joe8mofo
Contributor
Just curious as to where one would not want to stay on Roatan in Feb/March due to swells/ocean conditions. Is the West end not preferable for diving due to ocean conditions during this time period?
Roatan in Feb/March - Ocean conditions
- Thread starter joe8mofo
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
- Messages
- 10,954
- Reaction score
- 4,127
- # of dives
- None - Not Certified
I would stay West/North April > Sept, as in other times you can suffer from tropical storms. Bigger dive ops will bus you to alternative piers on South side as when the weather pipes up, this W/N area is closed 100%. It is a crap shoot as these conditions are very seldom and unpredictable, but when a Norther comes through, the W/N is "at the bar" and their pangas are parked.
Conditions on South side remain dive able 365, darned close. Usually always more waves all year long, though. Pick your dive ops boats with care. Prevailing breeze ESE causes this, but it does keep the bugs in check.
Other considerations including weather have been well discussed on this forum. Terrestrial diversions, macro vs micro, cost of ala carte vs AI, that kind of stuff, too.
Conditions on South side remain dive able 365, darned close. Usually always more waves all year long, though. Pick your dive ops boats with care. Prevailing breeze ESE causes this, but it does keep the bugs in check.
Other considerations including weather have been well discussed on this forum. Terrestrial diversions, macro vs micro, cost of ala carte vs AI, that kind of stuff, too.
scrane
Contributor
Last year in February it was rainy and breezy on both north and south sides but I didn't run into poor surface conditions the ten days I was there. I stayed in West End three days and at Reef House for a week. I like off season so a little uncertainty is OK with me.
beluga2
Contributor
I am not sure what you are asking but based on Weather Underground data from 1996 to 2013:
The number of days an East (E, ENE, ESE) wind hits the south side at over 25 km/h (15.5 mph) is about 66 per year. No boat dives on south side.
The number of days with any other direction of wind over 25 km/h is about 2 per year. No boat dives on north side.
Yes, there is a "Norther" a couple of times a year. But the south side gets hit by that kind of wind 66 days per year.
My opinion is that the chances of lost diving days on the south side are much higher anytime of year.
I live on the island. And others have observed the same.
Info and Discussion...Roatan Dive Sites
"No we have not been over to the dark side since we moved here, we have been very busy receiving and unpacking our stuff from the states ( a full shipping container) and I have been to Tegus looking for a car. Every time we have the chance, the boss(aka wife) vetos it because the weather has not been favorable to dive the south side. The wind has been from the east running 15-20 mph for almost a month straight. As an example, yesterday the south side had 6-9 ft waves. It was banging hard!!!! None of the shops are diving the south right now."
Mayan Princess report/review
"Winds made it rough on the south side most of the week. But Thursday afternoon it had finally calmed down and we went to Pirate's Cove. We finally found a seahorse there. Then Friday morning we did the West End Wall and Herbie's Place."
We often see the Aggressor spend several days on the north side because the south side is too windy for diving.
The north side dive shops will put in the time and expense to dive on the south side because they want to make the most of your vacation days. It is not an indication of how often it is too windy to dive.
CajunDiva
Contributor
I have done over 20 dive trips to Roatan. My first was in May of 2001 and the location was AKR on the north side. The winds were so heavy we had to be driven to the south side to dive a couple of days. The rest of the days were spent puking. We did one other week at AKR a few years later and the weather was fine. We also dove at Turquoise Bay Resort on the north side once and enjoyed good conditions. Last week while on the Roatan Aggressor, conditions were not great on the north side of the island (a little windy) but better on the south. Then the following week it was calm when we stayed with our friends in West Bay/West End, but sporty on the south side. (Still diveable)
All other trips were to the south side of the island, and I would have to agree with what Doc says. There are consistent trade winds so there's a little rocking going on, but as long as I take my seasick medicine it's not a problem. I'm sure there are times when there are higher winds, but I don't recall having any trips ruined.
The bottom line is...no matter what the conditions on one side or the other, there is ALWAYS a windward and a leeward side. And the diving is a little different on each side of the island. Go and check out both - you can't lose. Go and dive Roatan!
All other trips were to the south side of the island, and I would have to agree with what Doc says. There are consistent trade winds so there's a little rocking going on, but as long as I take my seasick medicine it's not a problem. I'm sure there are times when there are higher winds, but I don't recall having any trips ruined.
The bottom line is...no matter what the conditions on one side or the other, there is ALWAYS a windward and a leeward side. And the diving is a little different on each side of the island. Go and check out both - you can't lose. Go and dive Roatan!
Similar threads
