Trip Report Cozumel diving report December 2022

[Guitarcrazy]

Thanks for the reply. Your images have so much detail and dynamic range. I just switched to a Canon G7X mark II which I will use at the end of the month. I was very close to getting the EM-1 mark II, but in the end decided to stay somewhat simpler. Looking at your images makes me wonder if I should have taken the next step......

 

[ccannon707]

Re your 'lots of fireworms this trip" remark. I notice that too, every trip there seems to be one marine species that dominates my vision on dives. For me this Sept it was scads of Blue Chromis. Another trip it was Sharp Nose Puffers. These are beyond the schools of grunts etc... Sounds like you had a feast of great sightings! There can never be too many eel sightings IMO. Thanks for a nice report and pictures.

 

[ColoDale]

Re your 'lots of fireworms this trip" remark. I notice that too, every trip there seems to be one marine species that dominates my vision on dives. For me this Sept it was scads of Blue Chromis. Another trip it was Sharp Nose Puffers. These are beyond the schools of grunts etc... Sounds like you had a feast of great sightings! There can never be too many eel sightings IMO. Thanks for a nice report and pictures.

Yes. Varies by season/month. If I get time I should go back through years of photos in Cozumel and see what I have by month. Whether that predicts future abundance would be hard to say.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for posting

 

[Johnoly]

Tiger Grouper

I'm not an ID expert, but I know groupers.
See that thin white stripe on the top of his rear dorsal fin? Combine that with a Tiger Grouper's "inside" white stripes usually don't have spots inside them. So I think you've got a Red Hind grouper, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for writing up your conditions report and your pictures are OUTSTANDING !!!

 

[mcohen1021]

Punta Tunich, Yucab and Tormentos

They took you to these sites in December? So much for reef closures.

 

[waterone]

Cozumel Diving December 2022

I dove with Scuba Diving Cozumel | Bottom Time Divers Cozumel and we left the marina at 8 every day.
Dive times were between 60 and 70 minutes with a couple of 75 minute ones.

Good weather and warm.
Water temps around 81-83 F. The weather in November has been hotter.
Medium currents the whole time with the first day at Palancar Gardens running slow to the south.
Alot of particulates in the water.
Quite a few tiger groupers and not many black grouper but we did see three large ones together one day.
Lot's of eels especially large Goldentail.
Quite a lot of Splendid Toadfish.
Several seahorses. I posted two but there was another greener one of a pair that I did not get.
Lots of small fish and quite a few drums.
We did not see many lionfish but did see a large on deep on, I think, Tunich wall.
We did not see alot of turtles.
A few Eagle rays and all singles. Some reported seeing a pair on a day I did not dive.

Lots of boats out and many groups of divers on the reefs. We generally picked an area where there were no or few boats.
We seemed to dive the Palancars, San francisco, Cedral wall, Punta Tunich, Yucab and Tormentos alot. Santa Rosa once. Not once did the other divers want to dive La Francesa, Dalila or Cedral Pass. Their loss.

Tons of tourists off cruise ships in town. I still haven't quite figured out the street parking. Yellow seems to mean two different things depending on the time and side of the street. They do have some signs up. The police seem to be warning people who have parked incorrectly. I don't want to have to go get my plates at the police station.

One of my tanks had a bad valve and, unrelated, my HP hose started leaking. I swapped it with a spare. The new booties rubbed my feet raw so I will have to find a solution.

One of my fin blades split in the middle almost to the end. Not quite split fins but would be. The old US Divers Blades finally gave up the ghost.
Generally the tanks were not short but did have a few. No more than usual.

Belted Cardinalfish
View attachment 758181

Fireworm
View attachment 758182

Fireworm. There seemed to be alot of fireworms this time.
View attachment 758183

Flamingo Tongues
View attachment 758184

Goldentail Moray Eel. This one appeared to be exercising it's jaw.
View attachment 758185

Green Turtle
View attachment 758187

Grunts with Nurse Shark
View attachment 758188

Harlequin Bass
View attachment 758189

Juvenile French Angelfish
View attachment 758190

Lesser Electric Ray
View attachment 758191

Beautiful pictures. I was happy with what I took until I saw yours

I had a bit of different experiences with wildlife. I saw many Eagle rays in singles, pairs and trios as well as many turtles, but we did dive a ton.

 

[waterone]

They took you to these sites in December? So much for reef closures.

As far as I know those are not closed in December. and we went to them as well. Chankana'ab was where we were told we could not go.

 

[mcohen1021]

Tiger Grouper

I could be wrong, but I believe this is a rock hind grouper. Great pics - especially that electric ray - never seen one

 

[scubadada]

I'm not an ID expert, but I know groupers.
See that thin white stripe on the top of his rear dorsal fin? Combine that with a Tiger Grouper's "inside" white stripes usually don't have spots inside them. So I think you've got a Red Hind grouper, but I could be wrong.

Thanks for writing up your conditions report and your pictures are OUTSTANDING !!!

I could be wrong, but I believe this is a rock hind grouper. Great pics - especially that electric ray - never seen one

Hi @ColoDale

Your nice photo of the grouper is a Red Hind rather than a Tiger Grouper or a Rock Hind. The most obvious feature is the black margin on the tail and rear fins.