Roatán · Honduras · Channel & pass · Wall
Spooky Channel
Swim-throughs one after another inside a canyon from lagoon to outer reef
Area photo: William Eburn · CC BY 2.5
Spooky Channel is a narrow canyon that links the inner lagoon to the outer reef, with walls that in places rise all the way to the surface. A chain of swim-throughs runs down its length, and nurse sharks rest on the sandy floor.
Where it is and how deep
16.3294° N, 86.5751° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Once inside the canyon, the dive becomes a run of swim-throughs that take divers down to about 15 m (50 ft), with sections where the wall rises all the way to the surface. The channel reaches its deepest point at 27 m (90 ft). Large barrel sponges and orange elephant ear sponges grow along the walls, and nurse sharks rest on the sandy floor of the cut.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Roatán: March to August is dry with the calmest seas; October to February is the rainy season, wettest in November and December.
Know before you go
- The channel funnels current on occasion, so conditions are checked before splashing.
Dive videos
Episode 213: Spooky Channel · Roadtrips of Unusual Size on YouTube
Sources
- Roatan Dive Sites — Octopus Dive School
- Diving sites in Roatan, Honduras — Dive the World
- Spooky Channel — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Roatán
Channel & pass
A gentle drift down a sand channel that ends at the drop-off
Wall
Canyons and swim-throughs on a wall bottoming out at 16 m
Reef
A resident group of Caribbean reef sharks on a south-side plateau
Cave & cavern
A network of shallow, easily navigated coral caves
Wreck
Three swim-throughs, and sometimes 15 to 20 groupers inside
Reef
A coral pillar standing in a square cut in the reef wall
Drift
A shallow drift down a sand path scattered with wreck pieces
Wall
Reef top at 5 m, wall dropping to about 46 m off West End
Similar dives elsewhere
Eagle rays and grey reef sharks crowding the channel as the tide floods in
Hook in on the channel edge and let the current run
The channel through the centre of Chole Bay, dived as a drift
Overhangs and cavities from 10 m to beyond 30 m on the channel's south side