Craziness continues

[jd950]

The crazy currents continue. Most but not all dives over the past couple of days have had really strong current with up-wellings, down-wellings and all kinds of weirdness. So much sand in the water and so much current I have been leaving the camera at the hotel. We have also washed so much sand from our hair after dives you would think we had been at the beach. Sometimes the currents push toward the shore, sometimes toward the blue.

Yesterday did a dive at Dalila and we ended up near the start of Santa Rosa Wall, where we were visited by a pod of dolphins during the safety stop...what a lucky break!

Saw something new yesterday, a large hawksbill swimming in place. Truly, he was swimming, but not moving forward at all.

A little less current would be nice. Maybe today will be calmer. If it doesn't die down tomorrow, I think we should take a shot at finding the fastest currents we can and just go for the ride.

 

[MMM]

We actually saw the dolphins while we were in the water toward the very end of the dive in shallow water! Well, the others did. I had my nose glued to the sand looking for little things while they were looking at dolphins. We dived Palancar Caves and then during the surface interval saw them again. We had very little current at that site and then we did Columbia Shallows for our second dive where there was zero current. We have really been lucking out. Other than one day of crazy currents, all has been good, although vis is a bit off.

 

[beaverdivers]

Do you think diving the sites to the South; Palancar, Columbia.. is the key for less current?

I know Yucab deep seems to have "loco currents" when their going off.

 

[RubberDucky]

Do you think diving the sites to the South; Palancar, Columbia.. is the key for less current?

The fastest currents I've ever dove were at Palancar Caves and Gardens. "Fast" meaning that planting 2 fingers in the sand to stay in one place was futile. You would end up accomplishing nothing more than drawing a line in the sand as the currents forced you backwards. That was last year in June where it rained for the better part of 2 weeks. The crazy currents weren't isolated to the south part of the island. During that same trip we had the currents switch direction on us at Tunich. In fact, we had to start out doing Tunich backwards because that's that way the currents were running. Fingers crossed for better weather and currents this year.

 

[robint]

well, we arrive Friday, so it needs to settle down before then.

 

[kentmorrdave]

We actually saw the dolphins while we were in the water toward the very end of the dive in shallow water! Well, the others did. I had my nose glued to the sand looking for little things while they were looking at dolphins. We dived Palancar Caves and then during the surface interval saw them again. We had very little current at that site and then we did Columbia Shallows for our second dive where there was zero current. We have really been lucking out. Other than one day of crazy currents, all has been good, although vis is a bit off.

our luck ran out today on cedral, started on th top, pushed out to the wall, safety stop in the blue. I was just watching opals memorial dive and the current was headed north to south

 

[Mossman]

It's gotta be all those divers with split fins kicking up vortices this way and that. I knew they'd be the death of us all!

 

[RubberDucky]

our luck ran out today on cedral, started on th top, pushed out to the wall, safety stop in the blue. I was just watching opals memorial dive and the current was headed north to south

Was there any downcurrent as you drifted past the wall out into the blue? Even if there was, I guess the only thing you could do is just keep finning straight ahead since you're going in that direction already.

We did a dive once at Santa Rosa where we (unintentionally, I presume) dropped in over the deep blue, a little ways from the wall. It was an amazing sight, seeing the reef from that perspective. It sticks in my mind very vividly. Wish I had a pic of it to post.

 

[Karibelle]

Yucab this afternoon, the current was mild but heading south. Second dive at Chankanaab, we ended up at the beginning of Tormentos. Wild ride!

 

[ggunn]

A couple of years ago we put in at Cedral Wall and dived Cedral, Paseo Cedral, and Santa Rosa in one dive. In the gap between the sections of Cedral it was close to whiteout conditions from the sand blowing by. Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.