Dive Conditions
Visibility: 50ft
Water Temp. 75°F
mild
strong
Weather
sunny
rainy
calm
choppy
Crossings
calm
choppy
calm
choppy
Sea Hunter
Marble rays
Photo by Shmulik Blum
We’re just back from another trip to Cocos Island!
After an unusually choppy crossing, we all made it to Cocos Island in one piece! This trip we had aboard a research team from the University of Costa Rica.
Our check out dive was full of beautiful reef species, and the next dives around Manuelita Island we dealt with some strong currents. By Day 2 the currents had subsided quite a bit, and at Dirty Rock we saw some hheads using the cleaning station and small groups in the blue. For our afternoon dive we went to Weston Bay with Jorge Cortes and the research team, so they could change some temperature sensors.
Day 3 we went to Submerged rock and there we had a great dive – the rock was full of life, lot of fish, white tips and marbled rays. At Alcyone there was a hard, strong current and poor visibility, but nonetheless we saw yellowfin tunas, Galapagos and silky sharks, and a few hammerheads. On our afternoon dive at Pajara we saw a seahorse, a big wahoo, and a lot of reef fish.
Day 4 we decided not to dive Dos Amigos because the currents were too strong! Instead we went to Manuelita Outside and Channel, where we found a cold thermocline and a school of around 50-70 hammer heads above the cleaning station #2, many marble rays around and two tiger sharks.
Day 5’s dive at Dirty Rock was solid, with hammerheads using the cleaning station in deep waters, two eagle rays and yellowfin tuna;
On Day 6 we had an early-morning dive at the coral reef formation in front of Punta Maria’s waterfall, and as we were changing a sensor with the research team we had the chance to see 1 tiger shark and 1 silvertip.
At Dirty Rock the current was strong, and we swam in the enormous school of jacks in front the cleaning station – and we saw a whale shark! Day 7 was one of our favorite days of the trip. We saw a whale shark at Dirty Rock, along with a tiger shark and silkies at hte safety stop. ALcyone was excellent with Galapagos and hammerheads all around the rocks – the best part was the hunting action during the drift, where we saw dolphins, yellowfin tuna and silky sharks!
Tiger shark photo by Rick Starr
Crew was fanastic, Panga drivers very good, courtesy amazing
Brilliant divemasters, thank you to you all for looking after me so well.
All dives were excellent for one reason or another. Im here to do research, and will leave with data. Seeing all the charismatic fauna was a bonus!
A whaleshark on the day before the last day :)*** Perfect, always polite, friendly and helpful; everything was excellent
Fantastic. Alcyone, Dirty Rock. A whale shark, and two dozen hammerheads in the blue.
My favourite dive site this time was Alcyone! We were fortunate enough to have an encounter with a beautiful female adult whale shark. She decided to come back several times which made the encounter even more special. The crew is amazing. Everyone is very attentive, hard working to offer an exeptional high service to create an unforgetable experience for every passenger! The food is delicious, the tanks always filled in time, the cabins and ship is very comfortable, everyone is very respectful and attentive. Overall an incredible dive liveaboard experience! I thank the whole crew for a fantastic trip, great dives and all the care they took of us and our passenger! Thank you
I enjoyed the variety of dives. Every site had something different to offer . The staff were all very friendly and worked hard to provide a good experience.
While we had some tough conditions, we still saw so much wonderful life such as Tigers, dolphins, galapagos, silkies, eagle rays, whale sharks and of course hammerheads! Thank you to the very best crew out there for a great trip, all the teams efforts greatly appreciated!
Underwater experience was great. Favorite dives, Alcyone, Manuelita out, Dirty Rock. Whale shark, tiger sharks other sharks, huge aschools of fish, I could go on! 5 Star!!! 5th trip. All have been excellant. Staff, Excellant. Food, Very good with a varied menu. Facilities, very good.