Cocos Island

Okeanos Aggressor, November, 1994. "Diving for experienced - excellent. Large schools of white tip sharks seen frequently. Many hammerhead sharks, huge schools of jacks, tropicals including many snappers, goat fish, squirrel fish, surgeon fish, box fish, puffers, trumpet and coronet fish, jawfish, a few groupers and sea horses. Unfortunately, mantas and whale sharks were not present during our stay. However, many marbled rays and an occasional eagle ray, plus many eels, lobsters and flounders make each dive exciting, specially with the shark action seemingly endless. Water temperature 82 degree. . . . To Captain Francisco Marin and crew of the Okeanos Aggressor, divemasters Mario Arroyo and Alberto Munoz, chefs William and Meno Ortiz our sincerest thanks for a great and memorable dive experience." Pat and Larry Stevens, Vero Beach, FL

Okeanos Aggressor, February, 1995. "Good stuff: The crew was excellent. Sharks were fantastic. I'll never be satisfied to see one or two after this. Sharks on every dive. I was in the middle of two feeding frenzies. Swam with dolphins twice. Saw sailfin once. Big marble rays on every dive. Eagle rays often. Mantas twice. Group saw seahorse (I missed it). Big schools of jacks. A must ­­ for advanced divers only. High voltage diving. Did three night dives. That was enough. Bring your video camera. This place was made for video. . . . Bad stuff: Only got one hot shower. Could use hot water on deck to wash off after each dive (only had a garden hose to use as shower). Photo area would be cramped with a lot of photographers. The boat's getting old and showing its age. Rough ride over (30 hours) and back. I'd book with Undersea Hunter. Newer boat and fewer divers. Strong currents. No soft corals." Dennis Marguet, Pleasanton, CA

Okeanos Aggressor, May, 1995. "Brilliant diving, exceptional service. Squadrons of hammerheads and white tips, legions of marble rays and jacks, whale sharks, mantas, eagle rays, lobster and eels made diving at Coco Island the best diving I have ever done in 20 years of diving. I loved the powerful currents, the surges, the upwellings and downwellings, the current reversals; they made every moment underwater not only visually breathtaking but also exciting and challenging. . . . The crew was excellent. Mario, the D/M, was a consummate pro in and out of the water. Ever-vigilant in the water, he was never overbearing or restrictive. His only rules were: no decompression diving, obey the 120' limit and do not dive alone. On the boat he made his points clearly and precisely, managing to keep everything running smoothly. William, the chef, was phenomenal; his food stellar. Different kinds of freshly baked bread with every meal and a wide range of exquisitely prepared dishes made sitting down to each meal a source of great anticipation. Winston, Jose and, the captain, Francisco were also responsible for the unique success of my trip being: always within sight when I surfaced, giving me excellent fills, carefully handling my gear, carefully selecting dive sites. I cannot wait to go back, though this time I will be better prepared for the 36-hour crossing: I will bring a suitcase full of videos." Panos D. Alexikos, Philadelphia, PA

Okeanos Aggressor, September, 1995. "Incredible. Crew was so helpful ­­ nothing was too much to ask for. Eighteen divers and eight crew a good ratio. Big bonus is that all of the crew do everything. It is like a big happy family on the boat. Comfortable boat - crossing to Cocos (300 miles) can be rough. Rooms/heads fine. The only regret I have is that I did not see any whales. But I think I could settle with schools of hammerheads numbering close to 100, thousands of jacks, rays every dive, turtles almost every dive and dolphins both while diving and following the boat. Water 75­79 degrees" Russell Lee, Morganville, NJ

Undersea Hunter, May, 1995. "Wonderful operation, wonderful diving, wonderful pelagics, wonderful 'all.' For experienced divers only." Edwin Granite, Wilmington, DE

Undersea Hunter, June, 1995. "Bad: Had to pay for your drinks; no one in home office would tell us best time to dive but locals say dry season is better (Jan/Feb) but supposedly pelagics are better in June/July and certain species are really seasonal. Barely tanned. Majority of dives were 80'-110' or more. You're responsible for your own safety. First brief said it was advanced diving but one guest couldn't even read dive computer. Easy to get into trouble if inexperienced. . . . Good: Land based activities - hike to waterfalls and fresh water pools, gorgeous. Set your own plan by group/skiff (dive boat guests are divided into two groups for the whole trip). Saw large marble rays 5' diameter and seven swimming in single file; saw a pair of eagle rays. White tips everywhere; you almost end up ignoring them. Lots of pelagics even if we didn't have good strong currents always. . . . During surface intervals ­­ lots of seals, mantas, dolphin schools. Staff was excellent and conscientious in an unobtrusive way. Excellent safety practices; excellent panga drivers. Entire boat well designed; organized dive procedures. Avi Klapfer came on board with talk and slide show; watched Cocos videos at night. Rough going to Cocos, smooth and good time back to Punta. Fun above and below water. People and crew really nice." Antonio & Rose Narciso, Watertown, MA

Undersea Hunter, August, 1995. "Best dive operation of many live-aboards we have been on. Hammerheads were magnificent. Costa Rica is trying to maintain the sanctity of Cocos. Went in rainy season. Wish we had known how beautiful Costa Rica is and had stayed longer on land." Matt & Ellen Tate, Kokomo, IN

Copyright 1996 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.