Cocos island diving

[matt215]

i think i'll be on the same trip. i think the dates are june 27-july 9 or something like that. i'm sure it is the same trip. i went last year in may (ntsilver was on that trip) so pm me if you have any questions about the boat, logistics, etc.

 

[NTSilver]

Coz I like it
We'll be on the trip as well. You definitely want to check out the Arenal Volcano region. That area has volcano hikes, zip lines, hot springs, etc. Rudy the transport person also does a one day tour to another volcano on the way back to San Jose for those who are interested. Are you part of the rebreather (big animal photography) group or us normal divers?

 

[Coz I Like It]

NTSilver and Matt215,

Yep, same trip. Already meeting my divemates. How cool is that! I will be with my wife Lisa and my bro-in-law Mark. This will be our second livaboard trip. The first was in Papua New Guinea 2005. That was a great experience so we are looking forward to this trip. I have to warn you though, Lisa is a diving maniac. She did all 40 dives on the PNG trip. I missed a few and Mark missed one. We have very good excuses, but still we didn't do them all.

We are trying to figure out what kind of wetsuits we need. Any help there would be appreciated. Mark never wears anything, except of course his swimsuit. Never gets cold but then we dive Cozumel and the Carribean where the temps are a pretty constant 82-84. Lisa and I usually wear just a lycra skin and occationally I will wear my 3mm Henderson shorty.

We have a day before for an excurtion and 2 days after for more exploring. Looking at the river rafting or zip lining out of RiosTropicales (Ríos Tropicales - White Water Rafting Adventures) for the day before. I've read a little about the Arenal area. we are looking at that and Monverde area as well.

We are just normal divers, not the Big Animal Photography group. Tell me more about the rest of our divemates - PM me an thanks!

Coz

 

[solensdotter]

Was recently talking to a friend about Cocos. Hadn't initially realized how deep the dives are. Do any of the ops run tec trips, or are they rec only? At those depths, might be nice to extend the bottom times a bit...

 

[matt215]

coz:
ntsilver can't dive. request to be on a skiff that she is not on : ).

 

[matt215]

coz
i would take at least a 3mil. i bought a 5 mil esp for this trip and was glad i had it. i usually dive a .5 mil. the weather may be overcast with not a lot of sun so it's easy to get cold. plus water temp is usu in the 70's. but it ay be sunny. you never know. btw, scopolomine patches are a must for the crossings (36-40 hrs)
matt

 

[NTSilver]

Coz
Matt can't dive either, so now you need to choose whether you really want to go on this trip!
On the May trip (which is the beginning of rainy season) we wore 3mil with skin underneath and I bought a thin hood type thing to try to protect my ears. Water temp was consistently 78 degrees. Thermocline was around 80 - 90 feet and not on every dive. With the 3mil I was always a little chilly (but this could be due to the fact that it is hyperstretch and not a true 3mil).

This trip the thermocline was suprisingly at 60ft on most dives for the first 3 days with temps in the mid 60s. One guy from Switzerland wore a shorty for maybe three dives - he wanted to "feel" nature. After that he wore his 7mil. I had my 3mil with 1mil and also had gotten a new 5mil - I was really glad I had it. I also wore the thin hood and wore my henderson hood on top. My husband left his 5mil at home, so he wore one 3mil on top of another to stay warm.

Bottom Line, no matter what time of year, you will need more than a skin and a shorty. DMs wear 7mil all year.

Rios Tropicales is a great outfit. The Montverde area is very nice as well, although we have only driven through there and never stopped.

 

[NTSilver]

Solensdotter
All are rec diving only. There is no chamber within 300 miles and no way to evacuate. If someone gets DCS the trips ends and a long boat ride to Panama begins.

 

[diversteve]

There's about 5-6 video clips from the Howard Hall film Shark Mountain that can be viewed online: Nature | Shark Mountain | Video

The Windows Media clips don't seem to work but the RealPlayer do.

 

[solensdotter]

Solensdotter
All are rec diving only. There is no chamber within 300 miles and no way to evacuate. If someone gets DCS the trips ends and a long boat ride to Panama begins.

Thanks for the info, NTSilver! Cocos Island is on the agenda, but probably a couple years down the road, since I have the Galápagos coming up next year...