Dive group size?

[mediumone]

It was 3Ps. There were two groups of 1, one group of 2, and one group of 6. I can only assume the group of 6 was added last, and something got mixed up. But it wasn't enjoyable. Thanks for all the confirmations. I think I'll be looking elsewhere for next year's trip (Christi, first, probably). Just too many little things with 3Ps.

Blasphemy!!
You will burn.

 

[NDL_Diver]

I'd be interested in knowing when the Marine Park started enforcing the 8-1 ratio of divers to DMs. My one and only experience with a cattle boat operation was years and years ago - December of 1994, maybe '95, IIRC.

Marine park was established in July 96.

 

[Christi]

I'd be interested in knowing when the Marine Park started enforcing the 8-1 ratio of divers to DMs. My one and only experience with a cattle boat operation was years and years ago - December of 1994, maybe '95, IIRC. My Dad died in 1990, and my Mother was still grieving and hated staying home for Christmas, too many painful memories. So I took her to Cozumel for Christmas week, stayed at the El Cid/La Cieba. I booked dives with the house dive op, Aqua Safari (I think?), and got put on a big boat, 22 or 23 divers with 2 DMs. They put everyone in the water at the same time, one DM to lead the group, one DM at the rear to herd the stragglers. It was awful. I cancelled the rest of my dives with Aqua Safari and finished the week with Dive with Martin.

So I gather that putting 20+ divers into the water with 2 DMs is no longer allowed - though I guess that they can still do 16 divers with 2 DMs (or 24 with 3 DMs) now. When was the 8-1 rule implemented? And are there any cattle boat operators on Cozumel that still follow the practice of dumping a big group of people off all at once with a couple of DMs?

The marine park was established in 1996 so I imagine ever since then. I've been working in the business here since mid 2001 (started my op in April 2002) and it was in effect then. I have witnessed very large groups underwater that were pushing the limits if not exceeding them - but ca't definitively speak as to who if anyone these days ignores this.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

The law is clear, no more than 8 divers per certified Cozumel dive guide. Our policy is a bit more stringent in that we do our best to limit each boat load to 6 divers or less of the same skill sets….but I'll never say we are perfect in that—we just try very hard. The problem crops up when you have just one boat and maybe a backup rental boat.

.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Christi]

The law is clear, no more than 8 divers per certified Cozumel dive guide. Our policy is a bit more stringent in that we do our best to limit each boat load to 6 divers or less of the same skill sets….but I'll never say we are perfect in that—we just try very hard. The problem crops up when you have just one boat and maybe a backup rental boat.

.
Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

We also run a max of 6 divers per boat, with an occasional 7th diver if we have an odd numbered group or a single diver traveling alone. But now that I have both boats in the water again with full-time staff on both boats, I don't exceed our capacity so that our service can remain consistent. Our divers can be sure they will dive with the same staff all week. Rental would be in case of emergency or special exception for a large group only.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

mechanical emergencies happen all the time…even with just two boats, plus DMs get sick or days off. To promise more is not realistic.

dave

 

[deepsea21]

Per local Marine Park regulations, the ratio is 8:1 MAX and the DM or Instructor must be a legal to work in Mexico as well as be a certified Marine Park Guide in good standing - so this excludes tourist divers who happen to be DM's/Instructors. Even though the ratio is 8:1, IMO this is still too many especially if there are novice divers in the group. I would also not onsider a boat that took 10 divers as "boutique" unless this was a special exception and the 10 divers were part of a single dive group that requested to be on one boat - even so, that situation would require 2 local DM's per local regulations.

Personally, I think it comes down to the average skill level of the divers in the boat that governs how many is too many regardless of the # of DM's. For example, I'd rather dive a cattle boat with 16 experienced divers than a 6-pack with all new divers. In Coz, the experienced divers tend to gravitate to the small boats while the cattle boats tend to be full of novice divers. Other destinations that require larger boats because of heavier sea conditions and more distant dive sites to be reached in those seas that attract experienced divers deliver an entirely different "cattle boat" experience than a common cattle boat in Coz. Y'all know the boats I'm talking about - Big new dive boats with twin diesels that can do 25 knots in swell+chop without pitching and pounding so you can rinse off under the high-pressure hot fresh water shower heads!

 

[Christi]

mechanical emergencies happen all the time…even with just two boats, plus DMs get sick or days off. To promise more is not realistic.

dave

Yes, of course DM's get sick and they have set days off - that's a given, didn't think I needed to spell that out. I think my emergency clause covers the mechanical emergencies too. And "just two boats" is perfect for my business model. More staff = more problems and less consistency.

"We also run a max of 6 divers per boat, with an occasional 7th diver if we have an odd numbered group or a single diver traveling alone. But now that I have both boats in the water again with full-time staff on both boats, I don't exceed our capacity so that our service can remain consistent. Our divers can be sure they will dive with the same staff all week. Rental would be in case of emergency or special exception for a large group only."