I'm not NetDoc, nor am I the famous Doc Radawski who is a permanent exhibit of the CoCoView Zoo, Dinosaur Section. Doc R is famous for many things in the dive world, but most people saw him wax poetic on the topic of Roatan's Crystal Skulls, true stories he told on some History Channel advertorial for the Indiana Jones movie of the same name. NetDout's cohorts just "invaded Roatan", but they dive an entirely different zone.
I have been to Bonaire many times, Curaçao for only two trips, I liked Bonaire better than the other ABC's, but it was for the shore dive variety and access. Since the hurricane, I am not enamored with it, nor am I fond of the cars being a looting target. I digress.
Roatan is a very big island for being such a small island. The local zones of diving vary dramatically from one locale to the next. CCV is located in the middle of a very unique zone, anywhere in the Caribbean. That the long, narrow island lies in a thin strip some 17 miles long in a cattywampus stretch running SW to NE. This not only creates a barricade against storms (which come from the North), but it has also shaped the architecture of the local reef structure.
Reef structure in this zone begins within a close snorkel from the shore. It breaks in 5 to 20' of water and is straight vertical wall to a 90' sand shelf. Because of its position the the Sun track, this shallow environment is a florid collection of Soft and Hard Corals. This creates a nursery for a huge variety of fish and crustaceans. This is not a prime location for gawking at Baracudas or bigger more common Caribbean denizens, although the shore dive has resident 3' Cuda, long term mated pair of 2' Puffers, and it is not uncommon to see Rays, and huge groupers frequent the Front Yard wreck at night. I have seen three types of Sharks, and even a Whale Shark from a shore dive... But that's not what it's known best for.
It's all in the details. The zone I describe rewards to slow pace diver, staying shallow, with perfected buoyancy and good close-in observational skills. As the naturalist DMs often say, "Go slow, Seymour".
In response to you question, Roatan in general has shorter viz numbers. This becomes increasingly unimportant as you start to look at things the size of a file card, down to a match head. Amazing what you see in that nursery.
The on-site dive shop sells inexpensive glass magnifying lenses. A pretty common sight at CCV. When Stan Waterman is shooting macro, CCV is where he stays. Ditto for the original images you see in the Paul Humann books. Usually, when divers of any level come to CCV, they walk away satisfied IF they stay with those naturalist DMs. I do my 27 dives in a week on air, I stay that shallow, only occasionally below 55'.
Its a great place to begin you dive career, but I will say that divers at other South side resorts commonly leave with the impression that there is no fish life. The other zones West/North West enjoy the advantage of the Roatan Marine Park protection. This creates a haven for larger Pelagics, with which newer divers are still quite agog. Some divers spend their entire careers staring at Lobsters and paid for Shark Rodeos, needing reef architecture shape to stay engaged. Most other resort DMs on island sneak food to the critters. It increases tips.
The reef shape, the nearness to shore, 2 intact placed wrecks plus a busted up DC3 aircraft... The critters look at it as "structure", and that is what they like. Even on the shore dive pathway marked by a heavy chain, swivel your head and look around the floats... You'll likely see Squidlets hanging out when you're in about 10 fsw.
It is a no apologies, throwback dive resort. No tv in the rooms, the bar scene is not hopping, everybody is out diving or eating or sleeping. You will be surrounded by people who came to dive. These are the kind of folks who easily engage in conversation and generally have some interesting techniques they will share.
Stick close to the DM, bring a flashlight on every dive. You might well expect a couple of daily Sea Horses, and the more elusive Pipefish.
So, after all that, I can only say that from 6" of water at my CCV cabin door, on the chain path to the wreck, plus all of the local dive sites, this area is tops in my book for critters.
