Is this typical? No Seasonal? Yes Or just coincidence? bit rougher than the norm.
I haven't seen this discussed much here.
In a way, we touched on it in this thread. But, since you saw both sides of the island, help us with some "
observational math".
The reefs on the South side begin their vertical walls in 5~35fsw a few yards offshore and drop down to first sand in 90'. They are very thickly populated with soft corals and little critters. The wrecks are older and smaller, asnd they sit in 35~60fsw. The walls & wrecks are also bathed in sunlight all day long, because they really face SSE.
The structure on the North side is dramatically different. Everything is comparatively a lot deeper, the wrecks are an obvious example. To survive the weather conditions, the wrecks on the North side have their best shot at 95+ feet. Observe the reef structure- the deep carving of channels and structure is apparent. It starts deeper and about hundreds of meters offshore in may places.
Here's the math: One side is, for millions of years, battered by life changing storms. The other side has not.
Whenever I say this, somebody gets their hackles up and defends "one side over the other". Please- just understand that there are differences, why there are differences, what causes them, and how you can "read" the historical data with simple observations.
When you are driving along the mountains and you see all the Pines bent one way, are you the kind of person who doesn't wonder why- or the kind who starts to make logical deductions? Prevailing winds, exposure to life giving sun, avalanche chutes- you take all those things into account when you look at those scrub Pines.
The same thing when you plant a garden- what does well in shade, what needs the most water, this or that kind of soil. The analogy draws further away here, but it still works.
The South side is pretty much so always bathed in a prevailing SE breeze. This is the lift of wind that pushes Hurricane tracks up and Northward from Roatan. The better boats on the South side are designed for this. Diving is rarely shut down on the South side~ so seldom that Northside diving is done from the South (from only one resort) just as planned, once-a-week trips. Here is a weekly weather almanac that reaches back three years:
Dockside Dive Center Log
The North side lies flat considerably more often. From your observations of the underwater architecture, you know that when winds do come, they are ferocious and life changing. Diving on the North side (West End) does, quite often get shut down. It is an issue of boat design, but moving you to dive the South is an issue of corporate wherewithal~ whether the boats can be moved financially for continued diving.
Look for this weather phenomenon when any Hurricane skirts to the North (July-Nov) heading past for Belize of Cancun, look for it also
when any "Norther" comes down, (Nov-Mar) usually causing cold snaps in Texas before their arrival in Roatan.
It's a strange combination of wind and wave that have contributed to the odd critter that Roatan has become. Consider that this thin island, barely a mile wide in many places, stretches 17 miles long. It's ridge line and shore act as a barrier 90 degrees perpendicular to the prevailing wind. This will also affect the terrestrial structures as well.
The South side takes it's time getting up to the ridge line, the vegetation is more sparse (heavy sunlight). The trees are slightly bent with the constant winds. When you get to the ridgeline, the land drops quickly to the Northern shore, the trees and growth are thick and tropical, little ponds and rivulets hold water. This effects a lot of things, including the National Bird of the Bay Islands, the Sand Fly.
So- are the waves different? Absolutely, in so many ways- but all for the same reason!
