Diving Liveaboard in Roatan and Utila Honduras
Diving Liveaboard in Roatan and Utila Honduras
My son and I haven’t dived for almost a year due to Covid as well as personal obligations. Where to go? This was the main decision and my son’s friend had a love affair with the island of Roatan, but he spent his time at a resort on the island and used their facilities to jump on their dive boat to visit a number of locations nearby.
It sounded like his friend really liked the time he was there and liked it so much that he returned time and time again for a number of years. Did it spark our interest, yes and no? We liked what we heard about the various locations he dove however; he was limited to the area the resort boat could reach and diving from a small boat was something we had avoided over the last five or six years of diving.
For this reason, we looked into the Aggressor Liveaboard that was operating from Roatan. This would provide us our lodging, meals and a lot of diving all around Roatan as well as Utila, a smaller island off the West end of Roatan. We contacted them and learned they had accommodations available for us so we booked the trip arriving on a Saturday.
The people from the boat met us at the airport and transported us and our luggage to the boat. Most of the Aggressor’s boats follow this configuration so we were not surprised to see the size of this one.
We were welcomed on board by the crew and shown the location of our cabin. Later there was a meeting in the lounge where all the divers were present. During this meeting we were introduced to the crew as well as each diver announcing where they were from. In addition to this there was an in-depth explanation of the safety devices as well as the dos and don’ts while moving around the boat.
Then we were taken out to the dive deck and were made familiar with the various areas we would be using before and after each dive. We were told to pick a location in front of one of the tanks that were located up and down each railing as well as two lines down the middle of the area. We were also shown the compartment in front of each tank where we could store any loose equipment such as mask, boots, snorkel, etc.
Tanks & Storage Camera & Suit Rinse
In a location where you would be re-entering the boat from a dive, they provided a substantial rinse tank to rinse cameras and another if you wanted to rinse out your wet suit.
One practice I have not seen on other liveaboards was keeping your fins down on the exit deck and helping you on with them just before you entered the water. I think it was a safety precaution because you had to go down a short flight of stairs to get to the departure deck.
Fin Storage Return Ladders
Sturdy return ladders were provided and they insisted that you remove your fins before attempting to come aboard. Once again, a safety rule. Hot water showers were provided on both sides of the return deck and they were well appreciated after a long dive.
Showers Camera Table
A camera table was also provided and strict instructions were given to not place anything, other than camera gear in this area.
Above the outside railings were the hangers for drying out your wet suit but that did not prove to be the case when we were on the move and encountered rough conditions where spray defeated the best laid plans.
Some of the other liveaboards I have been on hang the suits down the middle to prevent this. The best one I saw hung the suits directly above an opening in the deck where the heat from the compressor came up and dried the suits out before the next dive.
Our room was typical of most on the ship. There was one large room with a queen size bed for a couple that wanted extra luxury. Most were a double down and a single bunk.
Typical Room
One major benefit with a Liveaboard is that besides providing lodging you get all your meals. On this trip there was no exception for breakfast was served following the first morning dive and lunch after the second dive of the day. Two more dives followed lunch and a night dive was offered after dinner. Beer and wine were available but if you took one drink your diving was done for that day.
Before each dive to a new location there was a diagram indicating how the bottom was laid out with corresponding depths. The dive master would give a brief talk on what to expect and two guides accompanied the group sporting yellow tanks if you wanted to follow them.
Pre-dive Diagram of Area
Diving was plentiful with up to five dives a day including a night dive, usually on the same location as the last day dive so you were familiar with your surroundings in the dark.
My son Gary was equipped with his Go Pro along with a high intensity flood light while I had my trusty Olympus E-PL2 in their housing along with two strobes. Unfortunately, the fish life was not as plentiful as dives to other areas we have dived and it may have been due to the water temperature being 87 degrees which tends to make some animals head for deeper cooler water.
Not being discouraged by this, we engaged ourselves in as many dives as possible to see just what the Roatan off shore areas had to offer.
Here you see the contrast between what you normally see by the naked eye and the use of a strobe, due to color being filtered out as you descend deeper.
A Turtle just happens to come by
Not all animal life has headed for the deep and turtles often came by due to the fact that they are air breathing animals and have to return to the surface on a regular basis.
Another neat dweller of the sandy bottom area is the Sand Sifting Gobies who make their homes in holes they excavate in the loose sandy bottom. They are fun just to watch how cautious they are in coming out of their homes to check out the surroundings. If they don't think things look right, they promptly go back in their house only to peek out again in a few seconds.
Much like the Gobies some of the smaller animals took center stage due to the lack of larger subjects. One husband and wife team were really engrossed in an item that I couldn't help but take their picture.
Just what is it?
When we all returned to the boat, following the dive, I inquired as to just what had them so interested. They said it was a Conch Shell and they were waiting for the animal inside to move. As it was, Conch don't move very fast and when someone is as close as they were it probably was afraid to move.
About halfway through the week Gary told me he was having trouble maintaining his buoyancy so I told him I would look for any sign of leakage in his buoyancy compensator, or inflatable bladder that holds his tank.
Next dive it didn't take long to spot the air bubbles escaping from his compensator. It was coming from a valve normally used to vent air when the diver needs to. When we returned to the boat, I tried to tighten the valve but unfortunately it came right out of the bladder. For the rest of the dive Gary had to borrow a compensator from the boat inventory. Fortunately, they keep spares of various gear.
If you are at all familiar with diving you know most divers wear a mask that is split into two separate windows along with a separate area for your nose. Both Gary and I started diving with the single glass round mask which was all that was available years ago. Well, I gave up on mine a few years back but Gary has managed to hang on to his prompting a few comments from other current divers.
Backing up somewhat to when anyone looks at the itinerary of the various dive spots the boat has an opportunity to stop and dive, we look at the map on the Aggressor's web site.
The proposed dive locations you may encounter during the week
Now I'm not saying they lie about where they plan to dive while you are on their vessel, but you must know that the boat captain has to pick and choose the locations to dive based on the weather as well as if another boat is tied to the fixed moorings provided.
Now to give you an example as to how the dive location schedule changes, the following altered map shows you just how the dive location schedule varied during the week we were there. I might add that this is the way most liveaboards operate, the captain has the last word on just where the next safest dive location will be.
This is the actual locations we dove and in what order.
There are 13 locations indicated which does not represent how many dives we actually made during the week. It just so happens it's when I took a photo of the dive locations we visited at that specific time of the week. In addition, some locations were repeated during the day as well as the night dives which were always the same as the last dive of the day.
The crew not only assisted you with putting on your fins but when you returned, as you will see in the next video, they took your fins along with anything you wanted to hand up such as camera or weight pockets.
The crew also provided additional assistance for those who needed help in getting in and out of the water such as this old man. If you requested, they would help in getting you into your tanks on the dive platform and when you returned, they would remove your tank, lift it out of the water, take your fins and weight pockets so climbing out of the water was less stressful.
Angle Fish Tube Sponge
White Anemone Goat Fish
Probably the most enjoyable dives of the trip was when we were treated to a shark feeding. They would go to a specific area where the sharks congregate and one of the reasons is because they tend to feed them at this location on a regular basis. The feeding is accomplished by one of the crew taking down a bucket filled with fish cuttings and a long rope attached to the top of the lid. As soon as we arrive at the destination the sharks begin to circle the area knowing a treat is in store. The first feeding was to Reef Sharks that are not aggressive but grow to a considerable size and are interesting to encounter.
It is interesting how fast the fish cuttings are devoured once the lid is pulled off the bucket. Note also the Groupers and other small fish taking advantage of the scraps once the sharks move off.
The second feeding was to Nurse Sharks. If any shark can be more placid than the Reef Shark the Nurse Shark fits the category. They are kind of like puppies and have very small mouths. They tend to be curious and will swim right up to you. Even when you abandon the feeding area, they will follow you for quite a while probably looking for more food or just curious what you're doing in their habitat.
I couldn't resist showing this photo I took of Gary while we were at the Nurse Shark feeding. I titled it "Where are the Nurse Sharks?"
Night dives were also an enjoyable part of the diving because you see creatures that come out after dark that don't walk around in the daylight.
Following are a couple encounters once the sun went down.
Crab on a night dive
One of the other enjoyable dives for the two of us, seeing we like wreck diving, was a dive on the wreck of the Aguila which was a freighter that was decommissioned and sunk in 100 ft. of water.
The sunken ship Aguila on the way down and exploring
Of course, we were cautioned not to penetrate the wreck for fear that someone would panic and get lost inside. Being avid wreck divers, Gary and I are very cautious with wrecks but if we see an area to be explored you can't keep us out. There was a tunnel formed by a section of the hull that we just couldn't miss so following is the movie of me exploring that area. Gary had gone through just before me so visibility was somewhat affected.
Well all good things have to come to an end and soon we were back at the dock getting all our gear and personal items packed for the return home. The crew held a party for us with snacks and drinks the night before departure. Awards were given out for those hardy souls that dove all 27 of the offered dives but Gary and I were not recipients of one due to us taking a break occasionally from a repetitive dive or an area we chose not to explore.
As a footnote to this blog, I thought I would list just what the expenses were on this particular boat per person.
The boat itself for a standard cabin.is $3,195 plus tax A fee for the environmental right to dive the area is added to that of $395 for a total of $3,590. Any extras would be an overall tip for the crew or if you purchased any T shirts or hats they offer.
Depending on where you are coming from you will have to include the air fare, which is also a factor with island diving.
Now, if you compare this form of diving with going to a resort and diving from shore, consider that on a liveaboard you are getting your lodging, meals and approximately 25 dives during the week. You don't have to get up in the morning find a place to have breakfast, unless you have your meals included which adds to the cost, you can just walk out on the deck, put on your gear and drop off the back to the dive site. You can do this up to five times a day and not be more than 30 feet away from your room.
So, unless you want to explore an island, visit its spice trade, see its turtle farm or do a Zip line then I suggest you try live aboard diving.
George
Note: If my readers have any diving subject they wish me to expand on, relate my experiences, or offer my opinion on, please don’s hesitate to contact me at scubageorge2@gmail.com and I’ll try to do my best to answer you direct or construct a blog to cover the subject matter.