6 replies to this topic

[WreckWench]

Many members have asked to dive Cocos Islands and have SD run a trip there. Some of our members have been here and loved it and some said it was not all its cracked up to be.

So let's build out a Member's Guide to Diving Cocos Islands!

Where have you been?
Who did you use as an operator?
Would it be suited for a large group like SD or better for small groups of individuals?
What did you see?
When did you go?
What kinds of conditions?
And did you do any land tours? If so tell us about them as well!

[ScubaTex]

Although I didn't make this trip personally [another trip I missed cuz o' my 'busted wing'], here's a couple trip reports included in a newsletter from a LDS. The dates of the trip were Oct. 25-Nov. 6, 2010, and the liveaboard was the Aggressor.

http://www.we-b-divi.../December10.pdf

http://www.we-b-divi...1/January11.pdf

[secretsea18]

Diving in Costa Rica is entirely different than diving in Cocos Island.

You may want to separate them out.

BTW All this information is available in Undercurrent.

[WreckWench]

Robin that was a typo and has been fixed.

[secretsea18]

The only way to do Cocos Islands is by liveaboard. There is nothing on the island except for the park rangers quarters.

There are only a handful of liveaboards.

Undersea Hunter
Sea Hunter
Argo

Okeanos Aggressor
Wind Dancer (the newest and with the least experience in Cocos)

There is a 36+ hour crossing each direction so trips are usually 10+ days, that will get you ~ 7 days diving at Cocos. These crossings can be calm but more often are rather rocky, with the sea pitching.

You see sharks, sharks, sharks, rays, rays, sharks and more sharks. There are also other things like huge schools of jacks, lots of sea urchins that even contain pipefish and red-lipped bat fish, octopus, etc.

There are so many sharks that after a while you try to ignore the white-tip sharks.

Generally there are 3 dives a day and optional night dives, where you see the white-tips in extreme hunting mode.

I have been once, in 1999 on the Undersea Hunter. I haven't gone back due to inability to get a berth when I could go, or the fact that it is one of the most expensive trips around. High quality, but yet still it is expensive.

I certainly will return to Cocos Island in the future, and the only boats I'll go on would be the Undersea Hunter fleet. Okeanos scares me and Wind Dancer (although they are new in the game) I don't know enough about.

[Scubawishes]

The only way to do Cocos Islands is by liveaboard. There is nothing on the island except for the park rangers quarters.

There are only a handful of liveaboards.

Undersea Hunter
Sea Hunter
Argo

Okeanos Aggressor
Wind Dancer (the newest and with the least experience in Cocos)

There is a 36+ hour crossing each direction so trips are usually 10+ days, that will get you ~ 7 days diving at Cocos. These crossings can be calm but more often are rather rocky, with the sea pitching.

You see sharks, sharks, sharks, rays, rays, sharks and more sharks. There are also other things like huge schools of jacks, lots of sea urchins that even contain pipefish and red-lipped bat fish, octopus, etc.

There are so many sharks that after a while you try to ignore the white-tip sharks.

Generally there are 3 dives a day and optional night dives, where you see the white-tips in extreme hunting mode.

I have been once, in 1999 on the Undersea Hunter. I haven't gone back due to inability to get a berth when I could go, or the fact that it is one of the most expensive trips around. High quality, but yet still it is expensive.

I certainly will return to Cocos Island in the future, and the only boats I'll go on would be the Undersea Hunter fleet. Okeanos scares me and Wind Dancer (although they are new in the game) I don't know enough about.

I need to add Cocos to my to-do list! it sounds awesome. Well, you had me a sharks.

[secretsea18]

The only way to do Cocos Islands is by liveaboard. There is nothing on the island except for the park rangers quarters.

There are only a handful of liveaboards.

Undersea Hunter
Sea Hunter
Argo

Okeanos Aggressor
Wind Dancer (the newest and with the least experience in Cocos)

There is a 36+ hour crossing each direction so trips are usually 10+ days, that will get you ~ 7 days diving at Cocos. These crossings can be calm but more often are rather rocky, with the sea pitching.

You see sharks, sharks, sharks, rays, rays, sharks and more sharks. There are also other things like huge schools of jacks, lots of sea urchins that even contain pipefish and red-lipped bat fish, octopus, etc.

There are so many sharks that after a while you try to ignore the white-tip sharks.

Generally there are 3 dives a day and optional night dives, where you see the white-tips in extreme hunting mode.

I have been once, in 1999 on the Undersea Hunter. I haven't gone back due to inability to get a berth when I could go, or the fact that it is one of the most expensive trips around. High quality, but yet still it is expensive.

I certainly will return to Cocos Island in the future, and the only boats I'll go on would be the Undersea Hunter fleet. Okeanos scares me and Wind Dancer (although they are new in the game) I don't know enough about.

I need to add Cocos to my to-do list! it sounds awesome. Well, you had me a sharks.

Another thing I did not mention, is that you MUST be comfortable in strong currents, and it would be recommended to have an Advanced Open water cert.
I can not stress enough about the current... Every year divers are swept away in the current, and while nearly all are located, it is a scary thing. And also you should be able to handle a pitching sea... Pickups in the tenders are tricky at times, and the seas may be up to a few feet swells on the best day.

When I went, in Sept 1999, it rained every day. We saw sun once on one day, and the rest of the time it was raining or cloudy. But we still dived, and I loved it.
I trained in So. California with NAUI, and was well trained for the conditions there... really no different than diving in the Channel Islands in So California.

I, too, am saving up for my next time to Cocos Island.