Sargassum

It is a rare sight on our beach as we have been invaded by gulf-weed. According to Wikipedia it can grow to several meters. In this instance it has taken over our entire beach. Usually a couple of guys bring out the shovels and rid the beach of debris. This incident calls for a backhoe which has been contracted to come clean the beach tomorrow.

In other news, Eimear from Ireland, Cole from Canada, and Zach from Florida have started their training towards becoming PADI Divemasters. For now, they are currently working on their Rescue course. And yes, we went out in the bay with all this Sargassum and surge. We did giant strides off the dock and avoided it on the way in. The viz is as clear as mushroom soup in the near swim-zone but clears up real good out in the far sand patches. Luckily enough during self rescue skills we came face to face with a Southern Stingray. 

Potlicker's days in dry dock are almost completed. She is being painted and will return to rotation in a couple of days sporting her new swim platform. 

The weather is a bit suspect these days. Then again we are still wearing sandals. We hope to see you sooner than later. Best wishes from Roatan. 

Coconut Tree Front Porch Social Club

Need somewhere to park your husband while you finish up your PADI Open Water course or go and catch some rays on one of Roatan's beautiful beaches?  No worries, we've got you covered here at Coconut Tree Divers, with our all-new front porch social club.  Leave him there and he'll be entertained with hours of people-watching, motorbikes, NASCAR and football.

Joey, Tree, Tim and PJ - free seating.

Recent Sightings

Pipehorse @ Moonlight

Lettuce Sea Slug @ Hole In The Wall

Line Sole @ Moonlight

Half Moon Bay Weather Report

More sweat, calm seas, excellent diving.

September 2012

And....all of a sudden, it's September again.  Honduran Independence Day, the West End Carnival and the Roatan Fishing Tournament are all out of the way - and now we're quiet again.

New road and fishing tournament stage

If you're considering a dive vacation with generally good weather at a quiet time of year, late August and early September are an excellent time to come.  It's considered "shoulder season" with lower flight prices, and as we usually get bypassed by most hurricane tracks, the risk is fairly low.  Just ask our "August/September posse" of return customers: The Kearneys from California, Emily (no Janice this year) from California, Steve from Florida, Carin from Chicago, Alex and Ron from Baltimore...Calm water, hot weather, so much stuff to see in the water - what more could you ask for??  Recent sightings (and this is just the surface!) have included  whale sharks, a silke shark and pods of dolphins!!

In other Coconut Tree/West End news, the infamous never-ending road project has ended, the road has been paved and will be "officially opened" on the 29th of this month.  Island Concrete actually did a nice job, and the road looks much better than anyone thought it would.

Long time instructor Jose Silva has also left our shores in search of new dive sites out in Hawaii (no worries for the Jose fans, he'll be back at some point!).  DSAT Tec and Sidemount Intstructor Monty Graham is currently lowering his body temperature in Canada, and set to return in the new year (so hold off on your Tec until then!).  A return addition to our team is Matt Howell, who has returned from construction and riding motorbikes in Florida.

We also have a new addition to the Coconut Tree Jr family, with Christine and Marco's small one - William Alexander Alvarado born on 7th September (see our Facebook page for photos!)

If you've been diving with us recently, it's likely that there are photos of you somewhere on our Facebook page...feel free to tag yourself and use the photos, we keep it up to date on a daily basis (but please join our page and the blog, or contact us!)

Recent Sightings

Flamingo Tongue @ Blue Channel

Pea

Seahorse @ Mandy's Eel Garden

And lastly....What am I holding up?  ID it by commenting on this post, or on the photo on Facebook and win a free dive!

What is it??

Half Moon Bay Weather Report

Awesome, hot and why are you not diving???

We're Back!

After a hiatus on the blog (vacation!)…The Coconut Tree Telegraph is back up and running.

Rainy season has been fairly kind to us this year, with a steady stream of divers and students in the shop.  Weather disruptions have come and gone, and we have now moved into "Semana Santa Weather" (read: hot, no wind).''

Over the last few years we have had a number of improvements and expansions to the dive shop.  Some of you will already be familiar with some of these, others have been quite recent.

In 2009, we expanded the deck, and moved the equipment rinse tanks and outside storage area.  The compressor also came out of the back room (Tree's office), and moved into its own shed, which has space available for a second compressor.  The tanks and the fill station are next to the compressor shed, in their own little cage.

We have recently acquired some new Cressi BCDs to add to our equipment selection.  There is a comprehensive review of those BCDs and other equipment we use at Dive Gear Review.  If you're looking to buy some equipment, definitely watch that space for more reviews to come.

Some time ago, we replaced the white "beer cooler" with a proper Salva Vida sponsored refrigerator.  We're still keeping them cold for you…

In that same area, we also added a flatscreen TV, where we're displaying photo slideshows, video clips and feedback videos from training courses (check out Monty's helmet cam when you see him!)  We also bought a Canon Powershot camera and housing, which is available for rent for USD20 per dive or USD35 for the day.  Whether you have your own camera or if you rent one of ours, consider taking the Digital Underwater Photography Specialty to get the most out of your vacation photos!

And on a closing note, as it is April after all….

T-11 days (and counting) until the corporate event of the year, the Coconut Tree 10th Anniversary Extravaganza (4/20).

Half Moon Bay Weather report:  feelin' hot hot hot, light breeze, clear skies

Recent Sightings:

Spotted Eagle Ray @ Lighthouse

Spotted Sea Hare @ Half Moon Bay (confined water)

Seahorse @ Blue Channel

Island Diving

Welcome to our new location!  All your Coconut Tree information transmitted through the Coconut (Tree) Telegraph...

At the dive shop, every week is a different set of faces.  Divers come and go from all over the world - USA, Canada, Brazil, Costa Rica and the Netherlands, just to name a few places from this past week alone!  But what about the very people that actually come from this island?  Well, we're also here to get them into diving.  This past week we had Ander Miller (Cindy's son - if you've been here before, you have without a doubt experienced Cindy's cooking at the blue shack) and Dillow Brooks complete their Open Water courses.  They absolutely loved it, big smiles all around.

from left to right, Dillow Brooks, 15, Ander Miller, 17, and Rags getting ready for confined water

Getting interested in diving and eventually rising through the ranks to the level of Divemaster or Instructor can be a great way to increase their skill set and their employability on the island - many of the larger dive resorts have a large number of staff.  One of our success stories along this line was Gerald Mann, from West End.  He did his Open Water through to Divemaster at Coconut Tree, and now works full-time as a Divemaster at Anthony's Key Resort.

Gerald, during his Divemaster Internship

Recent Sightings: 

Common Octopus @ Dixies Place (they really aren't that common at all)

Black spotted Nudibranch @ Bikini Bottom

Nurse Shark @ Three Brothers (a newer mooring, between Turtle Crossing and SeaQuest)

 Half Moon Bay Weather Report: 

Calm seas, pretty hot in the sun, but with a nice cool breeze. (very precise and scientific, I know)