Any good OW dives in Cozumel?

[Oldbear]

... He is a NAUI instructor because he believes PADI is too lax.

Being a NAUI Instructor does not make you a better instructor and being a PADI instructor does not make you a lax instructor. It is the quality of the "person" who teaches the course that matters. I have had courses from both agencies and a few others. This is the old Chevy vs Ford argument...and many leave out Toyota and Dodge....all good vehicles.

...I had 5 weeks of 2 hours of classroom and 2 hours in the pool each week. I had 4 additional certifying dives in open water proving skills before I was certified...

A total of 10 hours of class time and 10 hours of pool with four open water dives is nothing special. It is adequate for the Open Water Course. My Open Water Courses typically have 18 hr of class time, 12 hours of pool, four 40-60 minute Open Water dives and after that we return to the classroom for the final exam. My class is nothing special, but I am going to add Peak Performance Buoyancy and Enriched Air Nitrox to my Open Water course to make it a little more special.

... I see nothing wrong, besides me not paying enough attention to realize we went that deep (which I've already mentioned was a major learning moment for me), about going that deep on my first dive after that. My instruction taught me how to be safe going to that depth.

... I'm a very new diver and I have a lot to learn. I just don't think that criticism of me going to 102' on my fifth dive is fair, considering the training I had 100% prepared for it. I didn't notice I went that deep primarily cause we were only that deep for about 20 seconds according to my profile.

It is fair to offer constructive criticism. You are a new diver, and you do have a lot to learn...most of which is only going to come through experience. From YOUR description of your NAUI Open Water Course you had a basic, but adequate, course...and that is fine that is how we all started out. But on your "fifth" dive you lost control of your dive...20 second - 20 minutes...regardless you lost control. I am very happy that on this dive things did not go "Pear Shape" (read Steve Lewis' books). I am also glad that you are turning this into a learning experience...that will make you a better diver. We want you to tell us about your 100th dive.

 

[deepsea21]

I was OW certified 16 years ago I think? I've never proceeded to an AOW cert as I see no need for it nor have I ever been anywhere where a dive op has limited me due to lacking an AOW certification. I'd rather dive any day with an OW certified diver who has 100+ dives than an AOW diver with 10 dives!

Quite frankly, I like max bottom time and my wife enjoys UW photography so we tend to dive shallower than the group as a whole where the color is better and the light is brighter. I'd say we are usually dive 15-20 feet above the group and tend to stay in a 40'-60' "sweet spot" where there's more marine life to see (in my opinion) and the color is so much better. Furthermore, we enjoy more bottom time by staying shallower. You can dive deep and short or shallow and long. These days we end up being limited by our dive computers as we aren't heavy air consumers anymore but for those who are newer divers and working on boyancy/air consumption it's always better to stay shallower so you get more bottom time as initially, air consumption usually governs bottom time and as divers get more experienced, relax, learn to "sip" air and stop chasing this and that everywhere no-deco limits govern the bottom time.

Without a doubt as others here have recommended you should hire a personal DM until you both feel comfortable. The dedicated DM will only cost about $50 and you both have the comfort of having a personal DM dedicated just to you who can watch out for you, keep you comfortable until you feel comfortable, and can point out a bunch of little sea critters you'd never spot on your own because most are in perfect camo on the reef... You'd swim right by them without knowing they are there without a DM to point them out to you. It is thanks to many experienced DM's who have pointed critters out to us in the past that I know where to look for them and what to look for.

We've been diving with Tres Pelicanos dive center the past 2 years which is known as being a dive op that caters to more advanced divers who want freedom but on our dive trips with them there have always been new and newer divers on board who chose to stick close the the group's DM as the more experienced divers spread out and dive their own dives and some who hire a private DM to take them on a private guided and supervised dives (still at the same great dive locations mind you) until they feel comfortable. IF I HAD THE $ I'D HIRE A PRIVATE DM EVERY DAY for our dive trips because they know the reefs like the back of their hands and can find all the little critters for photo ops I know I am finning right over and am missing!

Bottom line... If you're going to spend the money to travel to COZ and experience the world-class diving it has to offer, select a quality dive op that will take you to the best sites (not that there are really any "bad" sites just good and great) and spend the extra $50 per day for a private DM to see what there is to see and will watch over and take care of you until you feel comfortable. If you were traveling to see NYC you wouldn't skimp and not pay $15- $20 to view the city from the top of the Empire State building. I say you view your Coz dive trip and paying for a private DM just the same as paying to see that view from the top of the Empire State Building . Well worth the $ for the experience you'll both have to remember.

 

[deepsea21]

Oh, for sure! That was an important learning moment for me! Once I realized that after my dive, I've been much more attentive during subsequent dives.

On the same token, we were only that deep for a few seconds, looking at the profile again. It was at the very start of the dive and think we did one deep swim through, then climbed to ~80 pretty quickly.

I say we've all done it when we were new divers and anyone who says otherwise is either lieing or wasn't diving in an area that offered the oppty to go deep. Most all have been shocked to find out how deep they went after a dive or were shocked to hear the deco alarm go off on their dive computer for the 1st time. It is very easy to do because one feels no different at 30' than they do at 100'+.

I well remember my first new diver deco alarm... I was chasing a turtle for a pic and before I knew it my 80' max planned dive with the group had turned into 110' chasing that turtle. These days, I glance at my computer and air gage (yeah - still have the old-school seperate gages) every few minutes and always remember my ear squeeze is an alert that I am heading deeper. If I'm equalizing to eliminate a squeeze I'm holding my nose with one hand and checking my depth at the same time with the other... Always.

 

[sharky60]

Like Dave said, your DM should evaluate her skill level on the first couple days of diving and adjust the dive plan to that. Your certification card doesn't mean as much as your skill level.

she also doesn't HAVE to go to a depth deeper than 60' if she is not comfortable with it.

I often dive above "the group" on deep dives. As long as the DM can see her and feels comfortable with her doing it, that shouldn't be an issue either.

 

[gr8jab]

Like Dave said, your DM should evaluate her skill level on the first couple days of diving and adjust the dive plan to that.

she also doesn't HAVE to go to a depth deeper than 60' if she is not comfortable with it.

I often dive above "the group" on deep dives. As long as the DM can see her and feels comfortable with her doing it, that shouldn't be an issue either.

Frequently this is possible, but frequently not:

My last trip to Cozumel, I had trouble equalizing during one dive. The rest of the group was 20-30 feet below me. I could not stay with them, hovering at a comfortable depth. The current for me was much stronger (away from the bottom), and I struggled against it to match their slower drift. After a few minutes, I thumbed the dive.

On my last trip to Grand Cayman, we had a student DM that frequented our boat (in addition to the DM). He hovered 15-20 feet over the group, keeping track of everyone and watching for issues. Sorta the eye-in-the-sky. In this case, it would work well.

 

[cvchief]

You're right. If the current is wrong, it would not be enjoyable to fight the current. Diving our tanks, the missus is always down longer than me. The faster the current, the more likely she is to stop DEAD to take a pic of something and then I am fighting the current to stay above her. You think she would look up at me once or twice right? Nope. Pic of a blennie has all her attention.....

 

[gr8jab]

You're right. If the current is wrong, it would not be enjoyable to fight the current. Diving our tanks, the missus is always down longer than me. The faster the current, the more likely she is to stop DEAD to take a pic of something and then I am fighting the current to stay above her. You think she would look up at me once or twice right? Nope. Pic of a blennie has all her attention.....

Ha! That sounds like me and my wife, in reverse. She's forbidden me from taking my camera while diving with my newly certified son. Wonder why....

 

[Altamira]

Ha! That sounds like me and my wife, in reverse. She's forbidden me from taking my camera while diving with my newly certified son. Wonder why....

Your wife is very wise, as I am sure you are too judging from your tongue-in-cheek comment. Having dived with my grandson (now 14) for the past three years since his Jr. OW cert, I can highly recommend not trying to do photographic work, or anything else other than being a very watchful buddy of a young, new diver. Because of their lack of experience and maturity, it is amazing how quickly they can do something totally unexpected and headed for trouble. Luckily for me, he is a pretty good diver for his experience level and dives, with better buoyancy control than most adults in the same category. However, he is still quite capable of doing something that leaves me thinking "What the hell?" When diving with him, I leave the camera at home or with my wife. I am not a DM or instructor, but diving with my grandson has given me a greatly increased appreciation for the hard work and responsibilites of dive professionals.

 

[kelemvor]

Remember, 60ft is only a recommendation. If she is doing well and the DM/shop like what they see, you might venture deeper by the end of the week.

This exactly. My wife and I went to coz last year (with scubaboard). It was her first diving after getting certified at home. Don't do the wall dives on day 1, but unless she's just got terrible skills then she should be able to do them in the week. A DM is required by law for most of the dives in coz, anyway... something about a "marine park" I think.

There are some shallow dives in coz that are quite good. That said, if you really want shallow diving with lots to see, you might want to look at Key Largo, FL. USA. You could spend a week diving 30' or shallower sites and see plenty of stuff there. Key Largo is a lot more expensive than Cozumel, at least the trips I've done to both places work out that way.

 

[gr8jab]

Your wife is very wise, as I am sure you are too judging from your tongue-in-cheek comment. Having dived with my grandson (now 14) for the past three years since his Jr. OW cert, I can highly recommend not trying to do photographic work, or anything else other than being a very watchful buddy of a young, new diver. Because of their lack of experience and maturity, it is amazing how quickly they can do something totally unexpected and headed for trouble. Luckily for me, he is a pretty good diver for his experience level and dives, with better buoyancy control than most adults in the same category. However, he is still quite capable of doing something that leaves me thinking "What the hell?" When diving with him, I leave the camera at home or with my wife. I am not a DM or instructor, but diving with my grandson has given me a greatly increased appreciation for the hard work and responsibilites of dive professionals.

The funny part is she also says "but I want lots of pictures of him diving!!"