West End, Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras

Newman's Wall

Newman's Wall is a classic West End wall dive in the Roatán Marine Park named after a long-running operator on the island. The dive starts on a shallow coral shelf at 8 to 10 meters and runs to a sheer drop-off that descends past 35 meters. The wall face is densely covered with deep-water sea fans, rope sponges in oranges and purples, large barrel sponges and small clusters of black coral. Crevices in the upper wall shelter spotted moray, lobster, channel-clinging crabs and juvenile spotted drum, while the open water just off the wall is reliable for hawksbill turtle, creole wrasse schools, midnight parrotfish, queen angelfish and the occasional spotted eagle ray. Conditions are usually mild with a slight drift along the wall; visibility averages 20 to 30 meters and the site is a popular afternoon dive because of its shallower profile relative to nearby Hole in the Wall and Texas.