Found him ~3 miles out after an hour of searching

[Snoweman]

I've never seen a dive operator that allowed a diver to dive without a buddy or to dive 20 or 30 feet above the other divers. I've dove Cozumel 5 times and the operators I've used don't require computers, but strongly suggest them. Personally, I don't ever want to dive without one. Now, as far as buddies go, some are great, some are good, some are OK and a few are awful. I travel alone, so I am at the mercy of who I get assigned to. But I always stay close and check in. I prefer it when I get to have the same one and hopefully get a good one. And I pretty much glue myself to the group.

You might want to try another operator. I've never been assigned a buddy in CZM when I wasn't diving with a friend. I've gone up to the surface several times by myself and well out of eyesight of the DM.

 

[BRT]

You might want to try another operator. I've never been assigned a buddy in CZM when I wasn't diving with a friend. I've gone up to the surface several times by myself and well out of eyesight of the DM.

Kind of depends on the diver. Once they figure out you can dive they watch other people.