Newman’s Wall
Martin Gomez Aug 12, 2026
14. Newman’s Wall
Dive type: Shore dive + shallow reef + vertical wall
Reef top: In places, within approximately 5 ft / 1.5 m of the surface
Main feature: Long sand chutes, lush coral growth, soft corals, sea fans, and spectacular vertical walls
Special feature: Part of CoCo View’s famous Front Yard and accessible directly from the resort.
What makes Newman’s Wall special?
Newman’s Wall is different from most of the sites we've covered because you don't necessarily need a boat to experience it.
It's part of CoCo View's Front Yard, together with CoCo View Wall and the Prince Albert wreck. Guests have unlimited shore-diving access to this area, including night diving.
That means Newman’s Wall isn't just another site you might visit once during the week.
It can become a site you really get to know.
You can dive it during the day, return at another time, explore a different section, and potentially experience it again at night.
Getting to Newman’s Wall
There's an important detail here.
CoCo View says Newman’s Wall is “well worth the extra effort” of crossing the channel on a calm day.
For first-time guests, CoCo View requires an orientation that includes an orientation dive. One purpose is to show divers the safe passage through the reef used for Newman’s Wall and CoCo View Wall during shore and drop dives.
So this isn't a site where I'd tell a new guest:
“Just jump in and swim over there.”
Learn the route during orientation first.
The shallow reef top
One of the most impressive things about Newman’s Wall is how shallow the reef becomes.
CoCo View's snorkeling information says the reef top comes to within approximately 5 feet of the surface and is lushly covered.
That's remarkable because you can have:
Very shallow coral reef
and only a short distance away:
A dramatic vertical wall
This creates an enormous contrast in underwater scenery.
The sand chutes
One of Newman’s Wall's signature features is its long sand chutes across the top of the wall.
These sandy channels break up the coral formations and give the reef a distinctive appearance.
Instead of seeing one continuous mass of coral, you have something more like:
Coral → sand chute → coral → sand chute → reef edge → wall
These chutes can also be useful visual references while navigating and exploring the site.
Then comes the wall
This is where Newman’s really delivers.
CoCo View describes the site as having spectacular vertical walls.
The general south-shore topography helps explain what you're seeing. According to CoCo View, the bottom slopes gently away from shore until the reef drops into a wall-like structure. A sandy ledge can occur around 100–150 feet, after which the wall can continue vertically to hundreds or even thousands of feet.
For a recreational diver, that means something important:
There is absolutely no reason to chase the bottom.
The wall continues far beyond where you're going.
Pick an appropriate depth and travel along the wall, not down it.
Coral and sea fans
The upper portion of Newman’s Wall is covered with abundant coral, including soft corals and sea fans.
This gives the site two completely different visual environments.
Above:
Shallow coral garden + sunlight + sea fans
Below:
Vertical wall + open blue water
That combination makes Newman’s especially attractive for divers who enjoy changing depth gradually rather than spending an entire dive at one level.
A natural multilevel dive
Newman’s Wall lends itself beautifully to a multilevel profile.
Depending on conditions and the actual dive plan, you can imagine the dive conceptually as:
Cross the channel → reach the reef → descend along the wall → explore horizontally → gradually work shallower → return across the reef
The actual route, depth and turn point should of course follow the orientation, conditions, gas supply and your computer.
But the topography naturally allows you to move progressively shallower.
Depth awareness
Like John’s Spot, Newman’s Wall requires good depth awareness.
When you're floating beside a vertical wall, it's surprisingly easy to descend without noticing.
There's no bottom immediately underneath you giving you a reference.
So periodically check:
Depth
Gas
No-decompression time
Buddy position
Location relative to the reef
Don't let the wall determine your depth.
Photography
Newman’s Wall is an excellent wide-angle environment.
You have several possible compositions.
For example:
Sea fan → diver → wall → blue water
Or:
Sand chute → coral → diver approaching the wall
Or, in the shallow section:
Coral → diver → sunlight → surface
Because the reef comes so close to the surface, the shallow area can be particularly attractive for ambient-light photography.
Look up
This is one of those sites where photographers should remember to occasionally turn the camera toward the surface.
When you're shallow, you may be able to combine:
Coral
Diver silhouette
Sunlight
Surface
in a single frame.
That can communicate Roatán much better than another photograph pointed straight at the reef.
Look into the blue
And, of course:
Turn around.
When wall diving, divers frequently become so fascinated with the coral that they spend the entire dive looking toward the wall.
Every few minutes:
Wall → turn → scan the blue → return to wall.
CoCo View describes the Front Yard generally as supporting a wide variety of marine life, including morays, grouper, snapper, octopus, squid, lobster and numerous tropical fish. Those are possible Front Yard encounters, not guarantees for a particular Newman’s Wall dive.
The advantage of diving it more than once
This is where Newman’s Wall becomes particularly special.
On a normal boat dive, you might have:
One dive → 45–60 minutes → back on the boat → next site.
But Newman’s is in the Front Yard.
CoCo View provides 24/7 shore-diving access to Newman’s Wall, CoCo View Wall and Prince Albert.
So you don't have to see everything in one dive.
One dive might concentrate on the wall.
Another could spend more time shallow.
Another might emphasize photography.
And another could be at night.
Newman’s Wall at night
This is where things can become really interesting.
CoCo View specifically promotes its Front Yard for night diving, with shore diving available around the clock.
The reef you saw during daylight can feel completely different after sunset.
But navigation becomes more important.
Your light illuminates only a small portion of the environment, so understanding the entry, exit and reef route during daylight first is extremely valuable.
Newman’s Wall vs. John’s Spot
Both provide dramatic wall diving.
But there's a major difference:
John’s Spot → boat-accessed dive site
Newman’s Wall → your backyard
That accessibility changes the experience.
You can become familiar with Newman’s Wall rather than treating it as a one-time dive.
Newman’s Wall vs. CoCo View Wall
These two are going to be especially important to distinguish because they're both part of the Front Yard.
For now, remember:
Newman’s Wall → long sand chutes + soft corals + sea fans + spectacular vertical wall
CoCo View Wall → shallow coral top + cleaning stations + connection toward Prince Albert
We'll cover CoCo View Wall separately because it deserves its own chapter.
How I would describe Newman’s Wall to a guest
“Newman’s Wall is one of the great things about staying at CoCo View because it's right in our Front Yard. Once you've completed your orientation and know the safe route, you can shore dive it without needing a boat. The top of the reef is extremely shallow and covered with coral, soft corals and sea fans, with long sand chutes cutting across it. Then the reef drops into a spectacular vertical wall. Take your time, control your depth, enjoy the wall, and save some time and gas for the beautiful shallow reef on the way back.”
A simple way to remember Newman’s Wall
Newman’s Wall = Front Yard + sand chutes + sea fans + vertical wall.
| Site | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Mary’s Place | Cracks & channels |
| Calvin’s Crack | Descending crevice |
| Menagerhea’s Reef | Ledges, overhangs & sponges |
| Carib Point | Sea fans & schooling fish |
| Castle Canyon | Shallow reef formations |
| Chimney’s | Coral boulders & dramatic wall |
| Gold Chain Reef | Hard corals, slope & sand |
| Inside Outside | Lettuce Coral & narrow cuts |
| John’s Spot | Coral ridges & steep wall |
| Little French Cay | Shallow reef & overhangs |
| Missing Link | Hard-coral hedges & schooling fish |
| Mr. Bud | Wreck & artificial reef |
| Neverstain Bight | Cleaning stations & reef behavior |
| Newman’s Wall | Front Yard, sand chutes & vertical wall |
Next: Parrot Tree. This should be a very good one: the reef top is only about 10–20 feet, with Lettuce, Staghorn and Elkhorn corals forming hedge-like structures separated by deep cuts, plus dramatic ledges and overhangs.
