Going to Roatan

[agilulfo]

Hello,

I will be going to Roatan in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if anyone had any uselful tips. My wife and I will be staying at the Reef House Resort for a week.

A few questions:

- We have been diving with tables and don't own computers. We have 37 lifetime dives and had no problem until last trip we had where the DM was pushing us into following his computer on multiple dives because everyone else had computers on the boat and he felt that our surface intervals were too long. To make a long story short we ended up off the tables and worrying about DCS. Nothing happened fortunately but it wasn't fun. So, this time, since we are probably going to dive 3x a day with a group of people I was thinking of buying computers to avoid the hassle of having to argue with a DM that doesn't let us dive our own profile according to our tables. I've read that in Roatan most dives are not deep (60' or less) so we shouldn't have much of a problem as we did before but all suggestions are welcome.

- I read that we don't need to buy Limperas since we are in a AI and the only thing we would need money for is drinks and tips. I read on the board that is better to bring small USD denominations to avoid getting stuck with a lot of change but I am wondering if it would be worth it exchanging some Limperas before departure or at the airport. What is the exchange rate for people who choose to use USD? Do retailers round up in excess as it is usually the case? And if so, is it a big deal?

- Any particular must dive sites given our location?

Thank you,

Marco

 

[H2Andy]

as for the computers ... well ... you are not tied to the DM. you can plan and dive your plan with your wife using your tables.

however, diving computers is just a lot less hassle ... so ... this may be a good time to invest in a couple of Aeris Atmos 2's wink

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=Atmos2Wrist

i didn't need any Lempiras while I was in Roatan. everyone pretty much takes dollars. you do want one dollar bills, though.

 

[Doc]

- We have been diving with tables and don't own computers. We have 37 lifetime dives and had no problem

You are about to have a problem... If you dive this vacation on tables, you will either be "mathematically dead" by Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. or if you really are following the tables, you'll pull yourself out of the water for 24 hours.

until last trip we had where the DM was pushing us into following his computer on multiple dives

This is a violation of what everyone sees as Rule #1: Do not "share" a computer. Unless you are handcuffed (as mentioned by Uncle Ho above) for the entire week of diving, to the other diver who is wearing the computer, this method is of no value.

To make a long story short we ended up off the tables and worrying about DCS.

Even when you get the computers on your wrists, continue to work the tables. Mark my words- you will be mathematically croaked-out by Tuesday morning. Your computer will still be and so will your body.

I was thinking of buying computers

Do it now.

to avoid the hassle of having to argue with a DM that doesn't let us dive our own profile according to our tables.

You can do whatever you want, but when he says "pool's open", that is your direction to begin the dive or be prepared to reboard the boat within one hour of that moment... when everyone else will be waiting.

I've read that in Roatan most dives are not deep (60' or less)

You can follow the "sand-checkers" to as deep as a bonehead can go. The cool stuff is on the South side and it's all shallow... surface to 55 feet. The Northside- you may have to dive a bit deeper.

- I read that we don't need to buy Limperas since we are in a AI and the only thing we would need money for is drinks and tips. I read on the board that is better to bring small USD denominations to avoid getting stuck with a lot of change but I am wondering if it would be worth it exchanging some Limperas before departure or at the airport. What is the exchange rate for people who choose to use USD? Do retailers round up in excess as it is usually the case? And if so, is it a big deal?

At almost 20 Lempiras to a dollar, rounding is obviously not an issue. Bring $1 and $5 bills. You imagine that you can buy this fairly worthless currency at a foreign exchange window? Maybe so, but I have not seen it, but then again, but I never really have looked.

- Any particular must dive sites given our location?

You will have really no say so lest your group takes total control of the boat and gets them to do a few all day trips. At that point, be ready for a hike, but they do go past the "standard" South side dive sites like the highly over-rated Mary's Place. They may take you to the Prince Albert Wreck, Valley of the kings or possibly~ if the seas are right (and again- if you "own" the boat- Calvin's Crack.

Sit back, relax, with 37 lifetime dives you'll be thrilled at whatever they take you to, trust us on that!

Remember... Roatan- it's all about the small stuff!

 

[agilulfo]

as for the computers ... well ... you are not tied to the DM. you can plan and dive your plan with your wife using your tables.

however, diving computers is just a lot less hassle ... so ... this may be a good time to invest in a couple of Aeris Atmos 2's wink

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=Atmos2Wrist

i didn't need any Lempiras while I was in Roatan. everyone pretty much takes dollars. you do want one dollar bills, though.

Thank you H2Andy,

I am afraid this is the time when we'll have to invest in computers. I was leaning towards Suunto Vytec. I heard they are conservative so I guess it would be a good transition from the tables.

 

[H2Andy]

well ... you can always cut back on time yourself with an "aggressive computer"

but a conservative computer will be beeping at you all the time

(anyway, i find them annoying .... some people love them )

 

[agilulfo]

RoatanMan wrote:

You are about to have a problem... If you dive this vacation on tables, you will either be "mathematically dead" by Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. or if you really are following the tables, you'll pull yourself out of the water for 24 hours.

Thank you for the extensive reply. Very helpful. Do you live in Roatan? Yes, that's what I am afraid of, that we won't be able to keep up with the rest of the people. The resort is fully booked and thus they'll probably be quite a few divers on the boat.

This is a violation of what everyone sees as Rule #1: Do not "share" a computer. Unless you are handcuffed (as mentioned by Uncle Ho above) for the entire week of diving, to the other diver who is wearing the computer, this method is of no value.

Right! I couldn't believe that I had to argue with the DM about this. He told me that I was being too unflexible and that I was going to have a lot of problems in the future for wanting to follow the rules too literally. Nedless to say, we were in Jamaica. Maybe the guy smoked too much ganja.

You can do whatever you want, but when he says "pool's open", that is your direction to begin the dive or be prepared to reboard the boat within one hour of that moment... when everyone else will be waiting.

Right. And I don't want to be the party pooper especially since it's such a small resort that everyone will have to hang out with each other afterwards.

You can follow the "sand-checkers" to as deep as a bonehead can go. The cool stuff is on the South side and it's all shallow... surface to 55 feet. The Northside- you may have to dive a bit deeper.

Do you know the Reef house Resort? I've read that they dive mostly on the easter part of the island where is not as crowded.

At almost 20 Lempiras to a dollar, rounding is obviously not an issue. Bring $1 and $5 bills. You imagine that you can buy this fairly worthless currency at a foreign exchange window? Maybe so, but I have not seen it, but then again, but I never really have looked.

Ok.

You will have really no say so lest your group takes total control of the boat and gets them to do a few all day trips. At that point, be ready for a hike, but they do go past the "standard" South side dive sites like the highly over-rated Mary's Place. They may take you to the Prince Albert Wreck, Valley of the kings or possibly~ if the seas are right (and again- if you "own" the boat- Calvin's Crack.

Fair enough, but I was wondering if there where any particular dives that you would suggest so that I could try to request them.

Sit back, relax, with 37 lifetime dives you'll be thrilled at whatever they take you to, trust us on that!

Yes, I know. I am really looking forward to it. Last year we were in Bonaire and we loved it. We like little things.

 

[agilulfo]

well ... you can always cut back on time yourself with an "aggressive computer"

but a conservative computer will be beeping at you all the time

(anyway, i find them annoying .... some people love them )

So, you are saying that a Vyper will be beeping all the time? When I was in Bonaire the DM had one but I don't remember it beeping. Maybe I just wasn't close enough to hear it!

 

[H2Andy]

lol no ... i am exaggerating

but they will cut back on your dive some, and may beep at your every once in a while

 

[mow2000]

I've been using a predecessor of the Oceanic Veo 250 for the past 15 years or so. Can't say enough good things about it. Simple to use, easy to read, very ergonomic, reliable and fits in the console that i've been using since '88. I can't imagine diving without a dive computer.

 

[rakay]

I have the Suunto Cobra. You can set it to different levels. More conservative, less conservative. Check it out online at their website.

Get a computer. It is certainly worth the investment. I really like a computer just for the "you are ascending to fast" feature. Mine will beep and warn if you are going up too fast. I think for occasional or new divers, this is a big help and making sure you are ascending slowly enough.

We are going to Roatan tomorrow. We just take US dollars. We always take some small bills. It can be a bulk of cash but we always try to get rid of the local money before we come back. Usually leave it as tip money. You can buy things with US dollars. They do round up with the US dollars but we have decided it is a huge hassle to exchange the money.