COCONUT TREE DIVERS
Roatan, Honduras
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Sandy Bay and West End Marine Reserve Dive Sites
West End Walls sites: Half Moon Bay Wall | Dixie's Place | Lighthouse Reef | El Aquario | Blue Channel Coconut Tree Divers strongly supports the conservation and restoration efforts of the Roatan Marine Park, a volunteer organization that oversees the protection of the Sandy Bay - West End Marine Park. All snorkelers and divers are asked to contribute to this worthy cause through the purchase of a $10 marine park reef braclet. All proceeds from this tag go to the marine park to ensure that our beautiful reef can be enjoyed by future generations.
Located right off our front porch, Half Moon Bay Wall is one of the most densely populated sites on Roatan. The grassy shallows of Half Moon Bay act as a nursery for developing juveniles, protecting young lobsters, barracudas, eels, and many other fish from the larger reef-dwelling predators. When these juveniles reach maturity, the first place they head is the sloping expanse of Half Moon Bay Wall. The edge of the wall begins at 15m/15ft, tumbling away to the deep blue below. A cut in the reef at 21m/70ft takes you through the wall into the wide shallows, where lizardfish hide on the sandy floor while large groupers, snappers, and barracudas hover above. Expect to see large school of creole wrasse and blue tangs making their way through the numerous coral heads as you move towards the mouth of Half Moon Bay. Marine life: spiny lobsters, ocean triggerfish, lizardfish, barracudas, black groupers, Carl's yellow submarine, dog snappers, spotted drums Don't miss... the tiny juvenile spotted drums that swim back and forth under shallow overhangs. Measuring hardly more than an inch across with oversized, lacy dorsal fins, they make for excellent opportunities for Underwater Photographers.
Dixie's Place offers some of the most stunning wall formations on the island. A pair of large coral heads jut out into the blue, their many black gorgonians slowly undulating in the gentle current. Starting at 21m/70ft, a fully enclosed swimthru takes you under one of the coral heads en route to the shallows. Don't blink as you pass through this swimthru or you may miss the many miniscule arrow crabs hiding in the sponges inside. Swimming along at an average depth of 12m/40ft in the shallows, you may find yourself torn between whether to look up or down. Massive ridges of coral parallel the wall, hosting spotted moray eels, sharptailed eels, and Spanish lobsters in their crevices. Large black groupers and cubera snappers loom overhead while schools of ever-curious yellow snapper follow you throughout the dive. Marine life: spotted moray eels, sharptailed eels, spiny lobsters, Spanish lobsters, black groupers, cubera snappers Don't miss... watching the yellow jawfish build and defend their homes. You can find these tiny creatures in a sandy patch directly behind the mooring line; just look for the inch-and-a-half yellow fish hovering vertically over a hole in the sand and approach slowly.
With its expansive sandy patches and shallow coral fingers, Lighthouse Reef is one of Roatan's premier Open Water training sites. Two massive sandy patches at 6m/20ft work great for practicing dive skills and spotting camouflaged peacock flounders. Lizardfish and lobsters hide in the fore reef crevices while whitespotted filefish and oceanic triggerfish flutter near the dropoff at 12m/40ft. The shallows are also a great place for finding an elusive Caribbean octopus on a night dive. Despite its reputation as a shallow site, the wall at Lighthouse Reef is not to be missed. A sandy slope at 30m/100ft makes an excellent stop for Advanced Open Water deep dives. Due to its close proximitiy to both Dixie's Place to the north and El Aquario to the south, a drift dive along Lighthouse Wall will usually overlap with one of these other incredible sites. Marine life: peacock flounders, lizardfish, spiny lobsters, whitespotted filefish, scrawled filefish, oceanic triggerfish, turtles Don't miss... a chance to do your Advanced Open Water night dive on this site. Loads of king crabs, spiny lobsters, and Caribbean octopi can be found prowling on the sandy patches.
After your first dive on El Aquario (The Aquarium), you'll agree that its name fits. While similar in topography to Lighthouse Reef, the presence of larger fields of coral at 10m/30ft substantially changes the native fish population. Expect to find spotted moray eels and juvenile spotted drums hiding under the barrel sponges, schools of sergeant majors circling the pillar corals, and pairs of French angelfish as you head toward the wall. Massive may be an understatement when applied to the El Aquario wall. Beginning at 12m/40ft, the wall takes a near-vertical plummit into the Cayman Trench. You are likely to find king crabs clinging on the outcroppings, barracudas hunting in the blue, and the occasional turtle stopping in for a sponge-flavored snack. Marine life: spotted moray eels, spotted drums, angelfish, king crabs, spiny lobsters, turtles Don't miss... finding one of the many cleaning stations in the area. Look for the tiny blue Pederson cleaning shrimps hiding in the corkscrew anenomes and wait. In no time, you'll see a parrotfish or wrasse heading in for the delousing services offered by the shrimps.
Blue Channel doubles as an excellent shallow Open Water training site and an unforgettable series of swimthrus for advanced divers. The sandy patch at 12m/40ft below the mooring line hides several alien-looking mantis shrimp. As you head towards shore, the mouth of the channel itself closes to form a wide and shallow canyon littered with boulder corals, tigertail sea cucumbers, and Spanish and spiny lobsters. Advanced divers never forget their first tour of the dizzying swimthrus lining the channel. The swimthrus become progressively narrower and more enclosed as you head into the 5m/15ft shallows as you pass by large king crabs and swarms of glassy sweepers. Coupled with the massive overhangs near the back of the channel, you'll find this site ideal for your Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty. Marine life: mantis shrimp, tigertail sea cucumbers, Spanish lobsters, spiny lobsters, king crabs, glassy sweepers, midnight parrotfish Don't miss... a chance to night dive this site. The typically reclusive king crabs leave the swimthrus to forage in the open, and odd sightings of the rare pygmy octopus have been reported. Next: West End Shallows -> |
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coconuttreedivers@gmail.com |
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