Chac Mool Cavern dive with Cancun Scuba.. opinion on amount of risk?

[Landlocked123]

Going to Cancun on Tuesday. Scheduled for a Cenote Cavern dive at Chac Mool with Cancun Scuba. Spent the last month researching and reading. Bottomline how risky of a dive is this for someone with <20 dives experience? I have dove NC Wrecks (shallow).. and mostly dark cold quarries. Did dive carribean last year (regualr reef dive)..

Factors causing my to think twice.

1. Overhead environment. How much I dont know and that makes me feel I am walking into the unknown.
2. Rental equipment. I have a cold water setup (-cold water regs etc) but will not be bringing. I hear rental eqipment can be sketchy. Incremental risk here in my opinion.
3. Dont know the DM/Guide. Reading nightmare stories from folks witnessing DM's and guides doing stupid thinkgs like taking folks into the cave proper section of the dive. What concners me here is a possibly inability to be responsible for my own dive. So Guide starts heading off into what "looks like" a jump from the main line but how do i even tell if I don't know the site? In OW dive its quite simple. Gas monitoriing and a way to abort the dive if needed were a guide to try to take me into a wreck penetration that I am not qualified for.

Am I over estimating the risk here? has anyone done the "cavern" tour with said outfit at stated Cenote? Any inisghts and feedback regarding your experience would be appreciated.

Thanks
G

 

[Cave Chick]

Most of the cavern dives are on gold line. Your guide should talk to you about this. Maybe plan on checking out the shop before you do the dive and getting a feel for the place. The guide should be in full cave setup and a cave diver (ask to see their cert card if you like). If they have had the proper training then you can feel more confident and comfortable. The number one rule in cavern or cave diving is anyone can turn the dive at any time for any reason. If you ever feel like you couldn't get yourself to the surface then it has become a "trust me dive". Give them a thumbs up and head out

 

[Dhboner]

Chac Mool is a pretty good choice for a cenote dive if you are inexperienced. If you haven't already committed to a dive company I would strongly recommend you contact Erik at "Beyond Diving". I spent a week with him in April and did 6 cenote trips and he was attentive and gave me a great personal experience. He would never take you beyond your training/comfort level and will give a great briefing on what to expect and how to deal with anything that might happen during the dive. He spent a few years in Toronto so I guess that's where he learned how to be amazing

 

[Captain Bil]

If you are not cavern trained and equipped, you should not be cavern diving. Period. You are being manipulated by a marketing ploy to put you in a potentially dangerous situation for which you are unprepared. Seek training first, then enjoy to your heart's content.

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[Landlocked123]

I appreciate all your input. Sounds like I may stick to doing the c58 wreck dive near Isla Mujeres. Depths and current seem to be similar to the NC Wreck I did..seems to me like a less risky dive with overhead being the deciding factor. Has anyone done this dive? I hear the current can be stong but I encountered that in NC (along with 8-10 foot seas? on the way back so feel more comfortable than cenote. Anyone have any feedback on the Scuba Cancun Opearation?

 

[Scubagolf]

I appreciate all your input. Sounds like I may stick to doing the c58 wreck dive near Isla Mujeres. Depths and current seem to be similar to the NC Wreck I did..seems to me like a less risky dive with overhead being the deciding factor. Has anyone done this dive? I hear the current can be stong but I encountered that in NC (along with 8-10 foot seas? on the way back so feel more comfortable than cenote. Anyone have any feedback on the Scuba Cancun Opearation?

We did Chac Mool while on Isla Mujeres last May 2012. We dove the C55 wreck which was difficult because of currents. Chac Mool was two excellent dives, but I don't think it is a great idea for divers who don't have good buoyancy control, which probably means > 20 dives.
See my trip report from last May:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/me...-diving-better-than-expected.html#post6364730

 

[Superlyte27]

Most of the cavern dives are on gold line. Your guide should talk to you about this. Maybe plan on checking out the shop before you do the dive and getting a feel for the place. The guide should be in full cave setup and a cave diver (ask to see their cert card if you like). If they have had the proper training then you can feel more confident and comfortable. The number one rule in cavern or cave diving is anyone can turn the dive at any time for any reason. If you ever feel like you couldn't get yourself to the surface then it has become a "trust me dive". Give them a thumbs up and head out

The number one rule in cavern and cave diving is Training. As Sheck Exley pointed out decades ago, the number one cause of death in cave diving was lack of training. Quite honestly, you don't know whether you could really get yourself to the surface or not.

Living is good, get training.

 

[Cave Chick]

Nothing we say on here is going to change the fact that they do cavern guided dives in Mexico the best we can do is educate people.

 

[tracydr]

If you are not cavern trained and equipped, you should not be cavern diving. Period. You are being manipulated by a marketing ploy to put you in a potentially dangerous situation for which you are unprepared. Seek training first, then enjoy to your heart's content.

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Actually, the Cenote tours are fairly safe and have a good track record. I'm sure T SandM or somebody will be up soon to put a link to her sticky about them. It's a great way to get a taste of cave diving without actually sinking money into classes.

 

[Captain Bil]

Nothing we say on here is going to change the fact that they do cavern guided dives in Mexico the best we can do is educate people.

If by educate people you mean explain why it is a bad idea to people who don't know otherwise (OP, for example). Sadly, I don't think that's what you mean. Shame on you.

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