Cocos Islands

[Scubadad1]

I am planning a trip next year to Cocos but am concerned about the currents there as my wife is not at her best in strong currents; I also spend my time worrying about her and not enjoying the dive. Can anyone let me know what the currents are like, what time of year is best to go, water temp and dive suit required, what live aboards are recommended etc.

 

[matt215]

i went there last year in may with only 50 dives under my belt. i was very concerned about the currents as well as the depth. the currents were strong at times, and almost every dive was 100 ft or more. the nice thing about cocos is that there's lots of stuff to grab hold of to keep from being blown away. in someinstances i found myself almost crawling to a spot. only felt in danger once (1st dive). some friends i met on the trip went again in the fall and said the currents were much worse than they were in may. i don't know if one time of year is better as far as currents go. ithink the main thing is confidence. i stayed with the divemaster at the first part of the trip, the ventured out a little as the week went on. the diving there is awesome. one nice thing, after diving cocos, my dives back home now are a piece of cake. i just got back from the bahamas and on one dive everyone was complaining about the current ... i was thinking to myself "that's not current". not to sound elitist, but after you dive in the conditions, other recreational diving will seem easier.
only 3 boats go to cocos the sea hunter, the undersea unter, and the okeaonos agressor. look 'em up online for rates and schedule.

 

[matt215]

oh and nitrox is a must. if you aren't certified, they offer a course on the boat ride out there, which by the way if a day and a half long (pack sea sickness meds)

 

[Manuel Sam]

The preferred time is usually June to September. I personally like mid June thru July. You may find that many of the trips during these time periods are chartered away and are harder to get....there's a good reason for that. June thru September also gives you the best chance of seeing whalesharks.

That is not to say that the diving suffers the rest of the year - in fact, recent trip reports from the Sea Hunter and Undersea Hunter have been raving about the diving. As was suggested before, take a look at the websites and scan thru their previous trip reports.

I've always dived Cocos with a Polartec and sometimes I throw on a 2mm hooded vest in case of a thermocline. A 3mm tends to be the standard wetsuit - but of course, if you hit a thermocline, you will be cold. That's potluck - in my past trips, the thermocline has remained below most of the time. I think that there is only one dive site (Ulloa or Lobster Rock) where it is almost always cold. The depth is about 110, and they do that dive mostly to look for the rosy-lipped batfish. Cold means lo 70's and maybe hi 60's. Otherwise, most dive sites are 78-80 F. BTW, not all dives have to be 100 ft. or deeper: except for the deep seamounts like Alcyone or Punta Maria, you can do 70-90 ft and still be at armslength distance from the hammerheads. Silverado, the cleaning station for Silvertips, is about 50 max.

Currents are unpredictable - sometimes they are mild, sometimes there is none, and sometimes it can get rip-your-mask-off nasty. There is very little swimming against the current - if that is what the concern is. Most of the time, you are either hunkered down on the rocks or drifting with the current.

If the concern is getting blown away, yes that can be a scary possibility, but if she strives to stay with the dive guide, that is less of a concern. Even then, that's where your trusted panga driver's eagle eyes come into play. Plus, I believe that all three boats issue EPIRBs to divers as an added safety measure - I know the two Hunter boats do, you may want to check on the Okeanos Aggressor. Don't forget, current is your friend - it's what brings the animals.

 

[mjh]

As others have said don't worry too much about the currents. My wife who gets cold in anything less than 80 degree water wore her 7mm with hood, 5mm gloves and booties. I wore a 5mm and was comfortable. Gloves are a good idea. We are going back to Mapelo and Cocos next month!

One possible reason diving has been good this year has been El Nina (sp?). This brings the colder water in and keeps the sharks closer to the surface. It's during El Nino yrs they tend go deeper and the rainy season is your better bet.

Trip report, galleries and slide show at our website.

GO TO COCOS.

 

[NTSilver]

Scubadad
I am the person Matt is referring to in his post. If have to say that in May, I was prepared for the worst because that’s all I had read about were the Cocos currents. I would say we had very little. November was a totally different story. We experienced the rip roaring currents that everyone had talked/written about, along with very cold thermoclines at 65 feet. I was comfortable in my 5mm with hood and very chilly in my 3mm. At one site we were trying to pull ourselves down the line (and my mask was blown off my face) while the other group was experiencing downcurrents at Dirty Rock. In the Caribbean my husband and I loosely buddy dive - meaning I am taking photos and he is off looking at things and we each know where the other person is. At Cocos, we are always within a few feet of each other. I think at Cocos everyone looks out for everyone else. You backroll off the boat with no air in the BC and muster at 70 feet. Then you find a place to hunker down and watch the action. Then you drift out into the blue – as a group – to see what else is lurking. The DMs (and whole crew for that matter) are very safety conscious.
Jan – Mar is supposed to be the “summer” season which I think means less currents and in non-La Nina years, less wildlife. However, I have been reading the trip reports and it sounds like things are cooking. La Nina is supposed to be wrapping up around Jul/Aug 08.
In my opinion, of the places I have been diving, Cocos is far and above the best diving there is. Once you go you will likely get addicted – even given the potential for strong currents.

 

[Scubadad1]

Thanks to all for the info. Will be looking at Cocos next year. Hopefully a trip will follow!

Thanks again

 

[InTheDrink]

Is the use reef hooks here common? I have found them very useful in the past where currents are strong and have had envious eyes from those without.

I am hopefully going in September or October '09 and am starting to think about the trip already....

mjh - you mentioned gloves being a good idea? How so? The water temperature in September seems to be mid to late 20's (centigrade) which is comfortable without a hood/gloves - was the water colder when you were there or is there another reason gloves are useful (holding on to rocks in current etc.)?

TIA,
John

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Reef hooks are not used as most of the time you are "hiding" in the rocks looking for the hammerheads as they come into the cleaning stations. They are spooked by divers so bunch of people hanging from reef hooks would likely make for pretty poor encounters.

I did not use gloves but they would be a good idea for hanging onto the rocks in some of the currents.

I agree with everything above --
1. Take seasickness medicines as the crossing can be rough (though not always)

2. Be nitrox certified because of the depths so you can get more bottom time (or dive there on a rebreather like I did and you can get all kinds of bottom time!)

3. The currents can be pretty strong at some locations so be prepared for this, both physically and emotionally. At Alcyone we had very strong currents most days and the crew simply had us backroll with the "granny" line in our hands so we could pull ourselves to the anchor line and then pull down the anchor line. Not a big deal but can be stressful for a new diver

4. Finally, despite all of the cautions above -- Cocos offers some of the best diving anywhere on earth for "big animals". It is one of my favorite destinations in the world.

 

[InTheDrink]

Debersole,
Many thanks for the response and I'll take all of your points into my reckoning.

I don't get seasick but now I've said that I'll clearly be jinxed so I'll bring some pills along just in case.

I'm PADI Nitrox I & II certified so this should suffice, no? I had considered doing a rebreather course for this trip but have decided I need a couple more years diving before pursuing that particular route. Do you dive manual or eCCR?

Currents are my primary concern as I've had some scary experiences in strong currents, but mainly dodgy rental kit failing under the stress. Now I've mainly got my own equipment I tend to know how it will react in a current. Did you carry a spare mask on your dives in case it got ripped off? Just considering whether to carry a spare.

And as for your final point, I can't explain how excited I am. The remoteness and the big animals - schooling hammerheads etc. - sounds like an amazing experience. You say it's one of your favourite destinations in the world - I'd be very interested to hear where else you rate on a similar scale....

Thanks,
John