip around and East of their location by one of their pangas.

They probably have shore diving, too.

I think this is the Hole in the Wall right by Half Moon Bay- before you get to Fish Den, only about 5-10 min by boat. It's a nice dive, but really more of a swim-thru crack (like Mary's Place). To call it a cavern is really a stretch!

 

[Doc]

I think this is the Hole in the Wall right by Half Moon Bay- before you get to Fish Den, only about 5-10 min by boat. It's a nice dive, but really more of a swim-thru crack (like Mary's Place). To call it a cavern is really a stretch!

The one that I know is waaaay East, just offshore and South of Old Port Royal.

It is a tunnel that is maybe the width and height of a Toyota Camry at 85 feet, then as it slowly angles up, it exits into the daylight constricted to the dimensions of a kitchen stove (which was probably a Yugo in a previuous life just to keep the car analogy going because very few know what an MG Midget would be). It's not a difficult thing but does produce claustraphobia and a very unique experience if you happen to be the last man through following a herd of turtles.

In exploration (being dragged behind a motorboat on a dive plane for endless miles, dropping weighted float markers when we saw something cool), I have been in dozens of cracks, slits, holes, chutes, chumneys, slots, chasms and sinks all over the Bay Islands, but after diving the caves of Florida, Missouri, Iowa and other countries in the 70's, I ain't seen no caves in the Bay Islands. That doesn't mean that there isn't one out there, waiting for a shore diver to stumble over it for the first time. That will be fun.

In island culture, there are many places with the same names, even on the same island. Roatan doesn't have even one Georgetown, but it does have two Sandy Bays. The well known one is on the North side and is the setting for an enclave of Norteamericano homes. The other on the South side and is where CoCoView sits.

Why there is Port Royal and Old Port Royal, I do not know. They have not only the same Area Code (45) for the phone system, the same Postal Zip Code (4), and the highway that bisects them both is called Port Royal Way yet the two roads really don't connect but for the cloverleaf.

The airports have different names. They, too, may have shore dives.

 

[SteveFass]

Below is from Roatannet.com. It's the last para that made me originally think there are real caverns in Roatan, but I'll take the opinion of RoatanMan over a website designed to promote tourism. The site has a map which puts this dive somewhere between Sea Grape and Canyon Reef near Half Moon Bay.

HOLE-IN-THE-WALL
Welcome to one of Roatan's classics, you can't leave without doing this dive! This has something for everyone. We begin in 40ft. of water on a sand chute, home to the shy Yellowhead Jawfish, that takes us down through the "hole in the wall" opening out at 100ft. Novices can ascend a little and enjoy the spectacular wall on the right while the more advanced can descend down the sand slope, leveling out above "the abyss" that drops down to 1000's of feet. Take a right, slowly making your ascent up and along the wall where shoals of Creole Wrasse, Blue Tang thrive.

Look out for eagle rays and turtles, and it's not over yet! After swimming for 10mins and upon reaching the top of the wall it's time to head towards the shallows where the 'swiss-cheese' rock formations provide another fabulous journey down, round, up and over swim-throughs, caverns, and canyons while "off-gassing" in 20ft of water.

Keep an eye out for marble-eyed Spotted Scorpion Fish lying amongst the rocks on the bottom, and finish off with a visit in the last canyon where Glassy Sweepers and Silversides (seasonal) jostle for the spotlight as the sunbeams through the cracks. For the adrenalin seekers there is a dark and silty cavern at the end of this canyon, which has several passages that one could quite easily get lost in, so of course do not do this without an experienced guide. The view coming out of the canyon is an amazing gradient of greens and blues with silhouetted rock formations. A perfect dive and a perfect profile.

 

[diverrick]

Just as an aside, Sea Grapes has some pretty cool cabins on West end. Walking distance to most everything. Sits on the ironshore. if your not styaing at a resort, you'll have to find a place to stay, unless of course, you already have that covered.

 

[Aquawookie]

Hey thanks guys! I didn't even have Reef Gliders on my list, but I like a lot what I see on their website. Shore dives would be a huge plus - I'll ask them.

Kent - I wanted to take classes because my travel partner isn't a diver and I wanted to avoid having to look for dive buddies and worrying about what kind of buddy I get. Bad plan ya think?

I would suggest you get the AOW book and do the homework before you go on vacation. You have to do a Deep Dive and a Navigation Dive for your AOW. A Night Dive would be a good choice, lot’s to see in Rotan at night and how about a Photography course so you can take some pics to show your SO. Maybe you can get them interested in diving too! Then finish off with a Wreck Dive and there’s your AOW.

Added to all that, the Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) course can be done at the same time as the AOW.

All PADI courses are integrated so the dives in the AOW count as the 1st dive of a specialty. So you could take a Deep, Navigation, Night, Photography and Wreck Specialty’s in addition to you AOW and EANx all in one week. :14:

You could get a year’s worth of training during your vacation. :11:

Then all you would need to do for the Master Scuba Diver rating is add an EFR and Rescue class to that.

If you want to do some of the book work before you go then PM me and I’ll set you up with all the stuff you need. I’m an instructor for a dive shop on the upper east side in Manhattan.

Of course I would be more then happy to teach you all this stuff here in NYC myself where I can personally guarantee you’ll get your moneys worth.

I would point out that if the only reason for doing all this training on your vacation is because you have no buddy then I have some breaking news for you. I was a single diver for years and I had a great time teaming up with people I never met before on dive boats. Sometimes it was good fun and sometimes it was a chore but it was always educational.

If you really want just a good dive buddy and you don’t want to take pot luck then hire a local DM to dive with you. It won’t be that expensive and I guarantee you’ll see more cool stuff that way. The local divers know the best spots because they dive there every day

No matter what you decide have a great trip and happy diving.

Aquawookie

 

[jghflash]

Liber is still at Bananrama. My wife and I dove for 2 weeks with them in June and I would hardily recommend Liber. He acted as our DM on half the dives and is a very capable diver. I would be quite comfortable recommending him as an instructor based on watching him and diving with him. He has a quiet confidence, is well spoken and obviously is truly passionate about the sport. Good luck!

 

[toodive4]

I highly recommend the Inn of Last Resort... Roatans best kept secret.. Will be there October 22-29 2005 if you want to drop in for a visit. I'm an SSI Certified AOWI and could arrange to do some dives / training with you if scheduled in advance...

Ken

I've got this fascination with Roatan, and I think I'm ready for more training, so I'm thinking of combining the two. I'm OW with 25 warm water, great vis, easy, reef dives. I'm told I have good skills for someone with just 25 dives.

From what I see PADI is the only option for Roatan (or Utila) though I don't care what the agency is so long as the instructor is really good. It sounds like AOW is necessary but not "satisfying", so I'm wondering if in one week I can do AOW and something else. Trouble is, everything interests me so I'm having trouble deciding. Cavern? Wreck? Rescue? What do you think?

From what I've read here it doesn't sound like Anthony's Key is for me. It sounds too kid friendly, too regimented, not the best shore dives, and that side of the island sounds more buggy.

Second question. Do you know of good instructors on Roatan? I do NOT want "easy"; I'm not after the c-card; I want really good training. My OW was too easy and I need to make up for it. If this whole idea is stupid and you think I should get my training locally (NYC), please don't hold back.

Thanks all.

 

[mjnansen]

Below is from Roatannet.com. It's the last para that made me originally think there are real caverns in Roatan, but I'll take the opinion of RoatanMan over a website designed to promote tourism. The site has a map which puts this dive somewhere between Sea Grape and Canyon Reef near Half Moon Bay.

HOLE-IN-THE-WALL
Welcome to one of Roatan's classics, you can't leave without doing this dive! This has something for everyone. We begin in 40ft. of water on a sand chute, home to the shy Yellowhead Jawfish, that takes us down through the "hole in the wall" opening out at 100ft. Novices can ascend a little and enjoy the spectacular wall on the right while the more advanced can descend down the sand slope, leveling out above "the abyss" that drops down to 1000's of feet. Take a right, slowly making your ascent up and along the wall where shoals of Creole Wrasse, Blue Tang thrive.

Look out for eagle rays and turtles, and it's not over yet! After swimming for 10mins and upon reaching the top of the wall it's time to head towards the shallows where the 'swiss-cheese' rock formations provide another fabulous journey down, round, up and over swim-throughs, caverns, and canyons while "off-gassing" in 20ft of water.

Keep an eye out for marble-eyed Spotted Scorpion Fish lying amongst the rocks on the bottom, and finish off with a visit in the last canyon where Glassy Sweepers and Silversides (seasonal) jostle for the spotlight as the sunbeams through the cracks. For the adrenalin seekers there is a dark and silty cavern at the end of this canyon, which has several passages that one could quite easily get lost in, so of course do not do this without an experienced guide. The view coming out of the canyon is an amazing gradient of greens and blues with silhouetted rock formations. A perfect dive and a perfect profile.

I've done this dive several times and it is always a favorite. But to call this a cavern dive is like calling ketchup a vegetable- yes, there are similarities, but it just isn't the same! Save cavern diving for a place that actually has caverns. Roatan is a good place to take critter ID classes. Good luck deciding. Enjoy the West End.

 

[offseasondiving]

Reef Gliders do seem to offer cave diving on Roatan- new one on me.

One of the "cavern" sites that they mention, Hole in the Wall, I have been to many times. It is about a 2.25 hrs trip around and East of their location by one of their pangas.

They probably have shore diving, too.

Do you know what is the other wreck site on Roatan beside Prince Albert. thanks

 

[Doc]

Do you know what is the other wreck site on Roatan beside Prince Albert. thanks

There are approximately 20 wrecks that I have been on, six of which are 'placed", one of that latter group is essentialy undivable.

Right next to the PA is a DC3 in three pieces. Near French Key is "Mr Bud". Just off of FIBR, behind Little French Key is a mistake made by FIBR, a that undivable huge ship dropped in 120fsw that is always dark and stirred up.

The Aguila (Eagle) and Odyssey are easily accessed from any of the NE, W dive ops.

There is also the Jado Trader, lost in 110fsw off of Guanaja. Also find the Don Enrique shrimper.

Numerous other wrecks dot the underwater terrain, none are as of yet on the regular menu for any dive op.

The PA is an excellent nite dive opportunity that is an easy shore dive from CCV, connected to the rooms, essential, by it's anchor chain. She is a 120' tanker that lies upright in 65 to 35 foot bottom depths.

The trick of the wrecks is to observe them with great care, slowly and up close, for the miriad macro critters that have made the Bay Islands famous.

It's all in the details!