Cenote Diving and Safety

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This thread has been split off from this one: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/439307-word-wise-cenote-diving.html

The latter is a sticky, it was getting a bit long, repetitious and rambling, rather defeating the purpose of a sticky. So the sticky has been closed and anyone wanting to continue the discussion can do so here. Marg, SB Senior Moderator
 
I did two dives with Beyond Diving at Dos Ojos in April. Erik is a great guide and exceeds the requirements for guides in the Cenotes. I could see some strange behaviour from some of the other dive guides so I would say, check your guide's credentials.
 
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I did two dives with Beyond Diving at Dos Ojos in April. Erik is a great guide and exceeds the requirements for guides in the Cenotes. I could see some strange behaviour from some of the other dive guides so I would say, check your guide's credentials.

What type of strange behavior?
 
Just not the type of behaviour I'm used to from operators. For example. A guide brings a group to the entry area. They kit up and the instructor falls backwards into the water from the platform. Butttt... he didn't clear the water below and got close to some snorkelers in the water. Now, he didn't hit anyone but I know he also didn't clear the water before he fell in. Then, he tried to get his group to do the same... One of the kids wasn't feeling it and safely entered from the steps in spite of this guy trying to talk him into the backwards fall into the water.

That's it... nothing too crazy, just... odd. I don't usually see that type of activity from professional guides I guess. It did not appear the guide had safety at the forefront. That might give me reason to pause before diving with someone like that.
 
Well... in my professional career i got to work for two years in Mexico. One of them as a Cenote guide. My point of view:

Personally I never took divers into cave zones, i did some blind jumps,if they can be called so, because they were allways done into the cavern zone. But i would say it is a very common habit to break those rules.

Why? Tips. Happy customers. Videos for sales. Your boss pushes you... there are many reasons why this is done.

I don't see Cenotes as a dangerouse diving. Actually i think it is very safe. Much safer than many other dives that are done around the globe.

Think that the first 5 to 10 first minutes of the dive usually happen on the open water area and its during this time that the guide or the diver can decide that he or she is not ready for the dive.

Of course would be lovely that everybody does the Cavern speciallity. Believe me, the guides would be the happiest ones about that.
It is not easy to deal with machos half panicking, crazzy overweighted "experience divers", vertical divers that the only horitzontal position they know is while sleeping or divers that believe that the frog kick is a kind of game were you kick frogs.

It is not fun to have divers that decide that they can just abandon the group for a nice picture or that they overpass you.

Guides would love to be able to make a cavern diving course to every single diver that wants to dive in a cenote.

I agree in the fact that a mistake can be fatal. An who pays the mistake are the divers. But allso the guide.

Cavern rules have to be well explained and respected.

And of course is all about the money. Dive industry, as an industry, is about the money, the dive centers are business not NGO and the tourism is about money aswell.

Whoever complains about dive industry as a money "thinker" is doing the same as if they were complaining because a supermarket wants to have benefits.

I hope you have some nice replys.

Happy Bubbles

Scuba Legends
 

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