+1 to
Tool Belt , but to further reflect on the OP, and to offer a complete answer to those who have not had broader experiences such as the OP
Dgsmith has gained by doing
both CCV and FIBR
(very cool) i'll throw this out. (I have done maybe 6 dive days with FIBR, but have only inspected the rooms there) What you are asking is a question that requires an understanding of local geology, the character and strength of dive operations, and also the styles of diver who each caters to.
The CCV dive schedule has some minor clock variations, but the general picture is this:
0830 Dive Boat Departure
0900 Moor and begin
Dive #1
1000 Divers aboard
1040 As boat returns to CCV,
Dive #2 is offered (some folks return to dry land), basically three choices:
- In the morning, Sunlight is directly upon Newmans Wall, so that's a primary choice
- In the afternoon, the Sun has tracked to beat down on CocoView Wall, so that's a good choice
- Or, "just drop me on the Wreck"
1145+ Divers are making the sandy walk shore exit return to the resort
1200 Lunch
**** Nap, internet for 2 hours
1400 Afternoon boat departure
1415
Dive #3 begins
1515 Divers return to moored boat
1545 Do either of the above detailed "Drop Off" dives,
Dive #4
1645+ Divers are making the shore exit
**** Nap, yack, drink for up to 2 hours
1820 Dinner begins
2000
Night dive (#5), most begin at this time, some do two night dives with shore entry
CCV is at the top on right, CCW wall (whitecaps) is just South.
You can see the sandy path for CCV shore entry.
Follow that due South into the dark blue to Prince Albert Wreck
Across the channel (on the left edge) is FIBR.
Their Shore Dive Gazebo, is that thin white line pointing at the + sign shown at CCV.
Just to the right and below of that is Newmans Wall
The Drop Off dives (#2 and #4) can be done as "enduro" dives, where the DM and Boatsman will drop you along one of the two reefs as above at a more distant point.
Drop Off dives can, of course, be done at any depth. This can cause an immediate difference in the critters that you are seeing, as can the time of day- both have a huge impact on what you find.
As a sidenote, very very few divers think to take advantage of very calm days and explore in the 10fsw shallows among the coral heads atop CCV Wall. I have often enjoyed this amazing aquarium environment. I would rank it among the highest still existing anywhere in the Caribbean, but you have to pick the wave-less days and think to go and do it. After all, you have to dive deep for cool diving, not.
Over my many trips to CCV, I almost always asked to be dropped over the intact upright 140' Prince Albert Wreck, lying in 35-65fsw, just 3 minutes u/w from the resort. I wanted to gain the intimate familiarity needed for effortless night diving. Often, I see images people shoot on the wreck, and usually I can tell the precise 1 foot square it depicts. There are things hiding in plain sight that most divers never see.
I think the two wall Drop Off dives get some comments that reflect the diver's style. We begin diving, quite enthralled with coral reef shapes (architecture). This is the only reason that I can find for the insane popularity of Mary's Place. It's a deep dive in a dark crack. CCV is one of the only resorts (as well as RHR, but very seldom does FIBR make it that far on any given week) that will give you a once-a-week shot at diving another famous crack, the one named after a man named Calvin. (This is a morning dive, as is Mary's Place, both due to it's depth and transit time).
This "need for dramatic shapes" is not easily sated by the two Drop Off wall dives. These two walls are pretty much straight vertical, from 5' down to 90', not a whole lot of startling shapes. There are some exceptions- on CCV wall, there are some very cool (but deep) sand chutes and the final Westernmost Coral Head is really only picturesque from an outbound shore dive, heading East. It is spectacular, but not as imposing from the Drop Off view.
The Newmans Wall dive is pretty straight up and down, but when you near the CCV Channel where these two walls merge and culminate in the PA Wreck, Newmans has some pretty spectacular open Chimney structures.
But... for the patient, skilled, and observant- they are a veritable underwater zoo.
I have watched a few groups of divers do Drop Offs (and other leaderless dives around the world). The large majority of divers are in full race mode. I usually log out drop off dives in the 1:20 - 1:40 BT range, and when I exit I find the other divers all dried off and sitting on land. To enjoy any dive, the race element has to be removed, but when a diver is not 100% sure of their range with available 3200psi, they tend to hurry and be on a mission. They really aren't looking for critters, but they are impressed with reef shapes.
That is the main reason why wrecks are so very popular. People like looking at shapes. Critters, as well, enjoy shapes, but they use them to support their needs of cover and food. Do a wreck dive and you might be surprised at how many people saw only barren metal. Wrecks are teeming with life, but the vast majority of divers are overwhelmed that they are seeing a wreck. That's the big draw, shapes that they can identify.
The other moored dive sites as referenced by
Dgsmith are often at locations that do offer instant reef architecture, the moment your face gets wet. There are many with chimneys, some with miniature caves, some overheads, all sorts of visually stimulating stuff. Yes, CCV does all of those on the moored dives (#1 and #3), so CCV divers get to see those as well, they're on FIBRs list, too.
I appreciate that the OP noted a real distinction between FI and CCV in other matters besides the dive schedule, but since that was broached, this does require some commentary. For the last fifteen+ years, The non-diving portion of FIBR has been languishing in what you might politely call "spotty reviews". The only reason they seem to sell any beds is their low priced structure. Readers are well advised to read previous posts, few that there may be, but take a hint.
The FIBR dive operation should get
gold medals for making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The boats and maint are grim; the dive lockers, altho copied from CCV, are dark and dank. Their DMs do very well in making the dive operation run well, but I continuously see them surrepticiously feeding fish, or being pre-occupied by Lionfish hunting.
The dive schedule as mentioned is what is known as a Eur-Asian style. I believe one still has to sign up for each dive, not a big deal, but more commonly noted in SoPac resorts that serve Brits and Europeans. Their dive schedule melds very well into their tank inventory and their capacity to fill tanks at a needed pace. The dive schedule keeps that maximum number lower and more available.
FIBR does indeed offer that opportunity to knock out 4 dives in a day as mentioned in the OP. Very few divers ever do that drop-off #4 when FI is coming back in the afternoon. The morning dives are actually two different boat departures (to swap out tanks), so you have a precious few minutes to jump off from Dive #1, do what you're going to do, and rush back for departure #2. It is just not a simple, easy to do, schedule. Read 3 paragraphs down- I simply could not get more than three a day at FIBR.
If you want to see this in action, either go, or study this webcam at the times detailed previously:
Honduras Scuba Diving, Live Web Cams | CoCo View Resort It does have night vision capabilities, so right now at 8pm I'm seeing divers going out in 5fsw with lights. You can also observe the activity at FIBR.
From what I can discern, the world isn't going to be having a choice between two next-door results for ever. I may be wrong, but one of the two looks closer to sliding into the water every day. That said, I'll get back to the CCV schedule.
I'm old and crippled up (50+ years of downhill skiing and an "interesting" professional life), but I still manage to log 27 dives in a week's stay. My bride and I dive all around the world, a whole lot, all the time. She is a hard core Naturalist, I call he an U/W Birdwatcher. (I just find cool stuff and can't remember the names) She's got the Paul Humann book all checkmarked off. She prefers to do one week (or two) at CCV at least yearly.
So, just like the food, I guess, Mr Smith and other readers, it's all a matter of personal choice and what works for you the best. Just like the food thread, this thread should be just a point of interest and opinion, but you absolutely must form your own after personal experience, which I highly recommend- go and try it.
The huge number of repeat returning visiting divers to CCV means that this long standing dive schedule works for a whole lot of people. I would guess that of the maximum of 72 guests that CCV hosts weekly, I bet that 30 or more are not first timers. And in that repeat group, I'll also bet that each of them dives at other places as well CCV is referred to as "home" by quite a few habitues.
