AKR in September - high winds and diving...

[robint]

Has anyone here done a shore dive at AKR? Thanks.

friends of ours in CO went to AKR one year, they thought the shore dive would be as good as at CCV, where they had been before. They said it wasn't. They only did one shore dive at AKR. They are the only people I personally know who has done a shore dive at AKR.

robin

 

[DivingPanda]

Has anyone here done a shore dive at AKR? Thanks.

I did two shore dives there last year at Front Porch, another couple training dives in the lagoon, and snorkeled around the whole island and lagoon.

The lagoon has a grassy bottom, low vis, and few fish, but if muck diving is your thing, there may be some critters there. The snorkeling is not bad over by the boat channel.

Front Porch is a poor dive site compared to the excellent boat diving they have at AKR. You'll need to do a surface swim over the reef to get to a reasonable depth. The edge of the reef has a max depth of 50 ft and is about 15 ft tall. From there, it's a long sand flat out to the second wall (don't know how long the swim is - we only went a couple minutes out on a night dive, then turned back). The reef is not as healthy as the boat diving sites and there's not as much to see.

You'll need to hike your gear over from the dive shop to the shore dive entry, which is at the far oceanward-side of the island. There is a rinse tank and air tanks at the shore dive entry, which has a non-diver attendant.

Bottom line, if you're at AKR, I'd skip the shore diving and spend your time enjoying the excellent boat dives!

 

[andrethediver]

Thanks a lot for this information. Do AKR boats normally do any South side sites at all? This will be our first time on the island and we wanted to see/dive both sides...Thanks.

 

[Doc]

They go to Mary's Place, it's had so much publicity that everybody has to do it.

If it is windy and un-diveable on the North/West sides, this is one operation that for sure has the money and boats to take you diving on the South side.

I was on the South side at CCV in April and we saw AKR boats on the South quite a bit. They even dove on The Prince Albert wreck, Mr. Bud shrimp boat wreck, as well as many of the South side wall dives. But this was only because the weather closed down the North/West.

Both sides are very much so different and distinct. Enjoy what you see from AKR- they have a great dive op. Then maybe consider something along the South shore for next time.

 

[andrethediver]

Great, thanks a lot!

 

[DivingPanda]

Thanks a lot for this information. Do AKR boats normally do any South side sites at all? This will be our first time on the island and we wanted to see/dive both sides...Thanks.

When we were there last July, there was a weekly lunch at Fins & Flippers (the cruise ship stop) on the South Side and we did a couple dives the West End (Herbie's Place) going to and from lunch (which included a sighting of the Josie J on one and a ripping drift dive across Texas on the other!)

The shark dive (Cara a Cara) is also on the South side (and was a sporty ride in 3-4 ft seas ). Didn't get to do Mary's Place, unfortunately, so no idea what we missed, but we had a great time even without it.

 

[andrethediver]

Just for general information - how were the sand fleas at AKR?

 

[Doc]

Just for general information - how were the sand fleas at AKR?

On any given day, they are ferocious or non-existent.

Understand the geography of the island, the localized (resort) terrain, and the prevailing weather.

The factors of: not much breeze; dark, moist foliage; a tidal basin; decaying vegetable matter... these are things that you will find near AKR.

Sand fleas, sand flies, or no-se-ums like all of the above.

Prepare accordingly, be pleasantly surprised if they take the week off.

 

[robint]

yeah, just buy a spray bottle of Cactus Juice, use it often (it smells really good, too) and don't worry about it. They won't bother you as long as you are vigilant.

 

[andrethediver]

yeah, just buy a spray bottle of Cactus Juice, use it often (it smells really good, too) and don't worry about it. They won't bother you as long as you are vigilant.

Is it safe to use Cactus Juice under/around the neoprene wetsuit? Also I got a bottle of Cutter Advanced spray after reading about it on some Honduras threads - is that stuff safe to use around neoprene? Thanks.