Devil's Throat - Cozumel

[scubadada]

My son and I did DT nearly 10 years ago. It was at the beginning of the dive, only 4 reasonably skilled divers, and the DM. The long swim through was not terribly remarkable, but the exit at 130 into the blue was gorgeous. The rest of the dive was a nice, wall drift. Glad I did it once

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I hadn't heard about those fatalities. What year did they happen? Did they involve older divers having heart attacks?

I have personally seen fatalities there several times (from other boats thank God). From the record of accidents there they tend to be young and old, fit and healthy. The common thread seems to be from panic after the DT exit and find themselves very low on air while narc'd…with a following rapid ascent. With Aluminum 80s tanks that can be caused by a poor drop, large groups or stronger than normal current.

Among other reasons, the DT is a reason we use High Capacity 120 cf tanks, GPS guided drops and keep groups to 6 or less "qualified" divers. I really dislike the thought of dead divers.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[kelemvor]

Among other reasons, the DT is a reason we use High Capacity 120 cf tanks, GPS guided drops and keep groups to 6 or less "qualified" divers. I really dislike the thought of dead divers.

Good call on the tanks. I did it with Dive Paradise and was the first one at the safety stop due to my gas consumption. I wish bigger tanks had been available or that I'd brought my sidemount gear and dove doubles. I remember the reef area after exiting the throat being quite a nice dive. I guess if you've done many more dives in great locations your opinion may differ. It was the first dive I did in Coz when I went in 2015.

It was with a large scubaboard group and there was a special pre-qualification for that dive. Only 6 or 8 of the 100 folks who went that year did DT.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Yes, you know, with big tanks the dive becomes much more enjoyable (and safe). After the DT there are at least 4 other beautiful caverns that can be enjoyed in the same coral head if you have the air and deco time. Then hang a hard right over the sand to finish the safety stop in shallow coral heads that no one else ever sees.

Without the extra air, that may explain why many don't like the dive—I don't think I would! It may not be the best in Cozumel, but in my estimation it is among the top three dives inside the National Park. Just my opinion of course.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[fishi]

I have personally seen fatalities there several times (from other boats thank God). From the record of accidents there they tend to be young and old, fit and healthy. The common thread seems to be from panic after the DT exit and find themselves very low on air while narc'd…with a following rapid ascent. With Aluminum 80s tanks that can be caused by a poor drop, large groups or stronger than normal current.

Among other reasons, the DT is a reason we use High Capacity 120 cf tanks, GPS guided drops and keep groups to 6 or less "qualified" divers. I really dislike the thought of dead divers.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

That makes sense. I have been with groups that have missed it myself. We just let it go and had a good dive. If you were determined to get to the entrance, and had to fight the current to get there I could see how the dive could go south in a big way.

It sounded like the fatalities were this year though. If I understood divenuty correctly?

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I don't recall any fatalities this year, at least not well known around the island. Back in the nineties is when I'd often either DM or Captain a boat, depending on need, and saw several incidents. But I am well aware of the risks and would not be surprised if it happened in 2015—indeed I suspect it does every year.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[deepsea21]

Agreed. Absolute minimum is 50, better yet 100+. Does any dive op in Coz have a policy limiting divers to DT?

I am not sure any dive op has a firm and stated "policy" of limiting divers to DT... I just know after 14 years of diving Coz that when divers start asking about a DT dive during their stay the op starts to work on forming a group that wants to do it and will split a group into 2 with 2 DM's and 2 drop points for those who want to do it and those who prefer not to. When that discussion takes place a few days in advance, the divers with minimal experience and after having been watched by the DM's for a few days and don't seem properly skilled are simply told "No". As always, I'd rather dive with a plain old OW diver with 200+ dives logged any day over an AOW certified diver with 20 dives.

How many of you have seen newly certified AOW divers who don't know WTF they are doing?

 

[scubadada]

Yes, you know, with big tanks the dive becomes much more enjoyable (and safe). After the DT there are at least 4 other beautiful caverns that can be enjoyed in the same coral head if you have the air and deco time. Then hang a hard right over the sand to finish the safety stop in shallow coral heads that no one else ever sees.

Without the extra air, that may explain why many don't like the dive—I don't think I would! It may not be the best in Cozumel, but in my estimation it is among the top three dives inside the National Park. Just my opinion of course.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

See my post #81, we did our dives with Aldora, that's probably a main reason they were so good

 

[rgdiver1]

Having been trained in cave and mixed-gas diving, there's no way I'd do this dive as such. Depth, single tank, etc. There's just too many things that could go wrong. Shallow reef dives sound much better to me.

(BTW 100 feet is the max depth for cavern diving as specified by most certification agencies. There are good reasons for that.)

 

[THX1138]

Yes, you know, with big tanks the dive becomes much more enjoyable (and safe). After the DT there are at least 4 other beautiful caverns that can be enjoyed in the same coral head if you have the air and deco time. Then hang a hard right over the sand to finish the safety stop in shallow coral heads that no one else ever sees.

Without the extra air, that may explain why many don't like the dive—I don't think I would! It may not be the best in Cozumel, but in my estimation it is among the top three dives inside the National Park. Just my opinion of course.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Dove the DT many times with Mr. Dillehay shop, Aldora Divers, and always enjoy, usually the expressions on divers doing it for first time. Never a problem with good divers.