Coco View - long walk from locker for shore diving?

[Doc]

Carmen maybe you can start another thread on this issue...:blinking: I have been going there since the late 80's and have never had anything moved or taken...I hope it was an isolated incident...

Me neither, and I leave some very pricey stuff in my gear shelf. :ignore: (oops, now I've done it) Let's see- electronics about the price of a used Harley, yup.

Not to denegrate what your saying, Carmen, I can't figure why anyone steal a disposable u/w camera? The locals wouldn't want it- they've all gone digital as no-one could afford the comparatively insane prices of developing and printing regular film- and they love their great jobs. I'll bet it was an itchy guest that needed your Cactus Juice and put it back in the wrong slot. That's a drag.

I never have locked my door, not in 30 trips.

Back to that walk between the gear rooms and the shore dive....

I recently had a brilliant surgeon (also a diver) using Vise-Grips and a Dremel Tool over most of my spine. Hell, I can still barely walk.

I made it that 60 paces without a whole lot of issues.

 

[cfelliot]

......However, I disagree about theft.....

Wow, sorry to hear about that!

All I can say is that has not been my experience. My reason for mentioning the safety issue in the first place was to illustrate to the OP that leaving your camera by the main building while swapping a tank at the dock, as RobinT said, was no problem.

 

[JCR]

Can someone interpret this statement from the Cocoview rates information: "2 boat dive trips daily including 1 tank at selected site and optional drop-off wall dive (up to 4 boat tanks daily)"

I think this means more than 2 dives per day from the boats, but I am not clear about it. Thanks
JR

 

[crd_kats]

You all don't know how puzzled and sad I was about the whole deal. I mean, disposable camera, bug spray and some disposable razors????? It was ridiculous, but there you have it.... we offered mgmt to search our lockers and room hoping to prove us wrong as we'd read such great things about CCV.

Carmen maybe you can start another thread on this issue...:blinking: I have been going there since the late 80's and have never had anything moved or taken...I hope it was an isolated incident...

Thanks for the suggestion, but if the op doesn't have a problem with my post, I'd kinda like to leave it here.

I mean, I wasn't the first to introduce the subject.

Can someone interpret this statement from the Cocoview rates information: "2 boat dive trips daily including 1 tank at selected site and optional drop-off wall dive (up to 4 boat tanks daily)"

I think this means more than 2 dives per day from the boats, but I am not clear about it. Thanks
JR

Hi there JR,

There are two boat dives a day. One just after breakfast at 8am and another just after lunch at 2pm. Each boat ride offers two tank dives for a total of four dives off a boat for the day. The first dive is usually a location the DM has chosen. Could be reef, wall, or a crack in the ocean floor. Anyone of these has something fun to see (seahorse, frogfish, giant crab, etc.). The second dive is a drop off at one of the two walls that lead back to CCV.

In the morning they will drop you (on the second tank dive) on Newmans Wall as the sun shines down on it at that time. In the afternoon, they will drop you on Coco Wall or CocoView Wall (can't remember the name exactly) as the sun is now shining on that side. They tell you to keep Newman's Wall on your left and you will eventually find your way back the Prince Albert which in turn has ropes and floating plastic bottles leading you back up to the CCV shore as the DM does not do the dive with you. Ditto with Coco Wall except you'll keep this one to your right.

This happens twice a day through out your stay. Same walls. After diving these walls three times, I asked the DM if we may do another reef and the answer was negative. They are on a schedule.

Hope this is clear.

 

[Doc]

This happens twice a day through out your stay. Same walls. After diving these walls three times, I asked the DM if we may do another reef and the answer was negative. They are on a schedule.

Yes, you do get to dive CoCoView Wall and Newman's Wall as drop-off dives 5 times each during a week.

Same walls? Absolutely. Same critters? No way.

There is a third option. Not only can you have them drop you off at either wall of your chosing (no matter the time of the daily schedule), you may also ask for the "enduro" which as just a longer version (with more territory), but as a third alternative, you can have them plop you in right on top of the Prince Albert Wreck. I do my entire 1:20 dive within a space of 140x35 feet.

The vast majority of "drop off" dives I have done have been atop the smallest piece of real-estate there, just atop that 140' tanker ship lying in 65~40fsw. Talk about repetitive! A pure delight, as well.

There is always something changing, moving, and inadvertently exposing themselves. Many of us do these drop-off dives extremely shallow, preferring to spend 1 hour and 20 minutes as a BT while we slowly creep towards lunch or an afternoon nap.

If you get your entire boat motivated for an early departure (by 30 minutes or so- it's easy to get the DM's to do a second moored boat dive on any given trip.

Honestly though, I am so enthralled by the critters on the Sun drenched shallow walls of this area, as many times as I have dove them (1800 or so), they're all the same to me. Pick one or the other- there was one 17 day period when I dove 5x a day and never took a boat- all shore dives... and I'm not alone on that one! (Rudy and Dee)

 

[JCR]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply and clarification about the boat dives. At first, I thought it was 2 boat dives rather than 2 boat trips with 2 dives each. I am sure they need to keep a schedule. I am thinking about Utilia also where there may only be 3 boat dives, but maybe with a more flexible schedule. What a pleasure to have such choices!
Thanks
JR

 

[Doc]

I am thinking about Utilia also where there may only be 3 boat dives, but maybe with a more flexible schedule. What a pleasure to have such choices!

No need to go that far, but Utila might work, as well.

Even there (or anywhere), there isn't any flexibility of boat schedule, but it makes your day schedule more flexible because you may select from different departures during a day.

Right across the channel from CCV is FIBR (Fantasy), and although a completely different operation, they do access the same reefs on the South side. They run a schedule that I am guessing would be more to your liking.

FIBR and all of the day-dive ops of the West End (Roatan) operate on a schedule that is more European/Asian in design. Three different (usually single tank) boat departures are scheduled throughout the day. Usually, they are 0900, 1200, 1500 or similar. In most cases, it is very very difficult for an individual to do three dives on any given day. This schedule is best suited for a two-a-day goal, and some leisure activities (sleeping is good!) in between. Many people will try to argue this saying that three-a-day is possible, and for some super energetic souls- it might well be.

Most such similar three-boats-a-day operations further follow the EurAsian model by posting blackboards where you must sign-up in advance. This helps them balance loads and schedule workers flexibly. Again- the departure times are fairly well set in stone.

Many such dive ops utilize smaller boats, and by their nature they are smaller infrastructures, so the system works well for them. Very few have the capacity or even the extra tanks to stow a second tank aboard the boat. Some very few do, most do not.

You can find whatver you want in the Bay Islands, you just gotta know what that is, first.

Here are some images of Roatan dive boats: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=3809
and FIBR: http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/Fantasy Island Roatan/

Flexibility for those who enjoy the CCV route comes from the 0900 and 1400 boat departures. You can do one dive and ride the boat back in, you could even have them drop you on one of the house reefs right away instead of doing the moored dive and then doing the house reef on the way back in. Many people just use that shore dive availability and find all the flexibility they need. It's a diver's resort, not much thought is given to partying, recovering, laying in the sun, or waiting for Roatan's Golf Course to open.

Utila, Roatan, CCV, West End....each seemingly related place is a whole different world.

 

[robint]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply and clarification about the boat dives. At first, I thought it was 2 boat dives rather than 2 boat trips with 2 dives each. I am sure they need to keep a schedule. I am thinking about Utilia also where there may only be 3 boat dives, but maybe with a more flexible schedule. What a pleasure to have such choices!
Thanks
JR

It is a very regemented schedule, but not really..... you don't HAVE to do any of the dives. Some people opted for only doing the first boat dive, then would ride the boat back to the dock. Then they would do the shore dive later if they wanted on their own, or off to do something else. There are also a couple of all-day boat trip scheduled which go to the East end of island or West end. You can sign up for those down by the dock. Also, there are options for the dolphin dives at AKR or the shark dives which they arrange for you. Or other topside activities like island tour or ziplines - all are posted on a board with a signup sheet for each. So every day the attendance numbers on the boats change. When we were there, we did every boat trip but not everyone assigned to our boat was there each day.

So, just because there are "scheduled" 4 dives per day, doesn't mean you have to do THOSE dives. Hope this helps.

robin

 

[DeputyDan]

$20 USD says that the thefts were from other guests !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[crd_kats]

It is a very regemented schedule, but not really..... you don't HAVE to do any of the dives.

So, just because there are "scheduled" 4 dives per day, doesn't mean you have to do THOSE dives. Hope this helps.

robin

Yup, we are adults and we know we have choices.

$20 USD says that the thefts were from other guests !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't take you up on that bet! We thought that too...