Cenote Diving and Safety

[MikeRiley]

interesting thread. I haven't dove in about a year. planning our honeymoon this winter and excited to get back in the water. thinking this trip will be pretty basic. fairly shallow and simple to get back in the swing of things.
I dove Dos Ojos last year and while I thought it was beautiful I wasn't thrilled on the idea of it.

The company I dove with all week was great and the DM that brought us to the Cenote was also very good. I never felt unsafe, but there had been language barriers prior so we didn't really have a lot of discussion. The one thing that got me was that I was NOT prepared for a closed overhead environment. Still being a new diver, I was quite apprehensive. I remember that I did stay quite calm phsyically the whole time.. and even mentally. but my thought process was along the lines of "heh... if something goes wrong, there's a very real chance that I'm going to die in this cave." I was definitely guilty of following a guide blindly into a situation I wasn't prepared for. My relatively early dive career has taught me that if nothing else (reading on this board has been great to reenforce that fact to me as well). It's my responsibility to put my safety first.

I've always felt like part of the group and felt bad not having a partner. I've always felt uncomfortable being assigned a random dive buddy from a group of strangers and then having my partner ignore all the safety concerns when we hit the water. I've decided that moving forward I'll pay the extra money to hire a private DM when I'm not diving with friends. I just like the peace of mind knowing that I have one other person with me in case of an emergency. Even if I have to pay them ha.

I'm glad I got to see the cenote but I was NOT under the impression that we'd ever be in an enclosed environment and had I known that I wouldn't have done the dive.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

interesting thread. I haven't dove in about a year. planning our honeymoon this winter and excited to get back in the water. thinking this trip will be pretty basic. fairly shallow and simple to get back in the swing of things.
I dove Dos Ojos last year and while I thought it was beautiful I wasn't thrilled on the idea of it.

The company I dove with all week was great and the DM that brought us to the Cenote was also very good. I never felt unsafe, but there had been language barriers prior so we didn't really have a lot of discussion. The one thing that got me was that I was NOT prepared for a closed overhead environment. Still being a new diver, I was quite apprehensive. I remember that I did stay quite calm phsyically the whole time.. and even mentally. but my thought process was along the lines of "heh... if something goes wrong, there's a very real chance that I'm going to die in this cave." I was definitely guilty of following a guide blindly into a situation I wasn't prepared for. My relatively early dive career has taught me that if nothing else (reading on this board has been great to reenforce that fact to me as well). It's my responsibility to put my safety first.

I've always felt like part of the group and felt bad not having a partner. I've always felt uncomfortable being assigned a random dive buddy from a group of strangers and then having my partner ignore all the safety concerns when we hit the water. I've decided that moving forward I'll pay the extra money to hire a private DM when I'm not diving with friends. I just like the peace of mind knowing that I have one other person with me in case of an emergency. Even if I have to pay them ha.

I'm glad I got to see the cenote but I was NOT under the impression that we'd ever be in an enclosed environment and had I known that I wouldn't have done the dive.

If you were truly in a closed overhead environment, then you picked the wrong shop, and despite not feeling unsafe you certainly were.

 

[MikeRiley]

maybe I'm mistaken but I'm pretty sure it was completely closed. Anyone else dove Dos Ojos who can confirm whether it's an overhead?

 

[Peter Guy]

Mike Riley -- ALL cavern dives are in an overhead environment -- that is part of the definition of a "cavern.". To the extent there is a difference between a "cave" and a "cavern" for diving purposes, it is:

a. The "cavern zone" (of the cave) is within the "daylight zone" -- that is, you can always see daylight; and

b. The "cavern zone" (of the cave) is within "x" feet (130 - 200 depending on agency rules) of open water -- that is, OUT of the overhead environment.

 

[toozler]

Between all cenotes around the Tulum/Akumal area, which would be the most recommended to visit in terms of beauty if I can only get 2 dives? Dos Ojos and Eden? Taj Ma Ha?

Although I'm not cave certified, I did a cavern dive before (Elephanta, Crete) and wreck penetrations (Coron, Philiphines).

 

[TSandM]

toozler, you'll get as many opinions on that question as there are people who have visited cenotes. Why don't you start a new thread to ask it?

 

[kprudge]

This thread may only reach a small fraction of divers, but as one of them, I am grateful for it! I am on the fence as to whether I will opt for a cenote dive on my upcoming trip, but I now feel as though I am far more informed to make the decision than I would have been otherwise.

It was mentioned that some cenote dives are (relatively) roomy, with not much distance required to move away from the overhead. That sounds like a good first-timer environment to me. Which sites have those characteristics?

Thanks for the great info!
Kimberly

 

[Scubagolf]

I have only dived Chac Mool, but both dives seemed excellent for first time Cenote divers. Plenty of room.

 

[kafkaland]

It was mentioned that some cenote dives are (relatively) roomy, with not much distance required to move away from the overhead. That sounds like a good first-timer environment to me. Which sites have those characteristics?
Kimberly

Chac Mool, and neighboring Kukulkan have already been mentioned about being wide open. Add Ponderosa (Eden) and Casa (Manati) to the list. On the other hand, Pet Cemetery, Dos Ojos, and Dreamgate are more enclosed, and may even stretch most definitions of caverns, at least in the case of Pet Cemetery. Great dives, though, for sure.

 

[uboettger]

We just came back from Playa del Carmen on Tuesday after a 2-week vacation in one of the all inclusive resorts. Since Germany does not offer cavern dives it was my first time to do that. After reading the initial post and most of the follow-ups I knew what I had to look for - security-wise. Four weeks ago a guy had died at Dos Ojos entering the cavern before business hours on his own.

I found Alex Buess from Dripstone Diving in Playa del Carmen who is an expat German guiding cavern dives. In his briefings I was told all the security advices and regulations mentioned before including the rule of thirds etc. I had 5 diving days with Alex who showed me 9 wonderful caverns within the cavern diving limitations. Alex who did not know me before and who didn't know anything about my diving started with the easier ones (Car Wash, Grand Cenote) to allow me more complicated places like El Pit and Angelita later on. For Casa Cenote and Calavera my wife was able to join us while snorkeling. Of curse we respected the stop signs at the cave entrances. We had perfect days within the limits. We will be back! Thanks guys for making our cavern guide choice easy by telling us about the rules there.