Roatan: West End

Sunday, June 27, 2004

016-17.520 N
086-35.940 W

Ahoy from the West End of Roatan, Honduras!

I just got an e-mail from my mom chastising me for being incommunicado, so I thought that I would write and bring everyone up to date. We had an OK trip from Lighthouse Reef to Roatan on May 25th. The winds were supposed to have been out of the NE (45 degrees) and our course was 132 degrees, so that should have made for a wonderful sail. Unfortunately forecasts don't always match reality. As we rounded the tip of Lighthouse reef and made our turn towards Roatan, the winds decided to switch to the East (90 degrees). That meant that our wind angle, which should have been 87 degrees (which is very comfortable and flat) had shrunk to 42 degrees, which is unsailable and has the boat heeled over quite a bit.

On top of that our 1-2 foot seas turned out to be 3-4 feet and where coming at us from the east and doing a great job of rolling the boat. Our planned grilled steak dinner turned into pasta and sauce from a bag. As the night progressed the winds switched to about 105 degrees, which forced us to take the sails down. Even though the sails hadn't been doing much good as far as propulsion, they were acting as a great stabilizer and once they came down we looked like a kid on a hobby horse, rolling quickly from side to side.

On the plus side we had a beautiful moon for the first half of the trip, and once it set the milky way was as brilliant as I've ever seen it. You could almost read by it! I sat in the cockpit and gazed at stellar objects through binoculars. Sue, for whom the trip wasn't so agreeable, didn't share in my enjoyment. We had planned on getting here around 9 AM, and at 9:01 we crossed the reef and found a sandy patch in which to anchor.

Roatan, and in particular the West End, is a haven for divers. The last time that I counted I think that there were 13 dive shops in the West End and lots more spread out throughout the rest of the Island. The island is about 25 miles long (30 if you include Barbareta) and 2 miles long at it's widest. There a single road that transits the island with lots of smaller dirt roads that jar your teeth. Unlike the cays in Belize, Roatan has height which makes it very nice to look at and provides protection from the winds. Various peaks around here are 750' tall which makes for some great views into the very steep valleys.

Roatan is ringed with dive balls with most of them concentrated on the NW leeward side and at French Harbor on the Windward side. According to the dive map there as supposed to be 91 dive balls, but I can assure you that a lot of them are missing, which makes figuring out which dive ball you're at very difficult. It doesn't help that they don't label them. They should take lessons from Bonaire where everything is well labeled. We've been diving 2 times per day and have been stuck doing the dives at the immediate West End as the winds have been blowing and once you go around the point at Gibson Bite, it becomes a bone crunching experience to go much further.

The diving here is very nice, but it's not the atolls of Belize. If anyone is thinking of a diving vacation, I would recommend the live-aboard dive boats in Belize way before coming here. Compared to Belize there are no fish, or at least very few large fish. Even the quantities of small fish are limited. The visibility is wonderful, often 100-250' and the coral is nice, but there's just no fish! We can't figure out this out as this is a marine park and we only see an occasional fisherman by the reef. I've been documenting the dive sites, which are in a separate report.

Being a tourist town you can find lots of places to eat. Two years ago our favorite was the Argentinean Grill, but this year we've found extremely slow service and the food is just OK. Diane's (Garden of Eaten) has taken over first place with wonderful food and good service. Chili's and Mango Verdi provide great lunch spots and Sun Downers and The Twisted Toucan are our favorite spots for cocktails.

Later this week we're going to rent a car and explore more of Roatan. Last night we hosted a pizza party for 7 and all had a great time. Que Linda arrived a week ago and we've been enjoying spending time with Doug, Linda and Pip, the Wonder Dog. And sometime next week we'll be headed to Utila to explore that island and the dive sites there.

-- Geoff & Sue

For the Cruiser:

The entrance through the reef is straight forward, albeit a bit narrow. To set up, go to 16-17.698N 86-36.219W and then proceed to the large stake located at 16-17.703N 86-36.003W which marks the north edge of the reef. Keep this stake as close to your port side as possible. You should be almost able to touch it as you go by. Then proceed another 100 yards before turning to either side to anchor. Pick a nice sandy patch and dive your anchor as there's lots of dense sea grass.

Immigration and the Port Captain are located in Coxin Hole. Take a collectivo for 13 Limpuras there. (Current exchange rate is 18 Limpuras per $1 US.) The offices are located across from Banco Altantico and is behind a small park. It cost us $10 US per person for immigrations to clear in and nothing for the Port Captain. We could only get a 30 day cruising permit and passport stamp. These can easily be extended and we've seen people extend well beyond the allowed limit by greasing the system.

Log ID: 496