equipment question for the bay islands

[ncchuck]

I am heading to roatan for the first time in March, and this thread has raised a few questions for me.
First of all, the wife and I are new divers so outside of masks fins and snorkels we rent all of our gear. I have heard the rental gear at Mayan Divers or Bannanarama is pretty good, but never asked about exposure protection. Will they have full 3mm and 5mm suits available to us?

Also, the real question... I heard of two things in this thread that I've never encountered before and sound a bit worrisome. Sea Lice and Sea Wasps?!?!?! What are these things? They don't sound pleasant! Outside of wearing full suits what can/should we do to protect ourselves from these things? Should the wife and I be looking at something to cover our hair i.e. Beenine's/Hoods or am I overreacting? Is there a lot of stuff on the reef that can sting/burn/cut us? Should we go out and buy reef gloves, skins, suits etc?!?!?

My previous carribean dives have been in 3 mil shorties or 5 mil full suits and nothing else. Never had any issues. Roatan sounds like it could be a little more complex.

Please share your thoughts... want to make my diving experience as pleasant as possible.

I would check with the dive op to see what type of wet suit they have. Both of you should invest in a 1 mil wet suit (should be under $100) to use for skin protection on all dives. I actually have a couple and save a dry one for night dives. I almost always wear a very thin hood of some sort to protect from sunburn (bald) as well as provide some protection from bumps, bruises and critters of all sorts. You can easily add a 3 or 5 mil shorty (often available as rentals) and you are fully protected. I have never had cold arms or legs so I never use a full wet suit. They are just too hard to put on and too confining. As RoatanMan suggested however, thermal protection is definately an individual thing.

Diving in Roatan is safe and easy and you don't really need any more precautions than you'd have anywhere else. Have a great time. No need to worry about unpleasant things.

 

[Doc]

Glad the sea wasps wont be an issue in Roatan.

We have stinging jellyfish critters that are locally known as "box jellies" or "sea wasps", correct name or not. The same critter is all over the Caribbean.

They can not sting through something even as thin as pantyhose. For most, getting popped by one is fairly discomfortable, but not exactly life ending. Just be advised, if you feel like a hot lash landed on your skin during a night dive, don't rub it. Likely by the end of the dive you'll find it a very minor annoyance. Some people react violently- they can be treated with a slug of Benadryl. If you are prone to venomous reactions, you might already be carrying an EpiJect Pen.

Just be aware of what the sensation might be, don't panic.

They are attracted to light. Urban Myth dictates size and location, but I have seen individuals the size of Foster's Cans at 20fsw, but most have bodies the size of cigarette packs. They are about as vizible as cigarette glassine wrappers. The tentacle on these common sized ones are about 10" long.

Scan "up and ahead" with your flashlight. Under a liveabaord, the lights attract them as they feed on krill. Before you ascend, purge a bunch of air out of your octo- that should roil them away.

 

[adjuster-jd]

Canjundiva - were the sea lice around during the day or just on night dives? Were they attracted to the light by the gazebo area? (Fortunately I've not seen any there in past years but figured I just got lucky).

 

[Jack Scuba]

Regarding the local 'sea wasps' a friend told me that during night dives you should turn your light off, or at the very least don't point it at other divers. Would the regular 'Roataners' agree with that?

I'd definitely get reef gloves to wear! If you ever have to grab a mooring line, or feel like picking up trash off the reef, or grabbing something gross, you will be happy you have the gloves on.

Enjoy yourself!

I appreciate all of the feedback on the suits. I figured that if 75% of the group said they wear a 3 mm suit I'd bring one, but sounds like the 1mm will do just fine.

 

[CajunDiva]

Canjundiva - were the sea lice around during the day or just on night dives? Were they attracted to the light by the gazebo area? (Fortunately I've not seen any there in past years but figured I just got lucky).

I am using the term "sea lice" loosely...but that's what I think they were. It was pretty much all the time. You could just see them floating everywhere in the water. But it's not really a big deal. I had a few bites around the neck of my wetsuit and hubby had a few in a different area but neither of us had any itching or irritation relating to the bites. It must be the time of year they are most active or something.

I think it's advisable to be conscious of exposure protection...I'd wear a full wetsuit or skin even if you put a shorty on top...then you won't be bothered. Heck, even our divemaster Daren wore a rash guard to keep them off - he NEVER wears a wetsuit!

I never made it to the gazebo this trip...we were much too busy doing other things this time...sorry

 

[CajunDiva]

Regarding the local 'sea wasps' a friend told me that during night dives you should turn your light off, or at the very least don't point it at other divers. Would the regular 'Roataners' agree with that?

What RoatanMan said :blinking:

I'd definitely get reef gloves to wear! If you ever have to grab a mooring line, or feel like picking up trash off the reef, or grabbing something gross, you will be happy you have the gloves on.

Don't bother...it's not allowed - you're not supposed to be touching anything.

 

[Dive n00b]

Thanks for the guidance RM. I've found a majority of your posts to be very helpful.
Are you going to be on the island the week of March 22nd? Perhaps we could get in a dive together.

Is it safe to assume that encountering these nasty suckers is somewhat limited to night diving???

Cheers,
Andre

We have stinging jellyfish critters that are locally known as "box jellies" or "sea wasps", correct name or not. The same critter is all over the Caribbean.

They can not sting through something even as thin as pantyhose. For most, getting popped by one is fairly discomfortable, but not exactly life ending. Just be advised, if you feel like a hot lash landed on your skin during a night dive, don't rub it. Likely by the end of the dive you'll find it a very minor annoyance. Some people react violently- they can be treated with a slug of Benadryl. If you are prone to venomous reactions, you might already be carrying an EpiJect Pen.

Just be aware of what the sensation might be, don't panic.

They are attracted to light. Urban Myth dictates size and location, but I have seen individuals the size of Foster's Cans at 20fsw, but most have bodies the size of cigarette packs. They are about as vizible as cigarette glassine wrappers. The tentacle on these common sized ones are about 10" long.

Scan "up and ahead" with your flashlight. Under a liveabaord, the lights attract them as they feed on krill. Before you ascend, purge a bunch of air out of your octo- that should roil them away.

 

[sailbad the sinner]

A full 3mil and you will be fine unless you are a reptile. The water temp should be 80-82 degrees. For sure March and April are sea lice season, They are not terribly painful, just bothersome at times. They have been present on the water for the past few weeks here. We also have small jellyfish about the size of a silver dollar, which I think some are referring to as sea wasps. They are nasty little buggers, but ammonia vinegar or a derivative thereof (urine) will bring relief. And, I have seen them year round. Yesterday, a 3 mil shorty was fine.

 

[Dive n00b]

A full 3mil and you will be fine unless you are a reptile. The water temp should be 80-82 degrees. For sure March and April are sea lice season, They are not terribly painful, just bothersome at times. They have been present on the water for the past few weeks here. We also have small jellyfish about the size of a silver dollar, which I think some are referring to as sea wasps. They are nasty little buggers, but ammonia vinegar or a derivative thereof (urine) will bring relief. And, I have seen them year round. Yesterday, a 3 mil shorty was fine.

Ugh!

 

[dmoore19]

Ugh!

These little rascals are common anywhere you go. Though I guess I have been lucky and haven't run accross them when I was in the water. I have seen them in Resurection Bay in Alaska. They are part of the environment wherever there is an ocean or seawater. If you wear anything to cover you skin it shouldn't be a problem. This is why everybody I know dives covered in at least a dive skin or a 3 ml jumpsuit. I have seen a couple of people in shorties but not that many. I also don't know of anyone that has complained about being too warm while in the water. A 3ml full suit and a beanie worked well for me when I was in Roatan in late December and early January. I did 3-4 dives per day and was never cold. I guess it depends on you. A couple of people, the owner of the LDS, wore a 5 ml th whole time. Water temps were 80-81 when we were there.