Beach diving with a scooter in the Caribbean

[drrich2]

Buddy of mine is a PADI CD & has worked in Roatan extensively. He said the reef system there is formally a marine park & they prohibit beach diving ( too many boats cited as the main reason ). No shop there will rent you tanks, he said. Got me wondering if this kind of thinking is pervasive in the Carib.

Well that's interesting, seeing as how one of the draws for CocoView Resort is that they have a shore dive! You can head out to visit the Prince Albert Wreck, some plane wreckage, then head left for CocoView Wall or right for Newman's Wall. Or, when returning from a boat dive trip, they can drop you off on the wreck or a wall and you can head in diving.

It's my understanding Reef House Resort also has a shore dive.

Now, you might well need to be staying at a place to get tanks (and CocoView Resort is on an islet), so your shore diving would probably be supplemental.

Years ago diving in St. Croix, I (who've never used one) wished I had a DPV for the shore dive at Cane Bay Wall. It was a nice reef once I finally got to it, but a really long swim out. Davis Bay in St. Croix also had nice reef with a fairly long swim out. I did the shallow Butler Bay wrecks at a boat dive, but I think I read somewhere years ago it could be done from shore (albeit quite a swim) - check if that matters to you.

Shore diving in the Caribbean brings to mind Bonaire, Curacao, St. Croix, Grand Cayman, and while it doesn't seem nearly as well known, Cayman Brac. Plus Roatan, depending on where you stay.

On the topic of big animals in Bonaire, 9 trips of roughly a week each, here's what I've seen:

1.) Tarpon.
2.) Barracuda.
3.) Cubera snapper.
4.) Tiger grouper (once in awhile).
5.) Big green moray eels.
6.) 1 Manta (or maybe a mobula ray, but definitely not a sting or electric ray).
7.) Green sea turtles (mostly small).
8.) Hawksbill sea turtles.
9.) Bobbing at the surface, in a far distance a buddy once pointed out to me what looked like a flea circus, and he said they were dolphins.
10.) Southern stingrays.
11.) Eagle rays.

In a nutshell, Bonaire hasn't struck me as a 'big animal' destination, though it obviously has some. Years ago somebody reported seeing a goliath grouper on a wreck, and once in awhile somebody reports a shark (I never saw one there).

There are a number of things I personally haven't seen in Bonaire that I've seen elsewhere in the Caribbean - Black, yellow-fin and Nassau grouper, reef and nurse sharks, gray angelfish, pork fish (which I saw at Curacao).

Thanks for that, Scubadada. I want to use my dpv as it allows me extended bottom times and my goal is to look for larger pelagics, so my ability to cover more territory should increase the odds for such encounters.

If you make it down, and want to see some less dove reef, consider using it to check out the outer wall on the double reef system available at some of the southern sites like Angel City. Note: I'm told it's not a true double reef system, but you swim out, go over a sloping reef hillside-like wall, then pass over a big deep sandy flat, then another sloping reef hillside-like wall rises up. This would also put you out closer to the open sea. I don't know whether you're more likely to see pelagic this way, but worth a try.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Well that's interesting, seeing as how one of the draws for CocoView Resort is that they have a shore dive! You can head out to visit the Prince Albert Wreck, some plane wreckage, then head left for CocoView Wall or right for Newman's Wall. Or, when returning from a boat dive trip, they can drop you off on the wreck or a wall and you can head in diving.

It's my understanding Reef House Resort also has a shore dive.

Now, you might well need to be staying at a place to get tanks (and CocoView Resort is on an islet), so your shore diving would probably be supplemental.

Years ago diving in St. Croix, I (who've never used one) wished I had a DPV for the shore dive at Cane Bay Wall. It was a nice reef once I finally got to it, but a really long swim out. Davis Bay in St. Croix also had nice reef with a fairly long swim out. I did the shallow Butler Bay wrecks at a boat dive, but I think I read somewhere years ago it could be done from shore (albeit quite a swim) - check if that matters to you.

Shore diving in the Caribbean brings to mind Bonaire, Curacao, St. Croix, Grand Cayman, and while it doesn't seem nearly as well known, Cayman Brac. Plus Roatan, depending on where you stay.

On the topic of big animals in Bonaire, 9 trips of roughly a week each, here's what I've seen:

1.) Tarpon.
2.) Barracuda.
3.) Cubera snapper.
4.) Tiger grouper (once in awhile).
5.) Big green moray eels.
6.) 1 Manta (or maybe a mobula ray, but definitely not a sting or electric ray).
7.) Green sea turtles (mostly small).
8.) Hawksbill sea turtles.
9.) Bobbing at the surface, in a far distance a buddy once pointed out to me what looked like a flea circus, and he said they were dolphins.
10.) Southern stingrays.
11.) Eagle rays.

In a nutshell, Bonaire hasn't struck me as a 'big animal' destination, though it obviously has some. Years ago somebody reported seeing a goliath grouper on a wreck, and once in awhile somebody reports a shark (I never saw one there).

There are a number of things I personally haven't seen in Bonaire that I've seen elsewhere in the Caribbean - Black, yellow-fin and Nassau grouper, reef and nurse sharks, gray angelfish, pork fish (which I saw at Curacao).


If you make it down, and want to see some less dove reef, consider using it to check out the outer wall on the double reef system available at some of the southern sites like Angel City. Note: I'm told it's not a true double reef system, but you swim out, go over a sloping reef hillside-like wall, then pass over a big deep sandy flat, then another sloping reef hillside-like wall rises up. This would also put you out closer to the open sea. I don't know whether you're more likely to see pelagic this way, but worth a try.

Well! That's some good news! Perhaps my CD buddy was referring to a prohibition of general beach ( non-resort ) diving; in any case, it's great to hear the Coco View has this option. Thanks so much for your detailed post - very much appreciated!

DSD

 

[Jon Nellis]

Greetings,

I want to travel to the caribbean to shore dive with my scooter. I've heard it isn't possible in Roatan, but probably Bonaire. Not sure about Cozumel. If you like to beach dive with a scooter in the caribbean islands - where do you go?

Thanks,
DSD

I have yet to hear of anyplace in the Caribbean that you can not use a DPV.

Bonaire is great, if you dive the East side from the fish huts at Lac. The channel can be ripping on the way back in and you may not have enough power, and have to pick your way through the reef. There's a deep sand flat around 250' where A LOT very large eagle and sting rays hang out. You can watch them from 130', if that's your limit. A lot of large turtles at Turtle city (over by white hole) and typically a few nurse sharks on the way back. Going out and coming back, you go through the daytime hideout of a couple hundred tarpon. I've played with a family of dolphins while scootering, south of Red Slave and also had them swim right up to me by Sand Dollar. Saw a manta ray going out the east harbor by the trash dump, but don't recommend going out that channel, unless it's flat seas. There's not much to see outside that channel anyways.

Grand Cayman is a great place for DPV's, since it's a ways out to the reefs. Park at the boat ramp on the north end of the main stretch of beach, walk down the boat ramp and scooter out to the Kittiwake and a dozen other sites along the reef, depending on you range. Eagle rays and reef sharks. North side of Grand Cayman is also good from shore (Reef and nurse sharks) and the boats in the southeast, let us take them on the day trips, with no complaints. (Reef sharks)

Roatan, I've taken DPVs to Cocoview a couple times. There's not a lot of big creatures, but you usually do one boat dive and then the boat drops you off for a second dive close to the resort to swim back. I just have them drop me off a mile or two from the resort and scooter back, or if the dive sight is already that close, I'll just scooter back from the first dive site.

Cheers,
Jon

 

[JFS]

Cozumel is limited to shore diving. In the marine park you must be with a certified guide while diving. No dpvs are allowed to be used in the park. Outside of the park there is only a few sites you could go from shore. We use DPVs on Villablanca Wall, Cantarall and the two sunken boats that are in front of Sedena. We have also taken DPVs to the east side of the island.