Shore Diving from Scuba Club Cozumel

[robint]

If you shore dive from BA to SCC how would you get back? Walk? Taxi? or? And how close is SCC to BA? Just curious..................

I don't know why not, but it is pretty far unless the current is ripping.

The Hotel Cozumel is right next door, just south, so I would think it is possible to exit there also if you don't make it that far. We did one dive where we entered at SCC and swam down in front of HC and then out in a big circle heading back north and exited at SCC where we went in. We didn't particularly like shallow in front of HC as there were constant boat entry/exits there and they weren't going slow! When you are only 10-15' deep, it is very disconcerting to have boats zipping overhead all the time.

Other than that, the diving area around the two resorts is very similar... there is probably more manmade rubble in front of SCC, tons of piles of rocks/coral which are full of fish. Straight out from the SCC dock is the old dock (probably rubble from the hurricane) and old metal gate (?) and a dive training area with submerged platform where students hold onto railing as they do skills with instructor (we saw this happen while there as a few were doing OW class at SCC). Nice diving area, tons of fish DAY and NIGHT! That is why we said we enjoyed the shore dives there at SCC just as much if not more that the boat dives! We laughed about how many different eels, rays, crabs, blennies, scorpionfish, etc. that we found right there! And we could get in an hour or more dive with no DM or blasting current. There is some current there, but not so much it is difficult to dive.
Hope this helps!

robin

 

[sharky60]

If you shore dive from BA to SCC how would you get back? Walk? Taxi? or? And how close is SCC to BA? Just curious..................

It's a over a 1/2 mile from BA to SCC, from my calculations. It's amlost exactly a mile from Margaritaville/the stop light to Blue Angel, I've clocked it on a car, and SCC is about 2/3 the way from BA to town more or less.

You could walk it, if it wasn't too hot and you're in good enough shape to lug a scuba tank & weights that far.

Your best bet would be to dry out enough to take a cab, I've heard that cabbies won't pick you up if you are wet, but have never tested it.

However, if I was staying at Blue Angel, (which I do), I'd just go south to Papa Hogs or even further depending on the current and drift up to BA.

I would think a cabbie would be much more happy to take a dry diver and gear to their spash spot than they would be to take a wet diver and equipment back to thier hotel.

 

[octopuppy]

When you do the stairwell entrance for night dives watch out for mucho urchins. Have fun. Saw lots of yellow rays. The damsels will attack would fins too.

 

[lmorin]

There's been a huge change in the underwater life in front of SCC. We were there 8 mo after Wilma and the shore dive had fairly little to offer. This July, we identified 76 species of fish on "rubble reef." The post-Wilma rubble has been arranged in geometric shapes, often resembling New England stone walls. The fish have found these very attractive. Other piles of concrete slabs have been located a bit further west, as others have described. The fish have really taken to these arrangements. It will only get better as more invertebrates (e.g., corals and sponges) re-establish themselves.

We found the current highly variable. Mostly it was present and not a problem. A couple of times, particularly further away from shore, it was too strong to swim against.

 

[pdelannoy]

Is it possible to shore dive SCC if you are not a guest there?

PD

 

[blue steal]

It's a over a 1/2 mile from BA to SCC, from my calculations. It's amlost exactly a mile from Margaritaville/the stop light to Blue Angel, I've clocked it on a car, and SCC is about 2/3 the way from BA to town more or less.

You could walk it, if it wasn't too hot and you're in good enough shape to lug a scuba tank & weights that far.

Your best bet would be to dry out enough to take a cab, I've heard that cabbies won't pick you up if you are wet, but have never tested it.

However, if I was staying at Blue Angel, (which I do), I'd just go south to Papa Hogs or even further depending on the current and drift up to BA.

I would think a cabbie would be much more happy to take a dry diver and gear to their spash spot than they would be to take a wet diver and equipment back to thier hotel.

Thanks for the tips.
I really don't want to lug tanks,weights, and gear...........
Good idea to swim south to Papa Hogs (resort?) and just drift back to BA.

 

[ggunn]

Thanks for the tips.
I really don't want to lug tanks,weights, and gear...........
Good idea to swim south to Papa Hogs (resort?) and just drift back to BA.

That's a long hard kick if there's any current. I'd cab it up and drift back.

 

[rivers]

When you have the time, click on my webpage Jim's Web Page for many years of trip reports to Scuba Club Cozumel.

How many miniature Chichenitzas can they put underwater? Unless, that's the one behind Hotel Cozumel...

 

[jlyle]

With all of this talk about taking taxis south and drifting back to SCC, please remember to stuff some money into your wetsuit just in case. Many years ago, we would take taxis to La Ceiba (now El Cid) for a drift back to SCC. One year, we talked it up and convinced a group of divers to go with us. We entered the water in front of the hotel, only to discover that the current was running to the South! As luck would have it, none of us had any money. I convinced a cabbie to take me to SCC and wait for payment, gathered up some towels, money, and returned to El Cid. The cab drivers don't like to pick up wet divers and wet gear, for obvious reasons.

The moral of this story? Check the currents before you go south! And always take some money with you.

 

[jlyle]

How many miniature Chichenitzas can they put underwater? Unless, that's the one behind Hotel Cozumel...

There's only one...so far! Hotel Cozumel is next to SCC. It's easy to visit the pyramid on a shore dive from Scuba Club.