bat islands (isla murcielago) costa rica currents

[jzorbas]

My wife and I are going to costa rica and.intend on diving the bat islands (isla murcielago). Dive operators keep saying there are stronger currents but will.not elaborate on the conditions. Strong currents is ambigous term. Id really appreciate any info from.people who have dove there. Ie washermachine currents, the need to hold on to the bottom, and hide behind formations. Or is.it just that inexperienced out of shape divers will overbreath.their reg or not know to go lower out or abort because they panic?

 

[terrells]

We dove bat islands last month with rocket frog divers, and I would say we are fairly inexperienced divers (we were certified last year, and had ~20 logged dives before going to costa rica), so I don't know how helpful my opinion on the currents will be. The conditions we experienced diving in costa rica were pretty diverse, but in general, the visibility and currents changed from dive to dive, and even mid dive. We were diving with a group of much more experienced divers, and there were definitely dives where people were holding on or crawling across the bottom, or hiding behind formations, and where the visibility was fairly poor. The day we dove the bat islands the currents weren't that strong at the big scare (the first dive site), and the visibility was fairly good (20+ feet), but there were much stronger currents at black rock, the second dive site. I could definitely see the potential for injury at both sites if a inexperienced diver didn't swim out far enough from the pinacles before ascending.

We didn't see any sharks at the bat islands, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I still thought it was well worth the trip - we saw a fairly large octopus, and tons of larger fish that we weren't seeing at other dive sites, including a a lot of trigger fish. Most dive ops won't take you there without seeing you in the water beforehand, and most also have a minimum amount of people they will take, so even if you decide to go, it may be hard to arrange.

If you decide to go, Rocket Frog Divers the dive op we went with have was excellent, and have one of the best/fastest boats to get to bats. We also met some locals, and they had good things to say about deep blue diving adventures.

 

[jzorbas]

Thank you so much. I think your opinion would matter most because we have similar experience. My Wife has about 28 dives and I have about 35. We have dove the caymans, bahama shark dives, and St thomas. We do not panic easily. My big concern is if it manageable and still have the ability to enjoy the dive. We have also read that some operators require a head first decent straight to the bottom with no air in the bc. Is this the case? We have no problem making quicker decents and not having to stop to equalize. However, i see the potential for a problem sinking like a rock tot eh bottom. Thank you again.

 

[terrells]

When we went, we had 13 divers plus dive masters, so we split into two groups. Everyone in our group did a backward roll into the water at the same time, and descended quickly and regrouped at the bottom. We went down feet first, and everyone stayed fairly close together going down. The current was stronger near the surface, so the sooner you get to the bottom and regroup, the less chance of getting pushed away from the group or towards the rocks. They also try to keep the groups close together, just in case the bull sharks are around. If the bull sharks are there, you will be finding a place to hold on to a rock or lay on the bottom and wait and watch them.

I think they emphasize it so people that have only used a descent line will know what they are getting into. There are descent lines at most of the other local dive sites, but there aren't any at the dive sites at the bat islands. Also, because of that, you really need to be confident in being able to hover for your safety stop not holding a line.

 

[jzorbas]

I really appreciate all the information and from the sound of it, we plan on doing the dive. One last question. They say you dive in with an empty bcd and make a quick decent. The wife always needs that quick second to equalize. Does everyone have to sink like a rock or will a quicker than usual decent to avoid the current be enough?

 

[terrells]

You definitely have time to equalize like normal. I checked my dive computer, and it looks like we descended to 60 feet in the first minute, and were at 77 feet by 2 minutes. Compared to our other dives, we definitely did descend quicker on that dive, but it was still a controlled descent. The biggest difference was that everyone entered the water and started descending at the same time, rather than entering the water one at a time, and waiting on the surface until everyone was in the water and situated before descending (and of course the absence of a descent line).

I should point out that this is just based on my experience on one day, and while we were in costa rica the conditions did seem to change quickly, so hopefully someone else who has dove bats can chime in and give you another opinion.

 

[jonnierowe]

Hi there,
Just to second what terrell has said, I work part time with Rocket Frog as a divemaster. I have been to the Bat Islands numberous times and have seen a wide range of conditions. The lack of a mooring line on the descent and ascent is the first thing you will notice and have to be able to be confident with. The surge at the surface on Big Scare can be quite significant which is the reason for the quick descent.

We do hop in quite quickly and try and get down as quick as possible. Of course we have had customers who take a bit longer to equalize and that is usually no problem. We like to dive in smaller groups, and whenever possible will have 2 divemasters with each group. One at the front one at the back. A few weeks ago, we were able to accommodate a customer with a back injury who we floated the gear for.

Once you get to the bottom you will often experience thermoclines and currents that can force you to grab onto one of the rocks. If you keep an eye on your divemaster you will be fine. Flaco is usually the lead divemaster with us there. He is the most experienced guy in the area. Has been diving the area for over a decade with a perfect safety record.

So to summarize, we definitely do like to dive with experienced or advanced divers, but will often allow divers to go on the trip if we have personally dove with them locally first. The local diving in the area is fantastic. You wont see the bull sharks, and likely wont see the mantas, but you will see more marine life than you can imagine.

 

[Steve the Baker]

Let me throw out a counter point. While Jzorbas and his wife might be excellent divers. Bat Islands is an Advanced Dive Site.The conditions call for a experienced skill set . We are talking 2 divers with a backround in diving Clear Blue Water.Using terms like drop like a rock and not panic easily with 20+ and 30+ dive after getting Certified.Jonni do not play down the conditions. Flacco is Excellent at his Job and have dove with him in the past.Our Skill Set should be our Life Saver not just the Dive Instructors Record.

 

[jzorbas]

Everyone, thank you for your responses. I truly appreciate it.

 

[Summer-Salt]

The discussion seems closed but I promised in another threat to post here, too, and when reading through the thread, there is still no clear description of the situation!
Most of the time, the conditions at the Bats (Murcielagos) are accessible to probably anyone. Smooth surface, clear water, no current. But you never know in advance and therefore dive centers require a certain experience before taking divers there without asking any further questions. Currents, surge, low viz, thermoclines - all conditions that can be present there - will be perceived differently according to your experience and education level. I have made quite good experience asking the divers the following: Advanced certified, min. of 30 dives of which 2 within the last 3 months. If any of these criteria does not apply, invest in the extra experience and chose to dive on the great local dive sites first.
Once you are out at the Bat Islands (actually better before), it will make the big difference if you know what to expect and how to dive. The dive guides in the area are all very experienced and supposed to put a dive plan together, especially for the entrance and exit procedures. They can be different according to the conditions you'll find, but make sure you follow these recommendations.
One last thing, the size of a dive group is very important when going there, the less divers the more you'll enjoy and the safer the dive. No matter how experienced your guide is, I consider it impossible to safely supervise a group of more than 5 divers per guide knowing how tricky the conditions can be. We won't take more than 6 divers out there and whenever there is a doubt, 2 guides will accompany that trip! Knowing also that according to the local National Park regulations it's not allowed to be more than 10 divers on one boat (including guides) and no dive center is allowed to send more than 10 divers out there per day for greater protection of the Park.
Have fun diving and hopefully I'll meet you out there with the sharks...;-D!