Cozumel Incident 9/4/11

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I used to be a frequent Cozumel visitor. I admit that I have been more scarce in recent years, but that is because I have been doing a lot of other things and because late in life I have developed sort of a "so many places and so little time" attitude toward diving. I have a great fondness for the island. Not only does it have great diving, but I love the people and the entire atmosphere there. The last couple of times I was there it felt like going home after a long absence.

I have used 5 different operators over the years. Several years ago I settled on Aldora and have been very pleased with them. I have never dived either Blue Angel or Scuba Mau and have nothing to say about either.

This incident would not impact a decision to visit one iota.
 
I can really recommend Caribbean Divers. On demanding dives I can always trust my life in the hands of their captain. They know what they do.

I think that Ruben is probably the best DM on the island.I call him the Ice Man. He is all business and blows an exceptional air bubble.
 
Update......

Once again thought I should share :)) Posted by Joseph Patrick Matthews on sat evening on his wall <Talked today with my mother Opal is recovering more and more each day. Upon arrival to the hospital they found my sister had pneumonia. They have been hitting that with antibiotics and she is showing improvement in her breathing. Hopefully soon she will be off the ventilator but we were not given a specific time frame She is no longer heavily sedated and is aware of her surroundings and cognicent of when she is spoekn to. She has become quite adept at the human morse code of blinking. She is regaining feeling in one arm so far when she had it squeezed by a doctor she made the face of pain which in this case is a good thing. My sister is made of concrete. I am sorry I have not been more active in keeping this updated just very tired. Thank you for all the prayers and wishes it is showing everyday that it is helping>
 
Why plan & make a dive 200+ feet in Cozumel? It seems evident other people besides the 3 divers have done this. What more is there to see or gain by going that deep vs 100 feet? I sincerely don't know and would be interested in responses.

It is very bright down there, at least at 249--just VERY black and white with great viz.

Your post, coupled with recent events in my own past, has gotten me thinking.

My last ocean dive was to what most would consider a great shipwreck--actually two of them in once place. We did 20 minutes of bottom time at 261' maximum depth, and the ascent took just about an hour.

Sitting on the boat afterward, my buddy out of nowhere wondered if the quality of the diving experience at depth (and it was as good as it could be on that site--pretty good visibility, and we got everywhere we wanted to go in our plan) was really worth the expense and the time on ascent. That question is haunting me right now. That dive was very expensive, both in terms of the gas (helium) used and the cost of the crew to take us there and back. It was a lot of time just hanging out in blue water looking at each other during decompression. All of that for 20 minutes on a wreck. Now, it was a very nice wreck, but there are also very nice wrecks at shallower depths. When I plan my dives, I am now wondering if I am looking at the deeper ones just because they are deeper and not for the quality of the experience itself.

So, I look at Dave's description of similar depths in Cozumel. I wonder if I were to got here and want to incur the very great expense of helium locally to go to that depth, what would I see that would entice me there? The one good thing is that the scenery would be a lot better during the decompression stops, but if the best part of the dive is the decompression stops, why not just stay there in the first place?

I think the answer lies in people's need to seek novelty. If I were a dive professional in Cozumel who had done the same sites hundreds of times, I might want to seek after novelty, and what would my choices be? I think I might seek that novelty through the technical/cave training that is there or on the nearby mainland. Other people might seek it elsewhere, and that may be the problem.
 
Yes, I will be there in January to dive with my boyfriend, who is a PADI Master Instructor. I dove (without him) with Scuba Mau in August and really liked them. We'll be on a cruise ship, so timing is the problem. Scuba Mau is in a good location for us--short taxi ride. When I was there in August, Victor worked with me so that I was able to get two dives in without worrying about missing the boat, which does not use local time. I'd like to go back to Scuba Mau and really don't see a reason not to do that. But, I would be interested in other suggestions for good shops in that area, because we like to try different operators.
 
Too bad this ACCIDENT happened but if it was Joe Blow from Kansas and a couple of his buddies the post would have about 5-10 comments and then forgotten. Hope the females come out on top of this catastrophe. Let it remind you that this can happen to ANYONE.[/QUOTE

?Huh?
 
I don't know John. I am aware of some appeal in going deeper than most, something of an extension of us swimming where the vast majority never do - below & for an extended time, and I think the three were somewhat experienced below 130 - maybe in the 200 ft range. I am also curious about what is at 250 ft, what's different, any black coral left by the poachers, etc. I am no longer interested in going to 200 as I was years ago, but there is appeal.

I'm not sure what their dive plan was before it went to caca, but I have a hunch (guess, speculation) that it was a bit much even for them - if things hadn't gone awry.
Yes, I will be there in January to dive with my boyfriend, who is a PADI Master Instructor. I dove (without him) with Scuba Mau in August and really liked them. We'll be on a cruise ship, so timing is the problem. Scuba Mau is in a good location for us--short taxi ride. When I was there in August, Victor worked with me so that I was able to get two dives in without worrying about missing the boat, which does not use local time. I'd like to go back to Scuba Mau and really don't see a reason not to do that. But, I would be interested in other suggestions for good shops in that area, because we like to try different operators.
There are many worthy Ops discussed on the Cozumel forum and a large number of customers willing to answer you there.
Too bad this ACCIDENT happened but if it was Joe Blow from Kansas and a couple of his buddies the post would have about 5-10 comments and then forgotten. Hope the females come out on top of this catastrophe. Let it remind you that this can happen to ANYONE.

?Huh?
I guess maybe he was suggesting because a woman was involved and the worst hit that and/or because many of us know the three personally that there is more interest? Maybe so, but none of us knew Matthew DeVlieger who took a similar hit for different reasons and that thread went on for pages.
 
Don, I've rarely seen anything below 200' that is any nicer than what's at 150'. Certainly not at Villa Blanca. Maracaibo Deep may be the only exception but not worth all that goes into making this a proper tech dive, IMO.. At least, not twice. :)
 
I don't know John. I am aware of some appeal in going deeper than most, something of an extension of us swimming where the vast majority never do - below & for an extended time, and I think the three were somewhat experienced below 130 - maybe in the 200 ft range.
I think there is a "boldly go where [few people] have gone before" streak in a lot of us. I think a lot of us, myself included, take some pride in doing something that sets us apart from the madding crowd's ignoble strife.

But I think here we are looking at what someone else wrote about somewhere in one of these threads as the difference between explorers and adventurers. I think I do feel the allure of the deep to the point that may transcend reason, but reason still steps in an compels me to follow that allure as safely as possible.

(This may be the first post ever that quotes both Gene Roddenberry and Thomas Gray.)
 
First off, best wishes to the injured divers.

I've been a climber in a past life and have known several people who climbed hard climbs without ropes. They were not in it for any kind of glory,and they were not reckless. For the most part, they were quiet, almost shy in what they did. I believe they did it because they had something that no amount of time or money could buy, and it was just a part of them.

Look at the really good divemasters,they dive with no weight, except extra weight for their clients, they come up with far more air than anybody else, and I can guarantee they have the rattiest wetsuit on the boat. 3-5 dives a day,5-6 days a week, over X number of years, plus maybe a little genetics thrown in there.These people are accomplished athletes, and they know diving on a level that very few others ever will.

My point being, if these extremely experienced Cozumel DMs were pushing the limits, and knew what they were doing,on their own personal time, then so be it. And regarding the Cozumel diving community closing ranks on this, good, at least there is still some loyalty out there.

This same analogy came to mind early on for me, but after considerable thought I have to say I disagree with it. When Dean Potter solos in Yosemite, he does so with great preparation and forethought. He has even been known to solo with a rope on his back and some pro on his harness as a back up plan. Mark Twight pushes the limits quite a bit, but he prepares and trains beyond what most people can concieve of. After reading what I have read here, I cannot equate Dean Potter's and Mark Twight's (who I am including him because he climbs beyond the bounds of so many and does so in a particular style that most can not duplicate) climbing style to this particular dive.
 
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