current concerns

[deepsea21]

Juardis.. My wife and I have been diving for 14 or 15 years now. We did our check-out dives in the shallow waters of the Fl Keys. Then on to other dive destinations where we saw some great things but for our dive dollar absolutely no destination can compare to Coz for the price. Coz is world class diving at a huge discount compared to other destinations. There is a gentle drift in Coz from S to N and sometimes it can be strong depending on the sites you may dive but there is nothing to worry about whatsoever. Let the current carry you and enjoy the tour without having to fin! Also, as you are always in sight of shore (not that you would want to try to swim to shore as you are best advised to float and wait) and even if you were to somehow get separated from your dive group no matter where you may surface you'll surface somewhere among the 50+ dive boats that are all there drifting waiting to pick up their divers. As far as rumors of crazy currents go, we have 200+ dives in Coz now and I can say we've never experienced anything that was spooky. Maybe some others have but I'm not one who worries about being struck by lightning.

If you are a bit nervous I'd say when you book your dives pay a few bucks more to have a private DM escort you watch over you. You'll get a great dive experience and have the comfort of having your own personal DM for a few bucks (about $55 extra in Coz). Then, you'll be comfortable and ready for the rest of your Vaca. My wife and I dive with Tres Pelicanos dive center these days and we have been highly impressed with the level ov service they offer. There are certainly other great dive ops on the island but after so many years of diving Coz we're very happy to have found 3P's. Check them out if you are looking for a dive op and, as you may decide you'd like a private DM for your 1st day, they often call up DM Chino who we've known since we 1st visited the island.

Regardless of what you decide, rest assured you are going to have an absolute blast diving this absolutely spectacular destination!

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I keep seeing suggestions to upgrade to a (100 cf) Aluminum tank. 20 cf more sounds nice but as best I know and from other repeated comments on this board, very few of those tanks are actually filled to the 3300 psi required to actually deliver 100cf. The usual 3000 psi fill (or less) makes them a puny 10cf more. Then there are the ungainly buoyancy characteristics which one ought to consider….that might make you burn up more air!

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Juardis]

Thanks all. Comforting to know. I LOVE drift diving. That's all we've ever done. Even in St. Lucia it was drift diving. Not concerned with the currents, unless they're ripping. We've experienced ripping currents where you can't hardly even hang onto a wreck, so I had fears there were dives like that except they dropped you (or worse, lifted you) by 50 feet or so before you could do anything about it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have made maybe 10 trips to Cozumel over the years. On one of those trips, we had the families of a brother and sister of mine along as well. I was the only diver, and my brother-in-law was intrigued by my stories each day when I returned from the morning dives. We did the same group trip the next year, and he got certified in anticipation fofr the trip. I was excited and couldn't wait to show him a good time as we dived together.

He did not have a good time. The current was absolutely ripping all week, and the diving was extremely difficult. He gave up and never dived again.

In all the trips I have taken to Cozumel, that was the only time I ever saw anything like our experience that week. I have been on Barracuda Reef, the one with the greatest reputation for tough currents, with the current so mild you could swim lazily against it. If my brother-in-law had been with me on any of those other trips instead of that one, I am sure he would still be a diver today.

The moral of the story is that the odds are very much in favor of your having a great time, but recognize that you just might be there on one of those rare weeks when it is indeed very challenging.

 

[lthomas132]

Bonaire. Love it.

Bonaire is great diving; always has been & hopefully always will be!

 

[newgentry]

I have been diving Cozumel for 22 years and only once have I experienced anything like a downwelling.

What he said. I don't have 22 years in Coz (yet, although I'm working on it), but I do have 10+ now, and over 200 dives on every reef on the island with only a couple of exceptions, and I've never had even a whiff of a downcurrent. As others have said, best to always be aware, but I think your odds of actually having to deal with one are pretty long. Have fun!

 

[DjDiverDan]

I have been diving in Cozumel for 26 years now, since 1990 when I got certified, with trips to Coz pretty much every year for at least a week, many years multiple trips. In all that time, several hundred dives, I have seen a down current just once, at Santa Rosa Wall. And it wasn't a surprise to anyone who was paying attention - you could see sand being washed over the top of the wall from a ways back, if you bothered to look. And it wasn't hard to avoid either. If you stayed close to the wall, you didn't even notice it; if you were foolish enough to get 15-20 feet away from the wall, it could drop you from 100' to 135' pretty quick. But if you just got back in close to the wall, there was no need to fill up your BC, drop your weight belt, or anything else stupid that would make you pop to the surface like a cork. Your likelihood of seeing a downcurrent on your first dive trip to Cozumel is amazingly small. But, if you do, follow these Two lessons - First, pay attention; pay attention to the predive briefing by the DM, and pay attention to what is going on around you, and you won't be caught unawares. Second, don't panic. Most downcurrents are easy to avoid, and, if you do get in one, easy to get out of without running the risk of overcompensating and getting into an uncontrollable ascent because you turned your BC into a lift bag.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I keep seeing suggestions to upgrade to a (100 cf) Aluminum tank. 20 cf more sounds nice but as best I know and from other repeated comments on this board, very few of those tanks are actually filled to the 3300 psi required to actually deliver 100cf. The usual 3000 psi fill (or less) makes them a puny 10cf more. Then there are the ungainly buoyancy characteristics which one ought to consider….that might make you burn up more air!

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Perhaps there is an operator that offers 100 or 120 cf STEEL tanks, which will address such issues.

 

[sharky60]

yeah, I concur with what most people have said about the currents. the "crazy current season" seems to happen at changing of seasons, mostly from what I have gathered.

if you do get in one, stay calm, and try swimming away from it horizontally, staying close to the reef as possible.

about diving deep. On most dives, I stay above 70'. Even if the rest of the group is going deeper. as long as you are with the group, and the divemaster can see you (and preferably you have let him know that is what you are going to do, so he CAN find you), you shouldn't have a problem staying a little more shallow.

there are some advanced dives where this won't work, but you shouldn't be taken to any of them.

I for the most part don't even do swim-thru's anymore, don't like them, never have and have never seen anything worth seeing in any of them, opting to follow the bubbles and go beside or above it.

 

[xrcjdx]

ok i'll bite and give a shout out to aldora at the same time. aldora is a great operation, you pay extra, but you get what you pay for. the steel 120 tanks (?) are loaded to something like 325+ bar, whatever that is in psi, which i suppose gets you the full 15 liters of air. or whatever the numbers are. if you chose to dive nitrox, and for these longer (70 - 80 minutes) dives it is almost mandatory, your first mix is 32 and the 2d, for the shallower dive, 36. they have this stuff down and can accommodate you no matter your skill level, on a separate boat. if you have the pesos you can't go wrong with aldora.