Courtesy of Aggressor AdventuresCocos Island Aggressor.
Diving off Cocos Island feels like stepping into an underwater adventure film. The stars: scalloped hammerheads, manta rays, dolphins and turtles. The staff of the Cocos Island Aggressor and Okeanos Aggressor II are dedicated to getting you to all the thrills found in this remote Eastern Pacific destination.
Dive Cocos Island’s Legendary Shark Triangle
Cocos lies 342 miles off Costa Rica’s mainland and takes more than a day to reach, but the rewards are immense. The island is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site protected for its lush rainforest and abundant marine life. The underwater landscape is unlike the coral reefs of tropical Pacific destinations. Here, you’ll find rock formations, steep walls and sweeping channels. Nutrient-rich Pacific currents nourish the island’s seamounts and pinnacles that are magnets for a head-swiveling array of species—scalloped hammerhead sharks, mantas, tuna, turtles, eagle rays and even the occasional whale shark.
Cocos—along with Malpelo and the Galapagos—is part of the Eastern Pacific’s so called “Shark Triangle,” where researchers have tracked sharks moving between the three locations.
Courtesy of Aggressor AdventuresNutrient-rich Pacific currents nourish the island’s seamounts that are magnets for scalloped hammerhead sharks.
Famous Dive Sites Around Cocos Island
Tenders put divers in the middle of the action, visiting legendary sites like Alcyone, Dirty Rock, Big Dos Amigos and Bird Island.
Alcyone is a massive, submerged mountain—the dive begins at 75 feet, where schooling fish swirl around you. Hammerheads often congregate here, and you may spot marlin or sailfish. While no big-animal encounter can ever be guaranteed, Dirty Rock often hosts hammerheads and marbled rays. Big Dos Amigos is an islet that features a 45-foot-high arch and 60-foot pinnacle off the southeast side. Look for rainbow runners, yellowtail snapper, bigeye jacks and lobster. Also check for hammerheads between the site’s pinnacle and arch.
Off Bird Island in Chatham Bay, you may get lucky and find hammerheads pulling into the site’s cleaning station, where barberfish pick parasites off the sharks. Look for lobsters, moray eels, rays and whitetip sharks, too. Whale shark encounters are unpredictable, but they may cruise by at any of these sites.
Vacation Vibe:
The “real-life Jurassic Park”— schooling hammerheads, marble rays, silver tornadoes of jacks, and views of jungle cliffs and the vast Pacific.
The Cocos Island Aggressor and Okeanos Aggressor II
Courtesy of Aggressor Adventures
Yacht Specs:
Length/Beam: CIA: 124 feet/28.5 feet; OAII: 120 feet/27 feet
Passenger-to-Staff Ratio: CIA: 22:9; OAII: 22:10
Staterooms/Beds: CIA: 11/22; OAII: 11/22
Bathrooms: Staterooms have private head and shower and individual climate control.
Sun Deck: CIA’s sun deck has a shaded area, hot tub and chaise lounges, plus an upper-deck shaded cocktail lounge; OAII’s shaded sun deck has chaise lounges, a bar and a grill.
Food/Beverages: All meals, snacks and beverages are provided, including a limited selection of local beer and wine.
Wi-Fi: Limited access is available.
Plan Your Cocos Liveaboard Trip:
Phone: +1 706-993-2531
Toll Free: 800-348-2628 (USA/CAN)
Fax: +1 706-737-7690
Email: [email protected]
Web: aggressor.com
