North or South?

[Pembina]

Planning a trip to Roatan in Feb 2012 Last time we were there we stayed on the north side at IoLR next to AK this year we are thinking about CCV. My question is... what is the boat ride like on the south side? When we were there in '08 we went on the shark dive which was somewhere on the south side and i remember the water being extremely rough, 3-4 foot waves and we had to use a tie line to get in and out of the boat. Was that just unusual or is that the norm on the south side?

 

[Doc]

In the month of February, you're going to be much better off on the South side.

During the months of April thru September, the North side can be dead calm. In the period of September thru November, the North side is exposed to the passing of any Caribbean tropical storm. They usually track to the North on a Northwesterly path. As close as they get is to make landfall in Belize or Cozumel. (Usually)

As winter descends, it does so literally on the Bay Islands. As does Cozumel and Belize, we are hit by "Northers". These are cold front pushes that come South and cause real heavy wind and wave. These Northers run from December thru mid March and cans op diving cold from the North/West dive ops.

The geography of the Bay Islands is relevant. It is a long thin island that lies diagonally WSW to ENE. One side, the North, is exposed to the brunt of the weather at all times, where the South lies protected.



The reef structure was obviously created by eons of wind and wave.

The boats that are designed for South side use are the round bottoms, not the deep vee hulls. In that there is almost always a 1' minimum running sea, the dive ops located there use the gear that makes the most sense.

In that you mention CCV, know that their boats are rigged with ladders amidships and through the hull. Pretty easy to re-board no matter what the ocean is doing.

more images at http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/Doc_Adelman/CoCoView Explained in Pictures/

The shark dive that you mention- it is done with very small boats and is located over one of the big hot-spots for current that most people ever dive on Roatan. It is standard practice for CCV, unless it is dead calm, to throw out a tag line- it just makes sense.

Here's the South side weather on a live web cam: Shore Dive Beach Cam

 

[Bay Island Diver]

February is a the hardest month to predict, when choosing between North or South that month, its harder to pick than a broken nose!

The winter is almost over and you may well find the winds have started to switch, or it could be a full week of northern winds and rain!

One important consideration is that the North Side ops will transport you to the south side if the North is rough, because when the North is rough it is VERY rough. However the south shore only tends to get a little rough, so they tend to still venture out on that side. This means if rough water and seasickness is a concern you are more likely to find yourself diving on the calmest side when diving with a north shore op.

 

[Doc]

One important consideration is that the North Side ops will transport you to the south side if the North is rough...

Some North Side /West End ops will boat you over to dive on the South side, most will not. Even fewer will transport you by cab to meet their boat at a South side harborage. Most West End and Western Northside operations- if they come around to the calm South side at all- you'll get a "free" roller coaster ride aboard the dive boat instead of that taxi ride.

Chose wisely. I am only selling facts here. You asked about how CCV would be in February compared to your past experience at the Shark Dive location diving with AKR. There is on ScubaBoard an ongoing debate (largely between North/West operators versus historical weather data and geological evidence that is brutally apparent) about the weather on Roatan. Facts are facts. Do a search, do the math.