diving with Aqua Safari

[STOGEY]

Has anyone here ever dove with Aqua Safaree? I'm going to Cosumel in about 4 weeks, have read their site on a daily basis and they seem to be pretty good. They also allow non divers to go along for an extra 20 bucks. Their largest boat holds no more than 16 people so that isn't too high for me. Some of their boats hold up to 12 people.

 

[dnhill]

On one of my first trips to CZM I used Aqua Safari. I had not been diving in quite a few years and they were very good at the refresher course. They used a large slow boat and bottom times were not what I currently enjoy with other operations. It was a package deal at the time and we used the shop that was located in PLG. They were nice folks. Are they going to allow the non-diver to snorkle or just ride on the boat? There are operations that allow non-divers to go free if there is space available.

dnhill

 

[STOGEY]

Has anyone here ever dove with Aqua Safaree? I'm going to Cosumel in about 4 weeks, have read their site on a daily basis and they seem to be pretty good. They also allow non divers to go along for an extra 20 bucks. Their largest boat holds no more than 16 people so that isn't too high for me. Some of their boats hold up to 12 people.

Yes they give the non diver a choice of snoirkeling or not. My significant other doesn't snorkel either.

 

[oceandiv]

Aqua Safari is very nice to dive with. We have dove with them several times and we will be using them again in March 2005.

 

[geraldp]

Has anyone here ever dove with Aqua Safaree? I'm going to Cosumel in about 4 weeks, have read their site on a daily basis and they seem to be pretty good. They also allow non divers to go along for an extra 20 bucks. Their largest boat holds no more than 16 people so that isn't too high for me. Some of their boats hold up to 12 people.

I got three tanks in with Aqua Safari last February when I was there staying on the mainland. There were about 6 or 7 divers on a fast boat. They kept us properly hydrated, and were friendly folks. My two buddies and I were pretty much newbies (all had 6-8 dives each), where the others were all much more advanced than us, AND had been diving with Aqua Safari all week. We made sure that everybody knew we were newbies.

Our first dive was on Columbia Deep. The only thing the DM told us was 1) dont go below 80 ft, 2) signal me when you get to 1000psi and I'll inflate a lift bag and we'll get off the wall, then signal me again at 750psi, then we'll go up, and 3) if you go OOA come to me, not your buddy. So we jumped in, dropped to the sand at about 60 feet, then went over the wall. Two of us were underweighted, and we flailed around using up most of our air trying to get down, so we ran low on air early. I flashed to the DM when I was at 1000psi (he did nothing), then again at 750, and the DM slowly inflated a surface bouy, then stayed there at 80 feet. Not knowing that his plan was to stay with the more advanced divers, I became more and more alarmed (and repeatedly flashed my SPG to the DM) until finally when I got to about 450 psi I decided to surface by myself. My one buddy who was also low on air was using rental gear, and didn't know how to read his computer. He ended up going OOA, but since the DM was no where near he shared with another diver. When my two buddies and I finally surfaced after our safety stop the DM stayed down with the more advanced divers for another 30 minutes.

So clearly my two buddies and I screwed up royally for not taking care of each other properly, and we were fortunate enough to survive. However a portion of the blame has to go to the dive op and the DM for 1) mixing newbies in with more advanced divers, 2) not giving a proper briefing and explaining what the plan was (visavis the float bag and sending us up early without him). 3) By telling us that he would be our buddy during the dive I completely ignored my two friends who were my real buddies (again this part was mostly our fault for not following our basic training).

Anyway, the follow-on 2nd dive (Paso del Cedro) and the afternoon dive (Paradise Reef) went off flawlessly with no other incidences. For the afternoon dive we were mixed with some snorkelers, so the boat captain dropped us off and then took the snorkelers to a more shallow reef. Consequently after our dive we all got to float by ourselves for about 20 minutes waiting for the boat to come back. At no time did I feel "lost at sea", as we were all together and we knew that the boat would come get us, which it did.

So anyway I can't say I would highly recommend Aqua Safari. YMMV.

Jerry

 

[STOGEY]

I got three tanks in with Aqua Safari last February when I was there staying on the mainland. There were about 6 or 7 divers on a fast boat. They kept us properly hydrated, and were friendly folks. My two buddies and I were pretty much newbies (all had 6-8 dives each), where the others were all much more advanced than us, AND had been diving with Aqua Safari all week. We made sure that everybody knew we were newbies.

Our first dive was on Columbia Deep. The only thing the DM told us was 1) dont go below 80 ft, 2) signal me when you get to 1000psi and I'll inflate a lift bag and we'll get off the wall, then signal me again at 750psi, then we'll go up, and 3) if you go OOA come to me, not your buddy. So we jumped in, dropped to the sand at about 60 feet, then went over the wall. Two of us were underweighted, and we flailed around using up most of our air trying to get down, so we ran low on air early. I flashed to the DM when I was at 1000psi (he did nothing), then again at 750, and the DM slowly inflated a surface bouy, then stayed there at 80 feet. Not knowing that his plan was to stay with the more advanced divers, I became more and more alarmed (and repeatedly flashed my SPG to the DM) until finally when I got to about 450 psi I decided to surface by myself. My one buddy who was also low on air was using rental gear, and didn't know how to read his computer. He ended up going OOA, but since the DM was no where near he shared with another diver. When my two buddies and I finally surfaced after our safety stop the DM stayed down with the more advanced divers for another 30 minutes.

So clearly my two buddies and I screwed up royally for not taking care of each other properly, and we were fortunate enough to survive. However a portion of the blame has to go to the dive op and the DM for 1) mixing newbies in with more advanced divers, 2) not giving a proper briefing and explaining what the plan was (visavis the float bag and sending us up early without him). 3) By telling us that he would be our buddy during the dive I completely ignored my two friends who were my real buddies (again this part was mostly our fault for not following our basic training).

Anyway, the follow-on 2nd dive (Paso del Cedro) and the afternoon dive (Paradise Reef) went off flawlessly with no other incidences. For the afternoon dive we were mixed with some snorkelers, so the boat captain dropped us off and then took the snorkelers to a more shallow reef. Consequently after our dive we all got to float by ourselves for about 20 minutes waiting for the boat to come back. At no time did I feel "lost at sea", as we were all together and we knew that the boat would come get us, which it did.

So anyway I can't say I would highly recommend Aqua Safari. YMMV.

Jerry

Thanks for the input. So far one good report and one not so good. My question is how much weight were you wearing. And did anyone bring any or some of their own equipment? I am planning on bringing everything excpet my tanks and wet wuit. I am very comfortable with my own BC and Octo. Since I am relatively new myself I have learned early that it is very important to be confident in the equipment that I am using. I've also heard that much of the gear that is rented throughout Cozumel is of mixed bag as far as quality.

 

[ggunn]

Thanks for the input. So far one good report and one not so good. My question is how much weight were you wearing. And did anyone bring any or some of their own equipment? I am planning on bringing everything excpet my tanks and wet suit. I am very comfortable with my own BC and Octo. Since I am relatively new myself I have learned early that it is very important to be confident in the equipment that I am using. I've also heard that much of the gear that is rented throughout Cozumel is of mixed bag as far as quality.

Don't bring weights; they are furnished at no extra charge.

 

[geraldp]

Thanks for the input. So far one good report and one not so good. My question is how much weight were you wearing. And did anyone bring any or some of their own equipment? I am planning on bringing everything excpet my tanks and wet wuit. I am very comfortable with my own BC and Octo. Since I am relatively new myself I have learned early that it is very important to be confident in the equipment that I am using. I've also heard that much of the gear that is rented throughout Cozumel is of mixed bag as far as quality.

Well you have to realize that that was my first warm water ocean dive, my first time below 60 feet, and the first dive where I had more than 20 foot visibility. I had all my own gear (except tanks and weights, of course), but I had not zeroed in my bouyancy. In fact, this was my first dive (outside of the pool) that I was using my new BC, reg, & computer. So I jumped in and watched everybody else sink to the bottom while I flailed away at the surface. Finally the DM took pity on me and swam up and put an extra 4 pounds in my BC. I think I started out with 18# of weights (I'm 6'2", 205#, and was wearing a 3-5-3 full wetsuit).

You are correct that it's very important to be comfortable in your gear. 30 dives later I went back to Cozumel (about 6 weeks ago) and did fine with 18#s of weight.

re: gear rental - Based on my experience with two different dive ops in Cozumel/Playa Del Carmen that my one buddy rented from I would recommend either taking the plunge and buying ones own gear, or renting gear from your local LDS and travelling with it. This excludes tanks and weights, obviously, as they are always included in the cost of your dives in Cozumel.

Jerry

 

[STOGEY]

Don't bring weights; they are furnished at no extra charge.

To me it's not the cost as much as just being comfortable with what I have. Maybe I'm a little spoiled, but I do have a certain standard as far as equipment is. As far as weights are concerned I have a bc that has 10 pounds integrated, plus a soft belt weight system with 20 additional pounds. I know that with my own body wight hear in New England that when using aluminum tanks, I had a little trouble submerging with 30lbs. of weight.
I ralize that in NE I am wearing a 7mm wet suit and I probably will need maybe the minimum thickness in Cozumel so I won't need as much wieght there as here, even with aluminum tanks.

I do plan on bringing my weight belt plus my integrated weights just incase I need them. I'll probably start off with 20 and that should be fine. My soft weight belt is very comfortable to wear. Comfort is very important specially if diving in a area that I am not too familiar with.

 

[Christi]

To me it's not the cost as much as just being comfortable with what I have. Maybe I'm a little spoiled, but I do have a certain standard as far as equipment is. As far as weights are concerned I have a bc that has 10 pounds integrated, plus a soft belt weight system with 20 additional pounds. I know that with my own body wight hear in New England that when using aluminum tanks, I had a little trouble submerging with 30lbs. of weight.
I ralize that in NE I am wearing a 7mm wet suit and I probably will need maybe the minimum thickness in Cozumel so I won't need as much wieght there as here, even with aluminum tanks.

I do plan on bringing my weight belt plus my integrated weights just incase I need them. I'll probably start off with 20 and that should be fine. My soft weight belt is very comfortable to wear. Comfort is very important specially if diving in a area that I am not too familiar with.

Every dive shop has a variety of weights on the boat. If you know you need 20 lbs, just let the op know. They can give it to you in just about any combination you prefer. 20#'s is 20#'s whether soft or hard. Most BCD's are integrated these days and hard weights work just fine in them...we do it everyday with our own BCD's as well as customers BCD's. Soft weights haven't been around that long...what do you think they did before them?

Just a head's up...if you need more than 20#'s in Cozumel, regardless of what wetsuit you are wearing, I would think about enrolling in a buoyancy class. Being overweighted will cause numerous problems, including higher air consumption. I have NEVER put more than 22 pounds on a diver here, and he was close to 7 ft tall and about 280 pounds.

Let your divemaster helkp you decide what's right for you based on what wetsuit you are wearing and our environment.