Trip Report A month in Cozumel (Oct-Nov 2021)

[bassplayer]

Very interesting. Are the creatures drawn to the light, or just coming up anyway and the light happens to show them passing?

Here's why I ask. Let's say someone goes to Bonaire and is inspired by your black water dive account. Let's say he heads out into the blue (black) due west away from shore, at a site where he knows he's probably over a bottom that's 200+ feet deep. Then he pulls out his SMB and finger spool, sends it up, and hangs out at 30 feet for 40-minutes, stationary, shining his dive light around hoping to get lucky.

I wonder what the odds are of that plan working out? For Bonaire, or anywhere independent shore diving is an option?

So hopefully someone with actual knowledge will answer this. You know what they say, if you want the right answer, try posting the wrong one online and someone will be along to correct you! so in that spirit:

The understanding I got is that while some upward migration is happening anyway, the bright lights are attractive to a subset of the creatures and hence drawing in other members of the local food web, leading to an overall higher density to observe.

My uneducated guess would be that without the lights and with holding a fixed position, the frequency of encounters would be far too low to hold interest on the average day barring special luck. but, again, only a guess

 

[bassplayer]

Jealous you got to do blackwater with my boy bobtec. Gonna make it down soon to do just that!

yah he's great, his enthusiasm is absolutely infectious, his pre-dive briefing was awesome and it was a kick to watch him in the water with the camera zipping around like a madman. some of the photos he gets are mind benders

 

[Ian Fatzinger]

yah he's great, his enthusiasm is absolutely infectious, his pre-dive briefing was awesome and it was a kick to watch him in the water with the camera zipping around like a madman. some of the photos he gets are mind benders

I bought an entire camera system because of that guy. His pictures inspired me like no other.

 

[bassplayer]

Excellent report! Thanks for sharing. I'm curious what water temps you normally dive and what exposure suit you wear. We're heading to PDC in a month to dive cenotes (and reefs) and trying to decide between bringing a 3mm or 7mm wetsuit.

yah tough one, it's so personal. I have a 7mm that i've worn in california, but i find it cumbersome to use and to me it would be overkill/not worth the annoyance for 77 degrees. 3mm + hooded vest might be perfect? or rent a 5mm, thats what other people seemed to be wearing. (also saw a guide or two in drysuits).

 

[marginwalker]

yah tough one, it's so personal. I have a 7mm that i've worn in california, but i find it cumbersome to use and to me it would be overkill/not worth the annoyance for 77 degrees. 3mm + hooded vest might be perfect? or rent a 5mm, thats what other people seemed to be wearing. (also saw a guide or two in drysuits).

Thanks for the reply. We love our 7mm in 50-60F water in CA, but they do seem like "overkill" for 77-80*

 

[ReefHound]

For some reason that makes me feel very uneasy. What if something shows up that you would rather did not? Irrational, maybe. Too many monster movies when I was a kid, maybe. Whatever the reason, for night diving I'll stick with a group in shallow water.

What, you don't like being bait?

 

[drrich2]

For some reason that makes me feel very uneasy. What if something shows up that you would rather did not? Irrational, maybe. Too many monster movies when I was a kid, maybe.

That is a thought, and I've pondered it. Yeah, I remember the first kill in the original Jaws movie when I was a kid, a woman swimming at night. And people speak of shark attack being more likely in low light conditions. While Bonaire (at least the mainstream west coast sites) seems to be one of the un-sharkiest dive destinations in the Caribbean, and great whites are cold water sharks, there's always that chance some pelagic opportunist like a mako is cruising along...

 

[Regulated]

Great report and excellent thread, even if it’s taken a “dark” turn recently (see what I did there?).

One bass player to another: I’m headed to CZM in December, thanks for all the notes! (No pun intended…)

 

[Carlos Danger]

Bonus notes:

Bar la gitana: went with some of the Aldora staff to celebrate Tom's (instructor in training) birthday. What a great place! They kept the table loaded up with food, festive atmosphere. the bill for food and drinks for 5 of us was under 500 pesos.

Awesome!

Good times hanging at this spot with local friends. Not sure why the taxi guys have trouble finding it though.

 

[mediumone]

Bar la gitana: went with some of the Aldora staff to celebrate Tom's (instructor in training) birthday. What a great place! They kept the table loaded up with food, festive atmosphere. the bill for food and drinks for 5 of us was under 500 pesos.

We discovered a similar bar up by Sam's Club.
Two of us had 4 beers, chips and salsa, soup, and more, (maybe ceviche - don't remember), for less than 100 pesos.
Good stuff, good times.