Dive Conditions
Visibility: 60ft
Water Temp. 74°F
mild
strong
Weather
sunny
rainy
calm
choppy
Crossings
calm
choppy
calm
choppy
Sea Hunter
Photo by Timothy Lucas
We’re just back from another trip to Cocos Island!
Our check out dive in Chatham Bay was full of life – snappers, creolefish, whitetips and a box crab all came by to welcome us.
Manuelita Island was on FIRE and there we saw a big female tiger shark, 3 Galapagos sharks, and two giant manta rays feeding in the middle of the channel. Alycone was also hot this week: yellowfin tuna, Galapagos and blacktip sharks were observed hunting around the rock and of course schools of hammerheads out in the blue.
Dirty Rock gave us spectacular encounters with hammerheads using the cleaning stations, and a larger-than-life school of jacks around the pinnacle. Big Dos Amigos had good viz, a few hammerheads, a mobula and an eagle ray.
Small Dos Amigos was even better, with Galapagos and hammerheads coming into use the cleaning station. There were a lot of fish close to the rock (trying desperately to avoid the yellowfin tunas that were hunting). Then a dolphin came by to say hello at the safety stop.
The cleaning station at Punta Maria wasn’t very active this week, but we saw a lot of whitetip reef shark action above the thermocline there. Afternoon dives at Viking Rock were full of macro life, and the coral was spawning!! We couldn’t believe our luck to witness this firsthand. At Pajara we saw several seahorses and mantis shrimp.
A big fat tiger shark swam by at the Coral Garden along with some hammerheads, a blacktip and many whitetips. We also saw several frogfish there, including two orange and a yellow (one of them was pregnant and just about to give birth!)
Our dive at Submerged Rock was a bit challenging because of the strong current, but it was worth it because we saw more than 20+ whitetip reef sharks aggregating above the thermocline.
Our last two days at Cocos we visited our favorite dive sites of the week and saw many Galapagos sharks and hammerheads (including a big school of hammerheads at Dirty Rock when we were drifting out in the blue).
Photo by Alexander Habermann
Loved the hammers and galapagos sharks at Dirty Rock with the odd frogfish thrown in. Staff were great, Hector in particular was a great guide with an inherent ability to find the best spots
All dive sites were magical. Despite the changes in conditions from day to day, the diversity and richness of underwater creatures were breathtaking. We saw more than we ever expected and are in awe with the pristine nature and symphony you experience at Coco’s – under and above water. The sharks were the expected stars but all the fish, eels, sea stars, coral gardens, and drifting plankton equally spectacular! I think Manuelita’s coral gardens is my favorite. Everyone on the ship is extremely courteous, friendly, caring, and skilled at what they do! A special thanks to Brayan and Javi who I interacted with the most for making me feel safe, welcome and at home both on the ship and underwater. Forever grateful for them being so caring during the most magical experience/trip I have had.
Cocos Island’s experience was one of Beauty and Harmony. To witness Nature and see ecosystems thrive made me feel like the most privilege person. From schools of sharks to frogfish to doliodids, to beautiful corals and sea-horses, eels and lobsters, your heart explodes with happiness. Cocos lush rain forrest offers its own incredible show: waterfalls and rainbows are the perfect backdrop to a multitude of seabirds flying over. I will miss waking up with birds singing their good morning and going to bed to the lullaby of the island frogs. I would be proud to work with any one of the team member of the Undersea Hunter group and even happier to have them as friends. The sea-operations and logistic is smooth and very professional. The divemasters are so knowledgeable and talented. I particularily appreciated the dive briefings, and how well they guide a dive. You feel safe, always, no matter the conditions or sea life you encounter. They are remarkable. I should not forget to mention that The Deepsee submersible, aka Triumph, is the best submersible in the world! Shmulik, Avi, Yosi: congratulations and thank you for a great adventure.
The crew rocks. They work so hard without you even noticing, so the guests are well taken care of, the boat is in constant maintenance, and diving ops run like clockwork. Divemasters are very professional. Briefing, skiff ops, u/w tours, safety: 100%
Our divemasters Hector and Roy 10/10. Best in the business. Very safe, observant of all divers in the boat, and very skilled at finding the animals. All Excellent. Staff looks after customers
