Okeanos Aggressor Captain's Logs

[Aggressor Adventures]

Okeanos Aggressor Captain's Log December 31 2011 to January 10- 2012

Water Temperature 77-80 F 25-26 C
Visibility 80 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mil, maybe more if you get cold easily.

Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, Rolando and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.

This Week we left Puntarenas around 5 pm on the 31 of December. By midnight most passengers were up on deck waiting anxiously for the New Year, we toasted with champagne and strawberries…. Happy New Year to all!

As we reached the island around 4 am on Monday morning, when our customers awakened the dinghies were already in the water. We started with the easy one, the Shallows of Manuelita, visibility was great and we had lots of fish including some sharks and rays. This was really exciting as some of the guests had never been in the water with sharks. After the second dive sharks were not a problem as they were actually friendly and sometime hard to get close to if you wanted to take pictures. That’s how these white tip sharks are anyway. On the deep side of Manuelita there were some hammerhead sharks, marble rays and eagle rays, as we swam around the rock a huge Galapagos shark went by close enough to let us take some pictures.

The next day we dove Alcyone and our third day of diving Dirty Rock but neither were as expected meaning few hammerheads. Don’t get me wrong, the dives were excellent with lots of fish and other sharks like black tips and Galapagos, eagle rays everywhere and friendly turtles. Dos Amigos was the same. We went back to Dirty rock and there they were! It’s amazing how things changed here. A few days earlier no hammerheads but now they were everywhere! They schooled close to the surface in big schools. Our guests were thrilled and we dove it again. The weather this week was very nice, lots of sun, flat seas and a great group of people. What a great way to start the new year. We were able to dive Manta corner which we haven’t done for a long time as the weather would not let us get there or the surge was too much and visibility gets poor. We were pleasantly surprised to see a huge tiger shark and the second group saw a Pacific Manta, a great day of diving. For the last day we did Dirty Rock and Dos Amigos Pequeno as they were the hottest sites for hammerheads. The crossing back was very smooth, a beautiful sunset and a night illuminated by a giant moon surrounded by millions of stars

A Great week of diving, An adventure of a lifetime. Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests Wade, Bruno, Franz, David, Lorenzo, Julie, Yi Hsin, Paul, Eric, Catherine, Ami, Jonathan and Elizabeth, Patrick and Anne, Manuel and Colleen, Benoit and John.

For a great week of diving!
Safe Diving, Capt. Beto

 

[Shasta_man]

Thanks for the info. Tiger shark, very cool.

Suggestion: we don't know where the boats are stationed; mention what part of the world you're in.

 

[Augustus]

its cocos island Costa Rica

 

[divekraz]

We were on the Okeanos Christmas 2010. Worst ship I've ever been on. I was speaking to a professional photographer this past weekend who was on it in 2007 and he had a worse experience than I did. I was on the Kona Agressor which was great and other liveaboards. You can see a current review of the Galapagos Buddy dive boat on this site on page one right now. The diving was great and I'd go back to Cocos in a flash but the boat itself was falling apart. The first day they had a general meeting and I crushed a coackroch while sitting on the sofa. We did not have water for extended time periods thoughout the entire trip with no real explanation as to why. The handle to the bulkhead outside our cabin on the deck above the lounge, literally came off in my hand and had no way to fasten it. They wouldn't let us on the ship until 9pm as the ship can only depart on high tide so you eat dinner around 10:30pm and stow your gear for the crossing. It takes 26 hours to get to Cocos and the ship rolls like your in 8-10 foot seas with your cabin closet doors banging all night to find your in 2 foot seas. The crew was OK. The food was buffet style without anything remarkable to say about it. The Kona agressor food was like eating at a 5 star hotel. I couldn't find my review of this trip but I did find other liveaboard reviews I've done. For the cost I would much rather go to Galapagos again as you will see much more and be on a much better boat with a fantastic crew.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Okeanos Aggressor Jan 14-24, 2012
Water Temperature 77-80 F 25-26 C Visibility 100 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mm, maybe more if you get cold easily.


Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, Rolando and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.



This week the weather was almost perfect so we made it to the island very early. The next morning we were all excited and ready to go in the water. The check out dive was incredible with tons and tons of fish including some hammerhead sharks and rays and incredible visibility. The second and third dive could not be better as a huge tiger shark showed up, not to mention the school of Galapagos sharks and the eagle rays. Today was awesome and hard to top but the second and third day we did Dirty Rock, Punta Maria and Alcyone which wasthe best site for Hammerhead sharks for the week. At Alcyone we had a thermo cline with 78F waterwhich brought the sharks and rays raised to a shallower depth, looked like they did not like the cold water. Actually all the fish got very active and the place came to life with lots of action.

Dos Amigos had a nice surprise as the arch was full of fish and even with a current, we managed to go around the rock, visibility was awesome; my guess was 120 feet or more.

We went back to Alcyone couple of more days as it was the best hammerhead shark dive of the week. Since the weather was so nice we did the south side of the island. The arch in Submerged Rock was incredible, there were so many fish that you could not see from one side to the other. The schooling snappers, grunts and jacks would just opened up for you to swim through. Lone Stone had another surprise, just getting to about 50 feet of water a pacific manta with a wing span of 15 feet across came in and stayed for more than 20 minutes allowing us to get all the pictures possible. While some of us played with the manta, others tried to get close to a couple of eagle rays down near the bottom. A friendly turtle came along making this an unforgettable dive. That afternoon we headed to Manta Corner, the first part of the dive went kind of crazy as a tiger shark showed up within the first 3 minutes so most of us kept looking for tiger sharks. Towards the end of the dive a turtle, three eagle rays ad three mantas showed up swimming around the diver very close. We also returned to Manuelita as the tiger sharks kept on showing up each dive. Once we were coming around the corner in one of those dives when we spotted a pair of harlequim shrimp eating a starfish a very rare delight for our eyes. The entire week was easy and relaxing for our guests with really good diving and incredible weather finished off with a flat smooth ride to the mainland on a star filled night.

Another great week of diving, another adventure of a lifetime.

Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests Gareth, Luis, Richard, Iztok and Tjasa, Janis, Piermarco, Fred and Pauline, Nils, Gunnar, Denise and Charles, Marcel and Christoph. For a great week of diving!

Safe Diving,
Capt. Beto

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Water Temperature 80-81 F (25-26 Celsius) Visibility 100 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mil, maybe more if you get cold easily.
Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, Rolando and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.

With perfect weather we made it very early to the island. Our check out dive was incredible with tons and tons of fish, hammerhead sharks and rays easily seen with incredible visibility. On the next dives a huge tiger shark showed up both dives, not to mention the school of Galapagos sharks and the eagle rays. This awesome first day will be hard to top! The next days we looked for action visiting all the sites of the island, Dirty Rock, Punta Maria and Alcyone with Alcyone being the best site for Hammerhead sharks for the week. There we had a thermocline that came in during the dive. With the colder water below, the sharks and rays ascended to a shallower depth, looked like they did not like the cold water. Actually all the fish got very active and the place came to life with lots of action. Dos Amigos had a nice surprise as the arch was full of fish, and we managed to go around the rock, visibility was awesome; my guess was 120 feet or more.

We went back to Alcyone as it was the best hammerhead shark dive of the week. This week since weather was so nice we did the south side of the island. The arch in Submerged Rock was incredible, there were so many fish that you could not see from one side to the other. The schooling snappers, grunts and jacks would just opened up for you to swim thru. Lone Stone had another surprise, just getting to about 50 feet of water a pacific manta with a wing span of 15 feet across came in and stayed for more than 20 minutes, allowing us to get great photos! While some of us played with the manta, others tried to get close to a couple of eagle rays down in the bottom, on top of this a friendly turtle came along making this an unforgettable dive. That afternoon we headed to Manta Corner, the first part of the dive went kind of crazy as a tiger shark showed up within the first 3 minutes, then most of us kept on looking for tiger sharks. Towards the end of the dive a turtle, three eagle rays ad three mantas showed up swimming closely around the divers who enjoyed taking pictures and just swimming along with mantas.

Back at Manuelita the tiger sharks kept on showing up in the dives, one time we were coming around the corner in one of those dives when we spotted a pair of harlequim shrimp eating a starfish, some of us just snapped and stayed the whole dive with these two harlequim as they were a delight for our eyes.

The week was easy and relaxing for our guests, the diving was really good and the weather incredible, just what a vacation should be! Our crossing back to mainland was easy with a flat ocean, a night full of stars and a hot day filled with sunshine.

A great week of diving, an adventure of a lifetime. Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests Gareth, Luis, Richard, Iztok and Tjasa, Janis, Piermarco, Fred and Pauline, Nils, Gunnar, Denise and Charles, Marcel and Christoph. For a great week of diving!

Safe Diving,
Capt. Beto

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Water Temperature 82-84 F (26-28 Celsius) Visibility 100 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mil, maybe more if you get cold easily.

Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, Rolando and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.

This week we had a group of 10 from France and people from all over the planet. The crossing was perfect with the ocean flat as a table. Somewhere in the middle of the sea a pod of common dolphins came playing with the bow waves. The water was so clear you could see them swimming to the deep water once they took off. After a delicious breakfast we finished last minutes details, loaded gear in the dinghies and suited up for the dive. After a short boat ride we entered the water swimming downward with at least 120 feet visibility. Many fish & hammerhead sharks came to greet us in schools, right in the shallows of Manuelita, I was surprised that even with this great visibility they were getting close. , When the visibility is this clear the sharks can see you from far and normally don’t not come close but this time to our luck, the rule had an exception. After a long while we started to move to the middle of the reef finding an orange frog fish then two other black frog fish. Later on the same dive a feeding frenzy of white tip reef sharks started when a few blue spotted jacks wounded a fish while trying to catch it. The wounded fish went hiding under the rocks so the sharks took place, this went on for the rest of the dive. The next two dives on the deep side of Manuelita were amazing. We had a huge tiger shark coming in close along with a manta ray as if they were swimming together. On the third dive a school of 8 big Galapagos sharks had taken what used to be a cleaning station for hammerhead sharks and on the reef we found a crack with no less than 50 lobsters in it.

The week went on with us trying to get our guests to the best sites of the island. The night dive in the shallows of Manuelita was amazing, full of action our guests loved. The Park Rangers allow only one dive per boat there each week but being a shallow dive, most divers get in close to 55 minutes.

As usual the week was full of surprises like the mantas on Alcyone that stayed with the group for some time. At Dirty Rock dolphins came in close so we were able to video them, the tiger sharks in Manuelita, once with three tigers at once, you can imagine how our hearts went! Everyone wanted to come back to Manuelita so our last day we did three dives there. It was incredible, the tigers and the hammerhead sharks were there, the hammerheads came back to the shallows and again they came in close, such a great way to end the week of adventure.

A great week of diving, an adventure of a lifetime. Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests; Catherine, Ludovic, Pierre, Martine, Masakazu, Stephen, Francisco, Daniel and Patricia, Mirian, Marcos and Ana, Dominique and Suzanne, Christian, Claude, Andrea, Simona, Scott and Sarah For a great week of diving!

Safe Diving,
Capt. Beto

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Okeanos Aggressor Captain's Log March 6, 2012

(Photos by Carlos Sanchez)

Water Temperature Very warm, 82-86 F (26-30 C)
Visibility 60 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mm
Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, Rolando and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.

This week we had a mix of guests from all over including multiple repeat guests Marian, Stanton, and Franz that like this place so much they can’t stay away for long.

Our crossing to the island was really smooth with a beautiful sunset and clear sky. The first day of diving was great with tons of fish, clear water, hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks and the shy tiger shark that didn’t let us get any close. The next day we tried Alcyone and the hammerheads showed up as normal, lots of them and sometimes very close. Even with the warm water this week, Alcyone had a cool current of 82 degrees the slight current brought the sharks to us, hundreds of hammerheads. It was so cool to be there with all the action that we did it again next day and we had the same action.

Then we made it over Dos Amigos, the arch in big Dos Amigos was packed with fish and some sharks. Coming out of the arch and in about 85 feet of water a school of hammerhead sharks went by. Small Dos Amigos had a really good surprise, hammerheads sharks coming in so close it felt like you could reach and touch them. This week was definitely a hammerhead shark week, of course we had some other big stuff like the marble rays, eagle rays, Galapagos shark, turtles, also the frog fish in Manuelita, both black and the orange ones too.

Weather wise we had an excellent week, with lots of sun. We also helped a little turtle that got caught in fishing net. We were on our way back to the mother ship when we saw it so we stopped and untangled the turtle. She was so tired she barely move but once released she flapped her fins and swam away..

A Great week of diving. An adventure of a lifetime.
Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests; Tomas and Katia, Franz, Fritz, Ludwig, Pierre, Denis, Douglas, Van, Mattew, James, Elisa, fabric, Bernd and Heike, Marian, Philip and Michelle, Donald and Paula, William and Dale. For a great week of diving! Safe Diving, Capt. Beto

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Okeanos Aggressor Captain’s Log 3/20/12

March 10- 2012 to March 20- 2012 (Photos by Carlos Sanchez)

Water Temp. 80-83 F 26-28 C
Visibility 80 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mm, maybe if you get cold easily

Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, David and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.

We had a great crossing for our guests from all over the planet. They were all excited to get in the water and diving conditions were fantastic with clear, warm water. Of course we were greeted by huge schools of fish, sharks, eagle rays and marble rays.

The following day we made it around the whole island looking for the best places. Alcyone had tons of hammerheads and Dos Amigos Pequeno had the same type of action. Hammerhead sharks came really close to the divers making them really happy. The next day we did Punta Maria and while hanging on the line, a big Pacific Manta swam close to us, we got all excited and happy. There were Galapagos Sharks at Dirty Rock, there were also friendly turtles during this week.

Alcyone was so good we made it back and our Hammerhead friends were still there. The weather conditions were close to perfect and the underwater conditions were also good but we had current in few of the dive places. That made it a bit challenging for some of us but at the same time the current brought in the action with rays and sharks. The visibility came down a little, always a price to pay.

The last couple of days we did Alcyone, Dirty Rock and Manuelita. Galapagos sharks and hammerheads were very active coming very close. Eagle rays were around also but the highlight of the week for guests and crew alike was a giant tiger shark at Manuelita! This 14 foot shark was so friendly our hearts and minds just rocketed to the sky. Adrenaline flowed and cameras clicked what seemed forever as this huge shark came and went with us for more than five minutes, what an awesome way of ending the week. Our crossing back was really good with a beautiful night sky and happy divers. A great week of diving, an adventure of a lifetime. Stay tuned for more……

Thanks to all of our guests; Roy, Mattew, Allison, Leigh, John, Gerard, Hilton and Catherine, Christopher and Kristine, Pierre and Marie, Earl and Claudia, Pedro and Maria. For a great week of diving! Safe Diving, Capt. Beto

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Okeanos Aggressor Captain’s Log March 24 to April 3, 2012

Water Temperature 82-86 F (27-98 C)
Visibility 80 ft.
Wetsuits: 3mil, maybe more if you get cold easily.

Crew this week: Capt. Beto, Chefs Leonidas and Douglas, Engineer Luis, Steward Osayuki, Boat drivers Marvin, Xavier, David and, Divemaster Carlos Sanchez.
(Photos by Carlos Sanchez)

Most of our guests were a little apprehensive with the stories they heard about sharks and the currents in Cocos. After the very first dive they were relaxed and enjoyed the underwater world of Coco’s assorted sharks, rays and the usual Cocos cast of goat fish, snappers, eels, grunts, surgeons, tons of lobster and to top it off, a tiger shark at least 14 feet long and a Manta that joined us on our safety stop. After that intro everyone was relaxed and ready for the night dive at Manuelita. Our lights attracted the white tip sharks that came in big groups scanning the reef looking for an easy meal, it was very exciting to see them going on a frenzy once they found a fish trapped in the rocks. They were hunting along with the trevaly jacks which are faster than the sharks so they teamed up to get their meal…

I feel unfair not going into details of the next day at Dirty Rock but I have to go straight to the point. This dive not only had the hammerhead sharks but tons of other fish including an Eagle Ray. The huge school of hammerhead sharks came right at us, an incredible site to see so many sharks at once that stayed for a while letting us get close and take pictures, what an amazing sight… Of course we came back to Dirty Rock many times thru the week as this was our best hammerhead shark spot of the week. There were times when you could just reach and touch them they came so close, what an awesome dive this was…
There were places like Lone Stone that surprised us, doing our safety stop a couple of mantas came and stayed with us long enough to let us take pictures and enjoy these magnificent creatures. There were also places like submerged Rock with countless fish, it was exciting to swim in the school of fish that opened up to let you thru. Another place with a little surprise was Manta Corner, no mantas but tiger and eagle rays. Manuelita was the highlight of the whole adventure with tiger sharks almost every time we went there. The next to last day we moved toward the inside of the rock and saw a school of at least 20 marble rays very close then after the rays, the tiger shark again…..

The last day we dove Dirty Rock and Manuelita again, the best sites this week with and tons of hammerheads at Dirty Rock and the Tiger shark again at Manuelita. To put the cherry on the cake, a 20 foot whale shark joined us at Manuelita. Everyone went crazy and rushed to take as many pictures as possible. What a perfect way to end such a great week of diving! I thank all of all of our guests; Nathalie, James, William, Jeff, Curtis and Elayna, Gordon and Christie, Gina, Charles and Valerie, Richard and Jennifer, Tim and Karen, Simon and Amanda, Glenys and Norma and a very special thanks to our friends from DIVER’S DESCENT SCUBA in Pennsylvania lead by Chuck and Valerie, what an amazing group….

Thanks for a great week of diving and stay tuned for more exciting adventures from Cocos Island! Safe Diving, Capt. Beto