Quick Report - Crowded Dive Sites

[ncchuck]

I arrived on Saturday 4-18 for a week at Reef House. Seas were a bit rough for a couple of days but now they are nearly flat. Diving has been the best in years.

We ventured a bit west the last two days and I now why I'm staying at and recommending Reef House. Both time we saw both Fantasy Island and Coco View boats together on the same dive site. Each boat had more than 15 divers making a total of 30 or more divers on one dive site. NO THANKS.

We've had 6 divers a couple of days and 8 on another couple of days. When we head east we never see another boat. Diving spots are clean and in great shape. Since Reef House is just about the only dive operation diving east of Reef House, there is no pressue on the reef. Things are just in much better shape than the sites to the west were other boats now venture.

Our plane was about an hour late getting in and Reef House fixed us lunch anyway at about 3:00. All the food has been good and plentiful. The night dive was great with a nice snack waiting when we returned.

Hopefully I can file a full report next week.

 

[Hawk]

Hmm, in several trips to CoCoView and several hundred dives there I have never had another boat dive the same site that we were on at the same time. 15 people is about the very max you will usually see on their boats also. Usually it averages about 8 - 12 people per boat.

 

[ncchuck]

I had a friend at CCV visit the night before. He indicated his boat was going to Calvin's Crack in the AM. The Fantasy Island arrived about 15 minutes later. The next day two more boats from those resorts were actually tied together (one mooring) diving at the same time. My friend said he had 17 divers on his boat and we counted 15 at least on the Fantasy boat both times. My friend said CCV has been crowded for a while now. Obviously if the two resorts don't work out their schedules and travel all the way up to Calvin's neither is likely to change their minds. We even saw 2 more boats waiting to use the moring.

From reports I've read on this forum this may be a little unusual but it happens often enough.

We dove Calvins Crack in the afternoon with no other boats in site. It was great.

 

[Doc]

Hopefully I can file a full report next week.

Chuck- what you said was kinda right, almost, maybe.

Curiously, just before you arrived at RHR, I was visiting the Reef House for three hours one day. The group I was with was at CoCoView, but the trip leader (Bruce) and I went to RHR to take a look-see.

What we saw was a well run, small resort that harks back to the 1980's on Roatan, and we believe that flavor is a good thing! Bruce decided to offer for 2010 a one week stay at RHR as an optional add-on to his annual group trip to CoCoView. I think it will sell well.

We liked RHR that much! At the same time, we know that many of the trip participants who go on his CCV trip simply will not find the RHR appealing. True enough, RHR has flat screen TV's in every room, but in other ways, the resort offered less diving access than CCV on any given day.

The reef is indeed the healthiest about three miles East of RHR, but it has nothing at all to do with "pressure on the reef" (as you refer to it) by diver presence. This end of the island is low mangrove swamp and very little development- and that is what degrades the reef, not divers!

Anywhere in the immediate zone of RHR's Pandy Town location, Oak Ridge and to the immediate West, the reef is marginal at best. To the East, there are some cool dive sites, though, I agree. They are certainly on a par with the dive sites near CCV, once you get away from the beach run-off of FIBR.

When we were there, the winds were blowing hard & pretty steadily from the SE. At CCV, with the design of the boats and the protected channel area, we continued to dive all week long without a stop, including 8 nights when night diving was (unfortunately just barely) possible. The winds were fierce! More than once we saw North side boats diving the South side.

Boat design has a lot to do with how many people do go out. CCV's boats have spots for up to 32 divers, but are never assigned more than 17, usually 15. What with the shore dive, many boats go out with 7 or 9 divers. It gets pretty lonely.

On the day we visited, only two divers went out on the RHR boat. It was a Friday, so maybe others were off-gassing.

Here's a shot of Reef House on Friday, April 10th, which was wind and wave typical of the week.

Calvin's Crack, being a favorite dive, is a different affair. Most CCV divers want to go to see it, it's charms are obvious. I went there on three separate occasions in the last two weeks. Altho we carried 10-16 divers each time, I never saw Fantasy Island's boat there, but it really would have made no difference. The site is such that you could easily space out the different group's entries and no one would see or note another group.

CCV goes to Calvin's Crack in a weekly clockwork schedule, when FIBR shows up is anyone's guess.

Here are a number of other images that I photographed at RHR. Reef House Resort Roatan pictures by Doc_Adelman - Photobucket

I think that the Reef House is a special place, appealing to specific individuals, just as would be CoCoView. Here are some images from CCV: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/CoCoView Explained in Pictures/

RHR & CCV have totally different dive operations, dive boats, and shore dive access. They also have a difference in ambiance and feel. No one place is for everyone, but they are both unique and inviting in their own right.

What may work for you and Gerri might not be the choice for all, but the best way to help readers decide is not to decry one resort as running crowded dive boats with 17 aboard that have a theoretical maximum (but never done) capacity of 32. The facts don't bear out your comparisons, not fairly, anyway.

We'll have to wait a year for the trip report from our participants who will do one week at both Reef House and CoCoView, but until then, if you understand and analyze your needs and expectations (and take a look at the pix), you might be better able to decide which choices might work best for you.

 

[robint]

Yeah, it is necessary to compare apples to apples!
We were a bit concerned about the BIG boats at CCV and having 12-15 people seemed too much to us BEFORE we went. Actually the boats are so roomy, that even the 12 people on our boat seemed empty. There were 2 large groups at CCV the week we were there and each got their own boat (15-16 people each I think) and that was their group. If I was going to a dive destination with a group I would want my group to be together, even if it was more crowded. They could have split the group up and put some of those people on our boat, but they didn't!

So Ncchuck, I appreciate the fact you like where you are diving, but ... there are differences in the 2 places, size of boats, and such.

As far as 2 boats diving the same site........ geez, you should have been in Cozumel with us last month! Freakin' circle .......! The dive op dropped us on EVERY dive site with at least 3, sometimes 6 other boats there! (it wasn't just our dive op doing it, everyone was doing it!) We had dive groups all getting mixed up together, surfacing all over the place and boats trying to figure out which divers belonged to which boat....... freakin' circle @&^% and I mean that!!! Never, never again! It was one of the worst dive experiences of my life. Floating at the surface in 3' waves, waving at our dive boat that was in a cluster of 5-6 other boats, hoping they see us, waving our safety sausage..... uggghhh. That doesn't happen in Roatan!!!

robin

 

[ncchuck]

I heard you had visited RHR Roatan Man. Your assessment seems accurate to me. The only point I was trying to make is the number of divers on a particular site at one time. I guess the forum participants can decide for themselves but I'll take a boat with 6 or 8 divers anytime over one with 17. Since the guides from all the resorts know where hidden creatures are, it's just much easier to stay within view of the guide when you have fewer divers. When he finds an illusive seahorse, you don't want a huge number of people taking pictures and looking for the seahorse while the group then gets strung out over a great distance or bunched up.

I can see that the FIBR and CCB boats were larger but that wasn't the point for me. It was the sheer number of people on one site at one time. The "Henry Morgan" at RHR holds 12 comfortably and we are lucky to only have 6 to 8 this week. They sometimes fill up too and take 2 boats out. They never visit the same site at the same time and if a site is occupied they move to another site. We did that yesterday. Since Calvin's is close, we just go back in the afternoon when almost no one is ever there.

I totally agree with the comments on the cleanliness of the reefs being the result of no development. The difference is actually pretty amazing. Two outstanding dive sites include Henry Morgan Wall and Spong Garden. Because there are fewer divers down this way on a daily basis, there is also a noticable difference in dislocated sponges and other soft corals caused by poor divers. Think about it, Calvin's may easily get a 100 divers a week or more while Spong Garden usually gets 10 to 12. It seems obvious that I'd find more inadvertant damage at one location than the other.

CCV gets it's fair share of great comments and has its boosters. I'm just trying to let divers know there are great options available. As indicated, some people like having lots of other people around but other like to solitude of this place along with the great local culture. It's really fun to watch the daily commute of people going to school or work via the waterway behind the resort.

 

[entropy]

Hi,

My spouse and I are Bonaire shore divers, usually staying at the very small (10 rooms) Carib Inn. We will already be in Guatemala this summer, so we thought of going over to Roatan for a week of diving.

Reading your comments has me more than concerned. We usually dive in a group of two;
just the two of us. We did do Coz once and Isla Marisol in Belize, both obviously boat diving, basically 6 -8 folks only.

We are looking for long bottom times, healthy reefs, and LESS folks. We also if possible like to prepare our own simple meals. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different places you are all talking about. Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Doc]

Reading your comments has me more than concerned. We usually dive in a group of two; just the two of us.... long bottom times, healthy reefs, and LESS folks. We also if possible like to prepare our own simple meals. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different places you are all talking about.

There are more than these two AI resorts (as well as other options) available on Roatan. At an AI Resort, you should NOT expect "to prepare simple meals", as meals are included.

You may do well to look at the West End guest houses and ala-carte dive ops. Your bottom times might be somewhat less than you desire, depending upon what you mean by "long", as most boats ask you to return within certain time parameters so they can maintain schedules.

CCV is an AI that you can do at least 3 or more dives per day that are as long as your SAC rate might allow, but you are likely to see 12 passengers max aboard your boat on any given day.

Here's a "typically crowded" CCV boat:

9 of us total for a trip to Calvin's Crack.

Look at the pictures that I referenced in prior posts above as they are stored in the Photobucket Albums, and then do a here on :sblogo:

Only very knowledgeable Caribbean environment divers should go off alone, as without experience and expert guidance, most divers are likely to miss the cool miniature stuff that the South side diving is all about. You may indeed have these skills, most of us do not.

If you were deciding between the two resorts (thus were willing to eat prepared meals) it sounds like RHR might be the one. It is small and very very quiet. CCV has a bit more activity while still offering the same quality diving plus a bit more quantity of available diving. RHR should give you enough diving without having anything grander than what could well be described as an intimate setting.

Again, look at the West End, but understand it is not the same micro-niche environment as the South side's sun bathed and shallow walls.

Here's a long term local expert on that subject specifically: YouTube - Roatan Bio-Geography Micro Environments, Scuba Diving with Doc Radawski

 

[robint]

Hi,

My spouse and I are Bonaire shore divers, usually staying at the very small (10 rooms) Carib Inn. We will already be in Guatemala this summer, so we thought of going over to Roatan for a week of diving.

Reading your comments has me more than concerned. We usually dive in a group of two;
just the two of us. We did do Coz once and Isla Marisol in Belize, both obviously boat diving, basically 6 -8 folks only.

We are looking for long bottom times, healthy reefs, and LESS folks. We also if possible like to prepare our own simple meals. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different places you are all talking about. Thanks in advance for your comments.

I know exactly what you are talking about - we were just in Cozumel in March and it was less than pleasant having dozens of divers on top of each other! We have become so spoiled to small groups - diving Bonaire and liveaboards. CCV on Roatan is now our favorite land-based destination! I even like it better than Bonaire, that says alot! You never ever feel like there are too many divers and there is so much diver freedom, with that killer shore diving available 24/7. I like the small size of the resort, too. Only 26 rooms means no crowds, which makes me very happy.
If you are looking for an all-inclusive, I highly recommend CCV. If you aren't, I am sure there are other places which can give you a great diving experience on Roatan as there is so much to chose from, whatever you diving vacation style.

robin

 

[Byte Me]

I was fortunate enough to join the group RoatanMan was in for the second week of their trip (In fact, that's me on the right side of the picture above lifting my BC/tank back into the tank holder) so I missed the RHR visit the first week. The theoretical maximum number of divers on our assigned Boat II was 17 for our group. The only time we hit double digits was when an instructor joined our boat for one dive with someone doing their AOW from our group and we also had a guest DM for that trip - he was completing his DM internship down there. Otherwise the most crowded boat we were on the whole week was the shuttle from the dock to CCV. The most crowded DIVE boat was when 7 of us took the smallest CCV dive boat to Cara a Cara - we stopped on the way at Waihuka dive shop to pick up about 14 other divers, DMs, videographers for the shark dive. That was a little crowded but we expected that. This was our typical group started the week with 9 and one lady dropped out due to injury so we usually had about 8-9, plenty of room! (Ruben our captain is driving and Jesse our DM is in the back in the blue sleeveless T) -

Here is the schedule for the week -

As you can see, max of 15 in the first group, 17 in ours, 12 in the third.

Here's a typical shot of CoCo I with 9 on it plus the DM and captain:

We never once saw an FI or any other boat at any of our dive sites. The sites are so plentiful around there though that the boats may look close but we never saw another group underwater unless it was on a drop off at Neumann's wall, CCV wall or the Prince Albert wreck. I thought the diving was wonderful but you can see at the PA wreck and on the walls in CCV's "front yard" that runoff is causing some degradation. Out at other sites though, with the exception of Gold Chain Reef dive site everything looks very healthy.

Between the size and quality of the boats, the convenience and quality of the front yard dives and the locker area setup CCV makes it SO EASY to dive you don't really even have to think about it. I did 20 dives in 5.5 days and could easily have done 4 more but my wife doesn't dive so I was starting to get the evil eye by the end of the week!

Here's a shot from the back of the boat into the dive locker area:

Couldn't be more convenient. Nitrox analyzer in each bay, separate camera and gear rinse tanks in front and back of the locker area, drying racks out back and fresh water showers as well. Each person's locker area had two cubbies, hooks and storage area below that and a hanger area for your wetsuits. All within 15 feet of the back of your boat.

This was my first trip there and I had high expectations from everything I had read about CCV. They exceeded them and we had a fantastic time!

My other dive trips have been to Playa and Cozumel. In Playa I dive w/ Jason at Fantasea dive. Small boat, dive your own profile and he picks sites that rarely have other dive boats at them, but it has happened. In Coz it was as Robin describes. A zoo. Jason and I were guests on a boat and did our own profile but our boat was always in a group of 2-3 and we picked up other boats divers on both dives that day because of waves and current.

At CCV my bottom time on boat dives was regularly over 50 minutes and I always came up with >400psi in the tank. They ask you limit your bottom time to one hour as a courtesy to the whole group. On drop offs, shore and night dives you could stay out for hours if your profile allowed it.