Are there set area's where the people paying for the jet ski excursions on cocal cay can ride? I am concerned about the possiblity of the snorkelers being in the same area as the jet ski riders. What percautions are taken to prevent any accidents of jet skis running over swimmers/snorkelers?
We were there last Thursday. We were supposed to stop there on Tuesday but the storms Monday night forced the Captain to go straight on to Nassau and to try and hit Cococay on the way back. . .
We had a blast snorkeling there. We brought our own gear and only rented the vests. Sadly I forgot to trim my mustache and didnt bring any Vaseline to seal the mask so I was constantly clearing it - but that was my problem and I didnt let it stop me.
We started on the right side of the beach area - near the rocks. The water was very shallow there - 2 feet or so. That whole roped off area is - they say from 3 - 15 feet, but I would be shocked it if was any deeper than 10 feet. You have to go out a decent ways to get a good depth to where you are not tripping over the rocks.
We went from the right side - out to the first life guard stand to the sunken canon. There we saw some good fish and one Angel Fish swimming around the cannon. From there we went left along the rope line (separating the snorkel area from the jet ski area) to the sunken "wreck". I almost stepped on a beautiful starfish that was about 10 - 12" across. This was about 6 feet of water. My wife warned me and I got some good pictures of it (and the angel fish as well).
From there we went left a little ways more to a "floating dock" and rested for about 5 minutes due to always fighting with the clearing of my mask. About 15 yards behind the dock (towards the second lifeguard stand) is the sunken plane. Lots of yellow tail snapper there.
Now - here is something I wish I did first - we moved to the last lifeguard stand (with a red umbrella on it - furthest most life guard stand on the left when standing on the beach). There they must feed the fish because once we were there, they all came up to us. We must have been surrounded by 30 - 40 fish all within inches of my mask. . . But the reason I wish we did this first is because we went to the left of the rocks (another set of "Jetties" on the left side of the beach) There the water drops off to about 40 feet. It got much bluer than the normal swimming area and about 5 degrees colder too. But I went out as far as I could (to the rope line) and was in about 40 or so feet of water, just floating face down in the water looking at all the marine life. About 15 - 20 feet below me was a southern stingray just swimming around.
Getting out there was a very pretty experience too. Once you felt the water get cooler, you could see the first "shelf" drop about 10 feet. Lots of colorful coral and fish (one very small very bright blue with iridescence blue and yellow spots) just swimming around. The further you go out (towards the rope) the deeper and more marine life you see. If I knew this, I would have foregone the cannon and airplane and spent all my time in the deep area.
Next time, I will be scuba certified, so I seriously consider diving in that area instead of snorkeling. . .
Wow! So glad to hear about your experience there... THANK YOU!
There were no ropes last time I was there, so thanks to you, I will know to look for them next time, and how to use them as a guide to head right for the good stuff.
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Snorkeling versus Jet Ski's - Cocoa Cay
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