First time Scuba Club Cozumel in 11 days. Looking for some advice.

[mkull]

Me and some buddies are off to SCC in 12 days and I wanted to solicit some advice from the group. Besides a padlock for the lockers are there any items that I need to remember to bring (besides my dive gear)? Or is there anything that I need to be aware of or remember to do when I get there or during my stay?

What would your advice be for an SCC first timer?

 

[jlyle]

Read my trip reports.

Take a mesh bag for your dive gear.

Take small denomination currency for tips/taxis. Don't count on people having change for bigger bills. All US currency must be clean - no tears, marks, etc.

Take lots of pictures and post them when you get home.

Tell everyone Jim Lyle says "hello!"

Don't use up all the fun, I'm coming down in October.

PS - Any underwater photogs in your group? I have some tips for them.

 

[herbdb]

Take cash for tips. They want you to tip at the end of your stay and provide tip envelopes.

Definitely do a night dive. They will only go out for a minimum number of divers, so talk it up with the people you meet so you can get at least one during your stay. I wish we had been able to do more than one. The one we did in April was our first night dive and the highlight of the trip. Take your own flashlights, their rentals are not very bright, really just waterproof flashlights.

While not required, I think a safety sausage is a good thing to have handy in case you get separated for the group during a drift dive. All of the dives we did were drift dives.

This is a great dive resort. Be sure to give us a trip report.

 

[mkull]

Read my trip reports.

Take a mesh bag for your dive gear.

Take small denomination currency for tips/taxis. Don't count on people having change for bigger bills. All US currency must be clean - no tears, marks, etc.

Take lots of pictures and post them when you get home.

Tell everyone Jim Lyle says "hello!"

Don't use up all the fun, I'm coming down in October.

PS - Any underwater photogs in your group? I have some tips for them.

THANKS!

As for underwater photogs in the group, I am making my first go at it. I am an avid above the surface photog (Nikon d3s, d300s). But I will be shooing with a Canon S90, I am doing my best to get some strobes before I go, but it's a stretch I am traveling a lot right up until the trip.. I will take any advice you can give me that will help with my crude setup.

 

[mkull]

Take cash for tips. They want you to tip at the end of your stay and provide tip envelopes.

Definitely do a night dive. They will only go out for a minimum number of divers, so talk it up with the people you meet so you can get at least one during your stay. I wish we had been able to do more than one. The one we did in April was our first night dive and the highlight of the trip. Take your own flashlights, their rentals are not very bright, really just waterproof flashlights.

While not required, I think a safety sausage is a good thing to have handy in case you get separated for the group during a drift dive. All of the dives we did were drift dives.

This is a great dive resort. Be sure to give us a trip report.

Do you know what the minimum is? There are 4 of us in my group that are going? Good call on the sausage, I don't dive without one which might be overkill but I just hate the thought of getting left at sea. haha

 

[cvchief]

Take a night and go to Kinta for dinner.

 

[robint]

Be sure to do a shore dive every day! Night dives there are really cool, too. Watch my Shore diving video before you go, it will answer many questions about the dive.

Padlock - make sure it is a combo, not a key lock. Take a couple of beach towels to use on the boat.

Like Jim says -- take lots of pictures to share!!!

robin

 

[Willar]

Do your own night dive: Gear up, flag a taxi, go south to the lighthouse, wade out, check that current is heading north, take compass heading to head up the coast, dive in, level off at about 25ft, check your compass frequently, watch for super cool creatures, navigate back while watching for the pier pillars at Hotel Cozumel, find SCC exit point next door, you are home! Easy and fun!

Actually, I suggest doing this dive in twilight first, then the second time at night. It's a fun, easy dive and you'll see plenty of creatures out and about. And the only cost is a taxi shared with your buddy.

 

[jlyle]

Tips for u/w photography:

1. For wide angle shots, where you have a water background, underexpose the image by -2.0EV for dark blue water.

2. Shot a lot of portrait images - think magazine cover.

3. Do lots of shore dives in front of the hotel with your camera. Mostly macro opportunities.

4. If your rig gets bigger, with strobes, walk down to Chedraui and buy a cheap plastic tub to use as a rinse tank in your shower. If the housing is small enough, you can use the room's trash can.

5. Pack a roll of paper towels in your suitcase - doesn't weigh much and is very handy when drying camera gear.

6. While you're at Chedraui, pick up some of your favorite beverage to put in the room's refrigerator.

Robin,

Anything to add?

 

[bbarada]

Instead of a night dive, do the two tank twilight dive. You go out about 5:00 PM, do one tank dive while the sun is setting and start seeing the night creatures come out, then do a second tank dive when it is truly dark. Lots to see!

I second doing some shore dives. After you are put off just seeing rubble and little coral, start looking around. Last month we saw seahorses, scorpionfish, lionfish, rays, eels, crabs and lots of weird stuff.