Cocos Island On MV Argo

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Coral-Reefer

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Messages
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Location
Newland, North Carolina, United States
# of dives
200 - 499
Greetings!

I am lucky enough to be able to go on a live aboard in April to the Cocos Islands off of the coast of Costa Rica. I have around 300 dives since 2005 and consider myself a slightly above average diver. I have never been on a live aboard and obviously never been to Cocos. I am going with Undersea Hunter Group which I understand is a good outfit.

Would any of.you that have been be kind enough to offer advice about the trip such as preparation, gear and expectations? One question is gloves and if they should be "armored". I dive a 3mm in Cozumel with a shorty in August and September. But, that is 2-3 dives per day. I anticipate doing 3-5 dives daily on this trip and am considering a new 5 mm steamer. (I really need to replace my 3mm anyway.) One good thing is that their rental BC, fins and regs are the same as mine so I don't have to haul all my gear down there.

Thanks!

Chris
 
1. I'd consider a new 5mm plus a good hooded vest....
2. I'd go read the "know before you go" info from your own operator and from other dive operations, like this one.
3. Gloves, yes, for a bit of warmth and incidental protection from rough rocks (not coral, you shouldn't be touching the coral). Armored? Why?
4. Treat the trip like an expedition: you can't go to the corner CVS to get something. Be self-sufficient, and have redundant anything that is critical to you...for example a prescription mask.
 
If you think that you are susceptible to seasickness, bring seasickness pills. The crossing can be rough and it normally takes over 30 hours each way.

I've never worn anything thicker than a 3mm there, but on occasions, there could be a thermocline, so a 5mm is not a bad idea. Doubtful that you will do 5 dives. 4 is about the most, including the night dive.

Definitely wear gloves. There are sharp rocks and barnacles and some of the dive sites can have a lot of surge that tosses you around. Some sites have strong current.

Are you Nitrox certified and do you own a nitrox-capable dive computer? You'd be cheating yourself out of bottom time if you don't. Nitrox is included at no extra charge. If your air consumption tends to be on the heavy side you can pay a little extra to get a 15L tank. It might be a good idea to reserve this beforehand because they have a limited number of these tanks.

Go to the Undersea Hunter website to read past year trip reports to get an idea of what is seen at that time of the year. I've never been there in April, but it is my understanding that it is a good time to see baitballs.

On occasions, a 2-3 hour land trek is offered to hike up to the Genio waterfall. If so, you will need shoes with good treads - hiking boots are helpful - because it can be wet and slippery in some places.

Enjoy.
 
.... One question is gloves and if they should be "armored". ..

I've dove Cocos. The surge and swirl of the currents mean you must have kevlar gloves. All other's failed on our trip. Be well practiced on how to shoot an SMB from depth on a reel, could save your life with the strong currents.

Secondly, you probably are going to get stung by an urchin. Tap with hard hairbrush bristles to remove the spines.

It's 36 hours off mainland, but ask the crew the secret to getting cell signal once there. The waterfalls are the best, have fun!
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I am excited about the trip, partly because of the 36 hours of “life decompression” I can experience on the trip out there. I know a few of the folks going and really looking forward to the new experience. I must admit, I am a little apprehensive about the dives, but I love new experiences and look forward to the opportunity to have some adrenaline rushes.
Preparedness
I read the preparation info on the sites and will review them when I get closer. Having hiked many multi-day backpack trips on the Appalachian Trail and a 9 day western breach summit of Kilimanjaro under my belt, I know all about not having what you need in the wilderness. I used to way over pack when I would go on dive trips and then realized I could buy whatever I needed at my destination so I have weaned away from taking everything. I am glad I had practice all of those years taking a lot of stuff. It will come in handy for this trip!

Seasick
I am thinking of trying a few different preventative remedies before the trip to see what effect they have on me. I am not prone to seasickness but would hate to have a miserable crossing. Through three NC Gulfstream dive trips and a couple of hundred Cozumel fast boat dives I have only been sea sick twice. The first was on a 3+ hour trip into the Atlantic from the SC coast with 4-6’ swells. That will teach me to stay at the House of Blues doing tequila shots until 2 the night before a dive (I knew better than to do that). The 2nd time was a halibut fishing trip into the Cook Inlet / Gulf of Alaska. It was pretty rough fishing and only blew chunks for a few minutes and right back to fishing.
Wetsuit
I wear my 3 mil full suit in 77-82°F water temps and a 3 mil shorty if it is warmer. With 2-4 dives per day, probable rain and thermoclines I will wonder if the 3 mil and a hooded vest would work. I get free checked bags so I may buy the 5 mil and hooded vest, take my 3 mil also. That should cover any combination I would need. I doubt Leisure Pro delivers to Coco’s.

Gloves
I have heard different opinions about armored or Kevlar gloves. I bought these 2mm gloves for the trip. They are not armored or Kevlar. Is Kevlar necessary?

Nitrox
I am Nitrox certified and usually dive it on my 2nd tank when the planned depth is less. It seems to allow me to feel better through a week of repetitive diving. I wonder if folks bump up to deco doing so many dives to depth. I have only bumped it a few times after a few days of diving and going to 100-130’ and it goes away soon after ascending 10-20’ feet through the dive.

Air
Sorry to keep comparing to Cozumel but other than about 80 cold dark lake dives, that is where the bulk of my diving has occurred. On an “average” dive to 70’ I am down between 45 minutes to an hour. I haven’t calculated my surface air consumption in quite a while. I would consider myself average to slightly above average in the air consumption department.

SMB
I have practiced with my SMB a few times. I will let my divemaster know that I want to practice and learn from her when I go for my 7 day trip to CZM in March. I have seen firsthand that is not nearly as easy as the DM’s make it look. I usually use a thumb reel and remember to not let it drag me up. Mine is one that you blow up through a nozzle but I have seen the ones that have a Velcro opening at the bottom which allows you to purge your regulator into it. I like those because you can keep the primary in your mouth while inflating it.

Urchin stings
Can I assume that if I am wearing the leather palmed gloves I mentioned the spines will penetrate?
Can I assume that if I wear the Kevlar gloves the spines will not?
Are the spines visible if they are in your skin?
Am I correct in I remembering that they are pretty brittle?

Hiking
I am looking forward to hiking on the island. Do you think well cushioned and soled running shoes would work or do I need to bring my heavy leather hiking boots? Those are my only choices because I am not going to go buy Gortex boots just for this!

Cell service
It would be nice to be able to check in with my company (I am a small business owner) and wife while I am out there, but not super critical. I plan to use the sat phone for about $10 for about 3 minutes of conversation with the wife daily. Other than that I should be good. If I really need to call, I can just pay for the sat phone. Having said that, I have heard that there is some cell service around the island. Should I rent a cell from Costa Rica before leaving or see if Verizon roams there?

Waterfalls
Wow. IS there really a such thing as a bad waterfall/ That is going to be nice.
 
<<30+ hours each way>> Probably your biggest problem.

Are you saying you only dive Nitrox sometimes, and air the rest? Would seem to miss the point of Nitrox. You should be able to still stay within the max depths for nitrox.

To be prepared for potential current, work on cardio to be reasonably prepared so you can pump away if necessary.
 
Gloves
I have heard different opinions about armored or Kevlar gloves. I bought these 2mm gloves for the trip. They are not armored or Kevlar.

IMHO, those gloves won't last 2 days on the trip. Cocos is big boy advanced diving with strong currents and wild surges underwater while gripping sharp rocks with one hand. It needs to be heavy duty kevlar over the whole palm and finger tips.

Urchin stings
Can I assume that if I am wearing the leather palmed gloves I mentioned the spines will penetrate?
Can I assume that if I wear the Kevlar gloves the spines will not?
Are the spines visible if they are in your skin?
Am I correct in I remembering that they are pretty brittle?

You won't get an urchin spine in your hand.

You'll get them in your knees, legs and butt because you are getting violently swung around & tossed into the rocks with no control. I'd bet 50% of your passengers will get stung on the trip. And yes the spines are visible like my buddy's knee here:

IMG_4714.jpg


Don't get me wrong, Cocos is a mind blowing, incredible trip that you will never forget. But you should understand alot of accidents happen out there and since it's so remote, there is almost zero rescue, they just don't have the boats or aircraft that can reach it quickly.
 
<<30+ hours each way>> Probably your biggest problem.

I think being on the boat for that long is going to be nice. I can rest and decompress from work stress and do nothing but relax! Are you saying it is a problem due to boredom or potential for sea sickness?

---------- Post added February 7th, 2015 at 10:21 AM ----------

And yes the spines are visible like my buddy's knee here:

IMG_4714.jpg

Oh, my God. That looks quite uncomfortable! Was he able to get them out and dive the rest of the week?

Do you have any suggestions on a pair of gloves where a pair or two might make it through the trip?
 
Oh, my God. That looks quite uncomfortable! Was he able to get them out and dive the rest of the week?

Do you have any suggestions on a pair of gloves where a pair or two might make it through the trip?

Yes he was able to pull out the couple of hard spines that still remained. In the picture, the black dots are from the "dye" that the spines leave which is also alot of the sting. The hairbrush helps break this down and by the next morning all the dots were gone and he was diving again with no pain.

There are hundreds of kevlar dive gloves that shops sell and many are too expensive. Most like the Akona's for both good quality & great wear. I regularly use HexArmor 9003 gloves and took those with zero problems. I get about 150 lobster dives out of them before they start to open up.

The Akona Manufacture's website is: Akona Adventure Gear | All-ArmorTex
The HexAmor's I get here HexArmor Level Six Series 9003 | hexarmor gloves 9003

Both run about $35-$40 on most internet boards but check with your local shop so you can get a good fit. Also (no lie) wash them in your socks laundry 3-5 times and they will soften up alot to use your camera buttons.

Just one last tip on Cocos. When the surge comes and you feel like you are going to get thrown, let go of your rock early and look down between your knees for your next rock hold. (Don't try to save your spot). You can easily get back back to your spot in the reverse surge and a bit of pull and glide back to it. Everyone gets stung trying to stay at one spot, just let go and work back to it and you won't get slammed into an urchin forest.

And since you like waterfalls, I hope you like Octo's cause there are twice as many and some fight!! Have a great trip, do a report here, and start doing neck swivel exercises cause it's like an IMAX view. Don't forget to look up often!

Edit to add: Trust me,,,Don't skip the only night dive offered and bring a video camera not a still. You can't explain this dive into words. That's why they will probably only let you do one the whole trip. Sneak 6 beers in the RIB for the ride back to the mother ship afterwards, Best toast ever !
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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