reefd8vr
Registered
I have sadly returned to rainy Ohio from my all-too-short dive trip to Coz, 5/24 -- 5/27. But I am plotting my return. Here is what I thought...
Diving:
Went out with Deep Blue. Was very satisfied. Great crew. Best dives of the trip. Monday, Tank 1: Palancar Gardens -- great vis, gorgeous corals, 90ft. Tank 2: Yucab, 50ft -- more great vis and my first shark! A 10-12ft. nurse. It came at our right, swung around about 20 ft in front of us and began to munch on something, shaking its head and all. I swam right toward it and got a nice closeup at about 15ft with the digicam!
Tues, Deep Blue again. Tank1: Chankanaab. Vis was great, lots of cool fish. Tank2: Paradise, 36ft. Some great pics today, will post them soon.
Wed, this time with Bluextsea. Great operation. Great crew. DM Raul always looking back to check on his divers -- a great lead diver. Tank1: Santa Rosa Wall, 94ft...but could have been MUCH deeper...LOL. Good vis to see the awesome scale of everything down there. Found us a beach-side cafe for lunch, which was nice. Tank2; Paso de Cedral, 67ft. Not too many fish out today, sadly.
So Wed afternoon, I figured "one more dive, why not?". So I grabbed a spot on a cattle car with Dive Paradise. The fun began when I noticed a strange hissing sound coming from my new first stage ( my own gear).It was leaking air, but very, very little said the DM. So down we go! I know, I know, it's ultimately my fault for going down with it. But what I did later ya'll will yell at me for. Our group, about 10 of us went down to the C-53 wreck. No sooner did the group finally get down, did TWO diver's tanks pop out of their BC! So there we are, people scrambling to get them reattached in the heavy current. Through the wreck we go and it was interesting to be doing it for the first time, but not much worth seeing really. The DM never asked for an air check the entire time, though I was VERY aware. I made my way to the front of the group right about the time we got back to the stern. I signaled the DM that I was going up and I ascended the guide line to my 15ft spot in pretty heavy current. About 1:30 through, I feel a commotion beneath me on the line. Divers start letting go of the line, drifting away from it as one guy is pulling his way to the surface. Of course, I bobbed to the top like a cork, blowing half of my safety stop. It turns out the guy was out of air! My tank wasn't much better -- 200psi left. The DM never seemed to concerned about any of the situations -- lost tanks, no air, etc.
Some lessons learned on this trip:
1. Don't EVER dive in anything more than a six-pack boat.
2. Don't ever dive a wreck without gloves.
3. Don't ever begin a dive with faulty equipment.
4. Stay close to someone even if no buddy has been assigned.
5. Know your gear. Practice with it in a pool if it's new -- before jumping in the ocean.
6. Don't carry all your gear in a soft duffle as carry-on luggage. The shoulder strap might break
Get yourself a hard-case and check it.
7. Fly in to Coz... downtown is only 5 minutes away.
Accomodations:
Stayed at Vista del Mar. It was the best sub-$60/night room I've ever been in. Clean, spacious, mini fridge, great balcony view of the ocean and COLD A/C. It's in walking distance to many of the good restaurants and even a few piers. I highly recommend and will be staying there again.
Dining:
I'm one of those people who stick with a good thing when they find it, so I enjoyed Casa Denis twice. The fact that I can't remember the names of the other places I ate tells you something about Casa Denis. The Mexican platter was incredible. And the salsa will scorch you unless you tell them otherwise!
Nightlife:
What happens in Cozumel, stays in...LOL. But I can suggest a fine glass of cuban rum with a cuban cigar at the Havana Club.
Except for the last dive, it was an awesome trip. Thanks to everyone who made it so. I loved Cozumel and plan many returns.
Diving:
Went out with Deep Blue. Was very satisfied. Great crew. Best dives of the trip. Monday, Tank 1: Palancar Gardens -- great vis, gorgeous corals, 90ft. Tank 2: Yucab, 50ft -- more great vis and my first shark! A 10-12ft. nurse. It came at our right, swung around about 20 ft in front of us and began to munch on something, shaking its head and all. I swam right toward it and got a nice closeup at about 15ft with the digicam!
Tues, Deep Blue again. Tank1: Chankanaab. Vis was great, lots of cool fish. Tank2: Paradise, 36ft. Some great pics today, will post them soon.
Wed, this time with Bluextsea. Great operation. Great crew. DM Raul always looking back to check on his divers -- a great lead diver. Tank1: Santa Rosa Wall, 94ft...but could have been MUCH deeper...LOL. Good vis to see the awesome scale of everything down there. Found us a beach-side cafe for lunch, which was nice. Tank2; Paso de Cedral, 67ft. Not too many fish out today, sadly.
So Wed afternoon, I figured "one more dive, why not?". So I grabbed a spot on a cattle car with Dive Paradise. The fun began when I noticed a strange hissing sound coming from my new first stage ( my own gear).It was leaking air, but very, very little said the DM. So down we go! I know, I know, it's ultimately my fault for going down with it. But what I did later ya'll will yell at me for. Our group, about 10 of us went down to the C-53 wreck. No sooner did the group finally get down, did TWO diver's tanks pop out of their BC! So there we are, people scrambling to get them reattached in the heavy current. Through the wreck we go and it was interesting to be doing it for the first time, but not much worth seeing really. The DM never asked for an air check the entire time, though I was VERY aware. I made my way to the front of the group right about the time we got back to the stern. I signaled the DM that I was going up and I ascended the guide line to my 15ft spot in pretty heavy current. About 1:30 through, I feel a commotion beneath me on the line. Divers start letting go of the line, drifting away from it as one guy is pulling his way to the surface. Of course, I bobbed to the top like a cork, blowing half of my safety stop. It turns out the guy was out of air! My tank wasn't much better -- 200psi left. The DM never seemed to concerned about any of the situations -- lost tanks, no air, etc.
Some lessons learned on this trip:
1. Don't EVER dive in anything more than a six-pack boat.
2. Don't ever dive a wreck without gloves.
3. Don't ever begin a dive with faulty equipment.
4. Stay close to someone even if no buddy has been assigned.
5. Know your gear. Practice with it in a pool if it's new -- before jumping in the ocean.
6. Don't carry all your gear in a soft duffle as carry-on luggage. The shoulder strap might break
Get yourself a hard-case and check it.7. Fly in to Coz... downtown is only 5 minutes away.
Accomodations:
Stayed at Vista del Mar. It was the best sub-$60/night room I've ever been in. Clean, spacious, mini fridge, great balcony view of the ocean and COLD A/C. It's in walking distance to many of the good restaurants and even a few piers. I highly recommend and will be staying there again.
Dining:
I'm one of those people who stick with a good thing when they find it, so I enjoyed Casa Denis twice. The fact that I can't remember the names of the other places I ate tells you something about Casa Denis. The Mexican platter was incredible. And the salsa will scorch you unless you tell them otherwise!
Nightlife:
What happens in Cozumel, stays in...LOL. But I can suggest a fine glass of cuban rum with a cuban cigar at the Havana Club.
Except for the last dive, it was an awesome trip. Thanks to everyone who made it so. I loved Cozumel and plan many returns.
