Roatan

[Ursus]

I just returned from a week of diving in Roatan (Honduras). I went with a group from my LDS and stayed at Cocoview Resort. The resort is tailored to diving and the setup was great. The diving was different than what I had anticipated from everyone I spoke to and all the articles that I had read, including a feature article in one of the dive magazines last month.

Approximately a month ago, the island experienced a strong earthquake. The impact above water isn't visible. HOWEVER, the aquatic impact was significant. Entire sections of reefs were missing. Vertical sections of walls the size of office buildings were gone with only shell and sand aggregate remaining in the post landslide area. This was fairly prevalent at all the sites that we dove. In some areas the upper layers of the reef were in tact (0-40'), the middle regions (40 ' - 80') were obliterated, and the lower levels were in tact. In other places the destruction was different. The power of nature was awesome and heartbreaking to see soo much coral and sponges collapsed or just completed wiped off the reef with the ruble having fallen into the abyss. Because of all the exposed bedrock resulting from the collapsed coral formations, visibility was decreased significantly when there was any current. In some instances with strong current the visibility was 20 - 30 feet with a lot of sediment.

I was not prepared for any of this, and wished I had been in order to adjust my expectations before having gotten into the water. That said it is a memorable dive trip with great sites and a good reference point for future dives. It will be a number of years before I return to Roatan. There are a lot of other locations to see, while giving time for Roatan to recover...

 

[John_B]

I was there at CCV about a month ago, and AFAIK only John's Spot (no relation ) on the south side had noticeable damage in terms of a whole section of reef sliding off into the deep.

Can you post exactly which reefs these were? I'd like to compare against my logbook to see if your report jibes with my logs.

 

[conradb212]

Wow. That is a stark assessment of the damage at Roatan. I've been to CocoView a couple of times and have followed the various damage reports (which greatly vary).

 

[Doc]

I think diver's perceptions vary greatly, largely linked to the breadth of their u/w observational experience. At a 50-100 dive lifetime total, I would absolutely encourage anyone who has been to CCV (or any resort) to go diving elsewhere on this planet. It's a big world, and you can't really see what you're seeing until many dives into the logbook.

Divers who have been going to CCV/FIBR after the Earthquake have either been taken aback by what most experienced divers class as "limited damage", or if they are divers who are looking for things beyond "familiar reef structures", well- that's what Roatan's South side diving has always been about.

If you look at the CoCoView message board CoCo Chat , a place which gets a lot of posts by frequent visitors, you'll see that the "big Earthquake" and all of the resultant changes have made hardly a ripple, amongst those familiar with the cool macro stuff. The biggest mention was about broken pipes on-shore, a 6" crack in the shore-dive wreck, Prince Albert, and one specific dive site called Anka's Place.

The greatest focus of the many experienced divers who have selected CoCoView/FIBR recently is to study which specific critters are flocking to those "white areas". To many newer divers, it's more of, "Oh, look at those fish against the white patches!"... If they see the critters at all.

The one dive site which was hardest hit, "Anka's Place", displaying wide sheaves of coral that have slid, is actually requested multiple times, but again, this is by the divers who are shooting macro images, not the ones who are still shooting pix of Squirrel Fish or spotting the newly invasive Lionfish.

At night, these spots come alive with Octopus and Crustaceans! Too bad they're so far away from the two main South Side resorts for a shore dive.

...a memorable dive trip with great sites and a good reference point for future dives...

Well said. And this will apply to the dive op and the resort, as well.

 

[dlg]

My wife and I are going to CCV with 22 other divers in October. I am particularly interested in night diving from the shore. How is the damage to the reef at that location? Are divers still happy with the day diving?

 

[RTBDiver]

My wife and I are going to CCV with 22 other divers in October. I am particularly interested in night diving from the shore. How is the damage to the reef at that location? Are divers still happy with the day diving?

Of course they are happy to see things evolve. Seriously, You have how many dives?? How many locations? Even what some might consider "bad" roatan diving is stilll better than a lot of other options. IMHO I love Roatan but even at its best days with clearest waters cannot compare to Fiji, Chuuk, Komodo, galapagos or other distant destinations. Roatan is "good" carribean diving" and worth every penny

 

[Doc]

My wife and I are going to CCV with 22 other divers in October. I am particularly interested in night diving from the shore. How is the damage to the reef at that location? Are divers still happy with the day diving?

From CCV, the night diving is done from the resort as a shore dive. If you note what I posted above, "(the damage is) so far away from the two main South Side resorts for a shore dive".

In essence, therefor, you would hope to have access to these sites at night because of the incredible explosion of octopus and opportunistic hunters, but this is not the case- they are too far away for this experience.

Those who can not yet see beyond obvious reef structure, those who are looking for overhangs, swim throughs and chasms- they miss what you are going to this highly localized environment to see.

This is why you are going here: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3139

You will likely see other divers barely pointing at a huge Lobster, and ignoring most Barracudas under 3' length. They are not there for the obvious critters.

If you don't see one on every dive... a Pipefish, a Seahorse, Neck Crabs, Juveniles of every description, Arrow Blennies and more... stick closer to the divemaster. http://www.docksidedivecenter.com/WeeklyLog.html

The effects of that Earthquake will not change any given diver's perception of this CCV/FIBR zone. The same people that would have seen nothing before the Earthquake- they're the same people who will see nothing out there now.

No big changes.

 

[CajunDiva]

The zone between CocoView and Fantasy Island is still a diving wonderland for taking advantage of the best shore diving opportunities on Roatan. Other than the six foot crack in the Prince Albert wreck, the area is virtually unaffected by the earthquake. So if that's what you're looking for, by all means you will not be disappointed.

I would recommend, however, that you request that your divemaster take you to a few dive sites that WERE affected by the earthquake...my personal favorite being Anka's Place. You will have the opportunity to witness the re-formation of a NEW REEF...something that is (if you're lucky) a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If you'll just slow down and REALLY look at what's happening in these areas, you will be totally amazed...just my opinion FWIW