Dive Review of CoCo View Resort in
Honduras/Roatan Island

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CoCo View Resort, Aug, 2010, by Vivian Weber-Pagel, WI, US ( 2 reports). Report 5689.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	THE CORAL SPAWN: A PERSONAL CHRONICLE Vivian Weber-Pagel Wisconsin, USA The full moon of August had arrived, and the Honduras Bay Island of Roatan began its coral spawn watch. Tides, temperatures and ocean activity were monitored and shared via emails. Coincidence or not, during the week prior to the spawn, the ocean was alight with beautiful Moon Jellyfish - perhaps foreshadowing the spawn which is timed by the phase of the moon. In my 1,000-plus hours of diving these Roatan walls, I had never seen such an abundance of Moon Jellies. Night dives became the order of the day for divers aroused by the possibility of viewing this event seen by most only in documentary films. Carolyn and I did night dives much of the week in an attempt to observe the spawn. We would nap after dinner; then get up to dive from 11:30 PM -1:30 AM or from 10:00 to midnight. We talked about the exhaustion that was building, but we kept the vigil. And it paid off! When I think of a coral spawn, I envision what I have seen on documentaries - corals expelling clouds of sperm and eggs. And then it's done. And yes, in part, that is what happened; each coral type displaying its own particular behavior. Some emitted a cloud of sperm which at times so heavily permeated the water with reproductive offerings that visibility was reduced to less than 15 feet. Others held onto their spherical eggs, releasing them with the effort of birthing. Some coral rods were wrapped in a winter overcoat of film that methodically peeled off the rods and floated into the water column as a clear sheet of eggs. There, all done. The coral had completed its annual spawn. Ah, but how naive we were. The spawn is not just a coral event; it is an orchestrated ocean happening. The ocean was electric with energy. Creatures moved about with atypical boldness, sometimes mania, engaging in strange behavior and activity. Everything seemed to be either eating or reproducing. We were mesmerized by the show for two hours. Creatures that normally hide from our flashlights, remained unaffected by the lights and wandered the coral in a type of frenzy. Octopi, lobsters, crabs, Green-, Spotted-, Chain-, and Sharptail eels. One huge Channel Clinging Crab, either trying to escape the octopus stalking him or intoxicated by the spawn, actually got too close to the reef's edge, dangled precariously on the precipice for a minute, and then fell off. He drifted to the ocean bottom doing a classic, full-body flare to slow his descent. (Did he attend the Open Water Dive Course to learn that?) There were starfish by the number. I had only seen groups of starfish in Roatan once, and that was on the West End in an area far from traditional dive sites. But suddenly they were here, boldly admitting their presence. Sea cucumbers, typically lumbering their way across the ocean floor, were crawling the walls - literally and figuratively. These great globs seemed ready to take on Mt. Everest. A fish/critter, dancing too fast above us to be identified, continued its frenetic behavior until we grew tired from just observing his antics and moved on. He swirled, jittered, twisted, jived, and tumbled-about like a kitten on a mega dose of catnip. Clusters of Brittle Stars held orgies, not in the privacy of their coral hideouts, but entwined like a toupee atop coral heads. Typically scurrying to shelter with a strong aversion to our dive lights, tonight they were oblivious to even sustained light, much too engrossed in their primal activities. And the Brittle Stars that were not in convention clusters, behaved indecently, perhaps to gain the attention of others or to prepare for their private contribution to the evening's reproductive stew. Some produced a cloud of what we presume was sperm. They stood up on their long, spindly legs, lifting their bodies to the moon, then undulated to music we did not hear. The small Reef Urchins also abandoned their sheltered homes and moved to communes on coral heads to give homage to the moon. An occasional Brittle Star lay tangled in the urchins' spines - eating, being eaten - hard to tell. A 3-inch Tasseled Nudibranch, only seen occasionally in the Caribbean, survived its fall after a rowdy octopus knocked it from the coral wall. Then it delighted us with its red and orange net pattern and branched cerata. And the worms - absolutely thousands of them in every color and size - were far more persistent than the No-See-Ums. Above them were schools of small, silver-gleaming fish dining on a gourmet meal of Coral Eggs Con Worms. At times it was difficult to see the coral through the veil of worms. And they were not forestalled by neoprene hoods, wetsuits, or vests. Only one's masked eyes and nose were free of their insistence. They wiggled in and around ears and in cleavage and were found in our hair when we showered after the dive. It was enough to pull the faint of heart from the ocean, but we were too hooked to leave. So yes, we saw the coral spawn. It released clouds of sperm and spherical eggs. And then it was over - and we were changed! Carolyn and I returned to shore after midnight, starry-eyed - or more accurately - moonstruck. We tittered into the wee hours about the incredible experience we had just had, and then we would grow quiet in our own thoughts and the anticipation of much-needed sleep. But only minutes would pass before one of us would pop up to share yet another recollection of the experience and another giggle at our good fortune. Not a problem, we could nap tomorrow! Writer's Note: Photos of some of the spawning activities will be posted in the near future at www.voiceofthesea.com.
Websites	CoCo View Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Raja Ampat, Indonesia, Ambon, Indonesia Bonaire Curacao Cozumel Grand Cayman Utila Cayos Cochinos
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Boat dives - 1 hour; DM profile with leeway Shore dives - unlimited time; dive own profile
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Large, dedicated rinse tank for cameras on each boat. Dedicated dry area for cameras on boat. Divemasters handle the equipment with care and pass it to divers in the water. Dedicated rinse tanks on shore for photography equipment.

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Dive Review of CoCo View Resort in Honduras/Roatan Island

CoCo View Resort, Aug, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of CoCo View Resort in
Honduras/Roatan Island