Cozumel or West Palm Beach Florida for drift diving in January/February?

[ggunn]

Hello everyone,

My 15 year old daughter and I are relatively new divers, both with about 50 dives, and both PADI Advanced Open Water certified. We have been to Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Key Largo, and Saint Lucia. We have never done a drift dive, but want to try this. We have time for a short vacation in either January or February and are considering either Cozumel or West Palm Beach, Florida. We prefer warmer water and calmer water surface conditions if possible. Any advice would be much appreciated!

If you want calmer surface conditions you are more likely to see them at Cozumel than at WPB. Cozumel dive sites are in the channel between Cozumel and the Yucatan in the lee of the island, and most are only a few hundred yards offshore, if that. WPB dive sites are in the open ocean.

 

[cicopo]

I'm in Cozumel the first 2 weeks of Feb most years & the water temps run around 79 to 81 F at the surface and maybe 4 degrees less at depth. In general it's common to loose a day & sometimes 2 during my trip to weather conditions. I spent the winter months of 1997 in the Keys & water temps were in the mid to high 6's F which is even cold to this Canadian. Had to wear a wetsuit there but have never needed one in Cozumel. You will see a lot of more interesting things in Cozumel per dive too.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

From my 25 years of diving I've never experienced a thermocline in Cozumel. I have measured the temps from 5 ft to 250 ft and they are almost always homogenous, unlike most places where thermoclines do exist. In some places, underwater fresh water springs pour out from underground rivers and the temperature of that outpouring is cold. Usually when you run into that you can see a blurry water which is the halocline where fresh and salt water mix.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[cicopo]

You're right Dave. Ran into a fresh water spring once & my computer went way down to 75F in the mix I swam through. Only happened once that I can remember.

 

[scubaNYC16]

From my 25 years of diving I've never experienced a thermocline in Cozumel. I have measured the temps from 5 ft to 250 ft and they are almost always homogenous, unlike most places where thermoclines do exist. In some places, underwater fresh water springs pour out from underground rivers and the temperature of that outpouring is cold. Usually when you run into that you can see a blurry water which is the halocline where fresh and salt water mix.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Yup. Felt that this past August for the first time on 2 different dives. Water was nice and toasty and then looked blurry and felt really cold but probably only dropped a few degrees.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

To add on to this, the reason that the water temp stays so homogenous in Cozumel is due to the current and the continuous mixing that eddy currents present.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Pelagicsal]

... You will see a lot of more interesting things in Cozumel per dive too.

Have to disagree with you here, cicopo. I’m a huge Cozumel fan and made it home in 2012, but the convergence of coastal community, Atlantic community, pelagic community from the nearby Gulf Stream, and the tropicals that get transported in by the GS, give the Gold Coast amazing biodiversity. Not so true for the Keys, but the two are very different environments and diving conditions - with the Gold Coast / WPB being drift diving, almost exclusively.

That being said, January and February would (and will) find me in CZM over WPB for the kinder temperatures of air and water. CZM is also easier on the wallet.

Good luck in your trip planning, @DougieG

 

[tridacna]

Cozumel is also more fun with better topside and eating. I would NEVER pick Florida over Coz. Not even close.