Cocos Island Aggressor

Cocos Island Aggressor is a 38-metre yacht purpose-built for diving, which made her maiden voyage in January 2023. Twelve staterooms on two decks take up to 22 guests, looked after by a crew of nine. She sails from Puntarenas to Cocos Island — an uninhabited island 550 km off the mainland, a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The crossing takes about 36 hours, and then the reason for the whole trip begins. Cocos is one of the few places on the planet where scalloped hammerheads school over the seamounts in their hundreds. The classics of the route are Bajo Alcyone, where divers hook in at around 30 metres and watch the hammerhead school circle overhead; Manuelita, with its night-hunting whitetip reef sharks; and Dirty Rock, with its marble rays. Mantas, tuna, Galapagos sharks and whale sharks also turn up here. All dives are made from two tenders, and an average 10-night trip gives about 21 dives. Night diving is not currently offered at Cocos.

Inside there is a spacious air-conditioned salon with a lounge area and media system, a restaurant, a bar and a large sun deck with a hot tub, chaise lounges and a stocked beverage cooler. Every guest gets a personal locker for dive gear. Tanks are 80 cubic feet with K-valves (American type) and DIN (European), and weights and weight belts are included. Nitrox and satellite internet are charged separately.

The menu is varied: light lunches with soups, salads and sandwiches; dinners with seafood, meat and barbecue, and homemade desserts. Juices, soft drinks, tea, coffee, local beer and wine with dinner come at no extra charge. Beyond the diving, guests are taken ashore to hike through the jungle of Cocos and swim under a waterfall.

Trips run 8, 10 and 12 nights, with 10 nights as the main format. An overnight stay in San Jose before departure is required; the operator arranges the transfer to the port of Puntarenas.