Blue Magic is our pick for Cozumel

[mrhappydiver]

Hey GDog,
Thanks for the shout out. Yep, got certified at Aquatic a few years ago. Jeff actually recommended Blue Magic, ironically. Did my open water in Hood canal in 38º water in a 9mm. Never again. You do a lot of diving in the Sound? If so, is it all it's cracked up to be?

 

[bradsab]

The posts on this thread have worked together to make it a classic SB resource. I was one of those new posters praising Blue Magic Scuba, and it never occurred to me it could have been taken negatively. I haven’t spent enough time on SB to recognize the trend, nor do my 50 dives (20 of those with BMS) give me the experience to do much of a comparison. But as a thirty-four year business owner, I know a good business model when I see it, and BMS is doing the right things. As I said in my first post about them, I believe they will become one of the island’s premier Ops.

That said, since I don’t have the experience to make an informed comparison, there’s always that little voice tugging at the fringes wondering if there’s something better even though I’ve been completely happy with BMS. When reading thru the posts on SB, it’s hard to find a negative review of any Op. The detailed posts in this thread by experienced divers help settle the “grass-is-greener” quandary. It doesn’t matter to me if they don’t have a lot of posts, but it is helpful to hear from someone who has dived with many Ops, and can make a valid comparison. The only thing a dive Op has to sell is customer service. My inexperienced mind can’t think of a single thing that is lacking, and I’m asking you experienced divers who’ve used BMS if you see anything missing. They also seem to be doing a great job building relationships. I plan dive with Blue Magic when returning in March, and look forward to seeing the people almost as much as the dives.

 

[ibj40]

I just joined this Board about a year ago, but have been diving since 1985, and my first open water dives were in Cozumel. I've dived with Dive Paradise, Del Mar Aquatics, Papa Hogs, Deep Blue, Blue Angel, Scuba Tony, and God knows who else over the past 25 years. I've owned a house on that island, and watched it change from the dive culture-oriented community to what it is today. I've followed dive masters from one shop to another, and I've left dive ops when their level of customer service went to Hell in a handbasket. I've left more dive gear (BCD's, wetsuits, spear guns, shot weights, etc.) on the island for dive masters and dive shops than most people will probably own in their lifetime, and I've muled dive gear, boat parts, etc. down there when they weren't available on the island like they are now.

That said, I don't frequent the island like I did even as recently as five years ago. There were years I was on the island at least every other month for at least a long weekend, and now I haven't been there since Christmas 2008, and prior to that over fifteen months. Yet I am still interested in what's going on down there, and where some of my favorite dive masters have settled. I have found that I can keep up with that kind of information on this Board, and yes, I was one of the two posters on this thread who questioned the Blue Magic endorsements. I made what I consider to be some lasting friendships during my frequent trips to the island, and it is important to me to know how those folks are doing.

I apologize if my questioning of the endorsements seemed to be negative. My desire was to know that people who I consider to be friends have actually landed into an environment where their qualities are appreciated, and that they are securely employed. I am so encouraged that Sandro and Gabe have settled into a shop that has a clearly dedicated following, and as I indicated in one of my prior posts, we will certainly consider Blue Magic as our primary choice for a dive op next time we head to the island. My anticipation is that we will be welcomed as old friends, and knowing that the dive op is highly respected by my fellow divers will take away most of our concerns of using a "new" dive op, in terms of ownership and management.

I really appreciate the input and postings, it is good to see the support.

Thanks!

 

[bradsab]

One of the reasons I believe BMS will be successful is it appears to have a sound business structure. I’ve enjoyed several “nuts-and-bolts” discussions about the operation, how it compares to doing business in the states, etc. Joyce and Mark both bring exceptional business savvy to this market, and from what I read here on SB, they have chosen wisely in putting together a top tier staff. It always comes down to the people, and Blue Magic Scuba, I think, is a great team.

 

[Gdog]

mrhappydiver, not to hijack this thread, but to answer your question, yes. It is all its cracked up to be. We dive drysuits, guess at my age Im not man enough to do wetsuits when the water temp at 45 degrees F is warmer than the ambient temp. during winter.
Huge Lingcod, some of the largest Octopus in the world, Dungeness Crab, Wolf eels, squid, shrimp, huge anemones, are just some of what we see all the time. We live on the Puget Sound, so diving is literally right out our back door. Hey, its not the carribean, but we expect vis to be 10-20 ft in the summer, much better in winter. If you want to try it again, pm me and maybe we can hook up for a cold water dive. One trick we use...we always take a 5 gallon container filled with hot water, and pour it over us when we get out of the water. Takes the chill off!
Click on the link below titled my Photostream, there are a few of my pics of the sound and the canal there.

 

[Gdog]

ibj40, nicely stated. Good to have your voice of experience on this board to balance the input.

 

[firstdive2005]

The posts on this thread have worked together to make it a classic SB resource. I was one of those new posters praising Blue Magic Scuba, and it never occurred to me it could have been taken negatively. I haven’t spent enough time on SB to recognize the trend, nor do my 50 dives (20 of those with BMS) give me the experience to do much of a comparison. But as a thirty-four year business owner, I know a good business model when I see it, and BMS is doing the right things. As I said in my first post about them, I believe they will become one of the island’s premier Ops.

That said, since I don’t have the experience to make an informed comparison, there’s always that little voice tugging at the fringes wondering if there’s something better even though I’ve been completely happy with BMS. When reading thru the posts on SB, it’s hard to find a negative review of any Op. The detailed posts in this thread by experienced divers help settle the “grass-is-greener” quandary. It doesn’t matter to me if they don’t have a lot of posts, but it is helpful to hear from someone who has dived with many Ops, and can make a valid comparison. The only thing a dive Op has to sell is customer service. My inexperienced mind can’t think of a single thing that is lacking, and I’m asking you experienced divers who’ve used BMS if you see anything missing. They also seem to be doing a great job building relationships. I plan dive with Blue Magic when returning in March, and look forward to seeing the people almost as much as the dives.

Hi Brad-I appreciate your viewpoint on the business quotient to the dive op. I also tend to view that way in many of my dealings with rec facilities. For me it's how the employees are treated.
I do not believe for a second that one needs to have been to another op to make a sound review of the op they used. I dont even need to hear the details of the dives. It is rare to have someone post and not write some type of detail to the experience. I suppose it is good to ask the newer divers/posters to please put some detail into their experience but I dont think we need to call them trolls before that.(you didnt)
I just think that the way people post is never going to be identical and thats the way I like it. I dont read the same author/book everyday either.
The beautiful thing about a review is it is experience not scholastic expertize and therefore no one has the right to correct a review unless it is out and out lies or wrong numerical findings.
The sad part to my post is the original posters simple review has now been scared. I think he should start another post with his review with some details to satisfy the board police. Board police have value but it should be done via pm first.
I dont dive with the op he has written about. I know some of the guys that work there. Every op has dirt and every op has glory. Just like my business.

 

[Scuba Sharon]

We're going back to Cozumel in late January and will be diving with Blue Magic for the 3rd time. We also dove with Sandro for many years when he was at Deep Blue. Sandro and Pumba are both great dive masters. We are experienced divers and have dove all over the world including Fiji, Belize, Bonaire, Wakatobi, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac and others all over the caribbean. Cozumel is still on of my favorites in the Caribbean. What I love about blue magic is they let you have extended bottom times, over an hour if your air & computer allows, and they go to the sites that other shops won't take you to, e.g. Maracaibo, Baracuda, Devil's throat, Columbia Deep, etc. If you run out of air, they send you up with your buddy. They also try to put you in groups with divers of the same experience level. There's always plenty of fruit and as much water as you'd like. I've recommended Blue Magic to friends and heard nothing but praise.