Cozumel Advice

[bhenson]

If anyone can help, my wife and I are rather new to the adventure. We did our check out dives in Dominica last Thanksgiving, which was superb. Not mentioning but not forgetting (EVER) my mistakes that included running out of air. Don't even start in on me, I KNOW, I relied on a DM and not on my training and put myself and wife in danger, enough said.
But to the point...
We are going to Cozumel in 2 weeks, staying at Secrets Resort.
Would like to get some referrals on dive operations that may be a little more alert and understanding to a couple older but new to diving.
I really hate being a hindrance and/or hazard to the experienced divers that has mastered air management and buoyancy, which I have NOT.
42 min is bout the best I have done and while I don't touch anything, I think half my air waste is BC in and out, in and out, in and out to stay neutral.
Any guidance appreciated.

 

[jcm]

I use Caribbean divers they are great!!

Caribbean Divers - Cozumel - Reviews of Caribbean Divers - TripAdvisor

they will pick you up at the dock at secrets. My girlfriend and her friend went down there for a girls trip a few months ago. They are both new divers and they did the checkout dives for her friend and they both had a blast and learned a lot.

as for your buoyancy It sounds like you have to much weight.

 

[billt4sf]

If anyone can help, my wife and I are rather new to the adventure.
Would like to get some referrals on dive operations that may be a little more alert and understanding to a couple older but new to diving.
I really hate being a hindrance and/or hazard to the experienced divers that has mastered air management and buoyancy, which I have NOT.
42 min is bout the best I have done and while I don't touch anything, I think half my air waste is BC in and out, in and out, in and out to stay neutral.
Any guidance appreciated.

I feel the same way even though I have almost 100 dives. Older, too -- 62.

I would like to suggest to you (in case others don't) that you check out BEFORE you go, what skills you may need for the kind of dives (and locations) you would be exposed to. Every time I have gone on a trip I have found out that there were more skills expected than what I had. For example, do you have an SMB? Know how to launch it at least at the surface? Can you ascend without a line to hold on to? You want to have FUN, you don't want to be a statistic.

I have not been to Cozumel (looking forward to going) so I don't know what skills are necessary, but I have heard it's all drift diving. I suggest finding out BEFORE you go, so you can practice, maybe in a pool ?

- Bill

 

[bhenson]

Bill,
I do not have a SMB, yet, but will before I board a plane! All previous dives have been with my actual LDS instructor on a group trip to Dominica in addition to the DM from the resort we stayed at.
In regards to ascending, well I have actually never held on to a line, gone up beside but not on. And yes I did fluctuate too much when it came STOP time.
How do you suggest HONEST research? My LDS is closing so local divers input is limited at best.
One of the reasons I am on here.
I do know that you are correct, 99% are drift dives but that doesn't intimidate us, as we have done before but that is where my need for an understanding dive op is needed, as I(& wife) will likely be bobbing in the water, with my NEW SMB, waiting on the others to surface or the boat to come back to us.
Course, I have also heard but not confirmed that most dives in Cozumel are 45 min dives and with my pool practice, I might actually make it.

JCM, Thanks, I am researching them!!!

 

[lindenbruce]

Okay, you want to have an SMB for the rest of your life when you are in the water on every dive regardless of where you are diving. Plus a small reel to deploy that SMB for your drift decos/safety stop. Lets not get fooled here. Diving is always deco diving of some type. Be it a safety stop at 15 feet for three minutes or full on tec diving. The differences are a matter of vivid debate. The leading cause of the bends is not enough deco. So I won't go into that further on this thread to save it from getting convoluted.

So yes practice deploying your SMB from the bottom of a pool if you can before you go on your trip. I have only had to deploy mine while diving Cozumel on two occasions. One was for the heck of it to practice and one was on an aborted dive were we all got blown all over Barracuda Reef and scattered to the four winds. The reason being my groups were always plastered to the DM otherwise who did deploy his SMB on every dive.

As far as an SMB their size choices are varied. That too is a matter of long debates. I have your standard 3' and 4' "safety sausages" and then I have your standard 6' SMB. The difference is in lift capacity. Where you are going and the single tank type of diving you will be doing the shorter 3-4 foot sausages will be fine.

Now, for dive ops. My last three trips I dove with Aldora Divers. A very good outfit with DM's available for personal attention and assistance if you want. But every time I have been with them the groups are small anyway, like 4-5 divers per DM. So you may not need to hire a personal DM for your trip. Just discuss your experience with the DM and ask for help. You will get it. They are a great outfit and I have never had an issue with them. Just call down there and ask for Memo.

There is a lady here on the forums that lives in Cozumel and hopefully she will chime in here too on current events and conditions. I can't remember her name right now. CRS you know. Bruce

 

[jeffromonty]

+1 for Aldora, Just got back from a 5 day trip with them. I'm sure there are other ops that will compare it's just who I found. I would suggest that you tell them your concerns and be honest about your experience level and comfort level. They will keep you with groups of similar capabilities. I was very happy with the level of service and they helped build my skills and confidence. Will use them again.

 

[PhilaDallas]

I just did my check out dives and 7 more after that in Cozumel. Dove with "Dive with Martin". Good outfit, small groups with a max of 7 people on my dives. My air consumption went from not good to not very good and thankfully there was a kid with us that burned through his air so I was not the reason for the dive length. As far as skills go, I had two dives where I did not put air in or remove air from my BCD, I attempted to stay at a relatively constant depth so my buoyancy would not be all over the place, and mostly I just used my lungs to move up and down the water column. When I did need to use my BCD, I would add a small amount of air, and wait for the effects before adding or subtracting again. All that being said, I have tons of work to do with my skills.

I did stay pretty close to the DM and noticed that he really only moved to twist while releasing air from his BCD, and a few fin flicks every now and then to set his course.

Good luck down there, and the diving is wonderful.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Don't sweat it. You sound like a completely typical new diver, and there are many others just like you at any given time in Cozumel (and most other popular dive destinations). In fact, you seem to be slightly ahead of the game in that you're reading Scubaboard and probably have seen some of the discussions about air consumption, buoyancy, etc. Pick one of the dozen or so dive ops that get mentioned frequently on SB, and you can't go wrong. Just make sure the dive op knows you are new divers, that's all. Remind them of that when you book your dives, again when you check in at the dive shop, and then again when you're boarding the boat. You will be fine. They take care of people like you all the time.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Lots of good concessions in Cozumel. Dive with Martin gets my vote. As to air use, here are a few quick suggestions:

1. Add and remove air from your bcd in the smallest increments possible. No doubt you are over and unde-rinflating, and using up air that way.
2. Move less. If your fidgetity with your bcd, you probably are moving hands and feet more than ideal.
3. Travel less. Don't chase after every thing you see. If you are on a group dive, stay with the group in a more or less straight line
4. Stay a couple meteres shallower than the group- not a lot, even a couple of meters will reduce consumption.
5. Don't worry about how others perceive you- just enjoy the dive. Do watch that air gauge though.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Harro10]

Which ever dive op you choose, and there are many excellent ones on Cozumel, you should consider hiring a private DM for at least your first day of diving. You and your wife will have the DM's complete attention separate from the other divers. The DM can work with you on the skills and techniques of drift diving that you may need to practice and will probably work to improve your air consumption, weighting, and buoyancy. Most ,if not all, dive ops can provide this service and it is not overly expensive compared to the total cost of the diving.