Cozumel: An Oasis in the Winter

[renpirate]

That place does look awesome. My wife and were looking at it on the web, and were wondering what to do once your topside? I did not see a pool to lounge by and it is not on the main drag near the beach (I know, theres not much beach anywhere). Just curious.

It has a small well manicured courtyard that a lot of people seemed to like to sit in and read. It's more of the traditional Mexican villa than a resort hotel. If you want poolside relaxation, then a place like Caribe Blue would be better.

 

[renpirate]

renpirate,

Thanks for the great report. It covers a lot in a short space. A good simple reference for people that have never been there. Good advice included.

I too am a fan of Deep Blue having used them each visit. Can't wait to get back, but only so many vacations days per year.

. . . . wistfully waiting for retirement . . .


Wristshot

Thanks, I orginally wrote it to be an article, but when I was looking for the submission method, I couldn't find it. I would have written more, but there is a limit for posts.

 

[ggunn]

Isn't/Wasn't there a dive op who would do DT with the big tanks and go over the wall to 150' and then up? I remember Chas or someone telling me about it a few years ago.....they said it was spectacular and virgin because no one ever does it hardly.

Anyone know of what I speak?

What's DT? I know from my experience on Maracaibo a couple of years ago that it gets pretty dark at 150+ ft.

 

[renpirate]

What's DT? I know from my experience on Maracaibo a couple of years ago that it gets pretty dark at 150+ ft.

I think he means Devil's Throat. It does get darker at that depth, but not too bad.

Isn't/Wasn't there a dive op who would do DT with the big tanks and go over the wall to 150' and then up? I remember Chas or someone telling me about it a few years ago.....they said it was spectacular and virgin because no one ever does it hardly.

Anyone know of what I speak?

We should probably mention that depths below 130' go into the technical realm, which we probably shouldn't encourage here. I don't personally know of any operators who would take regular divers that deep intentionally. I imagine it would be a liability issue? However, there is a dive op that specializes in tech diving, but I can't remember its name.

 

[TheRedHead]

If I'm lucky enough to do it I'll be sure to be neutral and watch my depth. Thanks for the heads up.

Would you take a camera and strobe on that dive, or do you think that might be too much multi tasking ?

My buddy took a camera and strobe into the throat on Monday and was able to get some good shots of the entrance and the exit. I'm attaching his photo from behind me. I'm crouching on the bottom trying to avoid getting kicked (again) by the diver in front of me flailing around on the ceiling. I think the throat has been enlarged since Wilma.

Dive safe...

 

[RLarsen]

Is it possible that Devil's Throat is over-hyped a bit ?
And regarding depth coming out of the "Throat." It's a fixed point, always the same. If you descend further down the wall, of course you'll have different computer readings.
It's really too bad the coral cross is gone.

 

[pilot fish]

My buddy took a camera and strobe into the throat on Monday and was able to get some good shots of the entrance and the exit. I'm attaching his photo from behind me. I'm crouching on the bottom trying to avoid getting kicked (again) by the diver in front of me flailing around on the ceiling. I think the throat has been enlarged since Wilma.

Dive safe...

Great photo. How deep are you at that point? You think I'm good to go with the camera and strobe? I've been in a swim thru that I could not turn around in and didn't like it, so I'm curious, can you turn around in the DT if need be?

Thanks, Red

 

[Christi]

Is it possible that Devil's Throat is over-hyped a bit ?
And regarding depth coming out of the "Throat." It's a fixed point, always the same. If you descend further down the wall, of course you'll have different computer readings.
It's really too bad the coral cross is gone.

YES! It's a nice dive, but there are MUCH nicer ones. Devil's Throat is one that some like to have in their log books for bragging rights. If you are perfectly positioned in the center of the long tunnel, you SHOULD be right at 116 - 118 when you exit that point. From there, you make a u-turn basically and go up through the big cathedral area where the cross used to be. Of course it is possible to go deeper, very deep there as it is a wall, but if you dive the dive the way it is planned, you really shouldn't drop down below 120 at that point. Of course if your plan is something different, then that's another story. Coming out of that tunnel is the deepest part of the standard "tour" so to speak. I've led this dive and I've dove it with probably about a dozen different divemasters and have never come out of that swim-through at more than 120. In fact, our briefing for that dive is 120 max. The rest of the dive is a multi-level profile with the average depth for the dive being in the 80 foot range.

Ren, the cross was not removed by a diver with poor buoyancy...this was Wilma's wrath. There also used to be an exit point that went out to the right of the cross...it's now filled in with rocks, so the only way to go at the "cross" is left now.

Pilot, turning around in the tunnel would be very difficut and you couldn't do it without banging around on the coral. If you've heard of someone dropping to 200 feet there, then they had some buoyancy control issues or they dropped to that depth intentionally.

Cameras do fine on that dive, but I don't recommend cameras on that dive for those who aren't very familiar with diving with their camera and having excellent buoyancy control. There are some pretty tight areas on that dive.

Espantoon, the beaches are coming back. Look at the pictures I posted in the "Mr. Sancho's" thread. Tose pictures of the beach were taken Dec. 27 and last week.

 

[TheRedHead]

Great photo. How deep are you at that point? You think I'm good to go with the camera and strobe? I've been in a swim thru that I could not turn around in and didn't like it, so I'm curious, can you turn around in the DT if need be?

Thanks, Red

Pilot Fish,

On this dive, we never went deeper than 118 feet. I think this is the standard way of doing it. However, I have done it with different swimthroughs at a deeper profile of 142 ft and this was not from going deeper on the wall. There are other swimthroughs you can do and one involved going up a chimney by inhaling and popping out of the top.

I think you could turn around and change your mind while still in the big cavern before entering the far left tunnel. Once in the tunnel, you are committed and you also have to remember you are going through single file and turning around would cause a problem with the people behind you.

My favorite part of Devil's Throat is the swim across the canyon (so to speak) to the next pinnacle. It's rather like diving in a mountain range.

There are other swimthroughs I like more than DT. I once did a series of swimthoughs at Columbia with a freelance guide named Aristeo who was working for Aldora. They were breathtakingly beautiful, but I have never been able to describe them adequately to get back there again. Palancar is another spot for beautiful swimthroughs.

You can also dive Punta Sur without doing Devil's Throat and it is quite a dive for the majestic landscape. Do whatever you feel comfortable with and don't feel pressued to go through Devil's Throat if you're not comfortable with it.

 

[pilot fish]

[

Pilot, turning around in the tunnel would be very difficut and you couldn't do it without banging around on the coral. If you've heard of someone dropping to 200 feet there, then they had some buoyancy control issues or they dropped to that depth intentionally.

christi

I might have a problem if it were real long, 100 ft, and very narrow but if it's wide enough and not terribly long I'll be fine. As one diver on teh board said, if you are neutral you should be fine exiting the tunnel. That's probaly the first part of the dive so you should be fine air wise, I would guess? I'll just see how I feel and whom I buddy with to determine if I take my camera or not. It wouldn't be the end of the World if I didn't.