Bay Islands in November: Weather and CCV vs. Aggressor

[Ironborn]

Roatan and the Bay Islands are one of several destinations that I have been considering for a mid-late November trip.

I understand that November is the rainy season there. How does the rainy season affect the quality of the diving there, e.g visibility, waves and chop, marine life, etc? Does the quality of the diving decline, or is it just unpleasant topside?

Are we talking like torrential downpours or tropical monsoons, or just substantial rain showers or a regular basis?

I am also uncertain as to whether or not I would go on the Aggressor liveaboard or stay at CocoView. One advantage of a liveaboard in most destinations is that it enables a single diver/solo traveler to do up to 4-5 dives a day with greater convenience, but I understand that such a high number of dives is relatively easy (for a terrestrial resort) at CocoView as well. The advantage of the Roatan Aggressor (and please correct me if I am wrong) is that it would tour the whole Bay Islands area, whereas CocoView would only cover Roatan.

I also wonder if the Aggressor would be a better option given the concerns about the weather, e.g. perhaps it would be easier for them to go to other spots if the conditions are poor in a given area because of the weather.

I would be especially interested in hearing a comparison of the two options from someone that has done both.

 

[Doc]

I would be especially interested in hearing a comparison of the two options from someone that has done both.

Both CCV and the Aggressor? That's a microscopic sample audience. CCV is often noted as being expensive, but it's still way way cheaper than the boat. Looking at the Captains Log for the Agg, I'm seeing at least two dive days, sometimes 3, spent at CCV dive sites.

If you mean the Aggressor and a land based Roatan trip? Not the comparison you wanted or needed. CCV is often described as a Liveaboard without the rocking. I would entertain a comparison between CCV and any LOB, but any other resort would be unfair and delusional.

I would not recommend Roatan in November, period. It is by historical record, the single rainiest month every time (October is #2 or 3) When the weather turns to dog meat, there is no better place to dive than CCV's South Shore, that where you'll find everybody that can move their operations still diving. The Agg has followed that concrete reality so far.

Never set foot on her, but I've been to every dive site that they list as possible. The Sea Mounts are recommended, and really that's the only way to get to them. The rest of the dive sites are attainable by land based or kind-of meh. I know why they pick them, they fit into the tempo and logical path of a trip. I really do not see the draw of the Cayos excursion other than inaccessibility. Maybe I'm jaded

When I look at a LOB, all I really concentrate on is the dive deck and fantail access. The best I ever saw was the Nekton. It's gone, but I measure all others against that, a gold standard. They could put wheel chair divers in and haul them back upstairs. Extremely safe. I would surely like to see pix of this area in the RA. Everything else like food and service are very variable day by day, unfortunately endemic to the LOB industry due to crew changeover and availability of simple things like "groceries in paradise", (aka The Third World)

Every dive destination has its draw. The Bay Islands fatal flaw is the far flung diversity of underwater terrain and associated critters. You simply cannot "see" the varieties on a one week trip to a resort or 60 trips to one resort. The Aggressor could give you a sample of the variety- depending on weather and the cost of diesel fuel. All previous BI LOBs have failed because they spent their week moored along the Southern shore, in sight of three AI dive resorts. You can't do that for long at twice the price.

Rain effects diving in two ways, universally, not just Bay Islands. Terrestrial run off affects visibility with particulate matter, and the bigger issue... That and the direct sea-surface rainfall causes a salinity/temperature declination that causes marine life to skeedaddle. Or just get vey timid. Or disappear. The main distinction is the nature of bad weather in the Bay Islands. Winds: They always come from the North. There are some very few Hurricanes, Google "Mitch Bay Islands" for an interesting read. You can often get wind, even if no hurricane.

The US Govt calls me 90% disabled, yet I'll still get my 5 dives a day at CCV in April 2018. I would love to sample this latest LOB, but I'll need a pile of money and a May-Aug date. I would buy trip insurance. Inflammatory but true- I don't think anybody staying at a dive resort during a Hurricane ever flipped over and drowned.

Is it worth $3000 for the RA or $1300 for CCV? You decide.

Pick a different month, go, post a report!

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I did Roatan in November and I agree with Doc that it is not the best time to dive. The trip was still fun but ocean was murkier with reduced vis and there was significant chop on the surface. While some days will be better than others, why bother when there is a better season to do that dive?

 

[laurenceh]

being stuck on a live aboard in the height of rainy season is not fun, you can never escape the feeling of dampness. i just spent a few weeks on Utila and it seemed that the aggressor was around the island (within 100 feet of shore) for at least 3 days of each trip. to my way of thinking it seemed pointless, why be confined to a small ship if it isn't going to sail to far off, hard to reach dive sites?