CoCoView is sold, it's official

Apparently the sale went through...

"Say Goodbye, Roatán."
CoCo View Resort Under New Ownership


6/25/2004

For immediate publication:

Roatán, Honduras Bay Islands



After more than 22 years of hands-on management, the couple that founded one
the Caribbean's most beloved scuba diving resorts has sold their Honduras
Bay Islands property and retired to Ft. Myers, Florida.

Bill and Evelyn Evans first showed up in Roatán aboard their 33ft sloop,
Karma, in 1980 and after getting their feet wet operating a sailboat charter
and a brief live-aboard dive boat venture, Bill announced that he was going
to build the, "best damn dive resort in the Caribbean." The result, CoCo
View Resort, opened in October of 1982 and has been operating with a loyal
following, and a nearly full house, ever since.

Besides locating the resort perfectly for 24 hour a day shore diving -
inside a protected natural channel between two 100 foot barrier reef walls -
Bill's genius at work-flow engineering created a dive operation that is a
much imitated model of ease and efficiency. His dive boats incorporate the
industry's only "moon hatch," a mid-ship entry that allows divers to board
straight up through the keel thereby avoiding banging platforms and ladders
regardless of sea conditions. CoCo View pioneered the dive site mooring
system that now protects the Roatàn's reefs from anchor damage, and the "no
gloves" policy that has been helping to protect underwater flora and fauna
from accidental damage for nearly two decades is now being implemented in
dive destinations worldwide.

While Bill's vision, foresight, and no nonsense approach was able to carve a
vacation paradise out of a Central American jungle, no one doubts that at
least half of CoCo View's success was due to the steady and reliable, "Miss
Evelyn," who not only worked side by side with her husband, but often worked
behind him managing the pieces that made CoCo View work. Several generations
of staff consider Miss Evelyn a second mother and will sorely miss her help
in educating their children and grandchildren. Shopkeepers, businessmen,
politicians, other resort owners, and perhaps most dearly to Evelyn herself,
the island orphanage, are going to miss this very great lady.

CoCo View Resort's new owners, Carl and Elizabeth Midkiff from Huntington
West Virginia, are veterans in the hotel and hospitality business and admit
that the decision to buy was instantaneous.

"CoCo View is perfect," Carl says. "The setting is perfect, the reefs and
snorkeling is the best anywhere. The whole atmosphere says 'CoCo View.'
There is nothing to change." So while no major staff, operational, or
construction changes are in the works, Carl will make some upgrades in the
area of his expertise: guest services. For example, he'd like to make it
effortless for guests to cross the lagoon for day trips and sightseeing or
have nights out without worrying about missing the last boat home. A small
beach and swimming area on Hawksbill Cay is being considered. By adding air
conditioners to the four over-water bungalows, guests will have one more
room option, and a wide screen satellite television in the upstairs lounge
will let sport fans follow their team. He'd also like to let a few folks
know that you don't have to be a hard core 5 tank a day diver to enjoy a
CoCo View vacation. "I'm astonished that snorkelers have not discovered CoCo
View," he says. The most extensive and magnificent aquarium I've ever seen
is right out the front door."

For more information contact: Terry Evans, 800-282-8932 ext 309


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Bill Evans retired? I doubt it.

Doc.