Roatan 2010

Remember last summer when I came home from Roatan with such a fantastic suntan? Well, guess what? I’m going back again this summer! Want to go with me? We leave Saturday, July 17^th!

On Saturday, we’ll fly from Huntsville to Atlanta, and then straight to the island of Roatan. After claiming our bags, we’ll take a 30 minute bus ride to Fantasy Island Resort, our headquarters for fun! It’s a nice, well-run hotel with buffets for every meal, and fun activities most nights. Even for non-divers, there’s plenty to do… airplane rides around the island, sunset party cruises, jungle canopy tours, four-wheeler trail rides, and shopping in town.

Before we get wet, Robert, the Dive Manager, will give a talk about the dive operations. Since the SDI group is growing fast, we’ll probably get our own boat for the whole week. The boat leaves the dock three times each day, and we get to leave our gear on board until the day’s diving is all done. In the afternoons, we can dive the wreck of the Prince Albert from the dock at the resort’s gazebo. It’s too far to walk with gear, so we can just catch a ride in the skiff. We ride with our gear and tanks to the gazebo, and then we just leave the tanks there when we’re done

Roatan’s reefs are unbelievable. Roatan takes marine conservation very seriously and the abundance of life and the pristine corals are the result. Usually, the captain ties the boat to a permanent mooring at the dive site and we jump off the stern of the boat to begin our dive. It’s really just a hop, since these boats were built specifically for diving; the stern platform is just a foot or so above the water. In the shallows, the reef seems to stretch on for miles and miles. As far as you can see forward and back, there’s nothing but marine life and corals. If we want more depth, there’s always a nice wall dive available at the drop off. Roatan’s corals and sponges are huge! I’ve never seen anything like them. I found a barrel sponge so big that I could have laid down in it to take a nap. We’ve seen crabs, octopi, scorpion fish, lobster, sea horses, frog fish (two on one dive!), barracudas, grouper, and on and on. I’ve learned that if I just hover in place for a few minutes, all the little critters that I scared away when I swam up re-emerge and go about their undersea business, not caring that I’m there blowing bubbles. We even saw a huge grouper getting his gills cleaned by some little cleaner fish. It seems crazy, but the grouper just parks next to the reef, opens his mouth and these little fishes dart inside, cleaning parasites from his gills & mouth.

You’re not going to believe this next part. We can go diving with sharks… on purpose! Waihuka Adventure Diving Center on the south side of the island conducts the shark encounter dives. After a quick briefing in their classroom we’ll gear up on the dock and then take a small boat a couple of miles out to sea. The captain ties up to a permanent mooring and we descend to the tip of an underwater peninsula at about 70’. The southerly current flows around the peninsula, and when it spills around the tip, it’s ripping fast! It’s no big deal; we just have to be sure to hold on to the descent line. Sharks love the high current and the deep water. I haven’t checked it myself, but on either side of where we were, the ocean is about 2000’ deep! These sharks are wild animals, but they know the routine. They start to gather when divers approach because they know there will be food in the water. They are never hand-fed however, so they don’t see divers as food, just a sign that food is coming soon. As the sharks start to circle, the dive master may let us circle with them. I’ve made this dive several times, but it never gets old. Being in a school of sharks was one of the biggest thrills of my life! I never felt scared or endangered, just exhilarated beyond compare! Down that deep, we’re sheltered from the current, so we won’t have to struggle. After we swim with the sharks for a few minutes, the dive master will have us to kneel in the sand and he’ll started playing “keep-away” with a bucket of food. The bucket has a securely fastened lid, but has lots of holes in it so the sharks can smell the food, but can’t get to it. As a shark approaches, the dive master holds out the bucket for the shark to bump it. Some of them may even try to bite it. After the bumps and bites start happening pretty fast, the dive master will place the bucket on the sand and back away from it. He pulls a cord to release the lid and then those sharks go CRAZY! They form a swirling ball around the bucket and eat all the food in about twenty seconds. As soon as the last morsel was gone, the sharks vanish. It’s about the coolest experience I’ve ever had underwater!

My favorite dive so far in Roatan has got to be Mary’s Place. There’s a labyrinth of cracks in the reef that are wide enough to swim through. The biggest crack starts at about 70’. I got the sensation of being in a cavern, but the crack goes all the way to the top of the reef, so there’s no risk of getting trapped, and there’s plenty of sunlight from above. At the end of the passageway, we found a cool chimney that we could enter at about 50’ and swim all the way up to the top of the reef at about 15’. All around us, there were corals growing out from the walls, and I even saw a huge crab sitting on a ledge, minding his crabby little business. I can’t wait to get back to Roatan to do this dive again!

The trip is July 17-24, and it costs $2000, including airfare, hotel, all diving expenses, and even all the food! If you want to go, get with Greg at SDI to reserve your spot!