Aldora: what I've been missing

[teknitroxdiver]

Unless the divers on the boat have the skills to venture farther afield. Read PropJoe's message above, starting with Hmmmm... at around line 12. Maximum isn't 15 miles.
We had a great time on those 'round the corner dives!
Far north again next trip, huh Joe?

It's the maximum for a 'normal' day. If someone knows enough about the island to request a north trip, odds are good they already know what that means for distance and time.

 

[Gdog]

You are right Tek...

I will not post or respond on this thread again as we all have new and better things to share and discuss about our Cozumel diving adventures.

Im sure the OP would greatly appreciate it

 

[Streydog]

Unless the divers on the boat have the skills to venture farther afield. Read PropJoe's message above, starting with Hmmmm... at around line 12. Maximum isn't 15 miles.
We had a great time on those 'round the corner dives!
Far north again next trip, huh Joe?

I almost made it around the corner for the first time with some crazy people last week, it was just a little too choppy.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

The right tank for the right job. The 120s can be unwieldy for those of modest stature or with back issues. I prefer to dive with the least-hassle tank I safely can. If I know I'm going to be doing four or five dives a day, I don't mind them being shorter dives on nimble 80s. On Roatan, 80s do the job just fine. With shorter dives, I can wear a thinner, more comfortable suit, too. Lugging big heavy 120s on Bonaire shore dives would be insane when I can just load up the truck with 80s. On Cozumel, where I can do a backroll entry and doff my rig in the water and hand it up, the 120s are worth it. They are still heavy--you can't be careless about the backroll--and I choose to wear a 5 mm suit to give me a little extra buoyancy and warmth for the longer dives. Not as fun as an Al 80 and a shorty.

So dive sidemount and jump in with no tanks at all. Reach back up and grab a couple AL80s, or HP100's, or the big 120s, if you want that much gas. Aldora does tech, so there's always options...
With water in the mid-80F range, warmth is never a problem, at least for me, even on a 2 hour dive. I wear a lycra skin, generally. If I grab two of the big tanks, I'll wear a 3/2 or a 5, but that's strictly a matter of buoyancy needs. Not warmth.

 

[Pelagicsal]

It's the maximum for a 'normal' day. If someone knows enough about the island to request a north trip, odds are good they already know what that means for distance and time.

How about an east trip? Winds were too stout for doing much north diving that week...

 

[Lorenzoid]

So dive sidemount and jump in with no tanks at all. Reach back up and grab a couple AL80s, or HP100's, or the big 120s, if you want that much gas. . . .

I'm not going to start a sidemount debate here, but from my experience sharing boats with sidemount divers, my opinion is that if the boat is full they tend to jam up what's otherwise a smooth process of getting everyone in and out of the water. Sidemount would be great if everyone dove sidemount. Also, I have spent a lot of time trying to perfect my diving in backmount, building muscle memory for dealing with problems, etc., and I don't think switching between backmount and sidemount is conducive to that. Sure, lots of people, especially very experienced divers, switch back and forth as the need arises, but I'm not there yet. Likewise, though experienced divers manage to do it, I don't care to buddy with people diving substantially different configurations than me--again, I'm just not there yet. That's all I'll say about it. Nothing to see here, folks, don't get out the popcorn, move right along.

 

[drrich2]

Got a question. Never dove with Aldora; my 2 dives in Cozumel were on a cruise stop with another op. Never dove side-mount; closest I've come is back mount one tank, sling a steel 85 cf tank. Not my usual diving. When I dove in Cozumel, we back rolled both dives for entry.

Do side-mount divers back roll much?

Richard.

P.S.: My 1st backroll I didn't extend my legs and I think smacked the backs of my calves on the boat rail I'd been sitting on. Initially couldn't figure out why I was in substantial pain. Wouldn't have been wanting to 'hug' a couple of big tanks to me at the time.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Got a question. Never dove with Aldora; my 2 dives in Cozumel were on a cruise stop with another op. Never dove side-mount; closest I've come is back mount one tank, sling a steel 85 cf tank. Not my usual diving. When I dove in Cozumel, we back rolled both dives for entry.

Do side-mount divers back roll much?

Richard.

P.S.: My 1st backroll I didn't extend my legs and I think smacked the backs of my calves on the boat rail I'd been sitting on. Initially couldn't figure out why I was in substantial pain. Wouldn't have been wanting to 'hug' a couple of big tanks to me at the time.

Depends. You can choose to load up your tanks on the boat (if you're just diving 1 or 2... I don't think I'd try it with more), in which case you'd enter the water the same way you do with backmounted tanks. You can also just jump in with no tanks and have the boat crew pass them down. Depending on space/layout, I might backroll in, or just step up on the rail and jump. This is great under certain circumstances. Like someone who is having difficulty with the weight of the gear out of the water - someone with back or knee problems, for example. We're going to Coz in July, and I expect this will be my choice on that trip, because I will be 2-3 weeks out from the end of a 6 week chemo & radiation program, and I expect to be somewhat weaker than is my norm.
A slung tank, like you mention above, is very much the same as sidemounted in this context.

I'm not going to start a sidemount debate here, but from my experience sharing boats with sidemount divers, my opinion is that if the boat is full they tend to jam up what's otherwise a smooth process of getting everyone in and out of the water. Sidemount would be great if everyone dove sidemount. Also, I have spent a lot of time trying to perfect my diving in backmount, building muscle memory for dealing with problems, etc., and I don't think switching between backmount and sidemount is conducive to that. Sure, lots of people, especially very experienced divers, switch back and forth as the need arises, but I'm not there yet. Likewise, though experienced divers manage to do it, I don't care to buddy with people diving substantially different configurations than me--again, I'm just not there yet. That's all I'll say about it. Nothing to see here, folks, don't get out the popcorn, move right along.

Different experiences...
Can you expand on what you mean by sidemount divers jamming up the process? I've dove off Aldoras boats in singles, doubles, doubles with stage... whatever... never seems to be a problem. Now admittedly, Aldora never has more than 6 in a group, their boats always have plenty of room, and with Sue, Kim and I traveling and diving together, we fairly often (especially if it's not high season) have the boat to ourselves.
Personally, I find things get more disrupted by someone trying to figure out unfamiliar rental gear than by experienced divers who use different configurations.

I don't know how much you've actually dove with people using different configurations, given your expressed aversion to doing so, but you might be surprised. I also have spent a fair bit of time on muscle memory. My single backmount gear is identical to my doubles gear, other than the wing and the single tank. I still dive longhose, my backup reg is still on a necklace, my lights are mounted in the same place/way, etc. Sidemount is admittedly a little different, of necessity, but emergency responses, like donating your longhose, are really quite similar.

Certainly no need for popcorn...

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Depends. You can choose to load up your tanks on the boat (if you're just diving 1 or 2... I don't think I'd try it with more), in which case you'd enter the water the same way you do with backmounted tanks. You can also just jump in with no tanks and have the boat crew pass them down. Depending on space/layout, I might backroll in, or just step up on the rail and jump. This is great under certain circumstances. Like someone who is having difficulty with the weight of the gear out of the water - someone with back or knee problems, for example. We're going to Coz in July, and I expect this will be my choice on that trip, because I will be 2-3 weeks out from the end of a 6 week chemo & radiation program, and I expect to be somewhat weaker than is my norm.
A slung tank, like you mention above, is very much the same as sidemounted in this context.



Different experiences...
Can you expand on what you mean by sidemount divers jamming up the process? I've dove off Aldoras boats in singles, doubles, doubles with stage... whatever... never seems to be a problem. Now admittedly, Aldora never has more than 6 in a group, their boats always have plenty of room, and with Sue, Kim and I traveling and diving together, we fairly often (especially if it's not high season) have the boat to ourselves.
Personally, I find things get more disrupted by someone trying to figure out unfamiliar rental gear than by experienced divers who use different configurations.

I don't know how much you've actually dove with people using different configurations, given your expressed aversion to doing so, but you might be surprised. I also have spent a fair bit of time on muscle memory. My single backmount gear is identical to my doubles gear, other than the wing and the single tank. I still dive longhose, my backup reg is still on a necklace, my lights are mounted in the same place/way, etc. Sidemount is admittedly a little different, of necessity, but emergency responses, like donating your longhose, are really quite similar.

Certainly no need for popcorn...

Can you speak more about doing technical diving with Aldora? I did not realize they did that. The guy I used to use is long gone, and I'd like a new option for next time.

 

[Prop Joe]

I'm not of the tech caliber myself. I know DM Sharif is into the tech stuff, Memo too. Call the shop. I know certain gases ( besides the normal EAN) used to be pricey and hard to get. Alternate gasses may be cheaper now but I will not speculate.Slinging a tank on the big boy boat is not an issue at all. Jeffro does it all the time. Never a problem.
Good luck with the chemo Dirty-Dog. I'm 17 years out from a stem cell transplant for Leukemia (AML M5). It doesn't get everyone. I'm living proof. Think positive!!!!