Morat wall - east end

[castaways01]

Diving pristine Morat Wall yesterday was a gentle reminder of why I moved to this silly, beautiful island. I hadn’t been on that wall since a trip to Reef House more than 15 years ago. It’s the kind of dive where you can easily become entranced in the awesome beauty of the coral and abundance of cool stuff.

I’d urge divers staying at Roatan resorts (especially CCV and FI) to break loose and dive Morat Wall or other pristine east sites. The resorts usually don’t go beyond Calvin’s Crack, so you’ll need to make special arrangements, maybe pay a surcharge. Or hook up with one of the east dive shops. Often they combine 2 dives with a day trip to Pigeon Cay. If you don’t make that trip, you’re missing out on the island’s best diving, in addition to seeing the communities of Oakridge, Jonesville, Port Royal and Helene.

There were five divers aboard Islander, East End Diver’s 38’ Newton. The group included Che Roberts, dive master from Tropical Island Divers (Marble Hill) and two of his clients. Boat owner Larry Coon was also in the water. The seas were very choppy, but strong wind and swift current made for an ideal drift dive.

Morat Wall, which is just west of Barbareta, is one of the most pristine sites I’ve seen here. The wall is heavy with overhangs, crevices and small caves with healthy collections of corals and sponges. A few minutes in the water, I spotted a big Lionfish (like 12") under a ledge. Not sure what species it was, but it was the biggest I’d ever seen. When I got closer and peeked under the crevice, an even bigger one was lurking inches away from the first. Less than 2-feet away, a giant lobster peeked out from under another ledge.

There was a lot of sea life, including a spotted moray, crab, shrimp, several drum, puffers, schools of blue tang and snapper, flounder, etc. I did notice an absence of small tropical fish. Bet Lionfish are gobbling ‘em up. Next dive was at Pigeon Cay on a sloped wall.

Ahh. An above water bonus was a lone dolphin swimming less than 50-feet away from the boat. Now, that's a good day of diving!

 

[Doc]

I’d urge divers staying at Roatan resorts (especially CCV and FI) to break loose and dive Morat Wall or other pristine east sites.

CoCoView runs out there at least once a week depending upon demand. Many trip leaders pre-arrange this to be included in the week. Sites also often visited are Cow & Calf (SI snorkel), Hole in the Wall, Old Shrimp Boat, Fort Key and Blue Hole~ occasionally Helene and Morat Walls.

The far Eastern shore of the South side holds many delights.

 

[ncchuck]

Thanks for the report. This was always our guests favorite dive when Paya Bay had a dive operation. This dive site along with others east of Reef House are the reason I like to stay and dive at Reef House. People that have never done this dive have no idea what Roatan used to be like 20 years ago.