The Prince Albert

The seas were quite murky on the day we took the intro photo. After a week of storms, the underwater area looked more like a North Atlantic wreck dive than the pristine Caribbean dives we are all accustomed to! This photo is of the Coco View resort, with the wreck just to left of the buoy (far left in picture). This should give you an indication of how easy it is to execute this dive. Be sure to check out the Garden Eels just meters away from the wreck.

We stayed in Fantasy Island from 04.30. to 05.06 and did 5 dives on this site, which is also often called 'Gazebo'. The entrance is easy and you can't miss the wreck if you start from gazebo and follow the cord. Or you can swim on surface to the red buoy and go down once you reach it. The night dive we did was a disappointment cause the water was too murky. We then changed our tactics and started diving very early in the morning, starting at 5:30 to 5:45 am. In the morning the visibility was excellent. The wreck itself is not too interesting, though you may see some silversides nearby and, of course, the residential black grouper who owns the place. So do not stay there for too long. Do not go to the airplane wreck cause there is almost nothing left of it. Instead, from the PA wreck go across the sandy bottom toward the Coco Island, and very soon you will hit the coral wall which is very much worth exploring. On its left, the waters are shallow, and there are some isolated coral reefs there with angelfish, filefish etc. Go right along the wall, and you may encounter some huge crabs in caves there. Overall, highly recommended, especially if you start early. Daytime can be crowded, and in the evening water can be messed up. Oh, and watching the sunrise is another bonus of early morning dive.

Located in front of Coco View Resort, this is just as easy as wreck and shore diving gets! You could spend hours on this wreck and never get bored. Basic penetration is also a blast. Make sure to try this at night! Look for all types of macro critters on this wreck like sea horses. Nice coral growth too. Rarely any current. Shallow to 60 feet. Visibility can be as low as 10 feet or crystal clear depending on the wind and weather conditions. At times I could see it from the surface and others I couldn't even see it from 20 feet away. Nonetheless, visibility isn't required to make this a great site. Simply awesome! I will dream of this shore dive for years! On one night dive around it I saw 7 octopus, 3 giant crabs, a red nudi, a seahorse, and more!

Wind and waves cut down the visibility on this wreck in May, 2006. From the gazebo at Fantasy Island follow the line with inverted jugs to the DC3 wreck. Continue that heading or a little to the left to the Prince Albert. USE CAUTION on the return, because there are also inverted plastic jugs leading directly from Prince Albert to CoCo view. Pretty cool wreck, although penetrating a wreck freaks me out!

Placed 1984. Lot of growth, critters. Excellent night photo/dive. Can't get lost. Orange Ball Corellamorphs! Free swimming File Clams, Leopard Worms, coral spawning! Resident 7' eel. 3' Parrot, many many little critters. Take magnifying glass. YOWZAH! Easy penetration w/PADI wreck cert avail. Top in 20 fsw. Swim thru huge tank compartments or DC3 fuselage. My favorite-2x per night. Follow anchor chain from Coco View to intact upright wreck.1:30+ b.t. possible. Go slow-see more!

The visibility was poor compared to the other sites around the island. The wreck was well worth seeing. The briefing before the dive made it an easy wreck to navigate. There were lots of large barracudas and color reef fish around the wreck.

CoCo View resort is a great place to go for diving: very laid back, and not much else to do. The shore dives alone make it worthwhile, though they offer boat diving several times a day as well. The wreck, as well as two walls, are easily accessible from shore. The wreck is a great place for a night dive with tons of critters coming out that you wouldn't see during the day.