This is probably the best night dive on Roatan. A big reason is, as NorthernShrinkage alludes to above- the idea is that you are intimately familiar with the dive site before the night dive. The Channel and its two wrecks, a DC3 and the 140' tanker are a haven for critters.
From FIBR there is an aircraft cable laid through the limited viz from the Gazebo to the DC3 aircraft. That is linked physically by a floated line to the Prince Albert, sunk intentionaly in 1984. FIBR will take you out in a small pram- save air and do it this way. Then swim back to the Gazebo.
CoCoView divers have a different view of the Channel and Prince Albert Wreck- they follow the PA's anchor chain that has been laid out from 3fsw in front of CCV and wanders thru the aquarium of shallow coral heads of CCV's "Front Yard" dive, see
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/ccv/vpost?id=516958
The DC3 is a bit scattered but recognizable. Two huge Caribbean Anemones s-l-o-w-l-y move around the starboard engine nacelle and the port aft of the wing. The shipwreck sits upright and intact, topping out in 22fsw with the bow in 35' and the stern hanging over 65fsw.
Since it is all "linked" together, once you get the lay of the land, you can't get lost. This alleviates one of the biggest fears of night diving, "
will I find my way back???
There is a 7' Green Moray that owns the place. He is either sunning himself on the port side main deck, just in front of the aft pilot house, under a large valve wheel- or he is patrolling the DC3's head (or under the wreckage). His name is Willy.
More advanced divers, those with
developed skills in buoyancy and observation- they will be delighted at the variety of crustaceans that smother the wreck, both microscopic and larger. Many people just thunder by them unknowing. It's easy to find the Secretary Blennies that live on the uppermost rails as they dart out and eat... if you slow down and look for the small stuff.
Look where the deck plates are delaminating. Within the small layers, see the crustaceans that lurk within. Always take a flashlight and get a glass magnifier if you want to see what the experts are seeing.
At night, there is at least two basket stars in residence, one on the starboard aft davit (can you figure out where he hides during the day?) and a very dark colored one amidships. "Feed" them by shining your light upwards and across their arms (
never ON the arms or critter as that will cause them to roll slowly into a ball- they will think night is over and its time to go home). Note their capturing techniques as the snag the larval critters and gobble them up. Remember- never shine your light on them.
Just forward of the one on the davit, note the starboard aft cleat. An Octopus lives within. Above your head in the superstructure often lurks a 3 foot long Grouper.
At night, note all of the corals and the feeders they extend- my favorite is the one on the starboard forecastle ladder top, about the size of a football attached to a horizontal railing. Find it at night, but if you bump or touch it- game over! "Feed it" by attracting clear critters with your upturned flashlight. Take a few minutes to do this. This has to be the fattest, most well-fed coral in the world. as you take that two minutes and watch the tentacles seize and pull unlucky critters inside, note the resident symbiotic Shrimp that is impervious to the tentacles.
The bottom of the channel is not to be ignored. Find Box Crabs, Flounders, Rays buried below, and during the day- see the Garden Eels... and more.
Here's more info:
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/ccv/vpost?id=516963
A shiny new dime for the observant and expertly buoyant diver that finds the Orange Ball Correlamorphs.
It's my favorite dive, we do it at 2000 hrs and 2300 hrs, yup- twice a night! I have lost count how many times, close to 300 dives.
. It is best if you get FIBR to drop you off over the Prince Albert Wreck, otherwise it's a bit of a haul from FIBR, about another 175 feet beyond the CCV distance. It is also through water which is usualy a lot murkier.
