Trip Report CoCo View Resort - August 2023

[scubabjs]

Thanks for the great TR. Just booked to go to CCV in November. Maybe some folks here can give some input. There is a flat rate for Nx which seems appealing especially for a full week of many dives, but the dives seem on the shallower end, many shallower than 40 ft. What experience do people have using Nx?

There really isn't a need for Nitrox with the dives done at Cocoview. I have dove every dive for 3 weeks to include night dives every other night and never really had to worry about NDL issues on air. I tend to dive deeper than most, It's a nice safety margin, and some people say its less tiresome to dive Nitrox, but it's not needed. I will be traveling there again this X-mas...New Years, and no Nitrox for 3 weeks...$$$ it adds up fast.

 

[Lorenzoid]

There really isn't a need for Nitrox with the dives done at Cocoview. I have dove every dive for 3 weeks to include night dives every other night and never really had to worry about NDL issues on air. I tend to dive deeper than most, It's a nice safety margin, and some people say its less tiresome to dive Nitrox, but it's not needed.

You mention the safety margin that nitrox can afford if not diving right up against the NDL. I keep in mind that the NDL is already determined by the conservatism setting of my computer, and if I set it to very conservative then I might be closer to the NDL than I was when I set it to less conservative. I'm becoming an "older" diver (60s), and maybe more conservatism--including always using nitrox--than when I was younger is a good thing for me. So, what is "needed"? Nobody knows. If I were doing five dives a day for a week, as some people do at CocoView, I would dive nitrox.

 

[scubabjs]

You mention the safety margin that nitrox can afford if not diving right up against the NDL. I keep in mind that the NDL is already determined by the conservatism setting of my computer, and if I set it to very conservative then I might be closer to the NDL than I was when I set it to less conservative. I'm becoming an "older" diver (60s), and maybe more conservatism--including always using nitrox--than when I was younger is a good thing for me. So, what is "needed"? Nobody knows. If I were doing five dives a day for a week, as some people do at CocoView, I would dive nitrox.

I understand, I keep my shearwater set at medium conservatism, and without question, using Nitrox will give you a buffer to avoid getting bent, any additional safety margin is not to be discounted. I am getting up there now 55, but I guess I am still to cheap to pay for the fancy air, if not really needed. I was expressing my view that for the diving you do at Cocoview a mix of deep/medium/shallow you don't get the benefits of Nitrox. It all comes down to personal preference.

 

[gassed]

"for the diving you do at Cocoview a mix of deep/medium/shallow you don't get the benefits of Nitrox"

When still diving air only at CCV we were constantly hitting NDL's long before our Nitrox buddies. Doing 4-6 dives a day the N2 buildup is going to catchup with you unless you're above 30fsw on very dive.
Once we took the plunge for "fancy air" it opened the door for more time at depth on consecutive dives and in most cases full 90 minute dives on drop-offs and front yard outings.
Prepaid unlimited Nitrox at Coco is $135.00. I burned 26 tanks last trip. That's about $5 a tank for added dive time and a good increase in safety margin. Being we only get 1 or 2 weeks a year to dive anymore, that time is gold for us.
As you say, it comes down to personal preference. For us, it was a no brainer.

 

[Doc]

. If I were doing five dives a day for a week, as some people do at CocoView, I would dive nitrox.

i do 5x and occasional 6x at CCV on air. Always have.

Using a Cochrane, a Mares Puck and a dozen others over many years. If there were options, i cranked them down to conservative. I went into deco once in 38 years of CCV diving.

Why dive air? I was born a Sheepdog. Three times now at CCV, I have gone after divers who did not know they were at 150’+. Maybe 15 more elsewhere.

Woof. Just my DNA.

The good stuff at CCV is very unique and way more shallow than most dive. “Average Depth of dive” can be skewed by long BTs. On drop offs where you can suck a tank dry? I’m doing 90 minute BTs most dives. My Average Depth is usually 37’. I do the return walls at 45’ and shallower.

Many divers average much deeper than they realize.

I don’t believe that nitrox replaces Viagra, but the extra safety margin of diving on EAN32 while computer is set to air-why not?

 

[Rilelen]

"for the diving you do at Cocoview a mix of deep/medium/shallow you don't get the benefits of Nitrox"

When still diving air only at CCV we were constantly hitting NDL's long before our Nitrox buddies. Doing 4-6 dives a day the N2 buildup is going to catchup with you unless you're above 30fsw on very dive.
Once we took the plunge for "fancy air" it opened the door for more time at depth on consecutive dives and in most cases full 90 minute dives on drop-offs and front yard outings.
Prepaid unlimited Nitrox at Coco is $135.00. I burned 26 tanks last trip. That's about $5 a tank for added dive time and a good increase in safety margin. Being we only get 1 or 2 weeks a year to dive anymore, that time is gold for us.
As you say, it comes down to personal preference. For us, it was a no brainer.

This is my experience on air at CCV too...I've never been close to going below 110', but I've had to turn almost every drop-off dive on NDL when diving air - even with a VERY liberal Oceanic computer when my buddies had nitrox. But I also like my long bottom-times!

You may not notice it but the DMs also track and turn the guided boat dives partially on air divers' NDL; for instance, there's a number of ways to loop through Calvin's Crack (and a nearby fissure) and Mary's Place, and they sometimes mix up the route based on how folks are doing on NDL. Another time we were doing some (optional) chimneys, and the DM stopped and took us all up onto the top of the wall bc air divers were getting low-ish on NDL waiting for folks to ascend one-by-one.

(And, I'm still rather pleased with myself for almost putting one of the CCV DMs into deco *while diving nitrox* on a nearly two-hour drop-off dive where we got distracted muckdiving in the channel in front of the PA - his computer was more conservative than mine)

 

[LFMarm]

It sounds like a great place for diving. Do they support rebreathers (O2, sofnolime, trimix)?

 

[Doc]

It sounds like a great place for diving. Do they support rebreathers (O2, sofnolime, trimix)?

Contact Dockside Dive Center first and well in advance.

 

[Hoyden]

It sounds like a great place for diving. Do they support rebreathers (O2, sofnolime, trimix)?

We took rebreathers to CoCo View once back in 2013 or 2014. We shipped our sofnolime down in advance and arranged for 02 from a local vendor. IIRC, we had an issue sourcing helium locally.

I will be honest and say that I have never bothered to take my rebreather back to CoCo View and I go almost every year. I am happy to have done it once there, but rebreather diving is not where CoCo View shines.

YMMV,

Jackie

 

[mje113]

@Lorenzoid Thanks great writeup!

This place sounds amazing. Curious what your thoughts would be on the experience of going solo? Not diving solo, but just going without a companion. I'm guessing that like most resorts its very couple focused, but without much to do other than diving I can't imagine brining my non-diving partner. But I wonder if outside of guided boat dives it would be difficult to sync up with buddies for shore dives. If I was solo certified would that even be an option off the shore?