Beware of French Lady

[TomZ]

Different people like different things. During Invasion currents were fairly normal (7/1 - 7/07). The following week, things got weird, lots of north to south, fast currents. Shore diving was a blow-out. Currents in Cozumel can vary hour to hour. My log book from 07/11 lists "heavy current" for a La Francesca dive. It's unfortunate you experienced a dive not so much to your tastes. My wife and I both enjoy drift dives. Faster currents mean more territory, but make U/W photography more difficult. As long as the current is horizontal, it's good for me. Those pesky down-currents, down-wellings, whatever you want to call them, do give me some pause. On 07/10 at 91' my group was caught in a pretty good down current at Colombia Deep. The DM rated it a 6 out of 10 as far as severity. We hit the bottom and crab-walked to 74' where it tapered off. Interesting experience.

 

[TSandM]

I'm with your wife. A gentle drift, that's fine, but a wild sail over a reef is too out of control for my tastes. But I don't like to go fast when I'm diving, in general.

Why exactly would divers not make it to the end of the dive being described? What are they doing to cause them not to be able to do the entire dive?​

My guess is that the other divers either blew through their gas from anxiety, or from trying to fight the current, or they just got sufficiently unnerved with the loss of control that they aborted. I had a dive in Indonesia that I almost bagged, when the current began to blow me like an autumn leaf over the reef. Why keep diving, when you can't really see anything, anyway?

 

[cruiser]

I'm not a fan of drift diving myself. I like to go at my own pace (slow) and observe the small things.

 

[Rescue Diver68]

I've dived (dove? diven?) on Francesa Reef many times and have never experienced what you describe. Punta Tuniche, now, that's nearly always an E ticket ride.

Like many others here, I really enjoy drift diving. DSFDF and YMMV.

Same here! I have never made a note about the current on Francesa but recall several dives at Tunich that were very swift.

 

[sharky60]

We just got back from Coz a few weeks ago, I think we did Francessa twice and the currents were very mild, in fact the currents were very mild on all sites. Tunich might have been the strongest, but still, very mild overall.

I have not found that MOST women don't like drift diving, my wife loves it an prefers it, and I have NEVER heard any woman say she didn't like it in all the years I've dove Coz.

People were "freaking out" due to current? ...freaking out?! really? who you diving with?

 

[cvchief]

I think it was Tunich one time we had serious current. I was flying along trying to take pictures and failing. I was flying backward for a shot and turned around to see a nurse shark close and barreling in on at about my 11 o'clock. Startled me a bit with reptilian brain screaming 'SHARK COMING AT YOU' and the much smaller thinking part whispering, 'take a picture, idiot'. Meanwhile the shark passed like a foot under me and was gone. No picture of course.... It was a cool ride that day.

 

[jwilson05]

We dove Francesa last week. My log shows medium current. It was a great dive, with two nurse sharks chashing each others tails like dogs for a long time. Very cool.
We also dove Tormentos, which often has a fast current. It was so light we almost had to work a little. You just can't tell from day to day. If the current is ripping, it's best to just play Superman and enjoy the passing view.

 

[Shasta_man]

<< 'take a picture, idiot'.>> No, first you point at it with your finger, and THEN realize, "I have a camera..."

 

[Oldbear]

When drift diving instead of trying to take a "still" picture, I switch the camera to video. Dynamic photography (videography) for a very fluid dive experience. Plus it gives the viewers a sense of motion within the dive...which is what drift dives are all about.

Never experienced any heavy or extreme currents at Cos...probably my luck of the draw. I haven't been back to Coz for a few years, but am looking at a trip in December.

 

[Fatterboy]

"swinging on a 100 foot (plus) mooring line"---That sound like shark bait to me!!