Cocoview

[Doc]

one has and one has not. Still will do a few day dives on the wreck before we do a night dive. What kind of strobe are you hanging off the buoy?

The resort provides a very serious u/w strobe on a carabiner. Off of this, you hang your plastic room # tag... on the way out to the wreck.

Follow the original wreck's anchor chain out to the wreck. It is laid out from 4 feet of water at the little wooden platform and will guide you right to the wreck. Any number of us regulars pitch in on every visit and replace those little "floatee" bottles that mark the way.

The buoy you hang it off of is in 20fsw, it is marked with an orange 15' tag. It is out just past the reef wall, in the "flats" of the channel. It is not the "dive flag buoy" which is chained to the bottom in 15fsw.

As you go out with your group, add your room key tag to the buoy if the strobe is already hung. When you return, take your tag and come in. If you are going out and the strobe is still stored on the shore/night dive board, you turn it on and then go out. This process works in reverse as well. Last one in, bring it in while flashing. The strobe is always left on if you have it off of the rack- that way, everyone knows where it is and where it's going.

Do you need it to night dive with success at CoCoView? No.

Once you understand the underwater geography of the channel and all of the obvious and large man-made objects placed on the floor, you really can not get lost. See http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/ccv/vpost?id=516958 and http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/ccv/vpost?id=516963 for a description.

Here's a map: http://www.cocoviewresort.com/map.html

You got some good advice already, and I heartily agree- have the boatmen "drop" you over the wreck on every daylight return to the resort. Dawdle and play on the wreck. Spend an hour every day learning every bit of it in the daylight. The drop-off dives on the walls will wait, trust me. Learn the 140' Prince Albert shipwreck, the DC3 aircraft, the buoyancy triangle course, and how they are all "tied together" by the anchor chain and lines.

You can't get lost.

 

[laserdoc]

cool,,,,and I was statrting to look at strobes to buy. Guess I don't need to buy one

 

[khblair]

oh, thank you for your daily blogs. we will be going in June. it will be our first visit and im so excited i cant hardly stand it. it was my Christmas present. hehe. i look forward to reading all of your posts.
...and Doc (roatanman) - thanks for all of your info here and on cocoview chat. its priceless!

 

[DeputyDan]

Night diving without light is awesome.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

How far to you have to swim to get away from this serious strobe and see all the critters whon have also swum away from it?

 

[Doc]

How far to you have to swim to get away from this serious strobe and see all the critters whon have also swum away from it?

Any strobe becomes irrelevant after about 10 or 20 feet. It blends into the backscatter, soon overpowered by moonlight refracted by the ocean's surface ripples.

The CCV buoy strobe does seem to attract the most curious of creatures, the Squid.

And as Deputy Dan said, a night dive with lights doused is very cool. I have spent a lot of time hovering in the Front Yard in full moon glow. When you let your eyes adjust, the view is spectacular.

I have tried variouis lights including UV Blacklight, Deep Red (critters don't notice it) and had an Ikelite housing built for my el cheapo Russian Night Vision. But you don't have to get fancy. Just cover your light with your hand (lest you go missing) and open your eyes.

In Septemeber we ghosted along in a 1.5 mph current in the Philippines and watched the sparkling bioluminescence as the Chrinoids extended arms caught their supper- it looked like a hill of Christmas trees twinkling.

Lights are highly over-rated.

 

[Alex777]

<< Lights are highly over-rated. >>

Somewhat OT ...

I night-dive about once a week or so off Grand Cayman and, as long as the sky is clear and the moon is out, do the greater part of the dive without lights. It's a whole different, more natural, world. Turning on the light is often required for navigation but it always seems to be a harsh interruption of a tranquil dive.

 

[renpirate]

I am going on the night boat dive tonight. There has been too much fun in the club house for me to do any night dives. I brought several DVD's and we have been doing game and movie nights. I am looking forward to doing one in the next day or two.

We went to the Pirates of the Caribbean canopy tour. We did the extreme course for $65. It was eight zip lines with the first three being 560m long. It was alot of fun. The others did the regular one, which entailed climbing ladders and walking along a line. Hard work!

If you are a coffee drinker, bring your favorite coffee and filters. The coffee here has no taste. However, the food is great!

Yep, it has been windy lately, but being on the South side of the island is much better.

 

[laserdoc]

If you are a coffee drinker, bring your favorite coffee and filters. The coffee here has no taste. However, the food is great!





I thought the coffee was suppose to be good down there?? Was planning on bringing back some lbs. of it. Just ordered some from Costa Rica which should be about the same quality as Honduras

 

[beautybelow]

Just like anywhere else, you have good coffee and bad coffee...it can definately be hit or miss on the island. The coffee from Copan is really good...from other places not so much. There is one economy brand that most kitchens use that is definately so so in my opinion.