Cocos trip report
October 2003

by Richard Booth

Cocos Island is situated 300 miles out in the Eastern Pacific, off the coast of Costa Rica.
The Island itself is a National Park administered by rangers of the Costa Rican Parks Service, who maintain a ranger station on the island, the only human habitation now remaining on its shores. The reserve includes a 15 km exclusion zone around the island, within which commercial fishing is prohibited.
Coco's was granted UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site in 1997.
The main Island covers an area of approximately 8 square miles, the majority of which is covered in dense tropical rain forest. It is of volcanic origin rising steeply from the deep waters of the Pacific to its highest peak at 2000ft high.
With an annual rainfall of around 26 feet per year, Cocos has a humid tropical climate. Its highest points are often hidden from view by rain laden mists.
Once a notorious base used by pirates, Cocos is reputed to still hold vast fortunes of looted treasure hidden within its forests. Today, the visitors to its shores are limited to either passing yachts, the occasional optimistic treasure hunting expedition, or divers seeking to experience its true natural treasure, the undersea world around its shores.

How do you get there?
There are however, no hotels or airports on Cocos. Instead this Island can only be reached by ocean going boat. Indeed the journey out to Cocos for a UK diver is a serious and lengthy undertaking.
It starts with a long haul flight to San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. From there you travel by coach to the Pacific coast, where you board one of the ocean going specialist dive boats that run trips to Cocos. Currently these consist of the Undersea Hunter and its newer and bigger sister ship, the Sea Hunter, and the Okeanos Aggressor boat. All these boats are ocean going vessels taking between 14 -18 passengers.
The journey to Cocos takes approximately 30 hours across open and exposed water. The actual crossing itself can prove something of an ordeal for those prone to suffer from sea sickness.

Why go to all this trouble?
Cocos offers some of the wildest and most adventurous diving currently available. In particular it offers some of the best opportunities to dive and photograph sharks in the wild. There are no cages and no contrived shark feeds. Cocos is especially noted for the huge schools of scalloped hammerheads that visit its waters.
Other sharks frequently to be seen are whitetips, black tips, and silky, silver tip and galapagos sharks. Whale sharks are also often seen. Other unusual fish that can sometimes be observed include Marlin, sailfish, and manta rays, as well as dolphins and occasional other species of whale.

What is the diving like?
The undersea landscape is barren and rocky with little attractive coral in evidence. It is not the place to visit for pretty scenic diving. Instead you can expect a profusion of marine life, with the bonus of observing big pelagic fish in their natural environment.
The diving itself is conducted in open water conditions from powerful skiffs that ferry you out to the dive sites around the island. The diving frequently takes place in strong currents and large swells. It is not diving for the feint hearted and individuals have to be comfortable and experienced with such conditions to dive safely. Every diver is issued with an emergency kit consisting of a whistle and an inflatable safety hi-visibility tube, essential safety equipment given the exposed nature of the open water conditions.
Once anchored at Cocos, you will be offered a minimum of 3 dives per day, usually down to a depth of 30 metres maximum.
Nitrox is available and recommended. For those not qualified in its use, a basic TDI nitrox training courses is available on board, at extra cost.
It is essential to dive conservatively and not to push the decompression limits. If you have the misfortune to suffer a decompression related injury, then it's the end of the trip for everyone, as there are no on-board decompression treatment facilities other than oxygen and the nearest chamber is a 30 hours sail away, on the mainland..

Recommended dive sites.
Some of the dive sites around Cocos I can personally recommend:

- Manulita: a small satellite Island off Coco's, it offers great opportunities to observe hammerheads behaviour as they approach the resident cleaning stations. Have also observed whale sharks, galapagos and silver tip as well as whitetip sharks along the reef.
On the sheltered side, where the ships anchors in the lee of the Island, there is a great night dive with hunting white tip sharks.

-Dirty rock: a great site situated in open water with frequent strong currents and big swells, it consists of a large rock that breaks the surface. Underwater there are several u/w pinnacles that rise up from the depths. Great for hammerhead sightings plus occasional whale sharks that seem to be attracted to this site.

- Baja Alcyone: a group of u/w pinnacles that are situated out in open water in 32 metres of water. The area is frequently subject to strong currents. Once on the bottom, you hide in the gulleys and watch overhead for the hammerheads to cruise by. On occasions sailfish and marlin have been observed at this site.

-Silverado: situated in 12 metres of water, this site consists of a big outcrop of rocks on an otherwise featureless sea bed. For some reason it has been 'adopted' by silvertip sharks as their exclusive cleaning station. This site provides a wonderful opportunity to observe and photograph these elegant sharks.

-Viking rock: another good site for hammerhead action. In October last year, there were also two resident bright red frogfish to be found on a large rock at the end of the reef.

When is the best time to go?
I have had the good fortune to make two trips to Cocos, once in June and more recently October. Both trips offered great pelagic fish encounters, with plenty of hammerhead action. In the June trip, several whale sharks were also observed. U/W viz was between 15-20 metres.
The sea passage across to Cocos however on both occasions was rough. I understand that during the early months of the year, the sea tends to be calmer and under water viz better (30m+), the downside however is that the hammerheads apparently tend to be in smaller numbers and more difficult to approach.
I used a 5mm wetsuit which proved fine, although colder thermoclines were sometimes encountered.
The time to avoid going to Cocos is when an El Nino occurs. During these times, the currents change and the sea warms up, but the pelagic fish disappear down into deeper and cooler waters. Check the El Nino situation with your booking agent.
For trips onto the island, I recommend a good pair of solid hiking shoes, plus rain gear and insect repellent.

Cost?
The standard of boat is aimed very much at the luxury end of the market, with American expectations in mind. The quality of the food on board is excellent and you will probably return home a few pounds heavier than when you left.
Boats like the Sea Hunter are state of the art liveaboards, with professional dedicated crews. In many ways, the Under Sea Hunter vessels are the benchmark which other operators aspire to achieve. This standard however is reflected in the price; don't expect much change from £3000, all things included.
Whilst most trips involve 7 days diving at Cocos, you will need to allow for the two 30 hour passages, plus long haul flights when planning and booking your trip.


For further details.
UK Booking agents for Undersea Hunter boats: Maldives Scuba Tours
Tel: 01449 780220
fax: 01449 780221

web site: www.scubascuba.com
e-mail : info@scubascuba.com

For further details regarding Undersea Hunter boats and trips to Cocos;.
Web site: www.underseahunter.com
e-mail: info@underseahunter.com