Wall Diving in Fantasy Island Resort, Roatan

Sept 11 - 18, 2005

Dive Trip Report to: Fantasy Island, Roatan, Hondorus
Purpose: To dive the Wall of Roatan [ it goes from 25 ft down at least 200 ft that you can see and then to forever!! ]

Dive Reports:

Dive Notes:

Roatan is 2 hours ahead of Florida - California Time

Daily scenario:
1. Up at 5:30 am, walk around the island, sit on Gazabo and watch the water
2. Breakfast at 7:30 am, omlet, bacon, ham, french toast etc etc
3. 1st Dive boat leaves at 9:00 am, get down there by 8:30 to load gear from storage Average boat drive to dive site is 5 - 10 min.
4. 2nd Dive boat trip leaves at 11:30, get new tank, analyze and restup
5. Back at dock around 1:00, leave gear on boat, shower, change to dry bathing suit Have lunch, 15 min power nap, got over to boat dock.
6. 3rd Dive Boat trip leaves at 2:30, analyze fresh tank, setup gear.
7. Back at dock around 4:30. Wash of dive gear and put in storage or get a new tank and have small boat take us over to Gazabo for a shore dive.
8. Back from Shore dive 6:00. Wash off gear at boat dock and put in storage.
9. Back to apt, shower, change to dry clothes for dinner, make 1st Rum & Coke in BIG Fat Tuesday's Mug. Go over to bar and chew the fat.
10. Dinner at 7:30. Eat, Drink, Talk.
11. Move back to bar or outside and Drink
12. Bed between 8 - 9 PM. and then do it again.

Roatan Diving is Wall Diving!
This is a wall that runs for 20 miles East and West. It's a hundred yards off shore, starts at a depth of 15 - 24 feet and goes STRAIGHT down to at least 150 - 250 feet of visible wall, sloops outward and down some more and then down to who knows how deep. The level off area is usually sand and looks like a ski slope. The put a mouring bouy about every 1/2 mile along the edge line and give it a number and name. Every day is a dive on some spot along the wall.
In general the wall is very spectacular, not very colorful, not a lot of fish. But looking up along the wall from 70 ft or looking down at the ledges a hundred feet below you and then going deeper is very breath taking. It's kind of like being suspended 70 ft down the Grand Canyon where it's a mile deep, being 10 feet out from the wall and able to move in any direction. Breathtaking. Due to the low light levels and distances, capturing the image on film is difficult!

Equipment:
I wore a skin and a shortie, used 14 lbs with an Aluminum 80 and really needed 1 more pound.
Got GPS positions of most dive sites, but my GPS died and will not restart. Am contacting Garmen to see if they can save the data.

Trip Dive # Dive # Date Max Depth Dive Time % NITROX PO2 After dive Tank Pressure
Start 		Tank Pressure
End 		Water Temp Up-Time
Comments
1 511 9-12 #1 71 ft 42 min 32 1.033 3000 700 83 -
Gold Chain Reef
Brown wall, grouper at end of dive, wall goes down forever
2. 512 9-12 #2 75 ft 56 min 31 % 1.04 3000 800 - 1:11
French Key Bank
Big Septic Tank as a boat mouring line anchor!
3. 513 9-12 #3 62 ft 59 min 34 % 1.09 3100 - - 2:19
Too Tall Too Small
4. 514 9-12 #4 63 ft 43 min 33 % 0.95 3000 900 - -
Beach Dive from the Gazibo on the airplane and the wreck.
5. 515 9-13 #1 75 ft 55 min 34 % 1.10 3000 700 - 16:15
#22 Pirates Point
6. 516 9-13 #2 77 ft 58 min 33 % 1.09 3200 - - -
Miss Bud. This is a cleaned up tug sitting in a BIG swale just above the ledge. We followed the dropoff edge down slowely, there were lots of sand canyons [ paths or troughts of sand through the shallow coral for sand to fall down to the depths ], cracks and spaces under the flat corals to look at.
7. 517 9-13 #3 56 ft 56 min 32.4 % 0.88 3100 900 - 1:03
Missing Link, Drift entry and exit. My Dive Partner's Strobe flooded - the cable at the camera broke allowing water to enter the strobe!
8. 518 9-13 #4 85 ft 47 min 34 % 1.21 - - - 35
Beach Dive
9. 519 9-14 #1 72 ft 58 min 31.4 % 0.98 3000 700 - 16:27
Elbow
10. 520 9-14 #2 75 ft 57 min 31.9 % 1.07 3000 - - 1.03
40 Ft Point
11. 521 9-14 #3 62 ft 57 min 31.8 % 0.94 3000 - - 2:06
Cocoa View Wall
12. 522 9-15 #1 88 ft 56 min 31.5 % 1.11 3000 800 - 17:47
Mary's Place. This is quite a dive. You go over the wall, around the corner and down to 80 ft. There is a crack that goes up to the surface - you can see light. It's about 6 ft wide and narrows as it goes up. It goes back about 100 ft, then turns left for another 50 ft and goes up via a narrow pass through. At the left turn is an opening to Blue Water and sand way down below. The crack is filled with rocks and growth. Tis an awesome Must Do Dive!
13. 523 9-15 #2 70 ft 1:00 hr 32.2 % 0.99 3000 700 - -
Valley of the Kings. Nice Cliff, good down view, narrow swim through. Fed the fish, sat and watched the fish!! Saw a 3 inch sea horse, 2 ft grouper with a remora attached underneathed.
14. 524 9-15 #3 68 ft 1:00 hr 31.0 / 30.4 0.94 3000 1100 - 2:09
Iron Shore
15. 525 9-16 #1 91 ft 1:01 hr 30.4 / 31.8 1.16 3000 700 84 17:17
Redive of Mary's Place - see notes above - diddo here!
16. 526 9-16 #2 81 ft 1:00 hr 32.6 % 1.10 3000 1250 84 -
Parrot Tree. Nice buildings on Roatan Island as this location.
17. 527 09-16 #3 53 ft 1:01 hr 31.0 0.80 3000 - - -
19. Ankas Place
18. 528 09-17 #1 62 ft 52 min 32.0 0.91 3000 - - -
Beach dove on teh Green Bouy doing the wall to the East then stopping at the ship and airplane.

Dive #1: . My Dive #500
A. Dive Boat / Location: Private 25er / Jupiter - Lost Tree Hi Bar
B. Conditions:
Visibility: Well over 60-ft - FOREVER!!
Seas: Flat to 1-ft usually.
Water Temp: 83 - 85 measured. I used a skin and shortie and was Hot half way through the dives.
Skies: Sunny, Clear Blue Sky's, occasional clouds and rain at night.
Air Temp: 85 and humid - just as in Florida
C. Dive Information:
Depth & Time: Me: Genesis Nitrox Dive Computer - See chart above
Air consumption: Me: (80 cu-ft), See chart above
Current: Nil
Description: See chart above.

Last Updated: 02-Oct-2005

The Irishman Software's, West Melbourne, Florida
E-Mail at: Irishman AT Sprynet DOT Com
http://www.IrishmanSoftware.com/